10 cheap carribean destinations
By greatsasuke
@greatsasuke (472)
United States
November 7, 2009 11:49am CST
I was just reading an article listing 10 Caribbean Islands that were not so expensive to visit, even during the winter months. Since the Caribbean is not known to be a cheap holiday destination, I was surprised at this information. The article said that the best deals are to be had when you get an all-inclusive package, or as they put it, "a worry free deal".
The list included: Aruba, The Bahamas, The Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts, St. Maarten, Trinidad and Tobago, and St. Thomas (USVI).
Most of these places were familiar to me and some were not. They also included hotels at each of the locations, which were giving good rates at the moment.
Since I have only visited the Bahamas I was wondering if any of you had vacationed or lived at any of these places. If so, please tell me of your experiences vacationing there and if you were able to get a good deal on hotel, food, and airfare. Also, if you have any tips about ways to save money while visiting the Caribbean, please let me know.
4 responses
@jackee (138)
• United States
13 Nov 09
I have been traveling to the Caribbean for about 35 years now. My favorite place is going to St Martin. This is an island that is run by 2 country Holland, and France. I enjoy visiting the French side and spending all if not most of my time there. We usually stay at a small (35 units) French hotel there on Orient Beach. We were able to fly out of JFK with Jet Blue, 8 days at the hotel, and also have a compact car for the time we were there. The hotel which was beach front supplied 2 loung chairs, and umbrella on the beach. All this was done for under $2500.
@greatsasuke (472)
• United States
13 Nov 09
Sounds like a great deal. How many of you went? Was it $2,500 total or for every person who went. I have never been to St. Martin, but you have convinced me to try it out in the future. Can you tell me what is the best time of year to go? Also, could you let me know what company you bought this package from? Was it from a travel agency, online, or did you piece it together yourself?
@maximax8 (31042)
• United Kingdom
7 Nov 09
I would love to have details of that article. I like budget traveling but I wouldn't ever choose to stay at an all inclusive hotel. I prefer to stay in locally owned guest houses and in unusual accommodation. I remember a man who called himself Old Hippy. He liked to give ideas for budget travel in the Caribbean. He suggested places off the Mexican Coast, the Dominican Republic and Tobago. I have visited St Lucia and it was lovely there. It would be challenging to have a budget vacation in the Caribbean. I would suggest San Andres Island, Providence Island in Colombia, The Corn Islands in Nicaragua and The Bay Islands in Honduras. The only places on your list I know I could have a cheap trip are the Dominican Republic and Tobago. Visiting in the off season might help prices stay as low as possible. Happy traveling.
@greatsasuke (472)
• United States
9 Nov 09
Thanks for the info. I can not remember the exact name of the article. I believe I read it on the MSN website under News and in the travel section. It still might be there.
@marguicha (230334)
• Chile
16 Apr 10
I have been in Aruba, but I own a timeshare. That way it is very unexpensive if you use your unit in full capacity and make your own meals most of the time.
I have also been in Puerto Rico. San Juan is a big city so they have all kinds of hotels and you can find there the price you want.
I hope this helps.
@nas8228 (59)
• United States
8 Nov 09
Definitely do your homework before you go. I stayed in an all-inclusive resort in Jamaica in 2001 for my honeymoon and though the resort was VERY nice, the people weren't. Whether we were on the resort or not, we always got the feeling that people were trying to take advantage of us because we were tourists. It got to be such a common theme, we decided not to even leave the resort the last few days.
@greatsasuke (472)
• United States
9 Nov 09
I will definitely take this into consideration. My father went to Jamaica in the early 90's and didn't like it a bit. He said the airfare was cheap and so were the accommodations, but he had the same problems as you described. He also said almost everyone he met there was trying to sell him weed.
