Caribbean and Central America Travel Forum

These seem boring to us. They stop at the same main port at every island and we see the same dumpy towns and T shirt shops at every stop. Has anyone done any interesting cruising on a private yacht that stops at all the neat places the cruise ships do not? We are considering a private sailing catamaran for adventure and fun and would love to hear from anyone that has also done this.

ANY HELP WILL BE APPRECIATED. THANKS, DC

Hello fellow VTers,

We will be in Panama for almost 3 weeks this month. We are actually flying there next week. Looking for suggestions on the top three areas to stay in Panama. Definitely one of them (the last week) should be on the carribean side with a great beach for swimming. Planning on spending just a couple of days to tour the city.

Any suggestions, would be greatly appreciated.

Does anyone have any experience taking an ESL course abroad (Costa Rica or any other country) or in the US? I would like to get a TESL certificate, can anyone recommend a school, and/or tell me about your experiences? Thank you.

My father (86 yrs old)wants to visit the Caribbean this christmas holiday time. My husband and I and my 20 year old daughter will go with him. we are debating between Grand Cayman, somewhere in the Bahamas, or the Virgin Islands. Any advice which area might meet the needs of a not very robust elderly man as well as offer some good snorkeling, good food, scenic drives.....?

I was thinking grand cayman mostly because I got a reply from a resort there, and it looks beautiful, but I am sure the same holds for most of the islands thereabouts.
we would only be able to stay 4 nights.
thanks for any advice!

I will be in Montego Bay for 5 days for a wedding and want to know what the "must see, must do, must eat", etc locations are. I consider myself a foodie and like to check out local mom and pop style restaurants, the places where the locals eat. Night life hot spots? I want to get the all around experience while i'm there, any help is uch appreciated. :)

I have been looking into planning a trip to cuba this january. I have been having a hard time finding information about punishments for this since the obama administration. I have read that restrictions were tighter with the Bush 2 administration, but I was wondering if it has become more relaxed since obama came into office? Are they fining people upon re-entry? If I go through cancun, and don't get my passport stamped, what are my chances of not being fined? Or is that just an inevitability?

I will be traveling to the Corn Islands in August/September, which I understand is during the rainy season. We wanted to stay in one of the huts on the beach like Derek's Place or Casa Iguana but we are worried about the building if it happens to rain. Are the walls/roof water proof or are they thatched roofs, etc? Any advice or tips are greatly appreciated!!

we need to take a bus from san pedro {san jose ] to playa coco on a thursday afternoon. what bus station would be best? any help or advice? thanks , dave and carla

ANY INFO WILL HELP... WE NEED TO GET FROM SAN PEDRO {SAN JOSE] TO PLAYA COCO LEAVING ON A THURSDAY AFTERNOON BY BUS... ANY ADVICE ON WHERE A BUS STATION IS AND WHERE A SCHEDUALE CAN BE FOUND? THANKS, DAVE AND CARLA

My husband and I are planning a trip to Panama from November 25th to February 22nd. I've read where a US license is acceptable for driving or renting a car. Is this correct? I have also read where shorts and sandals are not acceptable in Panama City. Are Birkenstocks ok? Thank you.

Hi,

I am cruising with my husband, brother, sister-in-law and grown nieces at the end of May. I want to plan a great beach day for them as they have never been to the Caribbean. I am looking for a quiet, uncrowded beach (isn't evyerbody!)
but one that has facilities, as we will need umbrellas and a bathroom.

I was leaning toward Friars Bay. Is that a good choice? Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Iv booked this hotel for may next year as the beach and hotel looked amazing
im a single parent with two young children so dont need a lively place full of nightlife
has anyone been to this hotel , can you tell me if theres enough things to do , iv heard they have kids clubs , kids pool , babysitting etc
also heard the food is okay

if anyone is going may next year 2010 id love to hear from you aswel

I came on the Tica Bus from Panama to Costa Rica. No official stamped my passport when I entered C.R. I am now trying to fly out of SJO, but the airport authorities say I am here illegally! What is it that I must do? I am desperate and need exact directions as to my next step as I am running out of money. Any help would be gratefully received. Thank you.

Hi,

I'm planning my best friend's wedding to CR in either Nov '09 or Feb '10. We are going to the Pacific coast so ideally we want to fly into Liberia to avoid having to do the 5 hr drive from San Jose. Can anyone please help me with the best travel company online or in person to get a good rate for 20+ people nonstop or other to Liberia.

Thanks,

Marissa

Hi!

I'm a single female traveller and heading to Costa Rica in November...i'm spending a couple of nights in San Jose before heading out to the Caribbean Coast, i'm just after some advice on accommodation in San Jose - i don't really know much about the city at all, i'd like to be quite central, not too expensive and somewhere where i can possibly meet similar single travellers etc.

Thanks in advance for any advice!
:)

hi there we are planning a trip starting next february 2010 - we intend to cover nashville, hendersonville, hiltons west virginia, atlanta, west coast of florida down to zephyr hills over to titus ville, down to the keys then over to cuba via another island

our only deadline to to be in cuba at the end of april

we are trying to work out whether to use greyhound, car hire or car buy???? we are on the tightiest of budgets and just wondered if anyone could give us some good advice please

with thanks in advance

Hola- estoy buscando infomacion sobre la possibilidad mas barata de llegar a mi hotel Sunshine en la ciudad de Puerto plata del aeropuerto de Puerto Plata Luperon. Tendre 2 maletas conmigo ( grande). Me dicen que con taxi cunta con mas de 50 dollares.. digame k no sea possible!!!! gracias Mike

My family and I are going on our first cruise in August and could use a few pointers. For one I would like to know how much the rental fees for the rafts and floating devices are (we are traveling with our 3 kids). Also do the drink prices differ from the ones on the ship itself and how do we pay for them?

Anyone know what's going on in San Juan at Ocean Park tonight? It's loaded with people and I don't know of any holiday there today.
I'd love to know what's going on. Anyone know??

I would like to visit Jamaica, but not alone. I do not know anyone who would also like to go. Any suggestions as to inexpensive group tours?

Hi-
We are going on a cruise in October which stops in San Juan (PR), Grand Turk, St. Thomas (USVI), and Half Moon Cay, Bahamas. In each destination we have at least 8 hours. Basically, I would like to spend these hours on the beach or near a beach bar, preferably away from the chaos of the port. Snorkling also sounds great! I want to have a relaxing vacation enjoying the water, will i have time to go to the great beaches on each island on my own? In San juan I would like to experience a more authentic side of PR in terms of food and culture, so going to another town would be great also.
Thanks!

Hi
May partner and I tend to go on long holidays over Christmas, but have always ended up travelling to South East Asia. However, we are very keen to go to Cuba and were wondering what the weather was generally like around late December/early January?
I have looked on various websites but they all seem to give conflicting advice!
Thanks in advance
Kat

What other water activities are there to do on Grand Cayman other
than the Sting Ray City (which we have done before)?

Leaving very soon on a mission trip to Haiti (Croix-des-Bouquets) and have promised to send a fellow VTer as well as family back home postcards from our visit there. Where will I find postcards? Are they available at the airport at Port-au-Prince? Any help appreciated!

Hi Everyone. I was wondering if anyone could tell me if its worth going to both islands, or if one island is better then the other. Are there any major similarities/differences??
Thanks!

Does anyone know how to get with public transportation from Sto Domingo to Punta Cana? and how long it takes?
tks

Hi. We desperately need a visitor to Havana to take some photographs of a Cuban home in central Havana (arranged with the resident). It will need about an hour of someone's time and a digital camera. UK contact - chaldons at tiscali dot co dot uk. Thanks.

Planning a trip to the Guanacaste area in January 2010. My wife and I (56,62), an adult friend and our college-age daughter & her girlfriend. We would like to get a condo or villa, near a beach for swimming and snorkeling. Some "nightlife" not too far away for the girls would also be good, but the not the big hotel/resort stuff. I should mention that my daughter speaks Spanish and we have been to CR previously (Manuel Antonio, San Jose & Arenal)

I have looked at Playas: Hermosa, Flamingo, del Coco, Ocotal & Tamarindo. Any suggestions as to the "personality" of these different areas would be appreciated/ Thanks.

donde se encuentra este restaurant?

Wahat is the address of this restaurant?