Daily Archives: July 24, 2017

Renting a Caribbean Villa: How to Find a Vacation Home

I am not a cold weather kind of girl. I grew up near the shore, spending my weekends with friends and family members at the beach. As a result, I developed a love for the sand and ocean, a love I was determined to share with my family when we set out to get a Caribbean villa rental.

My husband grew up near the mountains. He spent most of his youth skiing and snowboarding. However, he was not hard to convert. While he still loves the occasionally trip to the mountains, I have him hooked on the beach as well. For our honeymoon, we went to St. Lucia and had a fantastic time. Ever since then, we have been dreaming of leaving our home state again to take a relaxing vacation filled with sun, surf and family.

Our children have spent many days during their first few years at the beach. We finally decided that the time was right to take a family vacation to the Caribbean. I am a planner, and I could not be more excited about figuring out the details of our trip. The first step for me was to find a villa for our family to share on vacation. We settled on Saint Martin as our destination, and I took to the Internet to find a good place to stay. If you are also interested in renting a place in the Caribbean, use the following tips to secure a great villa - they made the process so much easier for me!

Search Early

As soon as you know you are going on vacation, begin looking for a place to stay. Good properties are often booked six months or more in advance, which is why it is so important to get a jump on things. I began our search about nine months ahead of time, and I sometimes felt that was even a little to close to our date. There were several properties that I came across that I thought would be perfect but were not available on our chosen date. Therefore, if you can begin the search a year in advance, that would be preferable and should give you the best possible options.

View Pictures Carefully

Do not rent a property without having the opportunity to look at pictures of the space. That said, remember that pictures can be misleading. They could be old and out of date, showcasing a property in its former heyday. They could be digitally altered to make the space look better. That said, pictures can give you a good idea of what to expect. Look to see if there are any (recent) reviews of the property as well. That should give you an indication of whether or not the pictures match up to reality.

Use a Travel Agent

If you are having a hard time finding a villa that you like, or you are concerned that you may rent something that turns out to be much different than you thought, use a travel agent. Many travel agents specialize in certain locations. If you use an agent that often books the Caribbean, he or she will likely have some recommendations for you when it comes to where to stay. Since they have booked travelers in those properties before, and therefore know what they are like through second-hand knowledge, there is less of a risk for you. Plus, if you get there and do not like what you see, you can contact your agent and have them work to ensure you end up where you want to be.

Spend Time With The Contract

Once you settle on a property that you like, take your time reading through the contract. Some people are so excited to get their vacation rolling that they just sign it without much thought. That is not the best way to do things. Instead, make sure the fees are clear and you understand what you have to pay in the event of damages.

If the contract does not list everything included in the rental, make sure the owner sends that information to you. For instance, does the property have a pool? With young children, sometimes it is easier to allow them to take a dip in the pool before nap rather than heading down to the beach. Therefore, that is always an important consideration for me.

Some people get very stressed at the idea of looking for a vacation rental home. However, it does not have to be that way. If you plan well, you can find the property of your dreams that also meets all of your needs while you are away from home. Simply be methodical in your planning, use the Internet to your advantage and take your time. You will be relaxing on the beach in no time at all!

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CaribbeanDays

The name Chris Doyle is synonymous with Caribbean cruising. His guidebooks, which cover every port and gunk hole from Anguilla to Trinidad, have educated, entertained, steered and saved many a sailor venturing from A to B.

Hes been at it a long time, which is remarkable considering that the first book came to life from a dare. In the late 1970s, Doyle was working as a charter skipper, sailing guests to his favorite spots. One night at a party, he recounts, I complained to the bartender about the fact that people always asked me where to go. He told me I should write a guide.

That first book, released in 1980, was a tour of the Windward Islands.

It was a simple affair, says Doyle. It had black and white photos. Maybe a color cover. I had to keep it under $5.00 US. He sold them from a backpack worn while windsurfing to anchored yachts.

In the beginning Doyle was the lone researcher, traveling the islands on his Carib 41. It was one of those CSY boats- unsinkable, he laughs. Success with book one and with islands unexplored, he sailed north to investigate, write and produce a Guide to the Leeward Islands. Around the same time he met Nancy and Simon Scott, which resulted in a pooling of talent and effort to produce The Virgin Islands Guide.

Anyone whos cruised the Caribbean understands the depth of Doyles efforts to provide fresh facts. Some businesses weather well but many blow away on the winds of change. A few people make contact with updates. They point out changes, he says, but its best if I go myself. Each year, the course of one guide is sailed from cover to cover. Every anchorage is re-visited for the latest on clearance protocol, restaurants, stores, yacht facilities, and a myriad of services tending to boats and crew.

Old information is validated while hunting for new talent. I spotted Chris Doyle this winter in Marie-Galante, notepaper in hand, curiosity on his face, puzzling the hours of a pizza place when I interrupted to say hello. Conversation segued to the lack of a decent grocer in Saint Louis. When I mentioned the first world wonder on the edge of town, he lit up, making it the next mission. The Facebook page, Doyle Guides, was the next to hear about it.

Doyle notes that Lexi Fisher is apprenticing with him this year with the hope he can ease toward retirement. She knows the islands and shares the masters enthusiasm for adventure. She sounded a harbor in Les Saintes for a new guide inclusion and has gained experience with teachers Messrs. Trial and Error. One lesson learned came in a meeting with an Antiguan restauranteur. She asked the owner to check over text from the guide, only to discover it included a bit of Doyles humorous honesty. Laughing, she explained, I was reading it upside down when I realized it said, the owner smokes cigars; nice place if you dont have to sit near him.

The books abound with characters and commentary- like the entry that describes a pricey resort that escorted Doyle off the property despite having a dinner reservation. The lady said there was no room for us so I wrote, security there is as tight as a sphincter!

Doyle claims he doesnt receive special treatment or bribes from businesses but there are perks to the job. He dines out frequently and every anchorage visited holds old and new friends; almost every stop is a homecoming.

His research vessel these days is a 40ft cat he helped create in Trinidad. Ti Kanot is perfect, fast, roomy and short on draft. Theres a spacious office and plenty of room to entertain. The boat is one of numerous evolutions to the trade. What once was crucial a lead line, RDF, telex, internet cafes and that windsurfer, have been replaced by satellite navigation, Wi-Fi, Trip Advisor, social media and a proper dinghy to carry bikes and gear.

Although retirement is on the horizon for Chris Doyle, its clear he will always be part of the enterprise he started from the water up. When asked what lies ahead, he cheerfully announced, Id like to get a drone!

Be sure to check out cruisingguides.com for the full selection of Doyle Guidebooks. You can learn more at Chris Doyle Publishing; Caribbean Cruising Guides: http://www.doyleguides.com or Email: [emailprotected]

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Legendary Caribbean Guide Chris Doyle: On Tour - All At Sea

Royal Caribbean Blog (blog)

Royal Caribbean Post Round-Up: July 23, 2017 Royal Caribbean Blog (blog) The 207th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, where we discuss what you need to know about taking a last minute Royal Caribbean cruise. In this episode, Matt shares strategies for booking a last minute cruise, as well as areas ... BofA/Merrill Lynch Starts Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) at NeutralStreetInsider.com Cornerstone Financial Partners LLC Sells 839 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL)Week Herald Reviewing Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) & Carnival Corporation (CUK)StockNewsTimes Highland Mirror -First News 24 -BZ Weekly -SEC.gov all 75 news articles »

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Royal Caribbean Post Round-Up: July 23, 2017 - Royal Caribbean Blog (blog)

Active Citizens, Biodiversity, Caribbean Climate Wire, Civil Society, Climate Change, Development & Aid, Editors' Choice, Environment, Featured, Headlines, Latin America & the Caribbean, Poverty & SDGs, Projects, Regional Categories

In Cahuita National Park, in Costa Ricas southeastern province of Limn, an elevated walkway was built through the forest to allow visitors to enjoy the scenery and to avoid the vulnerable coastal road that is being slowly eroded by the waves of the Caribbean Sea. Credit: Diego Arguedas Ortiz / IPS

HONE CREEK, Costa Rica, Jul 24 2017 (IPS) - Jonathan Barrantes walks between the rows of shoots, naming one by one each species in the tree nursery that he manages, in the south of Costa Ricas Caribbean coastal region. There are fruit trees, ceibas that will take decades to grow to full size. and timber species for forestry plantations.

The tree nursery run by the Association of Organisations of the Talamanca Caribbean Biological Corridor (ACBTC), in the municipality of Hone Creek, is a helpful tool against the effects of climate change in Costa Ricas Southern Caribbean region, because it provides specialised solutions for specific needs.

Barrantes pointed out to IPS a group of saplings thirty centimetres high, explaining that this species native to the Caribbean basin, the cocoplum (Chrysobalanus icaco), is excellent for growing along the sea shore to prevent erosion, badly needed by beaches in this region.

While we work at a global level and expect international agreements to be respected, we have to start locally. -- Julio Barquero

This coastal area is touristic and there are many species that we human beings have cut with the idea of making it more attractive, says 36-year-old Barrantes.

The nursery also grows teak (Tectona grandis) and beechwood (Gmelina arborea), two fast-growing tree species which are ideal for the forestry plantation systems encouraged in Costa Rica, and there is a row of saman (Samanea saman), which are perfect for reforesting river banks.

With the associations team, Barrantes and other experts have been for years growing thousands of trees to help cope with coastal erosion, sequester carbon, restore forests that prevent landslides and protect key river basins.

In Hone Creek, more than 200 km southeast of the capital, civil society organisations from Costa Ricas Caribbean coastal region, grouped in the ACBTC, are joining forces against climate change.

As in the rest of the Caribbean region, this municipality in Costa Rica is suffering coastal erosion due to a rise in the sea level, which jeopardises the sandy beaches as well as the tourism-based economy of coastal areas.

At a regional level, the Association of Caribbean States is carrying out a project to adapt to the new climate change scenario, in small highly vulnerable island nations as well as mainland countries, which have in common fragile economies and vulnerable communities.

In Honduras, local communities are reporting changes in the geography of the coastline, and in Cuba scientists are racing against time to protect the countrys sandy beaches.

It is a recurring pattern among Central American countries and each country is seeking its solutions.

While we work at a global level and expect international agreements to be respected, we have to start locally, biologist Julio Barquero, who also works with the ACBTC, explained to IPS.

With a 200,000-dollar budget, provided by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Adaptation Fund, the ACBTC promotes a vision of a biological corridor from the forested mountains to the sandy beaches.

It encourages farmers in hilly areas in the municipality to incorporate their forest lands to the Payments for Environmental Services programme, by which the Costa Rican government provides economic compensation for protecting the forest cover.

Under this programme, 478 hectares have been protected in the key Carbn River basin, which brings benefits to the communitiesalong the lower stretch of the river.

When it rains a lot in a short period of time and there is no vegetation cover, the water does not filter down into the ground but washes the surface away, explained Barquero.

Biologist Julio Barquero looks at palm trees planted in Puerto Vargas to strengthen the shoreline against the rising sea levels of the Caribbean Sea, which threaten the area with erosion, in Cahuita, in the southeastern Costa Rican province of Limn. Credit: Diego Arguedas Ortiz / IPS

Along the coast, the work starts with the defense of the coastline. In the Gandoca Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge, the Association facilitated the reforestation of 25 hectares of coastal wetlands with red mangroves, which protect the coastline from storm surges.

Each time there is a storm, the coastline gets more damaged by the rising sea level, said the biologist, who pointed out that life in the town revolves around the sea.

Hone Creek is part of the Cahuita district, in the municipality of Talamanca, in the southeastern province of Limn. The United Nations Development Programme (PNUD)s Human Development Index ranks Talamanca in the second to last place among the countrys 82 municipalities.

The economy of Talamanca, which boasts rich biodiversity and has a population of less than 400,000 people in its vast territory, depends largely on tourists who come to enjoy the coral reefs, tropical forests and sandy beaches.

One of the main tourist attractions is the Cahuita National Park, which has suffered heavy coastal erosion along its 13.5 km of coastline.

This directly affects tourist services, because the trails that link the different parts of the park run along the coast and are very vulnerable, Marco Snchez, the parks tourism operator, told IPS.

In 2016, this protected area received nearly 100,000 visitors more than double the 40,000 inhabitants of Talamanca.

It also affects the reef, which is an attraction that draws many tourists, and the sea turtles who are losing space in their breeding areas, said the official.

To recover the coastline, by means of a joint effort between the Cahuita district, the park officers and the Associations team, hundreds of palm, noni (Morinda citrifolia) and other species of trees were planted.

While trees are being planted, the parks authorities are studying more actions to be carried out to adapt to climate change.

For example, the state National System of Conservation Areas is currently evaluating transferring the parks administrative area several km inland from Puerto Vargas, to avoid the impact of the waves. Currently it is just 150 metres from the shore.

Also, as part of the Sustainable Tourism programme agreement that Costa Rica signed with the Inter-American Development Bank, the Cahuita Park received 1.8 million dollars to improve the infrastructure of its visitor centre.

One of the measures taken was building a flyover through the coastal forest, connecting the beach with the road that accesses the park, along a route that avoids the coastline.

Although its intention was to highlight the biodiversity in this area of the Park, it also served as an adaptation measure: before the flyover was built, the only point of access to the beach was the road that runs parallel to the coast, which floods regularly with the high tides.

When we have had to close this sector (the beach of Puerto Vargas), it was because there was no access. That was the only route; now we have another option, Mirna Corts, 38, the Parks assistant manager, told IPS, proudly.

The park officers as well as biologist Barquero hope the community will lead the actions in the area, and are organising awareness-raising workshops on climate change to that end.

By the time the programme financed by the Adaptation Fund ends, the ACBTC expects to have trained nearly 1,500 people to defend this vulnerable area from the ravages of climate change.

Read more from the original source:

Costa Rica's Caribbean Coast Pools Efforts Against Climate Change - Inter Press Service

Get paid to visit the Caribbean. (Photo: Instagram @visitusvi)

(KUTV) Get out your wallet and grab your calendar, you're going to want to check out this travel deal.

If you're looking for a reason to use your vacation days (let's be honest, you deserve a break), the U.S. Virgin Islands are paying people to visit.

St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix are offering visitors who stay on any of the islands three consecutive nights a $300 travel bonus.

The catch? They don't just write you a check. The $300 come in the form of a travel voucher for "Historical/Cultural Tours and Activities."

The bonus is honoring the centennial celebration of Denmark selling the Caribbean islands to the United States, an event known as "Transfer Day."

To take part in the deal you have to book before October 31, and travel sometime in 2017. But a trip to paradise seems worth it, right?

By the way, you don't need a passport to visit.

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Get paid to visit the Caribbean - KUTV 2News

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Tropical Storm Don has formed in the Atlantic Ocean, the National Hurricane Center reported Monday evening.

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Tropical Storm Don may be weakening, but Twitter users still had plenty of time to chime in with a few jokes on the storm's name. USA TODAY

Tropical Storm Don is forecast to move west into the Caribbean Sea over the next few days.(Photo: National Hurricane Center)

Tropical Storm Don has formed in the Caribbean Sea, the National Hurricane Center reported Monday evening.

Tropical storm watches and warnings have been posted for several Caribbean islands, including Barbados and Grenada.Heavy rain and flash flooding are possible on some of the islands.

As of 4 p.m. ET Monday, Don had sustained winds of 40 mph. It was located about 595 miles east of Trinidad and was moving to the west at 17 mph.

The storm is not forecast to develop into a hurricane and should dissipate after entering the Caribbean.

Strong wind shear over the Caribbean will limit any further development, AccuWeather Meteorologist Steve Travis said.

Don is the fourth named storm to form in the Atlantic Basin so far in 2017.

A second system over the Atlantic, located a few hundred miles farther to the east, also has a chance at development this week, AccuWeather said.

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Tropical Storm Don forms in Atlantic, takes aim on Caribbean islands - USA TODAY