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Tags: Celeb Travel / Island Travel / Caribbean Travel / St. Barths / Baseball Travel / → All Tags
Derek Jeter Doesn't Care How Short St. Barth's Airport Runway Is
Apparently the D-Jeet didn't listen to our warnings about one of the World's Most Dangerous Airports, that of the Caribbean island St. Barths, since he and girlfriend Minka Kelly are busy celebrating the Yankees' World Series win with a little swimming on the island beloved by the rich and famous.
According to the NY Post, Derek Jeter and Kelly were spotted arriving to Saint Barthélemy over the weekend, and then they promptly holed up in a beach house, so now news on what exclusive hotel. We wonder how white Jeter's knuckles got during the heart-stopping landing, one that takes the plane almost right onto the beach before you've even got your swimsuit on.
Truthfully though, we much prefer St. Barths over New York nightclub 1OAK for a World Series celebration; maybe next time Jeter will invite us along so that we can comfort him during the scary final approach.
Related Stories:
· Jeter Having A Beach Ball [NY Post]
· Derek Jeter Lays One Down in St. Barths [TMZ]
· The Yankees Just Won The World Series, And This Is Where They Went [Jaunted]
· Celeb Travel stories [Jaunted]
[Photo: Fame Pictures/NY Post]
Tags: World's Most Dangerous Airports / Caribbean Travel / Island Travel / Airports / → All Tags
World's Most Dangerous Airports: Saint Barthélemy
We're still adding to our list of the world's most dangerous airports. Know a stomach dropping, palm sweat inducing airport we should check out? Send it along.
The French island of Saint Barthélemy in the Caribbean might be the winter playground of the rich and famous, but unless you arrive via private yacht or boat charter, all the gobs of money in the world can't save you from enduring the white-knuckled landing on the short airstrip at St. Barth's Gustaf III/St. Jean Airport (SBH).
The concrete runway begins at the base of slight hill, and goes for only 2,100 feet before landing right on St. Jean's beach and the harbor of the island's second largest town. Sunbathers can totally lie out right next to the sand strip at the end of the runway, this it's a hugely popular plane spotting destination for those who enjoy small, prop planes. You see, because of the itty-bitty airport and runway size, major flights must land at the neighboring island of St. Maarten, where they have a big, modern airport. From there, the Barths-bound folks either jump aboard a ferry or hop a WINAIR, Air Caraïbes, and St-Barth Commuter flight in planes usually holding twenty or less passengers.
An airplane crashes, after the jump.
Tags: Prime-Plane-Spotting-Map / Plane Spotting / St Lucia Field Trip / St Lucia Travel / Caribbean Travel / Islands / Island Travel / → All Tags
A Beach, A Banana, And A Flight From Britain: Plane Spotting In St. Lucia
Seeing as how it's been a little bit since last we focused on the lovely pastime of plane spotting, we decided to turn our recent Saint Lucia island experience into some useful (not to mention scenic) plane spotting advice for when you too are on the island.
Whether you're heading down on the new Jetblue flight from New York-JFK like we did, or coming all the way from London-Gatwick on the direct Virgin Atlantic flight, you'll want to get a load of the air traffic that sporadically makes its way into St. Lucia's Hewanorra airport at the very southernmost tip of the island, and here's how...
Tags: New Routes / Caribbean Travel / Cuba Travel / St Maarten Travel / WestJet / Canada Travel / Toronto Travel / Airlines / Airline News / → All Tags
WestJet Launches Cuba And St. Maarten, Non-Stops Away From Canadian Winter
Starting from last Sunday, Toronto travelers in search of warmth have had two new options courtesy of Canadian low cost carrier WestJet. Last week the airline announced they were launching nonstops to Varadero, Cuba and St Maarten, and the first flights duly took off over the weekend.
The company issued separate press releases for the St Maarten and Cuba routes, each identical except for the obviously made up location-specific quotes from Hugh Dunleavy, WestJet Executive Vice-President of Strategy and Planning. That doesn't make WestJet's announcement any less exciting. It just kind of made us giggle.
Both new routes have flights three times per week, and both last only until April 29, 2010. Presumably that's the date they expect Toronto to thaw, with all the consequences for demand that would portend. They're promising more "sun destination" announcements in the coming days though, so maybe those will last past the winter months.
Tags: St Lucia Field Trip / Jetblue St. Lucia Inaugural / Chocolate Travel / Ecotourism / St. Lucia Travel / Caribbean Travel / Sex Travel / Ecology / → All Tags
Investigating The Sexually Suggestive Plant Life Of Saint Lucia
In case you haven't yet noticed from our last few stories, we're kind of stuck on a tropical island right now. You see, the inaugural Jetblue flight to the island dropped us off here back on Monday, and it won't return until later today, since they're only running flights between JFK and St. Lucia's UVF airport on Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays.
With the time we've had on this lush island, we've done what any castaway would: stare at the horizon and space out, go barefoot, snoop around an active volcano, and befriend the locals. But yesterday's trekking not only had us foraging for food—fresh soursap or blackcurrant cheesecake, anyone?—but also we began to take notice of exactly how lush the foliage, fruit and flowers are...and how suggestive.
Mother Nature has a dirty mind down here...The Top Three Sexually Suggestive Plants Of Saint Lucia are after the jump. It's a weird idea, we know, but just wait until you see number one!
Tags: St Lucia Field Trip / SCUBA / Scuba Dives / Jetblue St Lucia Inaugural / St Lucia Travel / Caribbean Travel / Beach Travel / Water Sports / Amy Winehouse / → All Tags
How To Scuba Free And Easy In Saint Lucia
Now that all the hubbub surround Jetblue's inaugural flight to Saint Lucia is over, we're free to focus on the important things, like getting on the beach and into the warm Caribbean waters, and that's exactly what we did yesterday afternoon during a scuba dive at the northern tip of the island, from the Cariblue Beach at the BodyHoliday LeSPORT resort.
It's weird to think that we've been diving for over 11 years now, and yet we learn new things each time we let out all the air and sink beneath the surface. And so for all you seasoned and wannabe divers, we'll let you in on a few things you've just got to know about diving here in the southern Caribbean, but specifically Saint Lucia because duh—we've got the recent firsthand experience.
Our top tips for free and easy SCUBA in Saint Lucia, after the jump.
Tags: Jetblue St Lucia Inaugural / St Lucia Field Trip / St Lucia Travel / Caribbean Travel / Jetblue / → All Tags
Saint Lucia's Skies Got A Little Jetbluer, And We Were On Board
Yesterday morning while the majority of New York still slumbered soundly in their beds, we were already swilling coffee at Jetblue's Terminal 5 at JFK, prepping for the LCC's inaugural flight to the Southern Caribbean island paradise of Saint Lucia.
As we already said (in a story published from the airport at 6:30am), the beginning of Jetblue flights is a huge deal for both the airline and the island. In the past, airlines like American and Delta owned these routes and as a result, could charge through the nose for them. Those planes might also still land at Saint Lucia's Hewanorra Airport (UVF), but their passengers are paying more for the flights and not getting the seatback TVs, unlimited free snacks, and je ne sais quoi that Jetblue brings to the party. Oh, and did we mention that the Jetblue flight arrives before the others? Yea, so we felt a little superior going through passport control yesterday.
Full photo gallery after the jump!
Tags: Caribbean Travel / Jetblue / T5 At JFK / Jetblue St Lucia Inaugural / St Lucia Field Trip / St Lucia Travel / → All Tags
Live From Jetblue's Inaugural Flight To St. Lucia
Good morning! We're coming at you live from Terminal 5 at JFK International Airport, where Jetblue's inaugural direct flight to the Caribbean island of St. Lucia is about to take off...with us on board. And aww—they got us a cake!
You may have already noticed, but we love us some first flights, and so we'll be bringing you all the details from this game-changing flight.
And how is it game-changing, you ask? Well, in two ways: it's a triumph for an LCC like Jetblue to take this route usually owned by legacy carriers like American, but also because it means a huge influx of American (and New Yorker) visitors to the island of St. Lucia, which up until now has been the paradise of mainly British and French travelers.
Oh, and St. Lucia flights one-way will be on sale for $129. Since the pricing is way cheaper than American has been charging to date, can we expect a fare ware on this route? Probably.
Tags: Caribbean Travel / Hermit Crabs / Crab Races / Hurricane Frederic / Wild Animal Travel / → All Tags
It's Crab Racing Season in the Caribbean
True story: in 1979, I went on a vacation with my parents and sister to the Caribbean island of St. Maarten, and our timing couldn't have been worse. The day after we landed, Hurricane Frederic began lashing the island with rain, and we spent three long, boring days playing charades in our darkened hotel room as water leaked from the ceiling. By the time the storm had passed, our vacation was over, and we made arrangements to fly back home. A rush of people doing the exact same thing, however, necessitated one more night in a hotel near the airport, and while killing time there I noticed a sign advertising crab races at a certain time and place in the hotel. My eight-year-old mind thought that nothing could be cooler than a crab race, and I insisted that we all gather to witness the spectacle. Sadly, the appointed time came and went with nary a crab in sight. The hurricane had ruined the last hope I had to have fun in St. Maarten.
Tags: Barbados / Festivals / Caribbean Travel / → All Tags
Barbados Tries To Sell You On Its Five Big Festivals For 2010
The Crop Over Festival is a non-stop party that lasts for almost two months.
As the year comes to a close and you start thinking about vacations for 2010, the Barbados Tourism Authority wants travelers to know that Barbados isn't just a Caribbean beach destination. Sure, the sand and ocean make for sexy scenery, but the island doesn't want to rest on its beauty. The Tourism Authority released a schedule of events for '10 to show it's got some substance, or at least some cool festivals and events.
Check out some of the upcoming year's highlights after the jump.
Tags: Presidential Travel / Haiti Travel / Tourism / Caribbean Travel / Bill Clinton / → All Tags
Haiti Welcomes Bill Clinton, But Is It Ready To Welcome Hordes Of Tourists?
Last time we tried to visit Haiti, we were turned around on account of safety concerns surrounding a presidential election in the country, and it probably doesn't help that a friend's entire family fled the country years ago. These are the type of negative views on Haiti that former president Bill Clinton seeks to reverse in his position as a special envoy to Haiti. He made another visit to the struggling country and specifically addressed the need for tourism. So, are you ready to head to Port-au-Prince for a weekend away? But what we really should be asking is if Haiti is ready for you.
In his goodwill trip to encourage tourism, Clinton didn't exactly take the most tourist-friendly route:
Tags: Caribbean Travel / Celeb Travel / Yachts / St. Barts / → All Tags
Roman Abramovitch Lives The Perfect Vacation On A $90 Million Dollar Chunk Of St. Bart's
Why is it that Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich consistently steals our hopes and dreams and lives them out? The man purchased a $500 million property in the south of France, built himself two mega-yachts with innovative anti-pirate defenses, and he's even got another yacht on the way. That's why, with all these playthings already and the fact there's not enough time in a year to enjoy them, we're a bit miffed that he would go snatch up a prime chunk of the ritzy Caribbean island of St. Barts for himself.
Roman bought the 70-acre property, with a full beach and Balinese bungalows, for a cool $90 million. If he only spent one weekend in one of his two Colorado ski-in, ski-out properties (um, in July) last year, then when will he find the time to vacation in the Caribbean? Perhaps it's just a parking space for his three-plus boats?
