St. Martin is one island with two distinct personalities. You’ll land over the famous Maho Beach on the Dutch side and hit Marigot to explore the French side. But you also can island hop to destinations like St. Barths, Antigua, and the best destination for pristine, white-sand beaches—Anguilla. Here’s how I visited St. Martin and Anguilla for just $1500.

If you’re visiting St. Maarten, a day trip to Anguilla is one of the easiest and most rewarding ways to expand your Caribbean experience. Known for its white sand beaches and turquoise waters, Anguilla offers a distinct contrast to St. Maarten and with a $150 Viator day cruise, it’s both accessible and worth it.

Food in the Caribbean can be attributed to the fusion of many different cultures. Often heavy on the spices and sourced locally, the food is rich, hearty, and I would even say made with love. There are dishes found in each respective location that are very similar, save a couple ingredients and often named differently. Here are some unique Caribbean foods and dishes you'll want to try.

Caye Caulker is a 5.5-mile scenic island off the coast of Belize with the friendliest people, amazing marine life, great food, and brilliant sunsets. You’ll definitely get to know people before you leave, and it’s truly a joy to do so. Life moves slower here, and that’s part of the charm. Barefoot strolls along three main streets, a tray full of jerk chicken, beans and rice—it’s so easy to feel at home.

Jamaica is a breathtaking country, and while there, I learned so much about the culture including the flag's symbolism, the origins of jerk food, of which I had my fill, and of course I heard the music of the great Bob Marley.

River rafting on the Martha Brae is one of the most popular experiences that people flock to in Jamaica and for good reason. It’s relaxing, it’s a great photo opportunity, and it’s an opportunity to experience such a meaningful cultural marker.

If you’re looking for a location that is advanced and technologically up to date, then I wouldn’t recommend Cuba. If you’re looking for a place to really disconnect and immerse yourself in the culture, I would say Cuba fits the bill. There are some really specific things about Cuba I want to suggest to help you better plan and enjoy your trip.

Before I actually began traveling, I had a running list of places I wanted to visit, mostly international. I had not thought of Cuba…until I thought of Cuba. I found an article that listed places off the east coast with relatively inexpensive flights and Cuba was one of those places.

The borders of Cuba have not consistently been open for political reasons and people have many mythical ideas about it being unsafe. As a solo female traveler, I can say that I had quite the rich, fulfilling, and safe experience in Cuba. I planned several activities over the course of a few days, so I’m sharing them here with you.

You should know that Caye Caulker is known for fryjacks, a traditional Belizean dish that is deep fried dough stuffed with various items, and lobster, the seafood that was once their largest export. You’ll also find some Caribbean classics like stewed chicken and Cubano sandwiches. The slogan in Caye Caulker is “go slow” and I would add “eat good.”

I visited Caye Caulker in 2021 when many Covid restrictions were still very much in effect, so there were some experiences that I had planned and scheduled that I could not do, for example the plane ride over The Great Blue Hole and snorkeling. Having said that, I still made the most of my time with some very unique and spontaneous activities that, although relatively simple, were a lot of fun.