5 Island To Add To Your 2020 Travel List
Photo by Ishan @seefromthesky on Unsplash
Planning your vacation trip but you do not know where to start? Well… you have come to the right place; I have selected for you five of the most beautiful Islands in the Caribbean for you to add to your 2020 travel plans. Whether you crave culture, adventure, or simply want to relax on a beach, at least one of these islands should fulfill your travel dreams.
Number 1: Curaçao
Curaçao, a Dutch Caribbean island, is known for its beaches tucked into coves and its expansive coral reefs rich with marine life. The 17th-century feel of the Island is as pretty as it is historic. Need three reasons to add it to your list?
It’s a diver’s paradise. With plenty of shipwrecks in the ocean, diving and snorkeling are some of the most popular things to do in Curacao. Whether you’re a novice diver or have an open water certificate, you’ll find a dive site perfect for your level.
Trendy foodie city’ for decades. Food trucks, have been around the island for over 30 years. Serving meat and fries smothered in peanut sauce, food trucks attract many locals after they’ve enjoyed night out on the town. You’ll find typical Caribbean cuisine here with many tapas style restaurants serving seafood.
Any type of traveler will love it. Cruisers, families of all ages, divers, adventure travelers, couples, and groups of friends can all find things to do in Curacao, and accommodations offerings range from five-star resorts to hostels. There’s something for everyone with activities from fine dining to shopping to street parties to beach clubs. Plus, with over 40 beaches on the island, you’ll have no problem finding your own personal paradise.
Number 2: Saba
Saba, a Caribbean island in the Lesser Antilles chain, is a special municipality of the Netherlands. Measuring just 13 square kilometers, it consists essentially of the top of the dormant Mount Scenery volcano. Its surrounding Saba Marine Park, a renowned dive site, is home to coral formations, dolphins, sharks and turtles. There are also offshore seamounts, or underwater mountains created by volcanic activity.
Fun Fact about Saba: Maybe you’ve never heard of Saba before. But you've likely seen it: This tiny Caribbean island's silhouette was used in the original King Kong movie in 1933. At the beginning of the film, it serves as the backdrop for the colossal gorilla's "Skull Island" home.
Some things things to do in Saba;
Dive a Wall or a Pinnacle. Beyond being a hikers haven, Saba is also well known among scuba fans worldwide as a diver’s paradise. The deep drops right off-shore offer unique volcano wall diving and there’s pinnacle diving, too. You can dive right around the “diamond,” an undersea mountain jutting up from the sea.
Discover the island flavors. Just off of the island is an atoll called Saba Bank, where the world-famous spiny lobster can be found. Of course, the best place to sample it fresh out of the sea is on Saba, and some spots like Tropics Café have live lobster tanks where you can choose your own.
Sample Saba spice rum. You can’t leave the island without sampling some velvety smooth, sweet, spicy and very potent 151-proof homemade rum. But don’t even bother trying to extract the recipe out of the locals; it’s created from time-honored traditions curated in home kitchens. Saba Spice is full of locally grown herbs and spices and you can purchase it all over the island in gift shops, grocery stores, bars, and restaurants.
Number 3: St. Lucia
Saint Lucia is an Eastern Caribbean island nation with a pair of dramatically tapered mountains, the Pitons, on its west coast. Its coast is home to volcanic beaches, reef-diving sites, luxury resorts and fishing villages. St Lucia offers a little of everything, making it the perfect option for first-time visitors to the region.
You can scale mountains. At 798 metres, it’s hardly colossal (England’s highest peak, Scafell Pike, reaches 978 metres), but the heat and humidity make the hike up Gros Piton a proper challenge – expect sore muscles and a John Wayne-style gait the next morning. Hire a local guide from the quaint little village at its base, bring plenty of water, watch your footing on the steep muddy slopes, and keep your fingers crossed for a clear day – cloud cover has a habit of spoiling the view.
Fly through the rainforest canopy. For those who want more than a tan from their holiday, St Lucia couldn’t be better. Around 77 per cent of it is covered in forest (by comparison, the figure for neighbouring Barbados is just 19 per cent, while for Antigua it’s 22 per cent). So escape the beach and start exploring.
It’s heaven for chocolate lovers. Hotel Chocolat, Britain’s poshest chocolatier, sources cocoa from its own plantation on the island, the Rabot Estate near Soufriere. Since 2011 it has been home to a 14-room hotel and restaurant, Boucan, where, unsurprisingly, chocolate features heavily on the menu. Sign up for one of its three-hour “bean to bar” tours to learn all about cocoa production, pick and taste fresh pods, graft your own plant, and then smash dried beans to make a chocolate bar (it’s a surprisingly sweaty business).
Number 4: St. Barts
Saint Barthelemy, a French-speaking Caribbean island commonly known as St. Barts, is known for its white-sand beaches and designer shops. The capital, Gustavia, encircling a yacht-filled harbor, has high-end restaurants and historical attractions like the Wall House, whose exhibits highlight the island’s Swedish colonial era.
you can visit the tiny capital of Gustavia. Red roofed “gingerbread” buildings complement the lush tropical landscape in Gustavia, the tiny Caribbean capital of St. Barts whose sites and landmarks can easily be visited in just a day’s worth of trekking on foot. 17th-century forts line the harbour, from Fort Karl in the north to Fort Gustaf with its lighthouse and cannons in the south. There’s also the popular Shell Beach, where beachcombers search for sparkling shells to pocket. Order a glass of wine at one of the cozy beachside cafes and enjoy the spectacular views over the harbour.
Yacht lovers will feel right at home. The island has become one of the most exclusive luxury yacht charter destinations in the world, attracting the international SuperYacht set to its glistening shores. A short walk around Gustavia Port will show you why: parked up here you’re more likely to see Maltese Falcons than tiny fishing boats. It’s essentially a window-shopping nirvana for sailing enthusiasts.
The food. St. Barts, much like its well-heeled residents, is full of must-visit culinary spots for any foodie worth their salt. There’s L'Esprit Saline - one of the most fashionable tables to book on St Barts - where chef Jean-Claude cooks up a daily changing menu of fusion cuisine. Le Gaïac also has some of the best food on the island and a beautiful view of the ocean to boot. Head Chef Stephane Mazieresis is well-known for blending French and Creole influences to create experimental dishes such as warm zucchini and fresh almond soup with a skewer of lobster fritters and coconut foam, and grilled yellowtail snapper and anchovies with tomato kromesky fritters from Guadeloupe.
Number 5: Angullia
Alluring and unassuming, Anguilla is a Caribbean gem. Dazzling beaches are the island's biggest draw, mixed with friendly locals and an authentic island vibe that package tourism has diluted on other Caribbean islands. Serenity seekers come here to sprawl on the island's silky strands, swim in luminous water, play Robinson Crusoe on Anguilla's offshore islands, and snorkel or dive the fish-filled reefs and wrecks.
The Beaches. Do you want the beaches? This 35-square-mile island has 33 of the best. No rocky shores and pebble-strewn coastlines here, just more than a month’s worth of sandy sweeps that beg to be immortalized on Instagram, #nofilter. From secluded Little Bay to popular Shoal Bay East, there’s one for your bum.
The Street Food. If you only eat at fancy hotel restaurants while you’re here, trust us, you’re missing out. Ditch the dining room and head for The Valley, where our two favorite food trucks will have you coming back for more. At Papa Lash, deep-fried soy chunk and pizza (cheese and tomato) patties are the best sellers. Hungry’s Good Food is our go-to for quesadillas, pasta dishes, and hearty lobster-and-corn soup. Thursday through Saturday, stop at Ken’s Barbecue, where you can fill up on ribs or chicken with garlic bread and Johnny cakes on the side for less than $10.
Day trips to Anguilla, Sandy, and Prickly Pear Islands. Anguilla's offshore islands of Anguilla, Sandy, and Prickly Pear are popular day trips for scuba divers and snorkelers. Anguilla offers mini walls and caves, where divers often see barracudas, nurse sharks, stingrays, eels, and turtles. Popular Prickly Pear can be packed when boatloads of visitors arrive from nearby St. Martin/St. Maarten and castaways love Sandy Island, a tiny sliver of sand with a few coconut palms and excellent snorkeling in its aqua lagoon. Trips to Sandy Island and Prickly Pear depart from the pier at Sandy Ground.