What NOT to do on a Caribbean Vacation

hey there fellow travelers mark you with Baltar's world and today we're on the beautiful beaches of Aruba and today we're going to talk about are some of the don'ts you should go before you come to the Caribbean because there's a lot of do's when you're here and it doesn't matter if you're going to Jamaica if you're going to here in Aruba or you're going to Barbados or someplace else there's so many great islands so many great people to visit but there are some don'ts I want to just get started and my first dog which I think it's really important for people to realize is don't think that every Caribbean island is the same look if you're going to Jamaica you'll have a different experience if you come to Aruba which is different experience and going to Barbados which is different than st. Kitts which is David if you're gonna go to Cuba or or if you're gonna go to Puerto Rico and stuff like that all these islands through here they have distinct cultures they have distinct people distinct foods all kinds of stuff yes there are some things that are go to cross over but you really need to know is there are differences here and so you need to do your research to figure out what islands best for you if you want more adventure stuff I want to be jumping in waterfalls and doing things like that maybe to make us for you if all I want to do is kick back and relax the beach and do nothing else Turks and Caicos could be for you oh I want to do a little bit of beach I want a little bit of adventure maybe a room is for you there's all kinds of different stuff you want to see and do but the thing is the islands can be different so don't forget to do your research to figure out which islands gonna be right for you now my next stone actually has to do with the cruise travelers because I know a lot of people just cruise to the Caribbean which is awesome don't get me wrong but I think it's important for cruisers to know that this don't think that the port of call truly represents the entire culture of the island you're going to if you're going to hear an iranian star you're going to otro Rios in Jamaica I mean they're cool they got stuff to do but the thing is that they know that's where a lot of tourists come in so you have lots of touts that are there you have a lot of Jewish restaurants a lot of tourists shopping and things like that and it's kind of like if you went to Orlando yes it would give you a taste of the United States but does it give you a really deep down feel of it no you got to explore a little bit more and so when you come here make sure you are doing more than just walking in the town and walking back out with a few souvenirs heat up some of the beaches do an excursion or something like that and that leads to my second don't first specifically for cruise travelers coming to the Caribbean if there's something you really you want to do now I know the cruise ship will have excursions you can do but what I recommend there's some that's really important like if you're big into archeology are you really big into nature wildlife or something like that don't be afraid to hire your own personal guide that's just for you to go and visit the island now the thing is the benefit for that is you don't have a huge busload of people because when they do a bus tour they have to do a bus tour so you can't go and depth with something here if one person is late you all have to way behind it gets kind of annoying kind of stuff so that's why I say look if you want to learn more about you know the the cave paintings here in Aruba get a guy when you come and have them take you to there okay now I will say this though the drawback of having a private tour one probably cost a bit more but - if you're late coming back from a private tour the cruise ship does not wait for you the cruise ship will wait for you if you're on the bus tour okay so make sure you're planning ahead for those things because honestly I've done a few times both ways and I've got a lot of bang for the buck when it is going by ourselves cuz think about it I mean I know it's not really the Caribbean where we go to Cancun and you take that cruise and you take the excursion Abacha Picchu I can already tell you the market they're gonna stop at to get you to buy stuff and I can already tell you the town they're gonna stop out on the way out it's already kind of planned whereas when you have your own guide you could say okay we're done here let's go to the next spot so that can help out yeah you notice I'm talking pretty fast I really need to slow down because my next don't for you is don't get in a rush in the Caribbean I know it might be the British West Indies or the Dutch Caribbean and things like that and they might have those names that sound like everything will be on time look you have to think island life island time everything will happen it will just take some time so to get your menu to get seated at the restaurant to get your drink or your rum runner or whatever might take a little time okay so just have patience there's no reason to get upset I mean where are you gonna go you're on an island enjoy the Sun enjoy the beach enjoy relaxing I personally think they do that so we tours better go go go go go are forced to just sit calm down relax and enjoy the view and when you're enjoying that view my next don't for you is don't forget to bring some sun protection yes sunblock is a really important thing okay you gotta have that and yes I am a bit red and I've been putting on sunblock and reapplying it but you have very intense sun rays down here the father you go south in the Caribbean the more intense they get so do have a heads up have your beach clothes have a hat and stuff like that and the thing is some people laugh they're like oh well it's because you're bald Market burns like I tell you what if you have a part if you're not bald and you have a part it'll burn there too okay so make sure you're doing that as well because I've seen a lot of purple tourists here and in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands and otherwise we've gone to do you want to be careful with that alright now my next don't for you is don't think that go in the Caribbean is gonna be cheap those you know that lotion the sunblock bring it from home because it might be two three four or five times the price at the shops on the islands just think about it we're in the Caribbean they're islands islands by definition things have to be brought into them which increases the price and then you have tons of tourists that come to these islands which has been increases the price so you're not going to get a cheap vacation when you do to come to the Caribbean so have a heads up for it so make sure you're planning your budget accordingly for when you do come to the Caribbean some islands are more affordable and if you go and eat with the locals you can save a lot of cash but a lot of people like to stay in the resort areas and stuff like that where the prices are higher so do have a heads up and use those supermarkets to your advantage even if you're just bringing snacks back maybe only two meals out of day and then you smack for dinner or you snack for lunch or you have a snack breakfast or something like that it can put a dent in that really high price of coming to the Caribbean now my next up for you we're going back to the beach and that would be don't get overly upset with the aggressive touts when you're on the beach you'll notice in Jamaica you know though guys who come up to you all the time hey you want to buy something we're by this way buy that you want some sunblock with some ganja you want these things some islands you're gonna have touts that are going to come and try to sell you stuff incessantly again and again and again look I know people get really frustrated that I've seen people yelling at the touts but you have to realize there's a lot of the islands of the Caribbean don't have a social system to support people so those people this is how they make a living is selling those trinket is selling those tours and things like that so what I feel works best this worked for us in Jamaica it worked for us here work first in other places okay as we said this like hey we've already got our souvenirs for the day well first off we start with hey how are you doing today so we greeted them back didn't ignore them didn't say I'll leave me alone just common courtesy hey how you doing a good day man and they asked oh you want something like now that we already got all their souvenirs but I respect you asked for us I really appreciating that you have a good day and have a see you later I can't tell you how many times we got hate respect man thanks man have a good day too and they kind of left us alone and the thing is it wasn't animosity or anything like that just realized that's how they make a living and it can be frustrating but just be prepared for it so have you're kind of flying down so you can kind of go through and if I do have something you want why not buy it help out the local community help out a local person support their family now my next don't for you has to do with the Hurricanes and that is don't forget hurricane season July through November is hurricane season in the Caribbean okay now here in Aruba where South the hurricane belt so they usually don't get anything but other parts do get hit and it is really really really horrible things happen so make sure if you're gonna try to come in October or September or August or something like that buy your trip insurance in case the bad weather does come have backup plants in case things don't go right okay have those things kind of set up so you know what you should do in case our hurricane comes now if you're coming outside those tubs you don't really need to worry about it oh you just got Sun and just got to worry about the Sun right and so do have a heads up though because July through November is hurricane season obviously towards the end and beginning a little less intense you just really have to think about it when you are scheduling a trip to the Caribbean okay now I think you should see another beach view so we'll move to another beach to enjoy some more tips on the Caribbean now my next don't view is don't forget to bring some US dollars look most the islands here have their own currencies but kind of a secondary currency that is used on a lot of the islands is the US dollar because of all the US tourists who come here a lot of it floods in you will see ATMs that like you the local currency or the US dollar for example here in Aruba I can choose Florence or dollars to have taken out so do bring some with you I also recommend that you do bring some smaller bills bring some singles bring some fives and tens because if you're gonna be you're if you're on a cruise you want to buy something little trinkets you want to have the small bills cuz people might not have change or if they do have change they might give you change back in the local currency so have a heads up but in general you're gonna be okay just using the US dollar now my next don't for you is don't think that your magic fanny pack is going to protect you here in the Caribbean look I know when we travel we think we put on our magic fanny pack and nothing bad will happen to us look you do need to be careful when you are coming to the Caribbean now I'm not saying it's unsafe everywhere a lot of Caribbean islands are actually very safe here in a rube Turks and Caicos things like that but a lot of times you do to make sure you're using your usual traveler sense okay if you don't feel like you're in the right part of town get out of that part of town if you don't feel comfortable driving hire a local guide or hire a local driver to show you around that can really help and that's why it's really important you do your research on the islands you're gonna go to to make sure you know what things you should look out for like is there certain parts the islands you shouldn't go to or is it more bad at night or things like that just to give you the heads up for example if you're looking at all the stray dogs and cats you're gonna see around at some of these islands you know they come hotcakes in Turks and Caicos and there's actually pot cake care centers you can go to and walk the dogs and stuff like that other places you kind of want to stay away from them so just have a heads up for that now another thing I want to talk about is cell service Wi-Fi things like that am i dough for that is don't worry you will have Wi-Fi you will have electricity you will have cell service you will have all those things now in terms of the data and the Wi-Fi and stuff like that now it may save 4G or whatever on your phone that doesn't mean you're gonna get blazing fast internet when you're in your hotel or when you're on your phone but you will have it which is always nice but I will tell you if you're going to be going exploring on the islands you know maybe doing hikes or going on the that you're the more remote side of the islands I recommend you download like a maps at me like version map of the country so you can be tracked in case you don't have cell service because sometimes in kind of the backwater parts of the islands you might not have so service so just to be safe download and offline map so you can have that okay now my next stone for you is don't be scared to leave your resort look I know a lot of people and they come with a Caribbean they get worried about their safety and stuff like that I think I would just stay on my resort and I'm not gonna do anything else except drink my all-inclusive alcohol and eat my all-inclusive food which is awesome I mean that's what you want to do great but don't be afraid to go off property go take it to a go see some more of the island head up and go see the California lighthouse here go snorkeling and doing things like that get out of your resort because then you have a better chance of seeing some local culture now I realize that a lot of people come specifically for those all-inclusive resorts because look I want to be at sandals I just want to chillax that's totally fine but I always like to recommend people don't just stay at the resort go out and explore also I find you get better food when you go out and explore as well now another thing I want to talk about is when you're coming to the beach okay I was in the Caribbean it's all about the beaches the beautiful water and the beautiful sand I want to tell you don't forget to bring your beach accoutrements with you you know if you're taking kids bring that little cheap yo shovel and pail they have throw that in their backpacks okay you're not packing a lot I mean it's the beaches here so you got t-shirts and swim trunks so you have room in your suitcase so bring the towel bring extra sunblock like we talked about before bring bug spray you know bring think you know your goggles and your snorkel and things like that because the thing is when you buy it at the stores here you talk about the the sticker shock of here you're gonna pay a lot more so just bring it with you you have it all from last year's summer vacation just throw it in there it'll make your life so much easier but what's coolest a lot of these places will have snorkeling things you can go do so you can take your own snorkel maybe you like the ones that doesn't filter back in or maybe you like the face mask one that just goes over your head there's all kinds of different ones you can get it at home and then you're not sharing something that 50 other people this week have like latched their mouth on to okay so do think about bringing some of that stuff with you so one of those things I think you should pack and bring from home is also a reusable water bottle because you don't want to get dehydrated if you have your own water bottle you can refill it all the time and drink that so you'll be okay alright now my next don't for you is don't go in the water if the flag say not to because a lot of times people comes like I don't care I'm here on vacation I'm going in the beach I'm going in the surf I'm gonna go enjoy the water and they don't look at the flags if the flags are red you don't want to go in so make sure you're watching the flags because you know what you don't want to be a horror story that happens if someone comes on vacation and gets swept out to sea now it doesn't happen very often but you will notice there's not a lot of lifeguards out on the beaches in the Caribbean so do have a heads up with those flags now my next tip for you kind of relates back to that one about getting off the resort and that is don't be afraid to go adventuring when you're here whether that adventure is heading the Kingstown at scene Trenchtown in Jamaica or maybe you're going out on a Jeep Safari or getting one of those Gators and driving around and stuff like that the Caribbean islands are made for adventure okay they're made to go out and explore go snorkeling go parasailing go kite surfing go go tubing do all kinds of stuff there's all kinds of great things you want to swim with some rays and sharks you can do that too there's a lot of outdoor activities you can do when you're here hiking in some of the mountains I mean my goodness going in Jamaica just gorgeous inland here in Aruba you can do some hikes at the national park there's all kinds of cool stuff that you can do but I really think it's one of the great things about the Caribbean is it's such an a kind of adventurous a lot of stuff you can do aside from chilling at the beach I guess it's actually why I think the next thing I should tell you is don't forget to bring the kids and the grandparents because the Caribbean makes a great multi-generational like destination just think about it the people that just want to sit at the beach and relax and do nothing can do that the people just want a drink run can do that the kids that want to go over the pool they can do that those who want to go out and adventuring and doing things and jumping in waterfalls and stuff like that they can do that there's something for everybody when you're here and that's what's really nice about it and it's really you know a wonderful place to be for all generations okay but I will say my last don't for you is don't expect to find a lot of empty space on the beach okay you're not gonna get a lot of alone time now I know I'm here getting some alone time filming but it's also seven o'clock in the morning okay the thing is you have to realize because the Caribbean is so popular and tours come here all the time you're it's gonna be busy you're gonna have those prices I talked about but it's gonna be hard to find time for yourself or things like that or or a loan space okay so just be ready to be able to share your wonderful family vacation with a lot of other families or a lot of other couples and things like that but it is well worth it anyway I want to say have a great time here in the Caribbean if you want to learn more check us out some other our videos on Aruba maybe go to Jamaica Turks and Caicos all kinds other places in the Caribbean and around the world and I'll say bye from here in the one happy Island Aruba

Channel: Wolters World

Views: 106,713

Keywords: travel, europe, mark wolters, wolters world, travel advice, tourist attractions, travel vlogger, honest travel, fat travel guy

Id: HXW5SxHk718

Length: 15min 51sec (951 seconds)

Published: Sat Feb 22 2020