BEST HOLIDAY DESTINATIONS : THE CARIBBEANS

1. BARBADOS2. BAHAMAS3. COLOMBIA4. CUBA5. DOMINICA6. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC7. US VIRGIN ISLANDS8. PUERTO RICO9. JAMAICA10. HAITI11. NICARAGUA12. SAINT LUCIA13. SAINT VINCENT AND THE

GRENADINES14. HONDURAS15. GRENADA16. BOLIVAR DEPARTMENT17. MAGDALENA DEPARTMENT18. ARUBA19. GUADELOUPE20. TOBAGO21. TRINIDAD22. ANTIGUA23. SABA24. MARTINIQUE The Caribbean includes more than

7,000 islands

THE CARIBBEANS

On October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on a small island he called San Salvador. Columbus believed he had reached the Indies, or the islands southwest of India that include Indonesia and Malaysia. Columbus died believing he had reached the east by sailing west, but instead he had discovered a “new world.” San Salvador was one of the islands in the Caribbean Sea, a body of water between North America and South America. The islands of the Caribbean are part of the West Indies. The West Indies received its name because Columbus believed the native people of the Caribbean Islands were Indians.

HISTORY

Cuba is the largest Caribbean island, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. It lies 145 km (90 miles) south of Key West,Florida, between the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas, to the west of Haiti, east of Mexico and northwest of Jamaica. Since independence in 1902, Cuba had been an American satellite state. The Cuban economy was dependent on America's and the second most important person in the island was the American ambassador. During this time, most of the population lived in poverty and social inequalities were large. It was during this period that Cuba became a popular tourist destination for United States citizens, mainly due to Havana's European-like beauty, its high standard of living (Cuba having the largest Latin American middle class per-capita in 1958), and the large number of shows, events, and casinos catering to tourists. During such era more Americans resided in Cuba than Cubans in USA. Many Americans had beach homes during the summer, and rich American companies also owned large factories and land in the island nation.

CUBA

Jamaica is an island nation in the Caribbean located to the south of Cuba and to the west of the island of Hispaniola. Relax on world-classbeaches around the island, bargain at the local markets, drum at a Rastafarian village, dancewith thelocals at a Maroon village, sample Kingston nightlife,experience a different side of this familiar island.

JAMAICA

Today’s visitors will appreciate their trip to Jamaica all the more if they embrace the island’s unique character and the inherent ‘African-ness’ of its population. Aside from its people, Jamaica has much to offer, the curious, thirsty or weary traveller. The Blue Mountains boasts the world’s best coffee, try a cup in the century-old factory at Mavis Bank. There are world-class reefs for diving including those at Runaway Bay and Ocho Rios and great stretches of palm-fringed sand at Treasure Beach or Frenchman’s Cove near Port Antonio. There are offbeat bush-medicine hiking tours, congenial fishing villages, pristine waterfalls, cosmopolitan cities, wetlands harboring endangered crocodiles and manatees, unforgettable sunsets – in short, enough variety to comprise many utterly distinct vacations.

…best places to visit inJamaica

Located in the Caribbean Sea to the east of the Dominican Republic and west of the U.S. Virgin Islands Puerto Rico lies on a key shipping lane to the Panama Canal, the Mona Passage. Christopher Columbus landed on the island of Puerto Rico in 1492 on his second voyage of discovery, and originally named it San Juan Bautista in honor of Saint John the Baptist. The name of the island's present day capital, San Juan, honors the name Columbus first gave the island.

PUERTO RICO

Barbados beaches are some of the best in the Caribbean!

Explore the tranquil west coast beaches, the lively south coast Barbados beaches , the rugged

east and northern coasts of Barbados.

Swimming, kayaking, glass bottom boat ride or just relaxing under a palm tree... what a way to vacation in Barbados!

In Barbados we’ve mastered the art of fine living.And offer daily lessons for those who seek to do the same .Here at the official turism site of Barbados, you ‘ll discover a vibriant culture passionate in spirit and full of life. A place when rifinet luxury and exceptional culinary delights dance and mingle among lush tropical greenery, limpid blue waters and warm golden sunlight. a day on a white sandy beach. Try some flying fish. Enjoy a rum punch. Learn to trade the rush, rush for the slow and easy. Just give us a few days and you won't remember the old you. Let us teach you how to truly live.

BARBADOS

Referenceswww.mrdowling.comwww.worldatlas.comen.wikipedia.orgwikitravel.orgwww.tripadvisor.comwww.visitbarbados.org

A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in!