In my opinion, summertime is the best time to go on vacation. Nobody's pre-occupied with planning or shopping for other holidays. The kids are out of school. And even though it's hot during the summer, I like it: the heat slows me down, and I feel like I spend more time looking around me and enjoying what I see. Yes, indeedy, I do like summer travel.
Among the best part of summertime travel, though, is the fact that it's off-season for many locations, meaning you can find super deals to great destinations. In other words, summer is a great time to sample destinations you might not otherwise be able to afford. Alternatively, summertime travel rates can provide you with the opportunity to pack in more activities during the trip. Either way, you win!
To that end, we did some searching, and here are our picks for summer's best beach and dive deals:
- Dominica is considered one of the eco-wonderlands of the Caribbean and very high on my list of places to visit. In addition to the great diving, the island offers all kinds of eco-excursions, from whale watching to dolphin tours to hikes through the rain forest in Morne Trois Piton National Park – a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This summer, Castle Comfort Dive Lodge is offering 7 nights accommodation and 7 breakfasts; 5 days of 2-tank boat dives; and more, all for $879 per person, based on double occupancy.
- Anguilla's Arawak Beach Inn is offering an all-inclusive 8-day/7-night Island Adventure Package for $699 per person. For that price, you get all your breakfasts, several "very special dinners," a catered boat trip to an uninhabited island, and a 3-day car rental. If you can't get away for a week, they also offer a 3-day/2-night Dolphin Discovery Package for $299 per person that includes a "Discovery Swim" with local dolphins.
- We mentioned beautiful Antigua last week. Located in the eastern Caribbean, Antigua boasts some spectacular shallow-water wrecks, virtually no currents, and some of the most amazing sunsets you've ever seen. For a limited time, Jolly Beach Resort is offering rates as low as $136 per person per night for all-inclusive packages, including meals, house-brand beverages, activities, day and night time entertainment, and non-motorized watersports.
- Little Cayman -- the quietest and least developed of the Sister Islands -- is home to one of my favorite dive lodges on the planet: Little Cayman Beach Resort. From August through October of this year, they're offering 7 nights accommodation, plus breakfasts, dinners, and 6 days of 2-tank dives for $999.
- Vieques' Inn on the Blue Horizon, named by Conde Nast as one of the Top 15 Small Luxury Hotels in the Caribbean, doesn't consider the low season to start until August. But if you can wait until then, you can get a 2-person room for as low as $125.
Gosh, what more do you want? I can't make the reservations for you. Now get out there!
