Top 10 Beaches in the Caribbean

A luxurious holiday on the Golden Caribbean beaches is what every traveller would dream off. The dramatic black sands, the beautiful warm sun, and the rocky shores coupled with the typical fragrance from the seas will give every visitor a heady rush. We put together a list of 10 luxurious beaches in the Caribbean right from Anguilla to Tobago. And remember that no matter what you decide to do, which island you choose or cities you visit, Caribbean Beach Villas are the way to go!

photo credit: billandcathy | flickr

Saline Beach, St. Barts – This beach tops our list of the poshest beaches among the 7,000 Caribbean islands. St. Barts secluded island spans 8 miles and the V shaped island has beguiled folks from all over the globe who are looking for something more than just sand and water. 

Pink Beach, Barbuda – A paradise in itself with luxury resorts owning the islands, this is a sublime beach lovers getaway. Pink Beach is situated between Eastern Caribbean’s Leeward Islands, you could call this island underdeveloped yet luxuriant. 

Anse Chastanet, St. Lucia – The Piton Mountains that surround this beach make it alluring. Not forgetting the tropical beauty that’s intense with the luscious green of the mountains combined with the dark sand beach. Live in decadent rooms that overlook the pristine waters and the Pitons, with eveything so luxurious this is the best place to be in. 

Palm Beach, Aruba – You are sure to love the white sands of this beach. In fact Palm Beach has enjoyed being on the tourist map, along with finding a place in several tourist publications. It’s the best place if you love swimming, fishing or even sailing. 

The Gold Coast, Barbados – Also called the Platinum Coast, you will find luxurious hotels and the best bays to visit like the Paynes Bay, Brighton Beach, Paraside Beach and Brandon’s Beach.

 photo credit: Willamor Media | flickr

Seven Mile Beach – Although it does not live up to its namesake, this 51/2 mile beach is a dream come true. With resorts and condos that are lavish, you can get your adventurous kick in its ample watersports as well as enjoy its aquamarine waters. 

St-Jean Beach, St Barthelemy – Although a bit narrow, this beach will remind you of the French Riviera. The reefs make it a swimmers paradise. 

Negril Beach, Jamaica – If you are looking for a pretty little beach then this one meets the list. The atmosphere is laidback and you can listen to the music from the seas and watch the world go by.

Mopion, near St. Vincent – With transparent waters surrounding a dollop of white sands, this beach is picture perfect and an ideal poster beach. You would like this fantasy beach for all your tanning excursions and even snorkeling. 

Diamond beach, Martinique - The 10km beach with white sandy sands is a paradise that you would love to experience. The Diamond Rock is where you might want to head if you want some seclusion and privacy. 

The Caribbean has so much to choose from, it’s up to you to decide where to start! The Caribbean also offer very exclusive vacation spots. Mustique Island is a gorgeous private island in the Caribbean and forms part of St. Vincent and The Grenadines.

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The above guest article was written by Paradizo, a leading online luxury travel resource.You can follow them on Twitter here . Be sure to check them out on Facebook, too! 

4 Awesome Places To Go Scuba Diving

As with a lot of travellers I met I did a bit of SCUBA diving, and became hooked. I've dived in the Gili Islands, Thailand (Phi Phi and Koh Tao) and Malaysia. My first experience of SCUBA diving was years ago in the Dominican Republic and loved it then, but didn't have the time or money to continue with it. I believe that everyone needs to give SCUBA diving a go even if they don't like it, at least you'll have tried as there is more to see under the water (in this blogger's opinion) than there is above it. So here are the places I've dived and details of the courses I did and with who:

The Gili Islands

The Gili Islands are just off the north west coast of Lombok, the next island east of Bali. They are 3 tropical paradises, with Gili T being the biggest and full of dive centres. All the centres will offer dive course and room packages and it's worth shopping around on the island for a good deal. I did my Padi Open Water course here with a company called Big Bubble who have multi lingual staff and are excellent teachers. The dive sites they visit are beautiful and the visibility of the water is like crystal.

The Perhentian Islands

The Perhentian Islands are 2 islands off the north east coast of Malaysia and are know for being a diving mecca by locals and tourists alike. I made a beeline for here when I was away and found a great little place called Matahari Divers. The islands are named in Malay and translate as Big Island and Little Island and you'll want to head for Long Beach on the little one if you want to save money. Matahari are the ones that offer the best dive and room package in relation to the quality of the rooms (which is good). This is where I did my PADI Advanced Open Water course and it has some of the best dive sites in the world. The Advanced Open Water course is a lot more fun that the first Open Water course and just lets you pick 5 types of dive you would like to do, ie underwater photography, buoyancy, wreck diving etc.

Koh Tao

Koh Tao is a beautiful island, but where SCUBA diving is concerned it's basically a factory churning out divers in huge numbers. I did my PADI Rescue Diver course with a company called Big Blue and I was lucky as it's not a course a great many people do so it was just myself and one girl with the instructor. But if you're thinking about doing your Open Water or Advanced Open Water here you will be in a crowded group. Saying that, Koh tao is known as being the cheapest place in the world to dive if you can haggle the right bargain and has some amazing beautiful sites to see. My Rescue Diver course involved a lot of role play and was great fun, but is very hard work as well both physically and mentally, but by the time you finish the course this leaves you with a great sense of accomplishment.

Koh Phi Phi

Phi Phi is a place where people go to party so I had to stay in on my first night to make sure I got to the dive shop for 7:30am the next morning to go diving. I'm so glad I did as this was my favourite place of all to dive, visibility was clear, we saw turtles, sharks and did a really good deep dive. On Phi Phi all the dive shops have thier prices fixed by the local maffia which is great for a tourist as you just need to decide which bunch of staff you like the best and book up there. I went with Viking Divers and it was just myself and the Dive Master which meant I got to decide on all the places we went. Also the boats were in good condition and the staff were friendly which made it a really enjoyable dive. We even went and sat in Maya Bay (where they filmed The Beach) and got to see if before all the tourists arrived and swamped the view.

I love diving and will always look for a dive shop now when ever I'm in a tropical destination. Most people I've met have done their PADI Open Water Course and stopped there, but I always try and ecourage people to try the next step up, the PADI Advanced Open Water. If you think you can see things that are amazing at 18 meters, just wait until you get down to 30 meters, it's a completely different place under the water and is another adventurous world to go traveling in, after all that's what we're all looking for right?

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The above guest post was written by Philip Green.  You can view Philip's blog here or visit his Facebook Fan Page! 

My Top 5 Food Attractions: Melbourne, Australia

I spent nearly 2 years in Australia and of that I spent well over half of it in Melbourne and with good reason. Melbourne is know for being the more cultured of Australia's cities and it bacame my second home due to it's amazing diversity of cultural cuisine, places to eat and people who love food and coffee. With a population made up of Jews, Greeks, Italians, Asians and a host of other nationalities there isn't much you won't be able to find in Melbourne. So, here are the top 5 food attractions that I found while living there:

Queen Victoria Market

Queen Vic Market is one of the top attractions for locals and tourists alike in Melbourne and is a great showcase of the mix of cultures. Split into sections you generally enter through the front with it's bakeries and borak counters, the amazing smells hitting you as soon as you enter. If you keep walking through this becomes delicatessan stalls selling every type of cheese you could want with pestos, cured meats and marinated olives. Through in the back sections there is the meat and fish where you can grab yourself a bargain on the catch that's in season or if you're feeling adventurous grab yourself some crocodile sausages or delicious kangaroo steaks! In the outside courtyard there are the fruit and veg stalls bursting with colour selling everything you could want and a couple of things you may not have heard of. It's open everyday except Monday and Wednesday and the opening hours can be found at the website http://www.qvm.com.au/

Claypots Restaurant

Claypots, just off Acland Street in St Kilda, is one of the hidden gems of Melbourne. Specialising in seafood with a chalkboard menu that is changed daily according to the fish they buy in fresh and the relaxed service and great selection of wine by the glass this place can't be missed. I ended up eating here 4 or 5 times and made it the place I came to for my last meal before leaving the country. There's no website and they don't take bookings, but this isn't an arrogant attitude, just a very laid back one. If you just fancy a drink you can sit in the bar section and eat small plates of tapas style food and listen to one of the locals banging away on the piano there on any given night of the week. Check out the giant octopus on the cieling of the restaurant!

Taste Of Melbourne

Taste is a concept that originally started out in London to showcase all the best restaurants. Since then it has grown and now has annual exhibitions in Dublin and Melbourne as well. If you're lucky enought to be here when it rolls into town get a ticket and go! You will get to buy miniture dishes of each of the best restraunts in town's signature dishes in exchange for crowns (the exhibition's currency) that can be purchased on the day. There are also master classes from the city's best chefs and you can meet the wine makers of some of Australia's top wines. Be warned though the use of crowns instead of cash is a good marketing ploy as you can spend way more than you realise in a short space of time!

Hardware Lane

There are loads of little laneways all over Melborune city centre, but my favourite was always Hardware Lane, so much so that I ended up working in cafe down there called Affogato Espresso Bar, pop in and see the couple that own it, Sandor and Nicola and tell them that Phil sent you and you'll be traeted with hospitality worthy of a king. With the laneway seperated by Little Bourke Street one half is made up of cafes that open early for breakfast and serve lunch as well, closing around 5pm. The other end has an assortment of restaurants with Italian cuisine mostly offered. Each year there is a laneway festival  celebrating these little passageways of trendy bars and eateries.

The Banff

The Banff is a small restaurant in the heart of Fitzroy Street, St Kilda. They serve breakfast for anyone with a hangover from hell, but they're main trade is the chalkboard pizza menu they have up. With 15 different pizzas to chose from with an assortment of unusual but imaginative toppings and a few gourmet selctions as well the place is always rocking. Everynight they also have happy hour from 3 - 6 with jugs of beer for $8 and all pizzas$5 from 5 – 10 you'll spend all night here, especially on a hot summer's evening. Wine and beer are not of the greatest of standards, but for the prices who really cares? If the place is packed out they also do all their menu take away.

Melbourne has so much to offer in the way of places to see and eat food and wine that I could go on listing for a long time, but these are my top 5 picks. Don't forget to get down to Acland Street though and check out the cake shops with the crowds of people outside salivating over the displays. Or if you fancy something oriental China Town in the city centre, just off Swanston Street and Lygon Street for Italian food are great places to visit. With the European cafe caulture and community based businesses anyone spending time in Melbourne will end up finding their own favourite spots and I'm sure you'll love them as much as I loved mine!

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The above guest post was written by Philip Green. You can check out Phil's blog here: http://travelfoodphil.blogspot.com/ 

Sacred Places: Glastonbury and Stonehenge [UK]

The sun rose as I stepped out of my lodgings at the Chalice Well and Gardens in Glastonbury England. We had arrived the day before on an overnight flight from Boston, Massachusetts to London, England. From Heathrow airport we took the Heathrow Express into Paddington station and from there; we took a train to Castle Cary. After viewing the beautiful scenery we arrived at the station and called for a cab, which took us to the Chalice Well and Gardens in Glastonbury where we had made reservations as members of the Chalice Well.

I am a member of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids and had come to Glastonbury for their annual Gathering held each year close to the summer equinox. I spent time between events wandering around the beautiful town that is Glastonbury, climbing the Tor and taking time to meditate in the Chalice Well gardens. It was an absolutely lovely experience. As part of the Annual Gathering they also have an excursion to Stonehenge for a private admittance to the stones including a ritual amongst the stones. This was a great way to see the stones as more than just a tourist.

We stayed on in Glastonbury a few days after the gathering to do some more sight seeing. We booked a tour with a local person who brought us to Tintagel in Cornwall and the nearby Saint Nectan’s Glen. St. Nectan’s Glenn is a gorgeous waterfall. Hiking into the woods where it is nestled, then climbing down a rough stone staircase to reach it. The waterfall is believed to be a place where fairies gather and many visitors leave stones and other assorted offerings for the fairies for good luck. It was an awe-inspiring sight, though sadly, I did not see any fairies myself.


During this trip we also spent some time visiting friends in Glasgow Scotland which is a wonderful city with its own special dialect of Scottish that does take a bit of getting used to. In London we hit most of the famous sites such as the national gallery, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square and even some tourist traps such as London’s Dungeon.  All in all it was a wonderful trip.

From the places we stayed to the friends we spent time with and the new friends we met we enjoyed every moment. We found everyone we had the chance to interact with to be wonderful and friendly people. As a Druid, it was a deeply moving experience for me visiting the sacred sites and landscapes of the UK.

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The above guest post was written by David Smith. You can check out more of David's work here and here.  

Drink like a local in Madrid

Most people’s idea of drinking in Spain involves one thing only – sangría sangría sangría. However, this is seen by most Spaniards as more of a party drink, and nothing will show you up as a tourist more than ordering it in a restaurant – it’s like ordering a bowl of punch to drink with your meal! Instead, here’s a guide to drinking like the locals do, so you’ll know what to order if you’re ever invited out for a copa.

Cañas

The Spanish are big beer drinkers, and going out for a caña is a Spanish way of life. If in doubt about what to drink, whether it’s a fancy restaurant or a local café, ask for one of these. A caña is a small draught lager, usually very light and easy to drink. Unlike pints in the UK, a caña doesn’t refer to any specific size, so you could get anything from a small glass to something approaching a pint. In Madrid, it’s usually Mahou or Estrella Damm on tap; in Barcelona you’ll most likely be offered a Cruzcampo. There’s little difference between them (though Mahou always gets my vote), and you’ll be surprised how even non-beer drinkers find themselves quite liking the taste. It’s also the perfect accompaniment to the fried and occasionally greasy food which is a mainstay of Spanish cooking. If you want something less alcoholic, ask for a “clara” – a caña diluted with lemonade. British readers will know this as a shandy, and possibly scoff at these wussy Spaniards, but it’s far more common in Spain and occasionally even available on tap.

Tinto de Verano

Not a beer person? Really did quite fancy that sangria? A tinto de verano is the classier and more common version. Literally meaning “summer red wine”, it’s a cold drink of red wine diluted with either gaseosa (carbonated lemonade) or limón (bitter lemon). It’s incredibly refreshing during summer, and some bars spice theirs up with some rum or sweet vermouth. Definitely worth trying.

Cider

An unexpected delight in Spain, Spanish sidra usually hails from the northern region of Asturias. Normally served in wide glasses or cups, the trick is to pour it from the bottle from as great a height as you can manage, in order to aerate the cider and give it a champagne-like sparkling taste. Top cider venues can be found in places such as Casa Mingo (Paseo de la Florida, 34), Bar Melo’s (C/ Ave María, 44) and El Tigre (C/ Infantas, 30). 

Vermouth

Often found on tap in many of the older institutions of Madrid, a vermut de grifo, sweet vermouth often served with a twist of orange, makes for the perfect pre-dinner aperitif. Many bars will claim to offer the oldest, the best or the most prestigious, so it’s worth wandering round to find your favourite. A particular recommendation is Antigua Casa Ángel Sierra in Chueca (C/ Gravina, 11), which has been serving its handmade vermouth since 1917.

Wine

Spain has a fantastic wine industry, and there are some varieties you must try if you’re a wine buff. Generally you should look to wines from the north of the country for the best that Spain has to offer. Rioja is the most well-known - look out for the Reservas and Gran Reservas - but Ribera del Duero from the vineyards on the banks of the Duero river is also highly recommended. This region also boasts Spain’s most expensive wine, produced by Vega Sicilia. Cava, Spain’s famous sparkling wine, chiefly originates from Catalonia in the northeast – rest assured that the best bottles can easily give any champagne a run for its money. Heading to the south of the country, sherry is the speciality of the area around the town of Jerez. The enormous Tio Pepe sign, which overlooks the Puerta del Sol, is an advert for Spain’s most popular sherry, demonstrating the drink’s iconic status in this country. Try a dry fino, a dark amontillado or a sweet oloroso, perfect after dinner or accompanying a bite of tapas.

Sangría

Okay, so you’ve come to Spain and absolutely refuse to leave without drinking it’s signature drink. In that case, there’s only one place to go: the legendary Cuevas del Sesamo in Sol (C/ Príncipe 7). In this old-fashioned basement bar, furnished with faded red tablecloths and tiny wooden stools with quotes from famous writers and thinkers painted on the walls, morose waiters will bring you jugs of sangria while an aged pianist tinkles away on an authentically out-of-tune piano. This place is a one-off with an incredible atmosphere, so it’s understandably packed on weekends – get here early and soak up a fantastic Madrid experience.

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Lindsey Ford is a writer and translator who blogs about Madrid accommodation, restaurants and travellers tips for the hotel price comparison website SubwayHotels.com.