…and now for something completely different (sort of).
We’ve all been chomping at the bit to get out of the house, out of the city, out of the province, out of the country while this pandemic has brought international travel to a screeching halt. Well, maybe, just maybe, by next winter, we may, just may be able to go south for some sorely missed rays. I know, right now, it’s nice here too, but those cold winds are a-coming…).
So, therefore, herewith, I present my totally biased six best beach destinations that deserve a visit because of their unparalleled beauty (OK, there may be others, too…).
Grace Bay, Turks & Caicos
On the island of Providenciales, Grace Bay is uniquely long at 12 miles, though interrupted by limestone outcroppings. It has consistently taken first or second place for over a decade as reported by World Travel and Trip Advisor as best beach in the Caribbean. Picture the classic Caribbean beach: a wide curving stretch of pristine, powdery-white sand fringed by palm trees on one side and clear aquamarine waters on the other. Protected by an offshore barrier reef, Grace Bay hardly ever has large waves, (if large waves is your thing, Florida’s Atlantic coast is your destination) … making it great for little kids and ideal for swimming, paddle-boarding, and just sizzling in the sun. The sand has been likened to flour, so fine, and dazzling white. No underwater rocks, like Waikiki Beach, no seaweed washing up on shore, no pollution. Like the Bahamas, the Turks are a bunch of low-lying coral atolls, well more than just atolls, but not by much – the highest point on all the islands in 48 meters. There is not much to do except water sports, but that’s what you came for, right? Mind you, you can lose a little money in the three(!!!) casinos on Providenciales, and the options for a week-long stay, and food… and drink are plentiful.
Eagle Beach, Aruba
Voted the third best beach in the WORLD, by Trip Advisor’s Choice Awards, spectacularly beautiful, I can truly attest that Aruba’s Eagle Beach on the south-west coast, takes second place for me in The Caribbean. Wall to wall resorts, small and large, coat the south-western coast. By complete contrast, the north-east coast is wild. If you can tear yourself away from the sea and sand, rent a 4-wheeler and head north along the dirt road after the pavement ends. The interior is alien… twisted boulders, tortured cliffs, furious seas. Cacti abound. When we were there, the Natural Stone Bridge on the north shore, rose 25 feet and spanned 100 feet. Unfortunately, with the steady pounding by waves, it finally collapsed in 2005. Fortunately Baby Bridge nearby is still standing.
Two of the island’s iconic divi-divi trees are on Eagle. Totally picturesque, stunted and gnarled, they point west with the omnipresent prevailing.
We stayed at La Cabana Beach Resort and Casino on Eagle Beach using our timeshare exchange points for two great weeks. Aruba has a lot more to offer than just beaches. The capital, Oranjestad. is a model among Caribbean cities: clean, safe, though mobbed by tourists from the cruise ships. High end shops abound a couple of streets back from the modest beach, but buyer beware, they offer second rate opaque emeralds from Colombia for first rate prices. A model of Dutch efficiency, buses run everywhere, medical care is good, services are evident. Aruba is a desert island. Never bothered by hurricanes, as it is out of their path, the island has no fresh water. A desalination plant run on (unfortunately) diesel provides all the water that comes out of the tap. Bottled water is unnecessary.
Shoal Bay, Anguilla
When we visited St. Martin some years ago, we took an excursion over to Anguilla, just north and just over 26 Kms away, landing at the ferry terminal at Blowing Point. Then a bus over to the north-eastern shore and Shoal Bay. It is a stunning stretch of pinkish-hued powder-soft white sand and intense turquoise waters. No fringing coral reef here, some days the waves can be choppy, but mostly, it is beautifully calm. Unlike Aruba, it is not overgrowth with mid-rise resorts. Plenty of seagrape trees and some palms provide much needed shade. For lunch, you could try Tropical Sunset Beach Bar (great name), just on the beach, with a large veranda serving very good food. Try the breaded cracked conch with a spicy sauce on the side, slaw and fries, stay away from the ceviches (raw something…just in case). Not five-star but good. For a five-star experience, you could do worse than Veya in Sandy Ground on the second floor with a treehouse atmosphere with the cool cocktail lounge: Meze downstairs.
Akumal, Mayan Riviera
My goodness, the first time we went to Akumal, about three decades ago, there was Cancun, Playa des Carmen was a fishing village, a teeny resort in Akumal down the coast, and further towards Belize, the Mayan ruins of Tulum. The Mayan Riviera moniker had not been invented yet and the road down the coast was two-lane, not four, with pot holes.
I had just received my diver’s training in a pool in Montreal and was looking forward to my testing in the Caribbean at the Akumal Dive Center – three dives complete with the full set of exercises - demonstrate proper descent and ascend, remove the mask at -20ft, put it back on, clear it of water, remove the weight belt, put it back on, remove the regulator, throw it away, retrieve it, back in mouth, blow out, breathe normally, and the most difficult: remove the entire “package”, get back into it, do up all the clasps - fun – as we had practised all this in Montreal.
The little resort was pleasant, all-inclusive, a novelty at the time, the beach: a half-moon of curving sand, a beach bar, a restaurant, a pool, and a few brick-a-brack shops. That was it. You came to dive the reefs and/or have a very getaway vacation.
Nearby was (and is, though changed) The Yal Ku inlet great for snorkelling, full of fish, corals and their denizens. The occasional turtle would drop by.
Close to Playa del Carmen was Xcaret, not yet a “Parque”, but for a small fee you could enter an underground river, with mask, snorkel and life vest, that was flowing slowly towards the sea, occasionally there would be rockfall holes above letting in the light. It was one-way, no side branches to get lost in, the water was cenote cold, and you ended up swimming out into a small inlet full of fish with a small beach where you handed back your safety vest. A bit eerie, especially when passing over huge caverns underneath you, the bottom barely visible.
Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman
This dreamy stretch of pure white sand is the center of the action on Grand Cayman. Seven Mile Beach is your quintessential resort beach with beach bars, seafood restaurants, resorts galore, dive shops, etc, etc, You can snorkel right off the beach, but there is better snorke;ling on the north and south shores. Try stand-up paddle-boarding in these calm waters.
For a very different experience, visit Stingray City – shallow sand bars with lots of juvenile stingrays, snorkel and mask optional, you can stand in four feet of water.
Trunk Bay, St. John, US Virgin Islands
Did you know that a large part of the island of St. John is a US National Park? In fact there is even a campground just next to Trunk Bay, on Cinnamon Bay. Although not big like the other beaches described above, Trunk Bay, only about a quarter mile, ranks up there with the rest. Best of all, there are no buildings, hotels, resorts or casinos on this pristine beach. There is a snack bar, beach chair rental, showers, restrooms, lifeguards, snorkel rental, just like back in the States.
Voted one of the top ten beaches by Conde Nast Traveler, its major attraction is the abundant coral and sea life just off the beach. For accommodations, there are no all-inclusives on this little island, but there are 600 or so homes and B&Bs that will welcome you along with some high-end resorts. Well worth a visit.
West Bay Beach, Roatan.
I mentioned this one in my earlier post on “Roatan, where is Roatan”, and it has very special memories for us, as it is the beach-island that we have visited most often. The beach was once described as one of the best in the world, when it was still deserted back in 2000, however, you can still snorkel right in from the beach at the west end of West Bay and if you have bread with you, you will be mobbed by little black-banded damselfish, the occasional large Midnight Parrotfish, small barracudas, and rarely, deeper, you might glimpse a Coral Beauty or a French angelfish. The beach is crowded with bars, but out fave, where “the group” habitually hung out was (is) Bananarama Dive and Beach Resort, whose beachbar made the best pizzas and fries on the island, and they never skimped on the booze especially when making Roatan’s signature drink: The Monkey La-La (check out the recipe on the Gastronomy page).
I am sure that a lot of beaches can offer nice sunsets, but the sunsets on West Bay beach from the beach bar, any bar, are unparalleled.
Settle in, have a Mai Tai (for old times’ sake) and watch that orange orb sink into the sea.
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