Looking for the best Caribbean beach vacation? Hey, I love sharing the highlights of all the places I visit and learn about. Below you'll find my top 10 picks for a great beach vacation with examples of what's special about them. Then you can decide which one you think would be the best beach vacation in the Caribbean for your trip!
Aruba:
This place is for those that like a non-stop vacation with lots of restaurants, bars casinos. The beaches are gorgeous, the water is wonderful and it hardly ever rains. The scuba diving is awesome with great opportunities for photography. The fishing is pretty good too.
Barbados:
Your troubles will simply wash away in the soft island serenity of this great beach vacation destination. Brighton Beach is a great place to stay for your Caribbean beach vacation and the most popular here. If you want a little more privacy you can get secluded villas around the island. Taking that horseback ride on the beach will feel as if you're in a movie and I would highly recommend trying it. Probably my second favorite beach vacation overall.
Turks and Caicos Islands:
Like long beach walks? At 12 miles long, Grace Bay is simply a phenomenal stretch of soft white sand with smaller luxury resorts, spas and great restaurants perfect for a beach honeymoon vacation. And the water color is the most vibrant translucent turquoise... I love it! Seems that many movie stars and rock stars like it too with several owning homes and vacationing here on some of the 8 secluded islands all with fantastic beaches. Turks & Caicos has long been a diver's paradise with great deep-sea and bone fishing too! Taking the kids? Well, Beaches Resort consistently gets high marks as one of the world's best family beach vacation spots.
Bahamas:
Technically not in the Caribbean, but with so many beautiful beaches I had to add it to the best beach vacation list... it's close enough. Paradise Island is great fun especially swimming with the dolphins, which is an experience of a lifetime. The diving here is fantastic because of the calm waters and enjoying the nightlife is all kinds of fun. For a secluded romantic get-a-way try the pink sand beach on Harbor Island.
British Virgin Islands & U.S. Virgin Islands:
Both make great beach vacations, especially for island hopping. Having a chance to easily enjoy not 1, 2, but potentially 3 islands or more each with it's own charm make for one of the best beach vacation spots. Trunk Bay on St. John is particularly gorgeous and popular with calm waters and an underwater snorkeling "trail."
Cayman Islands:
A very entertaining destination with odd things like feeding iguanas grapes while dining at a restaurant. Definitely worth it for the pictures! Three islands in all, its another great place to island hop and enjoy waterfall climbing, extensive shark diving, and swimming with the stingrays and shopping, shopping, shopping.
Dominican Republic:
Here is a place you can go for a cheap beach vacation and still enjoy all the splendid beauty of a Caribbean island. Have a great time scuba diving, swimming with dolphins, deep sea fishing and hiking. Fabulous beaches too!
Anguilla:
A fun Caribbean beach vacation to tell your friends about. It's the only area known in the Caribbean to have beautiful white sandy beaches deserted during peak season, which makes this a great place for couples to enjoy. Especially with activities that include windsurfing, scuba diving, and snorkeling. Oh, and if you love seafood, all I can say is, "The best chefs in the Caribbean!"
St. Lucia:
A honeymooners delight. Think jazz music, small island, secluded and intimate and that is St. Lucia. Beautiful beaches, lush tropical foliage, scenic mountains, spectacular sunsets and typically many great all-inclusive packages are offered. It all makes for a very seductive beach honeymoon vacation.
Hey, I could add a couple more since the Caribbean is full of beautiful and interesting places. Some may offer a little better snorkeling or fishing, larger or smaller hotels, more seclusion or more nightlife, but all are wonderful in their own way. You really can't go wrong with these when planning and dreaming of your next Caribbean beach vacation!
Top 10 Beach Destinations
Gold Coast, Queensland:
Even the Americans are on to the Gold Coast. Holiday apartments are hard to snag during the peak season, but it's worth it to get closer to the shore. 10 million people visited the Gold Coast in 2008 and in 2009 you can see what they were there enjoying. Parasailing, water sports, and of course, a bit of sun worship are definitely the order of the day.
Noosa, Queensland:
Each March surfers head to Noosa. Accommodation can be hard to find, but holiday rentals are an excellent choice for making the most of your holiday. As one of the few beaches that faces north, even if you are not watching the surfers in March you'll find a lot going on in Noosa year-round. Do watch on Alexandria Beach - clothing is optional!
Port Douglas, Queensland:
Port Douglas accommodation is hard to find in peak season, so book early if you are wanting this to be your beach destination in 2009. Port Douglas makes a fantastic base for ocean and land based adventure! Naturally, there's the Great Barrier Reef, plus the surfing, and then the onshore 4 wheel drive adventures are a gas. You can sun year round as well, without even having to get in the water.
Byron Bay, New South Wales:
As the Wet sets in, land lubbers all over Oz start dreaming of Byron Bay holiday homes. If you can't own it, you can at least rent one for a long vacation. The white sandy beaches are perfect for sunning, or you can climb the steep shores with binoculars and gander at the water life. Both whales on migration and bottlenose dolphins are frequently spotted here. Parasailing, gliding, surfing and scuba are also on offer here. It's also a very earthy, alternative style hippy zone, so you can totally unwind from the real world as you bask on the shore.
Jervis Bay, New South Wales:
Parts of Jervis are protected national park, and it's no wonder. Stunningly beautiful, you'll want to plan your trip early to book anything—during the busy school holiday seasons such as Christmas and New Year this is one of the most popular destinations on the South Coast. Everyone and their dog—and a colony of fairy penguins—heads out here, or so it seems. Only a couple of hours drive south of Sydney, Jervis offers an easy to reach holiday spot for a long weekend or longer stay. Surf, fish, dive or trek in the Boonderee National Park during your stay. Sea kayaking has also recently gotten huge here, so if you tire of sunning yourself on the beach you can have a go at it as rentals are readily available.
Both Ryan Burden & Rich Greenwood are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Ryan Burden has sinced written about articles on various topics from Kitchen Home Improvement, Home Management and Interior Design. Author Ryan Burden loves the beach. Ryan is a self-professed expert beach bum, traveler and publisher of Turks and Caicos Beach Vacation.com a. Ryan Burden's top article generates over 9900 views. Bookmark Ryan Burden to your Favourites.
Rich Greenwood has sinced written about articles on various topics from Travel and Leisure, Fitness and Travel and Leisure. Article by Rich Greenwood, Director of holiday accommodation rentals website www.makemystay.com.au. The website allows owners of holiday properties to. Rich Greenwood's top article generates over 135000 views. Bookmark Rich Greenwood to your Favourites.