Best inexpensive Caribbean Beach Resort Hotels are arranged in island/country
alphabetical order [some cheaper ones are further down the page!]
Bahamas,
New Providence Island, Compass
Point Dive Resort
$$-$$$
Although the main island of New Providence,
especially Nassau [the
capital], is already over-developed
with huge hotels, Compass
Point is a solitary gem just 2 miles from Nassau airport. It's
a small, hip-hotel with 18 individual wooden
cabanas painted in vivid colours, each with ocean views or on the
ocean front. There are two private sandy coves, and an adjacent
two-mile, public area called Love Beach.
Rental Kayaks and snorkeling equipment are available; there's a
nearby dive centre, charter boat pick up for boating, fishing, picnicking,
and PADI certified diving etc.
It's simple but comfortable with a popular restaurant serving terrific
food.
Compass Point is excellent for divers but not so great for party
people because it is far from the island's main night action in
Georgetown or on Seven Mile Beach.
Belize,
South
Water Caye,
IZE Marine loadge & Leslie
Cottages $-$$
This is a place for sun-seekers who want to be part of marine nature
and also to be as ecological-friendly as possible.
In fact, Belize is the home of the world's second longest barrier
reef [180 miles from Mexico to the Sapodilla Cayes] and this tiny
12-acre island off Dangriga is a part of it. You can experience
the some of the world's most exciting snorkeling, diving, and fishing
there, organised by IZE [International Zoological Expeditions].
Accomodation ranges from dorms to private cottages. Various education/family packages and workshops are available.
Ambergris Caye [resort] and Caye Caulker [low-key caye!] are also
excellent places.
British
Virgin Islands [BVI], Virgin Gorda, Mango
Bay Resort $$-$$$
Mango Bay opens right onto the reef-fringed
Mahoe Bay, one of the best beaches on the island - along with the
Bath, Trunk Bay, and Spring Bay, Mango Bay is a villa rental
resort. Each villa, from studios to 1-6 bedrooms]
has a kitchen, bathroom, an outdoor shower and terraces with sunset
views.
The 7-acre ground are filled with tropical flowers and different
kinds of palm trees. Baby sitters are available at local cost, so
parents can go out for dinner at restaurants in North Sound or Spanish
Town.
It's comfortable, good value for money and ideal for families. Weekly
rates available.
Dominica,
3
Rivers Eco Lodge $
Set in a secluded rainforest valley, 3 Rivers Eco Lodge is an award
winning eco-friendly resort, with inexpensive dormitory rooms, self-contained
cottages and forest cabins as well as camping facilities. It offers
solar/hydro-powered electricity and showers and loads of nature
activities for both adults and children.
Although it not located on beaches, you can swim in natural river
pools and on a superb Atlantic Beach 20 minutes walk away.
Grenada,
La
Sagesse Nature Center $
This is a small guest house on a tranquil
beach [La Sagesse] on the south coast, only 25 minutes from Point
Salines International Airport. There are rivers, a salt pond, and
mangroves so that you can do nature hiking, bird-watching as well
as all kinds of watersports. The bar-restaurant which opens onto
the sands serves fresh seafood [specializing in lobster]. The
Center has only
12 units, so early booking in the Caribbean's high
season is strongly recommended.
There are also some other good beaches nearby, including Grenada's
best, Grand Anse, worth a visit if
you have transport.
Nevis,
Yamseed Inn $$
This is a tiny
B&B owned by an American on a secluded private beach along the
north coast that has a panoramic view of St. Kitts across the water.
It has four airy rooms with comfortable beds all cooled by fans, an outdoor art gallery
filled
with tropical plants and Caribbean crafts, well-kept gardens
and hammocks. This is a perfect
place for enjoying lazy days doing nothing.
Sybil the friendly owner serves good
wholesome breakfasts [including
homemade granola, homebaked breads
etc, but no meat] everyday. You'll feel at home. It's close to the
airport.
Trinidad,
Blanchisseuse Laguna Mar Beach Resort
$
This is a place to get real escapism without blowing a lot of cash.
It's a sea front resort on the north coast backed by 28 acres of
tropical forest and the Marianne River, so that you can swim in
freshwater springs and lagoons as well as lovely beaches where leatherback
turtles come to lay their eggs in season. It's good for nature lovers
and families.
There are 12 rooms [small but neat], a 4 bedroom self catering cottage,
a campsite, a
restaurant that serves local and international cuisine;
barbecue pits are also available. Although it's high season, the
best time to go Trinidad is in Carnival season in February.
US
Virgin Islands, St. John, Maho Bay Camp $
Maho Bay is an eco-resort with 114 tent cottages
set on a rainforest slope above a fine sandy beach and surrounded
by US
Virgin National Park. Although there's
no bathroom attached to each tent, there are proper beds, decks,
electricity, cooking & eating facilities.
The hotel has an open-air restaurant and also a good water-activity
program. You can be close to nature with comfort.
It's a unique concept in the Caribbean
and reasonably priced and excellent for families and the young.
Mexico
Beaches |
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Caribbean Tours
The best time to go on a Caribbean Beach holiday:
In
general, December to May is climatically the
best season in the Caribbean while economically May is the best
month as hotel prices double or triple mid-December through
April but the weather is usually still good in May.
Officially
the hurricane season is August
to the end of October but the rainy
season is from May to December.
Mid December is a reasonably safe bet, while good weather
often persists into May.
Of course around Christmas/New Year [last two weeks of December
and first ten days of January] and a week either side of Easter
is the very busiest and most expensive time to travel here
[air tickets too!].
Book
winter Caribbean hotels several months in advance.
If you're on a tight budget consider going off season, mid-April
to mid-December. August to the end of October is the normal
hurricane season but though hurricanes are rare [especially in southern
islands], rain is not, the humidity can be oppressive and stormy,
water may be rough and unclear and beaches garbed in seaweed.
n.b.
Many Caribbean resorts, restaurants and other services are limited
or shut down completely from September to end of November.
$
= low cost [under $100 per room]
$$= moderate [$100 - $300]
These are Caribbean low season estimates.
In high season some rates double.
Worlds
Best Beaches
For
Best Beaches in the World by month go to these pages:
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December |
