Top 10 best Caribbean Vacations ranked by Howard Hillman.

photo by shazwan	via PhotoRee

You may have heard of Howard Hillman, he is considered the island or beach guru.  For many years he has traveled the world checking different islands and beaches.  He ranks them and every year determines which island or beach is the best in a top 10 ranking.  Here is his current ranking of the best Caribbean islands for a vacation.

1. Jamaica
2. St. Barts
3. British Virgin Islands
4. Barbados
5. Bahamas
6. St. Martin
7. Aruba
8. St. Lucia
9.Cayman Islands
10. Dominican Republic


Well, I guess I can quit writing this blog....wait a minute, maybe I should take a look at each of these Caribbean dream destinations and see if I would agree.  Let's start with Jamaica.

photo by rappensuncle	via PhotoRee

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"Come back to Jamaica"  was Jamaica's slogan a few years back.  To be honest I am planning an anniversary trip in July and after reading that Hillman ranked Jamaica number one I decided to have a closer look.  One problem I have to overcome with Jamaica is the stereotype image I have of Jamaica.  You know, that the island is full of a bunch of dreadlock, reggae, pot-heads, oh and there's a waterfall.  I am probably totally wrong but that's what comes to my mind when I think of Jamaica.

I do have some good friends who honeymooned there and loved it so much that they returned a few years later.  Now these friends are of the partying type so that kinda makes me a little suspicious again....

So in doing a little research I discovered that Jamaica has probably the highest crime rate of any Caribbean island, in fact the murder rate there is among the highest in the world.  Just in January the government issued a State of Alert warning of civil unrest and violent crime in Kingston. Yikes!  Not exactly the kind of news you want to hear about your vacation destination.

It is said that Jamaica is the most African of the Caribbean islands.  Which could be good or bad depending on whether or not you want to be in an African culture on your Caribbean vacation.  I know some folks who have been there and mentioned the poverty in areas outside the resort areas similar to Mexico.

Montego Bay, Negril and Ocho Rios are the main resort areas, and the best deals there can be found on Book It.  Each area has its requisite resorts and beautiful beaches.  Next we'll take a look at each of these resort areas to see what makes each of them special place for your best Caribbean vacation.