Tag: Caribbean Travel

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What Everyone's Buying in St. Croix: Hook Bracelets

April 29, 2013 at 5:24 PM | by | Comments (0)

Welcome to "What Everyone's Buying," a new series on souvenirs, wherein we investigate what tourist trinkets are the hottest selling in hotspots around the world.

If you've recently spent time on St. Croix, chances are you left the island a "hooker."

Where to buy: Most locals will say you can't visit STX without picking up Hook Bracelets, which can only be found at Sonya Ltd in Christiansted. The bracelets have been made by hand for more than 40 years so each one is completely unique. There are several imitators throughout the Caribbean but any Crucian will tell you Sonya's is the only place to get the real thing.

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Making a Weekend on St. Maarten Happen: What To Do

February 28, 2013 at 5:28 PM | by | Comments (0)

Wondering when is the right time to jet down for a long weekend on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten? Right now, that's when. We did it and you can too, easily. All this week we'll be sharing the details on making the dream of sunning, sipping cocktails and spotting St. Maarten's notoriously low-flying planes a reality.

Everyone knows Maho Beach, where the airplanes land within a few hundred feet of the SPF-slathered bodies of gawking tourists, but there's more to St. Maarten than that. Rest assured that we'll bring you an entire guide to making the most of Maho tomorrow, but we can't forget the food and frolicking of other nooks of the island.

Here's four long weekend activities on St. Maarten (aside from plane spotting):

Clothing optional sunbathing

Look, St. Maarten is a tropical island split into French and Dutch sides, so prude land this is not. The most famous of the "clothing optional" beaches is Orient Bay, though it's quite a long drive which can be a challenge if you're only planning to spend a long weekend on St. Maarten. Still, the is very welcoming for ladies who prefer to tan au naturale, and Maho Beach's Sunset Bar & Grill famously lets topless ladies drink for free.

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Making a Weekend on St. Maarten Happen: Where to Stay

February 26, 2013 at 6:48 PM | by | Comments (0)


One of the Sonesta's two pools has this awesome view of Maho beach & the end of the runway

Wondering when is the right time to jet down for a long weekend on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten? Right now, that's when. We did it and you can too, easily. All this week we'll be sharing the details on making the dream of sunning, sipping cocktails and spotting St. Maarten's notoriously low-flying planes a reality.

We're going to give it to you straight: the toughest bit of a planning travel to St. Maarten is figuring out a hotel that won't break the bank and isn't too far away from the good plane spotting at Maho Beach. The high season of winter takes hotels near sold-out levels, prime properties that look like hotels are actually condos or time-shares, and the island doesn't have an abundance of nice hotels as it is.

All that being said, there are a few to consider:

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Making a Weekend on St. Maarten Happen: How to Get There

February 25, 2013 at 11:38 AM | by | Comments (0)

Wondering when is the right time to jet down for a long weekend on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten? Right now, that's when. We did it and you can too, easily. All this week we'll be sharing the details on making the dream of sunning, sipping cocktails and spotting St. Maarten's notoriously low-flying planes a reality.

First off, you gotta get to St. Maarten. It's an island, by the way, so access options are limited to air and sea. Believe it or not, a nonstop flight from the US east coast to St. Maarten takes just over four hours; that's less than flying coast-to-coast and just a little less than going to Ireland. We know where we'd rather be.

For your reference, here's the Four Ways to Reach St. Maarten:

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Snap a Plane Photo That's Not so Plain, and Win $2,500

February 18, 2013 at 9:09 AM | by | Comments (0)

If you happen to be traveling to the Caribbean island of St. Maarten near the end of March from the 18th to the 23rd, you might be able to earn some cash from all the pictures you'll be snapping. $2,500, to be exact.

We've told you before about the infamous Maho Beach at Princess Juliana Airport—perhaps the most intimate airport in the world for those who aren't catching a flight. The St. Maarten Tourist Office is hosting an aviation photography contest for both amateurs and professionals to see who can capture the best "aviation action" over the island. First place will win $2,500, and judges will select six photos to be put on display in the arrival hall at Princess Juliana.

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Wish You Were Here: Plane Spotting at Maho Beach, St. Maarten

February 5, 2013 at 8:46 PM | by | Comments (0)


Tease! A group of guys in town from a cruise ship pose before an American flight from MIA zips into SXM

A huge hello from the Dutch/French Caribbean island of St. Maarten/St. Martin, perhaps better known as aviation geek paradise. Taking a little of our own sage advice, we pounced on one of the 80% off JetBlue #NYCFlightWeek airfare specials released last week, to find ourselves now transported 3.5 flying hours south of New York City. It may be 34 degrees on the East Coast, but it's 84 where we stand—which just happens to be right underneath arriving aircraft, at the famous planespotting destination of Maho Beach.

Joining us on Maho Beach? Oh, just about 1,000 others on this extremely busy day. We'd say about 90% are here for the adrenaline rush of having a Boeing 747 charge you straight-on, only to zoom some 100 feet overhead as it lands at the island's Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM).

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JetBlue Knocks 80% off Flights from New York with Juicy 'NYCFlightWeek' Deals

January 28, 2013 at 2:24 PM | by | Comments (0)

Woooo hoo! #NYCFlightWeek has arrived! We didn't know what it was until noon today and now we can't imagine our life without it because it's already saved us a boatload on a dream winter trip. No joking. Listen up.

#NYCFlightWeek begins on Twitter, when the @JetBlue account tweets that 12pm EST is the time to watch for, at which point they'll tweet the link to the day's special 80% off airfares. Each has a promo code that strips the 80% off published airfares right on their official JetBlue.com site.

Today was the first day and it'll continue all through the rest of the week. So, what's the verdict? Judging from the first destination offerings of St. Maarten, Liberia, Costa Rica and Fort Myers, FL, travelers who can drop everything and jet off this or next week are in for some unbeatable deals. That's the only problem—there's limited availability on seats and dates, so travelers who are most flexible will be the ones to really cash in on NYCFlightWeek.

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Why St. Maarten's Island Airport is Only Getting Larger and Awesomer

January 21, 2013 at 2:37 PM | by | Comments (0)

SXM. It's an airport code every avid traveler should know because it's more than just an airport; it's a kickass, bucketlist destination on its own.

SXM is Princess Juliana International Airport on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten, aka the one that's split between Dutch (St. Maarten) and French (St. Martin) and aka the one that has what is arguably the best up-close plane spotting in the world. Photos and videos of the extremely low over-beach landings at St. Maarten are almost a YouTube genre in themselves.

While SXM has been a hotspot for plane spotting, island hopping and nude beaching (that last one on the French side!) for decades, it only got a modern terminal back in 2006. Now the airport will update to the tune of $132 million, which is roughly equivalent to half the draft budget of the entire St. Maarten government. So yeah, it's kind of a big deal.

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AvGeeks on a Boat!

August 29, 2012 at 9:03 AM | by | Comments (0)

For those departing on a cruise there’s often a flight involved as part of the journey. After all, you have to get yourself to the cruise terminal. And you’d think you'd leave the memories of your flight back on land as you prepare to set sail, but that’s not the case for one unique voyage.

The folks behind Airways magazine are organizing a specialty cruise just for airplane geeks. This might not be what most want to dedicate those valuable vacation days to, but if you love yourself some airplanes this is probably right up your alley.

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Where to Go with Your Tax Refund: Puerto Rico

April 12, 2012 at 1:55 PM | by | Comment (1)

Tax day is coming, and you're probably excited not because you look forward to sifting through receipts and credit card statements, but because you're getting a fat refund. Probably. The economy may be on its way back up, but you should try to stretch that tax refund as far as you can...like with a little "you did a great job last year" trip.

As much as we love to flash our passports to border security and ogle at the exotic stamps, it is also novelty to travel to a place a world different from what we know at home, yet breeze through the airport. Puerto Rico is one of those places and it's super easy to get to.

We hope this brief geography lesson is not needed, but the island is situated in the northern Caribbean between the Domincan Republic and the US Virgin Islands. Puerto Rico, Spanish for 'rich port' is a protectorate of the US and is governed by our constitution, so that means any flights originating in the US to Puerto Rican cities do not require passport control. This ultimately means more time on the beach!

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All is Well with REDJet as They Expand Their $9.99 Flights to St. Maarten

February 29, 2012 at 9:41 AM | by | Comments (0)

If you’re thinking about heading down to the Caribbean for this year’s Spring Break be sure to think about trying out RedJet for your air travel needs. They aren’t flying out of the United States just yet, but they can definitely add a little bit of island hopping to your warm weather getaway.

Like we’ve mentioned before, RedJet offers a cheaper alternative to other carriers in the region, as they’re doing their best to be the Caribbean’s first true low cost carrier. One-way routes often can be had for as little as like $9.99 each way, but of course be sure to factor in a little extra cash for taxes, fees, other airfare extras that have now be come mandatory in the world of air travel.

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Foreign Grocery Friday: The Ponche Crema of Venezuela

Where: Venezuela
December 23, 2011 at 10:11 AM | by | Comments (0)

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

Hope you like rum. Since Venezuela is the producer for some of the world's best rums, it only makes sense that they've have a far better version of egg nog than most of the rest of the world. Their boozy, creamy holiday drink is called the Ponche Crema, and it's not just limited to Venezuela either; this is a drink enjoyed in the southern Caribbean as well, and since so many travelers head to spend Christmas break in the balmy weather, a Ponche Crema or two may be part of the holiday feasting.

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