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CARIBBEAN WITH KIDS

By Paris Permenter and John Bigley

Excerpted from CARIBBEAN WITH KIDS
(Open Road Publishing)

A new family-friendly attitude is blowing across the Caribbean like a fresh tradewind. Parents who have vacationed here before are discovering the fun of introducing their children to favorite island attractions. Families are playing together and staying together in some of the Caribbean's premier destinations, creating warm holiday memories that will last for generations.

Throughout the Caribbean, you'll find resorts with kids' programs to keep youngsters busy and happy as well as beaches where the whole family can play in the waves, snorkel in shallow waters, or just build sand castles until the sun sets over another perfect day. And if you're ready to take a break from constantly watching the budget as well, you'll also find many all-inclusive resorts that leave the worries of "how much is left in the vacation budget?" at the door.

At one time, the Caribbean was a getaway for "old money" — a place to don fine resort wear, to dress for formal dinners, and to stay for weeks at a time.  As air travel to the islands became easier, this tropical paradise became the destination of honeymooners and couples looking for a romantic getaway among swaying palms.

But those honeymooners are now returning to the Caribbean with the kids in hand.  They're finding resorts which emphasize the family, where sandcastle building contests outnumber lessons on mixing tropical drinks and where the kids are an active part of the vacation, not just travelers in tow to be left with hotel babysitters.

Ready to cast off those jackets, feel the sun on your face and the sand between your toes? Watch your children romp in the sand, be introduced to new cultures, and share a few days with you that you'll all remember the rest of your lives?

Then it's time to head to the Caribbean.

If you look at a map of the Caribbean, you'll see that the islands arch out like a cracking whip, with the largest islands to the west and the small islands to the east, curving on down to South America and ending with a "snap" with the ABC islands: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao back to the west.

The whole formation of islands is referred to as the Antilles, usually divided into the Greater Antilles and the Lesser Antilles. The Greater Antilles, as the name suggests, are the Caribbean's largest islands: Cuba, Hispaniola (an island shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti), Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. The term Lesser Antilles encompasses the other islands.

Often, the area is just divided up into the Eastern and Western Caribbean. The Eastern islands are the same as the Lesser Antilles; the Western Caribbean is the Greater Antilles and the Cayman Islands. Although technically not part of the Caribbean, the Bahamas also shares its azure waters and perpetual summer.

The multiple names given to this region is your first hint at the diversity the Caribbean boasts. The Caribbean holds an endless fascination for us, and hopefully for you, because it does offer so many different types of experiences.

Rich in History

The islands have such varied cultures because of the many nations that fought over this valuable area. During this time of unrest, protecting the islands was a major job. Magnificent forts were constructed of stone to defend the islands from marauding buccaneers.  Today you can tour El Morro in San Juan, stroll along the lemon sherbet-colored walls of Fort Christiansvaern in St. Croix, photograph the city of Puerto Plata from the Fortaleza San Felipe in the Dominican Republic,  or visit imposing Brimstone Hill in St. Kitts, known as the "The Gibraltar of the Caribbean."

Once the islands were settled, many prospered with sugar cane plantations. Today you can tour the islands' heritage of huge plantation houses.  In Jamaica, tours provide a peek at the lavish lifestyle once enjoyed by plantation owners at Great Houses such as Rose Hall near Montego Bay, and the newly opened Barnett Estate Plantation also near Montego Bay, with a jitney tour of the sugar, banana and mango plantation and fine dining in a restored sugar mill. 

Winter Getaways

At one time, wintering in the Caribbean meant wealth. Today you'll still find the rich and famous crowd heading to the islands for a little sun, but getaways are affordable for almost everyone.

There's nothing quite like stepping off an airplane, still in layers of clothing, into the Caribbean sunshine. This is the peak season in the islands, a time when travelers from around the globe come to enjoy a respite from the cold.

Different Cultures

Although every island boasts a rollicking Caribbean spirit, their cultures also borrow heavily from their founding fathers.  Aromas of fine French food fills the air of Martinique, St. Martin, St. Barthelemy, and Guadeloupe. Dutch architecture creates picturesque waterfront communities in Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Maarten, and Sint Eustatius.  A rich Spanish atmosphere pervades the islands of the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, the Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos still operate as British dependencies. In the former British colonies of the Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica, the British influence is still strongly felt, with driving on the left side of the road and the Royal family smiling back from postage stamps.

Check Out the Water

The true island treasures that every Caribbean nation shares are miles of beaches lapped by clear, warm water. The activities in the water are endless: sailing, windsurfing, water-skiing, the list goes on and on.  If you'd like to stay above the water, head to the boating capital of the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands. Several resorts offer combination packages with a week's stay split between a hotel and a yacht.

If you want to venture beneath the waves, you'll find the top dive destinations to be the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos, and Bonaire.  Divers can hand feed sharks on guided dives in the Bahamas or pet sting rays at Grand Cayman. Or if you're just looking to snorkel, coral reefs are scattered just yards from shore throughout this region.

http://www.parisandjohn.com

Images by Paris Permenter and John Bigley

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