Cancun
"Collage Cancun" by See above. Compilation: Microstar
dancing
exploring Mayan ruins
gambling
golfing
scuba diving in and exploring cenotes (sink holes full of water and wildlife)
shopping
sunning on the beach
wind surfing
zip-lining
"Mexico Cenotes" by Ekehnel (Emil Kehnel) - Own work.
The most popular activities for humanitarian travelers are:
home building*
*I couldn't find any world class humanitarian project in Cancun. I did find a Habitat for Humanity home building project in Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Trinidad and Tobago; still in the Caribbean, but a ways away. (The Dominican Republic is a 6 3/4 hour flight away, Nicaragua is 2 1/2 hour flight away, Trinidad and Tobago is a 7 hour flight way).There may be non-advertised project run by local churches, home building is usually one of the most popular activities.
The most popular actives for travelers who want to earn money while they travel are:
freelance photography
freelance writing
freelance writing
nurse work in facilities
WOOF'ing -- working on an organic farm in exchange for room and board*
*I couldn't find a farm that offers WOOF'ing jobs in Cancun. I did find one in Nicaragua, still in the Caribbean, but a 2 1/2 hour flight away and 1068 miles away by car. It's probably best to travel from Cancun to Nicaragua by plane.
For a taste of the arts from Cancun culture, I have decided to try:
The Movies:
Workers directed by Jose Luis Valle
We Are the Nobles directed by Gary Alazraki
The music:
I have decided to gain an understanding of Son Jarocho, which a a form of Mexican folk music that inspired the song La Bamba.
I am going to skip Cancun literature this time.
The food:
I plan to try to cook these recipes:
juevos with mole sauce and fresh
tortillas
cerviche
grilled marlin with chorizo,
crabilitos, and corn salsaI also want to visit a the medication van ministry on Colfax Avenue and Habitat for Humanity project and to visit some of the non-profit projects that have brought hope to Colfax Avenue. For work on Colfax Avenue, I plan to visit a writer's class.
When I am finished, I plan to see if I feel like I've been on vacation.
Cancun from and Armchair View
Cancun was recently just a sleepy little fishing village of only 170 people. In the 1970's, the Mexican government decided to transform it into a vacation mecca. It now is a major employer for the town of Cancun, population 700,000 people.
Several travel books, websites and YouTube videos agree that Cancun is in Mexico. The national language is Spanish, so for a better trip, it's best to know a little Spanish, or to bring a electronic translator, even though many people speak English. A passport is required. Its advised to drink bottled water.
Cancun isn't just an island. It's a coastal city with an island off the coast. It's located at about 11AM around the Caribbean Sea, (if the Caribbean Sea were a clock. According to US News, the best time to travel to Cancun is from December to April. The weather is near perfect, than, averaging around 85 degrees Fahrenheit. The best time to avoid is the summer, when the hurricanes come. You can go scuba diving, especially in the cenotes. Cenotes are like sink holes that have collapsed to expose the underground aquaducts. They are a fascinating natural phenomenon.
Cancun on Colfax Avenue, Denver, Colorado
So far, I found two Caribbean restaurants on Colfax Avenue. It's January, the middle of winter on Colfax Avenue, and right in the middle of the best time to travel to Cancun, from December to April, so I found two hotels with indoor swimming pools with lounge chairs. I also found a Hispanic shopping mall.
I had three difficulties with finding travel information about Cancun, (1) that it is called by so many different names, (2) even though Cancun is considered to be a part of the Caribbean, many books have it listed with their Mexico information instead of their Caribbean information and (3) the crime and safety information is really not as comprehensive as I would like it to be.
The many names for Cancun are:
Cancun
The Riviera Maya
Tulum
Quintana Too, Mexico
The Yuccatan Pennisula
All of these names are of the surrounding areas around Cancun. If you want the lowest cost trip, you want to stick with just Cancun, not the entire peninsula.
I found crime and safety data at two websites, Trip Adviser and the government travel website:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g150807-s206/Cancun:Mexico:Health.And.Safety.html
http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/alertswarnings/mexico-travel-warning.html
Reviews:
New York Times Best Seller
1,000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz
Considered to be an armchair travel book, this book is very informative. If you have a good imagination you will enjoy this book. It is rich in descriptions about Cancun's nature offerings. However, this book is small and there aren't enough pictures, for a really enjoyable armchair travel book. If you don't have a good imagination, this book will be better at preparing for a real trip, instead of an armchair trip. However, this book is not like a travel encyclopedia/directory. It's like having a friend who is really in the know about travel. In this book, Cancun can be found under Tulum and the Riviera Maya.
The Travel Book, a journey through every country in the world by Tony Wheeler.
Is a fantastic armchair travel book. It doesn't give great details about Cancun. And it has Cancun listed under Mexico, not the Caribbean. But, it has a map with Cancun on it. The pictures are fantastic, and the format for the information is extremely user friendly, but a little skimpy on some of the richest details. However, this book doesn't just tell you which restaurants are best. It tells you exactly what foods and drinks to try. This is fantastic for armchair travel because you know exactly which foods and drinks to look for in your own town, by recipe to fix yourself, or by restaurant.
National Geographic Four Seasons of Travel with recollections from numerous authors.
Sadly, this charming arm chair travel book skips Cancun, but it doesn't skip the Caribbean altogether. The editor thought that the Bahamas (official language English, located at about 1PM and 2PM in the Caribbean) and the Dominican Republic (official language Spanish, located at about 3PM in the Caribbean), were worth mentioning; Eleuthera, Bahamas and the entire Dominican Republic. This book has great pictures, charming little narrations, and interesting and even mouth-watering facts to go along with the pictures. It is sparse on details, but has addresses to website to find all of the details you need to prepare to actually make trip. The pictures in this book are great pictures for getting started on an armchair travel destination.
Popular Travel Book Series
The Frommer's Travel Book Series
Frommer's Travel Book Series is a popular travel book series for countries all over the world. It was first written by Aruthur Frommer, a military veteran turned lawyer, who traveled for a hobby. A new edition is published every year. Frommer's travel books are like a travel encyclopedia, and directory all in one. They are so stocked full of facts that you don't want to leave home without it. The book series is also accompanied by a complete suite of interactive resources, APP's, a website, social networking sites, a newsletter, and a forum.
This series is really designed to help you make and enjoy the trip, not arm chair travel. It tells you where to stay, what to eat, what to visit, etc.., an abundance of details, but not which foods and drinks to try. There are no large stunning pictures.
As a plus, it does include an icon for Overrated Recommendations and an icon for Great Values. This is not found in all travel series. Also, included is a section on Responsible Travel about subjects like using safe products for yourself and for your family. Some crime and safety information is included under Fast Facts. However, it lacks information on pet friendly travel, and eco-travel. It does have information about protecting the environment while traveling conventionally. It has helpful travel stories but it doesn't have intellectual offerings, like the literature and music of the locals. Frommer's is currently the go-to book for international travel kid-friendly traveling. Frommer's has a great book on Cancun and the Yucatan.
The Fodor's Travel Book Series
Is a travel book series very similar to Frommer's. It was first written by Eugene Fodor's, a traveler who thought that the travel books before his were boring, uninspiring, and chocked full of out-of-date information. He set out to improve all of this. His books are very much like Frommer's. Actually Frommer's books are like his, because his version was first published before Frommer's. However, Fodor's lacks the down-to-earth overrated recommendations warning and the highlighting of great values. And, Fodor's leaves out information for traveling with pets. It also leaves out eco-travel, and the local cultural literature and music offerings for intellectuals. The crime and safety data is under the Travel Smart section. I don't think Fodor's has anything that Frommer's doesn't have. Fodor's has an edition entitled Cancun and the Rivera Maya. For Cancun, don't get Fodor's Caribbean edition, it altogether skips Cancun. Like Frommer's the books in this series are best for actually making the trip, not armchair travel.
The Lonely Planet Travel Series
The Lonely Planet Travel Series is like Frommer's and Fodor's, but it is the largest of its kind. It's owned by billionaire Brad Kelley. It has all the interactive features of Frommer's and Fodor's. It includes a plethera of information that can't be found in Frommer's or Fodor's, such as tips on disability travel, kid-friendly, pet-friendly, eco-travel, vegetarian information, and language class information. For the intellectual, it doesn't forget to include the cultural literature and music of the locals. It also not only tells you where to eat, but what to try at each restaurant, and it has a food glossary in the Survival Guide chapter. It also has better coverage of crime and safety information than Frommer's and Fodor's. The crime and safety information is located in the Survival Guide chapter under Safe Travel section.
The Lonely Planet doesn't have icons for overrated recommendations or great values. Interestingly enough though, the font and outlay of the pages is easier on the mind's eye than the font in the other two travel series. Even though it too is stocked full of information, the paragraphs read more like a novel or newspaper article than a encyclopedia/directory. For example, at the beginning of the Cancun section, the first thing they explain to you, after the phone number next to an icon and quick posting of the population, is what you really want to know; the fact that much of Cancun had to be rebuilt after the 2005 hurricane. This information is not stuck in the back of the book under weather. This series, although more fun to read than the others, is better suited for actual travel rather than arm chair travel. There are no charming stories or large stunning pictures. You can find their offerings for Cancun in their Mexico edition, in the Yucatan Peninsula chapter.
Even though this book series is like an encyclopedia that lacks stunning pictures; they are surprisingly good armchair travel books. The ease of read, the food glossary, and the literature and music offerings for intellectuals are what makes them most useful as armchair travel books.
The Moon Travel Series
I couldn't find a copy of the Moon Travel Series that included Cancun. The Moon Travel Series started a year after the Lonely Planet Travel Series. It has a similar easy-reading format as Lonely Planet, but its not as classy as Lonely Planet, nor as popular. Like the other travel series its chocked full of encyclopedia-like helpful details.
Paperless Online Travel Resource
Wiki Travel
http://wikitravel.org/en/Caribbean
http://wikitravel.org/en/Cancun
This is a trendy non-profit website that you can edit yourself, like Wikipedia. It is better suited for actual travel instead of armchair travel. It is rich in data, but has no crime and safety data, no disability travel data, no kid friendly or pet friendly data, no eco-travel data. Like most travel books it also has no data on the cultural literature or music of the locals, for the intellectual. Also, like most travel books, it tells you where to eat and drink, but the food recommendations were found wanting. Most of the foods that are recommended for Cancun anyway are not much different than what one can find at Taco Bell. In addition, it is also lacking in rich descriptions to fuel the imagination and charming stories from travelers who have gone before. It's a great website to check out, but not really designed for armchair travel.
Unusual Travel Books
The Lonely Planet Guide to the Middle of Nowhere by Lonely Planet
I think this was one of the first Lonely Planet books. It is a travel book about quintessential travel to underpopulated places, for hikers and backpackers. It skips Cancun and all of the islands of the Caribbean except, Sint Marteen/ Saint Martin also known as St. Maarten/ and St. Martin. Apparently, St. Maarten's is the perfect place for perfectly challenging surfing on perfectly crystal clear waves. It has two names because it is two territories on one island, a Dutch territory and a French territory.
This book doesn't say so, but I was able to find out from other sources that the adventure travel side is the French side, and that is were you can travel to places where there isn't much of anywhere to spend money and you can sleep on the beach, surf, and kayak around the coasts. If you want to spend money, there are plenty of places to do so on St. Marteen, especially on the Dutch side, where there is an airport and even casinos.
I was also able to find out from other sources that the island is at about 4PM in the Caribbean. The official languages are French and Dutch. The natives also speak Spanish and English, so language is usually not a barrier.
This travel book is like a boy scout guide book with stunning pictures. It has a lot of very practical information about how to prepare for a trouble-free trip without losing life or limb. It's very sparse on any other kinds of information. There aren't even any website addresses offered. If you are adventurous and on a tight budget, these trips seem very affordable. It does have one ridiculous destination listed; the moon. What backpack hiker is going to want to travel to the moon? Anyway, most of the expense in these trips seems to be getting there and in getting home. Once one gets there, there doesn't seem to be much to spend money on. Along with a similar movie, and any interesting recipes that one might find elsewhere, this is a great arm chair travel book, just because of the quintessential on the cheap aspect; like champagne on a beer budget.
The difference between this travel book and eco-travel books is that this is actually an adventure travel book. The difference between adventure travel and eco-travel is the level of danger and/or the athletic ability necessary to participate in the activities. Both are to wild and abandoned places, but while adventure travel might be something like climbing Pico Durante, the highest peak in the Caribbean, located in the Dominican Republic, eco-travel might be something like traveling to Yoro, Honduras in the Caribbean and camping out among the villagers from May until July in order to witness the annual Rain of Fish (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lluvia_de_Peces).
Eco-travel is more controversial than adventure travel because the environmental impact is more significant for eco-travel, than adventure travel, even though there isn't supposed to be any environmental impact for eco-travel. It seems that there are a lot more eco-travelers than there are adventure travelers, so the environmental impacts is greater.
Earning Money While Traveling Websites
WWOOf'ing travel is traveling to volunteer to be a farm worker for organic farms all over the world. WWOOF'ing stand for Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms. It's an inexpensive way to travel. You aren't paid for your work, but you do receive free room and board. You are free to go and come as you choose.
There don't seem to be any WWOOf'ing opportunites in the Caribbean in Cancun, Aruba, or St. Bart's but in Nicaragua at http://abundancefarm.com/nicaragua-long-term-volunteer-wwoof.html
Humanitarian/Mission Travel
I found an book that is like an encyclopedia on the subject called, Volunteer Vacations: short-term adventures by Bill McMillion and Dough Cutchins. I am trying to purchase of borrow a copy...plan to review for a future blog posting. It does cover the Caribbean. It seems there are a multitude of humanitarian travel opportunities in the Caribbean, but one organization in particular specializes in the Caribbean; Caribbean Volunteer Expeditions.
Websites --
Habitat for Humanity's' Global Village -- is a program that allows one to travel while helping housing challenged people purchase quality housing. If you haven't heard of Habitat for Humanity, or read their book No More Shacks, they are an international non-profit agency, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. They set out in 1976 to build an affordable decent home for everyone who needs one. They often pitch in to rebuild after natural disasters. They currently don't have any projects in Cancun, Aruba, or St. Bart's but they haven't forgotten the Caribbean. They
have projects in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Trinidad and Tobago. For more information about joining one of their projects see -- http://www.habitat.org/gv
Caribbean Volunteer Expeditions -- is a program that organizes volunteers to do all kinds of maintenance and upkeep of the Caribbean from museum painting to archaeological artifact inventory. They are not active all over the Caribbean, but not so much in Cancun, Aruba, or St. Bart's. In 2012, they did organize volunteer to help inventory artifacts in the Netherlands Antilles, which Aruba is a part of. For more information here is their website: http://www.cvexp.org/
Disability Travel
Disabled World Travels by Tracey Ingram is a book that I am trying to purchase or borrow. It is not a book about traveling to the Caribbean, its a book about traveling internationally in general. It tackles subjects like traveling with medication, etc... I'll cover it in a future blog, when I get a copy.
Believe it or not, there is a Armchair Travel Company in England where one can buy a virtual tour of popular travel destinations that can't afford to be wheelchair accessible, like the Taj Mahal. They set up kiosks where one can wheel in and watch the tour vicariously. They don't have a Cancun virtual tour, and they aren't available in the US. Here is their website:
http://www.armchair-travel.com/
Article on Disability Travel to the Caribbean --
NBC News -- How to Plan An Accessible Caribbean Vacation
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/9531906/ns/travel-caribbean_travel/t/how-plan-accessible-caribbean-vacation/#.VLNzvyvF-MM
Kid-friendly Travel
Articles devoted to kid friendly travel to the Caribbean
US News and Travel's 8 Best Family Vacations in the Caribbean
http://travel.usnews.com/Rankings/Best_Caribbean_Family_Vacations/
Parent Magazine's The Top 10 Caribbean Resorts for Families
http://www.parents.com/fun/vacation/international/10-best-caribbean-resorts-for-families/
Pet-Friendly Travel
Traveling with your pet was once forbidden, but now it's allowed. Even many five star hotels in Europe and other countries in the Western Hemisphere allow dogs. Pets are even allowed on some planes. You will have to get a passport for you pet, but there are even pet travel agents who can help you jump through all of the sometimes excessive red tape to bring your pet with you when you travel. In Asia, however, five start hotels, still don't allow pets, for the most part. If you are traveling with your pet in Asia, you will have to stay at a lower quality hotel. Here are a few websites and articles about traveling internationally with your pet, in general.
http://www.pettravel.com/passportnew.cfm
http://m.state.gov/mc10442.htm
http://travel.cnn.com/explorations/escape/flying-pets-worth-bother-011341
http://traveltips.usatoday.com/dog-travel-internationally-33671.html
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/06/130613-pets-travel-dog-cat-overseas-regulations/
Web page devoted to dog friendly travel to the Caribbean
http://www.bringfido.com/destination/region/caribbean/
Eco-Travel
Eco-travel is traveling to visit the untamed places in a tame way. As quiet as it's kept, the truth about eco-tourism is that it's a controversial new kind of travel. It set out to be the kind of low carbon footprint travel where no prairie dogs lost their homes, no species were forced into endangerment, and the local natives reaped all the benefits. Well, it has proven to be an idealistic endeavor. Just as we can seldom keep our homes as comfortable as we like, when the relatives come to visit for a week or so, eco-travel causes messes and upheaval for habitat, animals, and the locals. However, it is still very popular, so perhaps some day someone will figure out how eco-travel can live up to its original idealistic goals.
There are many travel destinations that host eco-travel accommodations however, according to Wiki-travel, the main places are Tanzania and South Africa. Here is the link:
http://wikitravel.org/en/Ecotourism
Eco-travel book for the Caribbean
As a side note, Cayman Sites and Insights -- and eco-heritage guide to the Cayman Islands by Marina Carter seems to be an interesting book about eco-travel in the Caribbean. There are many other eco-travel destinations in the Caribbean besides the Cayman Islands and the Cayman Islands is not one of the most popular travel destinations, even though it is popular, so I am not going to include it in my review. I thought it was worth mentioning though.
...one eco-travel website, the National Geographic Adventure Travel website. The only Caribbean spot it covers is the wild parts of The Bahamas, called the Exuma chain, where there are 365 wild island beaches to sleep and kayak around the shores. This website is like a cross between Fodor's and The Lonely Planet Guide to the Middle of Nowhere. Unlike the printed version of National Geographic, this website doesn't have enough pictures to be an armchair travel website, but the information offered is quite interesting.
National Geographic Adventure Travel/ Eco-travel
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/travel/eco-travel/
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/travel/caribbean_vacations.html
Earning Money While Traveling Websites
WWOOf'ing travel is traveling to volunteer to be a farm worker for organic farms all over the world. WWOOF'ing stand for Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms. It's an inexpensive way to travel. You aren't paid for your work, but you do receive free room and board. You are free to go and come as you choose.
There don't seem to be any WWOOf'ing opportunites in the Caribbean in Cancun, Aruba, or St. Bart's but in Nicaragua at http://abundancefarm.com/nicaragua-long-term-volunteer-wwoof.html
Humanitarian/Mission Travel
I found an book that is like an encyclopedia on the subject called, Volunteer Vacations: short-term adventures by Bill McMillion and Dough Cutchins. I am trying to purchase of borrow a copy...plan to review for a future blog posting. It does cover the Caribbean. It seems there are a multitude of humanitarian travel opportunities in the Caribbean, but one organization in particular specializes in the Caribbean; Caribbean Volunteer Expeditions.
Websites --
Habitat for Humanity's' Global Village -- is a program that allows one to travel while helping housing challenged people purchase quality housing. If you haven't heard of Habitat for Humanity, or read their book No More Shacks, they are an international non-profit agency, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. They set out in 1976 to build an affordable decent home for everyone who needs one. They often pitch in to rebuild after natural disasters. They currently don't have any projects in Cancun, Aruba, or St. Bart's but they haven't forgotten the Caribbean. They
have projects in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Trinidad and Tobago. For more information about joining one of their projects see -- http://www.habitat.org/gv
Caribbean Volunteer Expeditions -- is a program that organizes volunteers to do all kinds of maintenance and upkeep of the Caribbean from museum painting to archaeological artifact inventory. They are not active all over the Caribbean, but not so much in Cancun, Aruba, or St. Bart's. In 2012, they did organize volunteer to help inventory artifacts in the Netherlands Antilles, which Aruba is a part of. For more information here is their website: http://www.cvexp.org/
Aruba
dancing
cave hiking
gambling
horseback riding on the beach
sailing
shopping
submarine trips
sunning on the beach
world class suba diving for all abilities, including recreational sunken ship scuba diving
For a taste of Aruban culture I have decided to try:
The Music:
Listen to this radio station online -- http://www.hit94fm.com/
The Food:
Keshi Yena
Yambo
Frikandel
Aruba on Colfax Avenue
I couldn't find many activities on Colfax Avenue that were similar to Aruba, although such activities can be found elsewhere in Colorado, like shopping in Cherry Creek, or cave hiking at Castlewood Canyon, so I decided to just go swimming, try the food, and listen to the music.
Aruba from and Armchair View
Several sources agree that Aruba is an island of about 100,000. It's located at about 5:30PM around the Caribbean Sea. The national languages are Dutch and Papimento, but language is not a barrier. Children on the island are raised to be tri-lingual. A passport is required. The faucet water is considered to be of high quality.Aruba is the second most popular travel location in the Caribbean. Its is the most popular destination for return visits. It seems that if Cancun leaves you feeling disappointed, helpless, or roughed up, Aruba will probably be more comfortable for you than Cancun. It is also highly recommended for kid-friendly travel.
Surprisingly, Aruba is not humid, like much of the Caribbean. It's a desert, with tremendous sandy beaches. And because it is a desert, it has never had to endure the practice of humans enslaving humans for profit. Tobacco, Sugar, and Cotton don't grow well there, so businessmen rely on oil drilling for profit, which is an industry that hasn't resorted to slave labor. According to the USA Today, the best time to travel to Aruba is....anytime. It's outside of the hurricane belt, so you can count on sunny weather adn calm seas, especially in the tourist areas. A favorite time for tourist to travel there is in about May during their world class music festival.
I only had one difficulty in finding information on Aruba, it is also called The Lesser Antilles or the Netherlands Antilles, even though legally there is no longer any Netherlands Antilles.
Reviews:
New York Times Best Seller
1,000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz
Has one sentence dedicated to Aruba under it's Lesser Antilles neighbor Curacao. There are three islands in the Lesser Antilles, Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire. For this reason it is not a good armchair travel book for this destination.
The Travel Book, a journey through every country in the world by Tony Wheeler.
This book devotes a small eighth of a page to Aruba at the back of the book. It includes a small picture of the famous pastel colored buildings on the Aruba waterfront, and one paragraph entitled Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles. It offers a few quick facts about the entire Netherlands Antilles. ...not especially helpful for armchair travel.
Popular Travel Series
The Frommer's Travel Book Series
I wasn't able to get a copy of Frommer's for Aruba, although there are three major editions, Frommer's Portable Aruba, Frommer's Port of Call, and Frommer's Aruba, Bonnaire, and Curacao.
The Fodor's Travel Book Series
Fodor's book on Aruba includes descriptive information about dance clubs, gambling, horse back riding, shopping, scuba diving, and beaches. A lot of background information, but not very helpful in actually helping me set my sights for armchair travel.
The Lonely Planet Travel Book Series
I could only find a copy of the Lonely Planet for the Caribbean. It only devoted about 15 very informative pages to Aruba, while an entire travel book on a destination is around 200 pages. I couldn't get a copy of the Lonely Planet book on Aruba, Bonnaire, and Curacao. It was easy reading a lot of information for actually traveling there....
The Moon Travel Series
I was able to find a great list of foods of the Caribbean in The Moon Travel Series.
Wiki Travel
The WikiTravel site for Aruba was quite interesting. I didn't learn much about food or culture, but I did learn a lot that I didn't learn from Fodor's. For instance, important information about dressing etiquette; such as bathing suits are not allowed away from the beach or swimming pools, and jeans are not to be worn into a restaurant. And that they are quite touchy about tourist working without a permit. I could actually use this to vicariously travel to Aruba.
http://wikitravel.org/en/Aruba
Theft is the major crime in Aruba, (not kidnapping, or robbery by gunpoint at an ATM etc...)
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g147247-i144-k5845491-Rise_in_crimes_against_tourists_in_Aruba-Aruba.html
St. Barthelemy or St. Bart's
The most popular things to do at St. Bart's are:
visit Eden Rock one of the most celebrated hotels in the world
swimming with the sharks
swimming with dolphins
whale watching
taking a trip in the Yellow Submarine instead of scuba diving
The difficulty I had with finding information on St. Bart is that people hate it or love it because its not kid friendly. Topless sunbathing is legal on some of the beaches and at some of the pool sides; making St. Bart's a haven for stalkers, exhibitionists, and peeping toms, who are sometimes sneaky enough to videotape topless sunbathers. To make matter's even less kid friendly, two of the beaches are nudist beaches, in practice, even though nude sunbathing is illegal.
While I'm on the subject, as quite as it's kept on commercials and in travel books, topless sunbathing occurs, illegally, from time to time, in many parts of the Caribbean, even in Cancun. But it is actually legal on St. Bart's. On Aruba, topless sunbathing is illegal and the natives find it offensive, but they do allow it on secluded private beaches that are only accessible by four-wheel-drive. Warning though; if you take a horse trail ride or four- wheel-drive tour on Aruba, they often go by the private topless beach areas.
Even though there are two churches on St. Bart's that are offered as museum-like tourist attraction, there are actually five fully active non-museum churches on St. Bart's; three Catholic, one Anglican, and one Pentecostal. So if you are thinking of trying to visit as a "G-rated" tourist, (I wouldn't bring my son), I would suggest you contact at least one of these churches and get some advice on the matter. Who knows, maybe there is some part of the island that is more considerate of children.
St. Bart's on Colfax Avenue
I have decided to skip an armchair visit to St. Bart's. The food is an interesting Creole along with a fusion of Hispanic, Caribbean, and American. But, I really have enough problems in my life without adding more by romanticizing the type of high-risk lifestyle that comes along with topless sunbathing.
St. Bart's from an Armchair View
Saint Bart, or Saint Barth is an island located at about 3PM around the Caribbean Sea. Several sources confirm that the population is about 90,000. The official language is French. It requires a passport, and the faucet water is considered safe to drink.St. Bart's is the most expensive travel location in the Caribbean, and a vacation spot for the rich and famous. The accommodations are the most first rate in the Caribbean, with the downside being that its hedonistic sunbathing laws and practices. Its a popular destination for traveling with your pet.
According to US News, Travel, the most economical time to catch the bargains is May or June because it's right before hurricane season, and after their peak season, during Christmas and New Years, when the rich and famous vacation there. The weather is actually better during Christmas and New Years, but the prices are rumored to make your hair fall out. Temperatures year round are between 60 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Dolphins and whale sightings are rumored to be common until May. Giant turtles may be seen year round.
New York Times Bestseller
1,000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz
Gives a Who's Who list of What's What on St. Bart's, and tells where 'the action is,' in the city. It doesn't offer any information about the rural areas as it does for Cancun. Gave me a flavor for St. Bart's but nothing to cook or listen to.
The Travel Book, a journey through every country in the world by Tony Wheeler.
Doesn't seem to have any page space devoted to St. Bart's.
Popular Travel Series
The Frommer's Travel Book Series
St. Maarten/ St. Martin, Angullia & St. Barts; includes history and a lot of trivia. Not much for armchair travel.
The Fodor's Travel Book Series
St. Maarten/ St. Martin, St. Barth & Anguilla; celebrates St. Bart's hedonism too much for my taste.
The Lonely Planet Travel Book Series
Couldn't find a copy for St. Bart's.
Paperless Travel Resources
http://wikitravel.org/en/St_Barts
Is very informative. It explains where the beaches are that usually don't practice topless sunbathing, and St. Bart's etiquette, such as not honking your horn in traffic, etc... It also explains how get married in St. Bart's, after taking the required premarital classes, no rice or petal throwing, aren't allowed at the end of the ceremony. This information could be used to vicariously travel to St. Bart's, if I were going, but I'm not.
Still not much on food or cultural offerings for the intellectual.
The crime in St. Bart's that tourist prepare for is theft.
