CARIBBEAN BUCKET LIST DESTINATIONS


hedonism, though, has to be Carnival in Trinidad. Every February, the entire island (and savvy travellers who book a room in time) enjoy five days and nights of non-stop soca bands, performances, street parades and fabulous costumes. Pack a supply of Berocca and unleash your inner party animal.


w TREASURED TRAILS It’s not just the palm-fringed beaches that will have you reaching for your selfie stick. There is just as much beauty inland, where rivers, waterfalls, rainforests and mountains make a jaw-dropping backdrop to that Facebook photo. You can hike and birdwatch to your


heart’s content on and around the Piton peaks in Saint Lucia, (Sandals’ excursion provider, Island Routes, has a Gros Piton Hike from Soufrière, from $110). Alternatively, trek to the summit


of St Kitts’ Mount Liamuiga to see a sunken volcanic crater; marvel at Mina Falls in the vast rainforest reserve of El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico; or check out the unusual fauna and flora on an amble through Aruba’s


rugged and arid Arikok National Park. But arguably, above and beyond the


The ultimate celebration of hedonism is Carnival in Trinidad. Pack a supply of Berocca and unleash your inner party animal


ABOVE: Mount


Liamuiga, St Kitts


BELOW:


St George’s, Grenada


rest when it comes to grandeur and views, are Jamaica’s Blue Mountains. You can admire these rolling, emerald- green hills from the veranda of a coffee plantation, sipping a cup of the world- renowned brew (Thomson’s Town and Country excursion, with pick-up from various Montego Bay hotels, starts at £120). Alternatively, summon up your


stamina to climb the six miles to the lofty Blue Mountain Peak, or take the easier option with a downhill bike ride (local operator Blue Mountain Bicycle Tours has a trip from $129). Some 2,256 metres above sea level, guides recommend you set off in the early hours, so you reach the summit just before sunrise. That’s the time when the bluish mist, which gives the range its name, tends to lift, revealing a panoramic vista of Jamaica and a glimpse of Cuba, to boot.


w HOTTEST CITIES After a bit of beach bliss, why not check out a buzzing metropolis? The Caribbean’s capitals are not only the hub of local life, but brimming with culture and history. Lovers of fine architecture might enjoy a morning wander around Willemstad, Curacao, a Unesco World Heritage Site, where brightly coloured, 17th-century Dutch colonial buildings line the waterfront. For Victorian and Renaissance splendour, there’s Bridgetown, Barbados, home to the third-


14 September 2017 travelweekly.co.uk 59


PICTURES: MICHAEL STAVARIDIS; PUREGRENADA.COM/ROBIN KARPAN


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