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family & multi-generational holidays
holidays for THE AGES
From swimming with stingrays to hurtling down zip-lines to learning how to paddleboard, the Caribbean is a fun-filled adventure playground for families, says Kathryn Liston
T
he Caribbean offers multiple opportunities for creating wonderful family memories. Its family-friendly hotels, luxury villas – some with a private chef – and all-inclusive resorts with kids’ clubs and waterparks cater for all group sizes and ages. The clear, warm waters of the Caribbean Sea provide fun for all. Swim with stingrays in the Cayman Islands or Antigua, frolic with dolphins in St Maarten and paddle with turtles in St Thomas in the
A Mayan history lesson for the family in Belize
Underwater Sculpture Park, Grenada
U.S. Virgin Islands. The whole family will be fascinated by the friendly pigs that live on Big Major Cay, one of 365 islands in Exuma, a district of The Bahamas. The pigs paddle out to greet arriving boats. Visitors here might also spot nurse sharks and the endangered Exuma Island iguanas. In Tobago, active families can enjoy a range of watersports at Mount Irvine or Minister Bay while kite-surfers can learn the ropes from instructors at Pigeon Point and cyclists can ride the invigorating Elvis Goats cycle trail or ease up on the gentle Chala’s Trail, created by local villagers. Tours and bike hire, including e-bikes, are available. The Belize Barrier Reef, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is a great place for families to discover the pristine coral reef and at the same time learn how to sea kayak, sail a kayak, SUP, snorkel, or fish Belizean style. Inland, Mayan temples and tombs at Altun, Caracol and Santa Rita offer a history lesson. In Grenada, take a traditional Carriacou sloop to the underwater sculpture park or the Caribbean’s largest ship wreck, Bianca
C, or captain your own kayak on a night-time
A family cabana at Beaches Negril, Jamaica
Rainforest Canopy Tram, St Lucia
guided bioluminescence tour from Grand Cayman’s Rum Point and watch billions of plankton particles create an amazing light display. A kayak is the best way to reach Rendezvous Bay, Montserrat’s only whitesand beach, and to tour the mangroves of Lac Bay on Bonaire’s western coastline. Nature-loving families will find plenty to entertain them in the Dominican rainforest, where hot springs, bubbling mud pools, geysers, rivers, waterfalls, rare orchids and colourful birds abound. Activities include hiking and canyoning. In Guyana, see some of the estimated 910 bird species and 6,000 species of plants. A zip-wire is an exhilarating way to traverse the rainforest and you’ll find them in St. Kitts, Belize, Jamaica, Antigua, Grenada, Saint Lucia, St Martin, Trinidad and Haiti, where the Dragon’s Breath is the Caribbean’s longest. An aerial tram in Saint Lucia provides little ones with a bird’s eye view of hummingbirds while a jeep safari is a fun way to explore the rainforest of Antigua. A high-speed catamaran can whizz visitors off to neighbouring Barbuda for the day, where they can visit the Frigate Bird Sanctuary. An adventurous way to explore Aruba’s scenic desert, rock formations and amazing coastline is by joining a quad or ATV tour. Younger visitors will enjoy meeting Barbados’s popular green monkey residents
caribbean.co.uk
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