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Caribbean Honeymoons: Tips from a Travel Pro
David Seeberger, one of the top Caribbean travel specialists
at TheBigDayTravel,
gives the inside scoop on Caribbean travel in the following interview.
What's the best time of the year to go to the
Caribbean?
 The
Caribbean has become a year round vacation destination. The peak travel
season is December to March. This time frame has the highest prices and
coincides with the worst weather back here in the mainland US.
The official Caribbean hurricane season is June 1 to November 30. Many
resorts offer hurricane rebate guarantees and many tour operators require
travel insurance purchase during this time. The travel insurance will
insure a refund in the rare event of a hurricane hitting your destination
during that time. Your travel agent will have the most up-to-date travel-protection
ideas for your vacation. Many travelers don’t realize how massive
the Caribbean region is, and it is highly unlikely that a single hurricane
will devastatingly impact a large area of the Caribbean. If a hurricane
is headed to your vacation island, the airlines will generally suspend
additional travel to the area and evacuate as many vacationers as possible
before the hurricane arrives.
If you’re going to be honeymooning during hurricane season, and can’t
take the chance of being visited by a hurricane on your vacation, there
are some wonderful islands like Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao which lay beneath
the traditional hurricane belt, and are rarely, if ever, touched by hurricanes.
Best rates for travel generally occur during the low season, (June to
November), but some properties close some of their facilities during that
season. Working with an agent who specializes in the Caribbean will help
you pick accommodations that will provide the best experience for your
holiday. Legend has it that “once you visit the Caribbean, you will
return again and again.”
What's special about the Caribbean, compared
to Hawaii or Mexico?
The most important difference is air distance -- clients just don’t
want to fly as far as they used to. The natural travel market for the
Caribbean region is the midwest and east coast of the U.S. The southern
states’ natural travel market is Mexico, while the west coast loves
to visit Hawaii.
 Like
Mexico and Hawaii, the Caribbean is predominately known as a sun and sand
destination. The Caribbean provides a close-by destination to allow travelers
to experience different cultures, history, and sometimes even different
languages--although in most destinations English speakers are easy to
find. The Caribbean has a wider selection of accommodations to choose
from, than does Hawaii or Mexico. They range from small guesthouses, to
moderate and world-class all-inclusive resorts, to world-class best-of-the-best
luxury villas. The Caribbean also provides more gaming and duty-free shopping
opportunities than Hawaii or Mexico.
Where do the stars go?
Celebrities flock to the Caribbean for the same reasons we all do- SUN,
SAND, RELAXATION AND RENEWAL. Many celebrities have homes in the Caribbean.
Some of the more recent celebrity hangouts include St. John where Kenny
Chesney makes his home. Another popular celebrity hangout is at Paradise
Island in the Bahamas where Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods and many other
celebrities have homes.
Current hot celebrity island destinations include St. Barts, often referred
by Hollywood as St. Tropez in the Caribbean. David Letterman, Uma Thurman
and many others favor St. Barts.
Anguilla contains the Cap
Juluca resort, a 179-acre celebrity favorite. It is a dramatic, white
Moorish-style resort totally devoted to romance and luxury. Sandy
Lane in Barbados is also known for its celebrity clientele. Tiger
Woods rented the entire hotel in 2004 for his wedding.
> Next page: When
to honeymoon in the Caribbean, Hidden gems, Getting the most for your
money
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