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Taking a boat up through all of those little Caribbean Islands? Feasibility?
This is something I've never researched, but just wondered what the feasibility is of it. Would it be easy or problematic to just go up (or down) the Caribbean chain of islands, and have few problems with finding ports, sleeping in the boat, etc. for a fraction of the cost than any other form of travel?
(I have no intention of doing this anytime soon whatsoever, for time and money reasons, but I am quite curious if it was feasible or relatively easy to do).
Boats and "fraction of the cost of other travel" should not be used together. Boats are expensive. Things break. Fuel is expensive. Dockage is expensive. You may be talking a sailboat though and just anchoring out in which case a lot of fuel costs and slip fees can be avoided, however, it's still a boat and things will still break at inopportune times. You will also still have port fees, customs fees, cruising permits, bribes and other costs associated with entering and leaving assorted country's. As far as dockage, most places you should call ahead to make reservations if staying any and to make sure they have fuel if you are taking any on.
As far as the feasibility, it really isn't that difficult but you need to make sure the boat is in top shape because you want to minimize the chance of breakdowns. But it is still a boat and things will go wrong. I have done many trips through assorted islands while taking boats from S FL to Venezuela and Panama/Costa Rica, including the many fuel stops along the way. Now my input is going to be based on 60ft class sportfishermen which cruise at 30+ knots and burn from 80 to 130 gallons per hour.
Also pay strict attention to the weather and use all means possible. And if by chance you are passing through on a 30 footer and the crews on the 60 to 70 sportfishers are telling you they are holding off a few days because it is nasty out there and you would be a fool if you left and were heading towards so and so island---listen.
And as far as guns, well I love my guns and have nothing against them as well. Hunting at home is one of my favorite seasons. HOWEVER, anybody who is going to want to take your boat will be more armed then you and and won't be scared to use them. LEAVE YOUR GUNS AT HOME IN THE US. Other country's don't take to guns like we do in the USA and if you don't declare and turn them in upon entry entry you risk them finding them on a search and then you are talking jail, prison and hefty fines. YOU WILL HAVE NO RIGHTS. You may be put away for a while and the US cannot do anything to help as it would have been another country's law you broke. LEAVE THEM AT HOME. And once they have been declared they will be on your paperwork so the next country you enter will know you have them and they MUST be declared.
Unlike the US you will also need permission to enter as well as leave.
Boats and "fraction of the cost of other travel" should not be used together. Boats are expensive. Things break. Fuel is expensive. Dockage is expensive. You may be talking a sailboat though and just anchoring out in which case a lot of fuel costs and slip fees can be avoided, however, it's still a boat and things will still break at inopportune times. You will also still have port fees, customs fees, cruising permits, bribes and other costs associated with entering and leaving assorted country's. As far as dockage, most places you should call ahead to make reservations if staying any and to make sure they have fuel if you are taking any on.
As far as the feasibility, it really isn't that difficult but you need to make sure the boat is in top shape because you want to minimize the chance of breakdowns. But it is still a boat and things will go wrong. I have done many trips through assorted islands while taking boats from S FL to Venezuela and Panama/Costa Rica, including the many fuel stops along the way. Now my input is going to be based on 60ft class sportfishermen which cruise at 30+ knots and burn from 80 to 130 gallons per hour.
Also pay strict attention to the weather and use all means possible. And if by chance you are passing through on a 30 footer and the crews on the 60 to 70 sportfishers are telling you they are holding off a few days because it is nasty out there and you would be a fool if you left and were heading towards so and so island---listen.
And as far as guns, well I love my guns and have nothing against them as well. Hunting at home is one of my favorite seasons. HOWEVER, anybody who is going to want to take your boat will be more armed then you and and won't be scared to use them. LEAVE YOUR GUNS AT HOME IN THE US. Other country's don't take to guns like we do in the USA and if you don't declare and turn them in upon entry entry you risk them finding them on a search and then you are talking jail, prison and hefty fines. YOU WILL HAVE NO RIGHTS. You may be put away for a while and the US cannot do anything to help as it would have been another country's law you broke. LEAVE THEM AT HOME. And once they have been declared they will be on your paperwork so the next country you enter will know you have them and they MUST be declared.
Unlike the US you will also need permission to enter as well as leave.
That sounds way more problematic than it's worth!
Are the Islands well-connected by ferry lines, to make it somewhat possible to island-hop (independent travel) without any intention of a 'cruise'?
Are the Islands well-connected by ferry lines, to make it somewhat possible to island-hop (independent travel) without any intention of a 'cruise'?
Sadly no.The small islands don't really collaborate much. There is more demand for people to go to MIami than another island. SO a ferry taking people to all the smaller islands would not be financially sustainable. Countries which consist of numerous islands do use ferry services though. Like Trinidad to Tobago. Or St Vincent to the Grenadines. I'd highly recommend island hopping using their ferry service the Grenadines starting in St Vincent. The Grenadines are possibly the most beautiful spot in the Caribbean.
Sadly no.The small islands don't really collaborate much. There is more demand for people to go to MIami than another island. SO a ferry taking people to all the smaller islands would not be financially sustainable. Countries which consist of numerous islands do use ferry services though. Like Trinidad to Tobago. Or St Vincent to the Grenadines. I'd highly recommend island hopping using their ferry service the Grenadines starting in St Vincent. The Grenadines are possibly the most beautiful spot in the Caribbean.
That makes sense. That's basically the way I thought it would be.
I.E., people would visit an island from Miami/NYC/Europe and fly right back out again.
Are the Islands well-connected by ferry lines, to make it somewhat possible to island-hop (independent travel) without any intention of a 'cruise'?
Travel within the Eastern Caribbean is done by local carriers. The only ferry service which exists, other than the domestic services described, is a service which sails from Guadeloupe to Dominica to Martinique to St Lucia. Its a decent sized boat so rides the waves well. Most likely subsidized by the French gov't.
Despite frequent talk I don't expect to see ferry services soon elsewhere. I am not sure how many people will trade a 40 minute flight for several hours on the waves.
That makes sense. That's basically the way I thought it would be.
I.E., people would visit an island from Miami/NYC/Europe and fly right back out again.
Well that too..but I actually meant amongst the locals of the various islands. As a Trinidadian, I've been to Miami way more times than I've been to Barbados for example. There isn't that huge of a demand for islanders to visit other islands so a ferry taking locals to the various islands cannot surivive financially. The few places where you do find a ferry service it is sustained by local demand, not foreign.
Travel within the Eastern Caribbean is done by local carriers. The only ferry service which exists, other than the domestic services described, is a service which sails from Guadeloupe to Dominica to Martinique to St Lucia. Its a decent sized boat so rides the waves well. Most likely subsidized by the French gov't.
Despite frequent talk I don't expect to see ferry services soon elsewhere. I am not sure how many people will trade a 40 minute flight for several hours on the waves.
Even air travel is prohibitively expensive and often inconvenient. I live in Trinidad and the only Southern/Eastern islands I can get direct flights to are Barbados, Grenada,St Lucia, St Vincent, Antigua, St Maarten...and at a price comparable to or more expensive than a flight to Miami.
I really want to visit St Kitts...but the only option is Liat with terrible connections, delays and a price of 650 US is the cheapest I've seen
Even air travel is prohibitively expensive and often inconvenient. I live in Trinidad and the only Southern/Eastern islands I can get direct flights to are Barbados, Grenada,St Lucia, St Vincent, Antigua, St Maarten...and at a price comparable to or more expensive than a flight to Miami.
I really want to visit St Kitts...but the only option is Liat with terrible connections, delays and a price of 650 US is the cheapest I've seen
The problem with travel within the Caribbean are the taxes. If a person travels within the Caribbean there are TWO gov'ts charging high taxes. I checked airfares within the Caribbean and in most instances 40-60% of the fare was TAXES.
If Caribbean gov'ts want intra regional travel, and they should because there USED TO BE actually more intra Caribbean travel within the E/Caribbean than arrivals from Canada, and many of the smaller hotels needed this business, they have to reduce/remove taxes for intra regional travel.
Indeed this is even hurting tourism even by non Caribbean people. Often times people have arrived in an island and then heard something about another nearby, and enquired about fares. When discovering that the fare to an island 100 miles away is as much as to their home town 1,700 miles away they recoiled.
Many people would love to combine Barbados with St Lucia, but will not if it doubles their airfare.
And yes that fare from POS to StK is the same as I would pay JFK to StK. And 50% more than you would pay to MIA.
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