GUEST REVIEW ARTICLE:

By Justin Burch

Though most travelers escape to the during the winter months, the summer travel season can offer families with tighter budgets a chance to experience the most exciting islands. While many people assume that the image Caribbean is too hot and humid to be enjoyed in the summer, the truth is that temperatures are consistent year-round throughout much of the region because of the prevailing trade winds. Instead of high temperatures, visitors can expect an incredible array of festivals and local celebrations wherever they travel. Most importantly for many families, room rates and recreation fees are typically much lower during the summer months, allowing conscientious travelers to plan an exciting and affordable Caribbean vacation.

 

GUEST REVIEW ARTICLE:

By Jason Law

A Honeymoon sounds like a great idea, but an even better idea would be to also have your there. The beautiful beaches of Andros, and the wonderful Cay could be the perfect double destination for both your and your romantic honeymoon. It was recently described as a small slice of heaven on earth, and as such is a great choice for any romantic vacation.

 

Taking a on can be an exciting adventure for you and your family. Since every different ports of call, I won’t discuss the itinerary here but rather will discuss the ship and leaving from Tampa Bay, Florida.

There may be great advantages to leaving from Tampa Bay rather than the more traditional Miami, Florida. The most likely advantage is cost. Since Tampa Bay is farther north on the Florida peninsula, logic dictates that your cost to get to this port should be lower. Unfortunately, logic never seems to be a driving factor with airline prices!

 

Aruba has spent a lot of time in the news for an unfortunate event regarding a young lady. This has taken the luster off of this island paradise and it is a shame since the island is beautiful and the weather is fantastic.

There are quite a few places to stay on Aruba but the best place by far is the Marriott. This hotel is small by Marriott standards but it is still a great place to stay for a quiet, relaxing vacation on a peaceful island. The Marriott is at the end of a long series of that dot the on the West side of the island. It comes complete with its own so there really isn’t a need to leave the resort.

The best part of the Marriott has got to be the beach and the pool. The pool is beautiful with a swim-up bar that has very friendly and personable barstaff. Just outside the pool is a beautiful beach with plenty of staff to set up your chair, provide you with towels and bring you and refreshments. Due to the man-made reef, the water is quite calm and it is easy to float for hours in the ocean.

Aruba is blessed with great weather. Due to its very southern location, it rarely gets hit by hurricanes so it is one of the few islands where you can safely vacation in September and October with little fear of the massive storms. There is some industry on the island but for the most part the island depends on tourism. Make sure you help the local economy by buying a few souvenirs to take home and please tip generously.

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This is one of our favorite spots on one of our favorite islands in the world. You can stay in the beautiful hotel or rent a condo on the professional level Kapalua Bay course. Either venue will allow you to enjoy the island of Maui in ways that are unrivaled in any other location.

Aside from the golf on the Arnold Palmer designed course and the weather, the big attraction is the which is absolutely fantastic. It is large enough that you will rarely be crowded but at the same time it is small enough that you won’t have a lot of people walking over you looking for shells. The is about 20-30 yards deep and the waves rolling up to it are just right for playing in – not so aggressive that they knock you over but not so meek that you feel like you are on a lake in the Midwest.

A special attraction of the beach is that it offers wonderful snorkeling on both ends. The beach is guarded on both ends with small peninsulas of rock and this offers the underwater wildlife a great venue for living.

HINT: stop at a local grocery store and buy some frozen peas or frozen corn, take this out in the water with you when you snorkel and throw a few handfuls around yourself. You will instantly be the best friend of several hundred fish as they swarm around you.

 

What a beautiful and quaint location. This condominium is located on the of the small bay called Secret Harbour.

There are actually two places in this small – the one is up the hill and the other is directly on the beach. The beach is not overly large and is covered with palm trees to hide under in the intense heat of the sun. The waters off the beach are almost always flat and calm due to the geography of this small bay. This allows for easy and relaxing swimming in the water. You can easily snorkel right off of the beach but you will need to swim out a fair distance to really see a great deal of fish. The reefs that protect this part of St. Thomas are very far out and that is where the prettiest fish are hanging out.

There is a small and romantic restaurant on the grounds with very friendly staff and good . The prices are reasonable for the island and you will have a relaxing evening watching the sunset and listening to the waves. Occasionally, a local artist will entertain you with a soft melody – tip generously to your artist and your wait staff as the island depends on tourist dollars to survive.

St. Thomas is the stop for many ships and therefore the island is abuzz with tourists during the day. The Secret Harbour can be a quiet escape in this small Virgin Island chain.

 

There are a lot of options to get out to the small island of Molokini for snorkeling so if you are visiting this part of our 50th state, you should have no trouble finding a way to enjoy this.

The typical excursion will take you by boat from one of the various docks on the island. You will then jump or crawl into the water where you will see the beautiful underwater world. Unless the weather is stormy and you will see hundreds (thousands?) of beautiful fish feeding on the corral and each other. Since it is saltwater, you should have no problems keeping afloat however some boats and excursions may still require you to wear some type of floatation system.

 

When you look at a map of the US, Florida is very prominently displayed as a peninsula hanging down from Georgia. However, one of the best locations in Florida is not on the massive peninsula but rather on the “panhandle” portion of the state sitting above the Gulf of . This strip of land is home to some of the most inviting and enjoyable soft, white sand beaches in the world. The major cities on this coast are Panama City and Destin.

The shore around Destin is dotted almost continuously with large and small developments of and condos. These mini-resorts typically feature pools and free access to the . While I may write in the future about individual places to stay, for right now I will focus on the .

Depending on the time of year, the beach is beautiful. There is always the chance that when you visit, there will be algae in the water or a swarm of jelly fish will move in but that is the danger whenever you go to the beach.

Almost everywhere you go on this long beach, you will find it to be 30-60 yards deep. This is more than enough room for families to dig castles, fly kites, play catch or just soak in the rays without offending or be offended by others. The beach is typically left unguarded but there are sections where the lifeguards are in attendance.

You can also go into the Choctawhatchee Bay which provides the back side of the small peninsula that Destin sits on. In this bay, where the waves are much more mild, you can easily do various water activities such as para-sailing and jet boating.

If you enjoy playing in ocean water, building a sand castle, and relaxing with a good book on a beach then there are very few locations in the world that are as economical and accessible as Destin, FL.

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