Eastern Caribbean Island Hopping

Old Jun 7, 2012, 11:36 am
  #1  
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Eastern Caribbean Island Hopping

Let me start by saying I know this isn't everyone's style, but all constructive comments are welcome.

I'm attempting to visit every country, currently at 116, but noticeably absent has been most of the Caribbean. I've been to a few countries (Dominican Republic and Trinidad) as well as several other places: the ABCs, St Martin, Anguilla, Caymans, etc. I'm not much a sit on the beach and relax type, and when I do scuba I will pick a destination just for that - not so much to "see" the place.

That said, I have an opportunity to get to a few countries coming up, flying into St Lucia mid-day on a Friday, and out from Antigua on a Wednesday morning.

In between, I'd love to see or at least stop by St Vincent, Grenada, Barbados, and Dominica. Seems LIAT connects them all, and the most viable route seems to be:

St Lucia - St Vincent - Grenada - Barbados - Dominica - Antigua

Question is....which places is it easiest to see most in a short time (ie, even a 4-5 hour detour from the airport you could see quite a bit...a recent thread suggests this is the case in my first stop St Lucia) and where should you really have at least a full day to make it worthwhile.

Thanks!
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Old Jun 8, 2012, 9:27 am
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Check out LIAT or WinAir. Most of the inter-island flights connect through other islands. so you can probably force a stopover. And all ofthe mentioned destinations are fairly small islands, other than Barbados.
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Old Jun 11, 2012, 7:20 am
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Originally Posted by ironmanjt
St Lucia - St Vincent - Grenada - Barbados - Dominica - Antigua

Question is....which places is it easiest to see most in a short time (ie, even a 4-5 hour detour from the airport you could see quite a bit...a recent thread suggests this is the case in my first stop St Lucia) and where should you really have at least a full day to make it worthwhile.

Thanks!
Saint Lucia and St. Vincent: these two are the easiest. The airports are only five minutes from the capital city, so it's quite easy to see the downtown areas, and perhaps have a taxi take you up on a hill for a panoramic view in St. Vincent. In SLU, try the Coal Pot for lunch, not far from the airport. If you have a full day in SLU, you could travel S to see the Pitons.

Grenada: the airport is just a bit further, maybe 10-15 mins from town, but the drive is pleasant. The view of the harbour is especially nice. The road into the city passes within inches of the port. Try the restaurant at Port Louis Marina for lunch or BB's Crab Back.

Antigua and Barbados: both airports are regional hubs. Plan on 15-20 minutes to get into the city. There are plenty of things to see in both places. ANU: Nelson's dockyard. BGI: Concorde.

Dominica: this one is a bit problematic. The airport is 1hr 20 mins from Roseau, the capital, over very hilly terrain. The drive is not pleasant, especially if you are on a bench seat in a minibus/van. Try to sit up front, or find a sedan/SUV for a taxi. Stay in the Fort Young Hotel in Roseau.
--
13F

PS I've been to >75 countries, including every territory/country in the Caribbean except Cuba, Saba and Sint Eustatius.
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Old Jun 13, 2012, 8:32 am
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Originally Posted by Seat13F_AC_CRJ
PS I've been to >75 countries, including every territory/country in the Caribbean except Cuba, Saba and Sint Eustatius.
Thanks so much for all the feedback...got it to work out well (if LIAT cooperates!)

St Lucia I'll have 8 hrs during the day, so will just drive around and see as much as I can.

St Vincent - full day, so I'll make sure to get to the Coal Pot for lunch!

Grenada - arrive late evening so will just crash, and explore next day until I depart around 3p

Barbados - arrive midday, depart midday - likely the same, just rent a car and drive

Dominica - definitely a car, and I plan to do some hiking early morning.

Antigua - Arrive 3p with an early flight the next morning, so likely will just relax near the hotel in Falmouth Harbour.

Thanks for all the tips - next time I'm in YOW beer's on me!
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