Caribbean Beaches: The Recipe for A Great Vacation

If you are planning a seaside vacation, it is worth considering the merits and demerits of different destinations. Some people crave excitement and bustle, while others place a much higher value on quiet, relaxation and natural beauty. Unlike the shoreline at many a seaside resort, Caribbean beaches remain generally unspoiled, both in terms of the cleanliness of the water and sand, and the fact that most of them are not thronged and overcrowded with trippers.

The Caribbean Sea is considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, but it is enclosed by a string of islands, known together as the Antilles, which run broadly north to south east, from the North American mainland in the north, down to the north eastern coast of South America. The Caribbean region enjoys a warm, tropical climate all year round, which makes it ideal for leisure travel and tourism. Even more favorable is the warm temperature of the sea water. This makes swimming or bathing, as well as surfing, snorkelling, and scuba diving, all very pleasant activities, as compared to seaside resorts further north, for example on the east coast of the USA where the sea temperature is generally quite cold.

The European colonial powers, chiefly Britain, France, and Spain, first occupied the Caribbean islands around the 16th century, and proceeded to exploit them economically for several centuries, using slaves imported from Africa to perform the labor on plantations and elsewhere. The idea of the Caribbean as a tourist destination is a fairly modern invention. It is thought the first hotel specifically catering for tourists was on the island of Nevis, where visitors came to enjoy the hot springs, which were thought to have health benefits for those bathing in them. This was an early natural spa along the lines of similar resorts popular in Europe at the time.

The idea of bathing in the spring water as a health treatment was extended to the notion that immersing oneself in the waves on the shore was also good for bodily health. This idea, although bizarre to our way of thinking, was in fact the beginning of the modern idea of vacationing at the seaside. While it is no longer claimed that swimming or bathing in the sea has any medicinal value, many people would assert that it is a great way of relaxing and relieving stress. And what better way to do it than on a beach where the sun always shines, the water is clear, clean, and warm, and where there no noisy crowds to ruin the peace and quiet.

Most Caribbean beaches are ideal for a family vacation as the kids can be left alone to roam freely around the beach without parents having any fear that harm may come to them. It is true that a vacation in the Caribbean will be quite a bit more expensive than one nearer home. However, the value for money is greater when you take into account that you will almost certainly experience a much more enjoyable, satisfying vacation. And, anyway, if you take the trouble to shop carefully and cannily, you may get a great deal on your very own Caribbean adventure.

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