Tell clients what they’re missing when they’re busy doing nothing, writes Jo Cooke
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Put clients on a pristine beach with dazzling blue waters, swaying palms and waiters handing out cocktails, and they probably won’t be in a hurry to move. But, as many a Caribbean tourist board advertising campaign will tell you, the West Indies is more than just a beach.
In fact, there are certain excursions that are synonymous with this sun-drenched region, and that just aren’t the same when you try them elsewhere in the world. Here are our pick of some of the best signature experiences the Caribbean has to offer, and the ideal islands on which to enjoy them.
Snorkelling
Location: Stingray City
Island: Grand Cayman
The Cayman Islands has some of the cleanest and clearest waters in the Caribbean, ensuring marine life thrives. Perhaps nowhere is this more apparent than when you take a boat trip to the off-shore sandbar known as Stingray City. Here, dozens of these kite-shaped creatures hang out in the shallows. Put on a snorkel and you can float nose to nose with them.
Or simply stand knee deep on the soft, golden sands and the stingrays will swim around your legs and over your toes, making this excursion a hit with all ages and abilities.
Book it: Sandals’ Island Routes Caribbean Adventures offers a Stingray City Adventure excursion from $50 per person.
Great House Tour
Location: St Nicholas Abbey
Island: Barbados
Very little colonial architecture has survived in the Caribbean. One of the most interesting and best preserved exceptions is St Nicholas Abbey in Barbados. This 17th-century Jacobean mansion is a stunner. Think Dutch-design gabled facade meets English-style country garden, all set in 400 acres of swaying sugar cane fields.
Have a nose around the antique-packed interior, then check out the history of the owners and their slave workforce in the museum that boasts an array of records and artefacts.
Book it: Attraction World’s Treasures of Barbados Tour includes a visit to St Nicholas Abbey and costs from £49 per person.
Bathing beneath a Waterfall
Location: Samaná Peninsula
Island: Dominican Republic
The lush rainforest interiors of many Caribbean islands hide spectacular waterfalls. The star of the show is arguably the Dominican Republic’s El Limòn. Tucked away in the northeast of the country, this 120 foot fall can be accessed via a trek on horseback. It sparkles like strands of silver ribbons catching the sunlight as they cascade down the mountainside into a pool of milky-blue water, perfect for a cooling dip.
Book it: Thomson Excursions offers a Cascade El Limon tour from £30.99.
Catamaran Cruise
Location: West Coast
Island: Saint Lucia
Who can resist an island cruise? The wind in your hair, cocktail in hand, a pulsating sound system and your loved one at your side. Taking to the water also gives you a chance to see the beaches, landscape and settlements of your holiday destination from the ocean.
In Saint Lucia there is an added bonus – the majestic Pitons form a dramatic backdrop to the scene. Watch as these towering twin peaks, one of the Caribbean’s best-known landmarks, form a silhouette in the fading light.
Book it: Do Something Different offers a Piton Sunset Cruise from £59 per person.
A Working Plantation Tour
Location: St Patrick Parish
Island: Grenada
The rich volcanic soils of the Caribbean have been many an island’s fortune over the centuries, producing sugar cane, pineapples, bananas and so on. While tourism is now the main income for most, Grenada, known as the spice isle, still has an agricultural tradition. Cinnamon, cloves, turmeric and nutmeg are among the crops that still thrive here.
The island also has a growing reputation for producing mighty fine cocoa beans, and from them delicious chocolate. See all these crops being grown, harvested or processed during a tour of the beautiful Belmont Estate plantation that dates back to the 17th century.
Book it: Sandals’ Island Routes Caribbean Adventures offers a Spicy Full Day Island Tour from $105 per person.
Zip lining
Location: Wingfield Estate
Island: St Kitts
Clients can get a bird’s-eye view of the West Indian countryside courtesy of many a zip wire adventure across the Caribbean. An operator that really stands out from the crowd, however, is Sky Safaris in St Kitts.
Located on a historic sugar estate with rum distillery ruins and an aqueduct, the rainforest canopy you fly through here is known as the ‘Valley of the Giants’ due to the hulking size of the trees. As you glide you’ll also get a glimpse of Brimstone Hill Fortress, a 17th-century military bastion that’s almost completely intact.
Book it: Agents can receive 20% commission when making client bookings in advance. Commission is credited at point of payment from the tour price, which costs from $60 including transfers.
skysafaristkitts.com
+1 869 465 4347
Fish Fry
Location: Oistins
Island: Barbados
A long-time tradition for West Indian seaside towns is a weekly fish fry to celebrate this free and abundant food source. The seasonal conch, snapper, shrimp and lobster is freshly landed, cooked to order and sold at bargain prices.
Nowhere does a better job of turning this tradition into a fiesta than Oistins in Barbados. Attracting a mix of tourists and locals, the atmosphere is friendly and relaxed, plus there’s live music and craft stalls. Arrive early to get a table for dinner, stay late to dance alongside the Bajan in-crowd.
Book it: Barbados’s low-cost bus service connects Oistins to most resort hotels and there is no entrance charge.
Rum Tasting
Location: Appleton Estate
Island: Jamaica
There’s no better place to taste the tipple of the region, and see how it is made, than this distillery surrounded by a sea of the raw ingredient, sugar cane. Take a tour of the modern-day factory, where if you linger in the barrelling room the aroma can leave you feeling light-headed.
Afterwards, make your way outside and explore the grounds, where traditional machinery is on display from the days when this spirit was made by hand. Finally, hit the tasting room to try a selection of white and dark rums, plus award-winning blends and rum creams.
Book it: Thomson Excursions offers a Southern Adventure with a Tipple from £70.99.
Partying Alfresco
Location: St Paul Parish
Island: Antigua
No one parties like the West Indians. Whether your preference is reggae, soca, salsa, calypso or rap, you’ll get the chance to dance to it from sunset to sunrise on these lively islands. Quite possibly the best jump up of all is on Sunday night at the hill-top vantage point of Shirley Heights, Antigua. See the weekend out with a bang, dancing to a steel pan band and other local acts.
There’s street food to snack on, the rum punches flow and a panoramic view of historic English and Falmouth harbours.
Book it: Do Something Different offers Shirley Heights Sunset Party excursions from £22 per person.
Watching the Sunset
Location: Negril
Island: Jamaica
A daily ritual for anyone in a Caribbean resort facing west is watching the spectacular sunsets. Negril is renowned for having some of the best in the region, with some visitors even reporting seeing a green flash – a rare natural phenomenon where an arch of emerald light bursts through the sun’s usual red glow – said to be visible when you can see just below the horizon.
For your best shot at that, join the crowds at Rick’s Cafe in the town’s West End, a cliff-top restaurant and drinking spot with uninterrupted views that also boasts a 35-foot platform for cliff jumpers.
Book it: Clients staying at Couples Negril and Couples Swept Away resorts get a trip to Rick’s Cafe included in the price of their all-inclusive stay.
