Richard Greaves asked:


The word Caribbean evokes images of hot tropic lands, colourful cultures, buried treasure and fabulous beaches – in short, the perfect vacation destination. One was to see into the heart of a country is by exploring museums, those treasure houses of a country’s past. Here we’ll look into the Caribbean world through unique museums in the Bahamas, Barbados and Jamaica.

First, we’ll visit the Bahamas, an archipelago of 700 islands and cays. In 1783 the Bahamas became a British colony, a status it was to maintain until 1973 when it gained independence.



One of the major themes of the Caribbean is of course pirates and the Bahamas was one of their lairs. This area was once the stomping ground of such buccaneers as Captains Morgan and Kidd who grew rich from the spoils of looting ships. If you want a glimpse into this murky world you can visit the Pirates of Nassau museum which recreates the golden age of piracy (1690-1720).

At the Pirates of Nassau museum you can stroll through the body of a pirate ship eavesdropping on the buccaneers as they plot their next attack. The museum is staffed with pirate impersonators and features its own pub called the Malborough Arms. It’s especially great for kids.

Next is Barbados, an island that’s part of the Lesser Antilles located northeast of Venezuela. With its tropical climate, pink and white sand beaches, sugarcane plantations and vibrant West Indian culture, Barbados is a deservedly popular tourist destination.

To get to know Barbados, head for the Barbados Museum, located at St Ann’s Garrison, a former British Military Prison. There a set of comprehensive displays trace the island’s development from prehistoric times to the present day. Displays include natural history including the local coral structure, Amerindian culture, Barbadian history, and African and European decorative arts. Especially notable are the collections of West Indian maps.

Finally we look at the seductive islands of Jamaica. And what more fitting museum in the home of reggae than a shrine to its founder and high priest, Bob Marley? Located in the singer’s former home in the capital Kingston, the Bob Marley Museum is the city’s most popular site for visitors.

The museum is housed in a simple clapboard building was not only Bob Marley’s house but also his recording studio until his death in 1981. And it was the headquarters of Tuff Gong, the record label founded by Marley and his band The Wailers in 1970. The museum also features an 80-seat theatre.

Reggae fans can feast their eyes on Marley memorabilia such as his star-shaped guitar by the bed in his bedroom. You can also see the bullet holes that tore through the rear wall during an assassination attempt in 1976 in which Marley was wounded.

So when you take your Caribbean vacation, don’t neglect the museums. Not only do they bring alive the history of a place, they’re your conduit into the heart of a country, culture and people. Before travelling to Jamaica, make sure that the hotel reservations are in place. Hotels in Barbados and hotels in Bahamas can easily be booked in advance through the Internet, and then you will be able to enjoy Jamaica at the best.

Mike Cole asked:


An adventure tour is not your typical vacation. As indicated by the name, an adventure tour includes an element of excitement and exploration. For most travellers, the adventure lies in the destinations, the activities, and the tour group that you go with. A properly planned adventure tour can be a once in a lifetime experience. Taking adventure tours is part of a growing trend for those who want to get more out of their vacations than simply sitting on the beach. Many individuals in today’s world engage in regular exercise and other “extreme sports”, and are also interested in the culture and landscape of a foreign country. For these vacationers, a basic trip to a tropical island will just not do. If you mountain bike, mountain climb, or white water raft in your free time, why not incorporate that activity into your vacation? All of these exciting elements are combined in an adventure tour.

Choose Your Own Adventure

The extreme differences and varieties of landscape and climate of the four corners of the Earth come to life on an adventure vacation. At the heart of the adventure tour is the location or locations visited on the trip. Different people see different activities as adventures, so there are many options on an adventure tour depending on the traveler’s interests. Other vacationers can handle only a certain amount of activity, so that has to be taken into account as well.

In most cases, an adventure tour includes physical exertion of some kind. This type of adventure tour can include hiking, bicycling, kayaking, canoeing, and any other physical activity that you can think of, even ice climbing. Of course, all of these activities are enriched by the locale. White water rafting in the same old rivers in your home state can become ordinary. What better way to revitalize your interest in this extreme sport by travelling to New Zealand and trying you skills down a brand-new set of waterways.

Other adventurous souls who may desire a bit less physical exertion can still travel to exotic locations and experience the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and everything else that their chosen destination or destinations has to offer. They can still enjoy the complete experience of taking in all that a city or country has to offer. This type of adventure tour usually involves cultural traditions, such as taking part in an ancient ceremony in Mexico.

See and Do More

A good part of the adventure tour is spent travelling so that more ground can be covered. So many sights and highlights can be caught and experienced along the way that a simple trip can seem to encompass what may have taken multiple vacations to cover.

The advanced planning that an adventure tour includes allows for much more to be fit into each day than would be covered by a more relaxed and pampered. As you keep moving from stop to stop, you can see more of the state or country that you are visiting.

On an adventure tour, you may even be able to move from country to country, such as in Southeast Asia or Africa, to sample all of the radically different cultures that share borders. Any nomadic, adventurous spirit would feel right at home traversing a multitude of nations on one adventure tour. Upon their return, travelers often report feeling that they feel as if they have experienced several vacations instead of just one. A traditional vacation may scratch the surface of a destination, but an adventure our thrusts you into the heart and soul of a foreign land.

Strangers and Friends

An unforeseen benefit of an adventure tour is that you experience these exotic locals with a group of other people. They can come from different areas, from different backgrounds, and, consequently, from radically different lives. You are all brought together to experience something special on an adventure tour.

As you share experience after experience you bond within your own little group. You get the chance to share new experiences with people from different backgrounds, seeing how they react to the world you are discovering together. It has been said that you cannot understand this aspect of an adventure tour experience until you have lived through it. A great group of people travelling the world together can take an already amazing experience to new heights.

Adventure tours are an experience unlike any other. They take the time that you would spend on a traditional vacation and offer you an unparalleled chance for excitement and adventure. The great diversity and variety of an adventure tour ensures that there really is something for everyone. On an adventure tour, no two experiences are exactly alike. The chance to take such a tour is a once in a lifetime opportunity but requires you to answer yes to a very simple question. Would you like to have an adventure?