These 3 English Speaking Caribbean Islands Have Empty Beaches, $7 BBQ, And Perfect 80 Degree Weather

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When winter hits and the snow starts piling up outside your window, the absolute last thing you want to do is pack a heavy winter coat. You just want to throw some swimsuits in a carry on bag, find the nearest stretch of warm sand, and completely thaw out. However, if you follow the huge crowds to the standard mega resorts in the most popular destinations, you are going to be fighting for pool chairs at dawn and paying thirty dollars for a single watered down cocktail.

Finding the perfect winter escape usually requires a frustrating compromise. If you want cheap street food and empty beaches, you usually have to navigate severe language barriers and confusing local transportation. If you want the comfort of native English and easy logistics, you usually get stuck paying premium prices at crowded tourist traps.

If you want to skip the ridiculously high prices and the massive crowds without having to learn a completely new language, there is a better way to travel. You just have to know exactly where to look and be willing to step slightly off the beaten path.

Here are three incredible English speaking Caribbean islands that offer empty beaches, amazing local street food, and guaranteed 80 degree weather this winter.

Anguilla: The Ultimate Luxury Hack

Anguilla is a British Overseas Territory, which means English is the native language everywhere you go on the island. It absolutely has a reputation as a billionaire playground filled with massive luxury villas and incredibly expensive grocery stores. However, everyday travelers are rapidly realizing that you can easily hack the local food scene to eat incredibly well on a strict budget. During the core winter months of December through February, the daily high temperatures hover perfectly between 82 and 84 degrees.

The absolute biggest draw here is the total lack of massive daytime crowds. The island intentionally never built a deepwater cruise pier. This means the giant mega ships physically cannot dock here, keeping the island completely free of the massive tourist herds that routinely ruin other popular Caribbean destinations. You will only see small boutique yachts anchored offshore, leaving the beaches beautifully quiet. Getting here is also incredibly easy. You just fly into neighboring St. Maarten and take a quick, highly scenic twenty minute public ferry right over to the island.

• The Unique Experience: Rent a local car and spend your days beach hopping at your exact own pace. You have thirty three stunning white sand beaches to choose from. If you head to Rendezvous Bay or Shoal Bay East, you will find miles of completely uncrowded, pristine shoreline. Because the local government has strict building codes to protect the coastline, there are zero massive high rise hotels casting shadows over the water. It is just you, the bright blue ocean, and the warm breeze.

• The Price Breakdown: Skip the outrageously expensive luxury resort restaurants and hit up the legendary local BBQ stands. Spots like Ken’s BBQ in The Valley serve up massive, mouth watering portions of ribs, chicken, and johnnycakes for around $7 to $9. You can grab your fresh food, sit outside, and enjoy the absolute best meal on the island for the price of a single fancy coffee back home.

Roatán, Honduras: The Deep Caribbean Escape

While the mainland of Honduras speaks Spanish, Roatán is part of the Bay Islands, which have a deep British colonial history. Native English and Bay Islands Creole are widely spoken by the locals, making it incredibly easy to navigate your way around the island. The weather is absolutely perfect, with average daytime highs hitting a flawless 80 to 83 degrees throughout the entire winter season. Best of all, major US airlines fly directly into the local international airport, so you can be off the plane and on the beach in minutes.

You do have to be highly strategic when visiting this island. Roatán is a massive cruise hub with two giant terminals, meaning the western side of the island gets incredibly crowded on heavy ship days. To find the empty beaches and the cheap food, you just have to know how to escape the crowds and head in the opposite direction.

• The Unique Experience: To find true isolation away from the cruise shippers, rent a rugged vehicle and drive out to Camp Bay Beach on the far eastern tip of the island. You will find miles of completely empty, golden sand backed by dense jungle with absolutely zero resorts in sight. It is a bumpy dirt road ride to get there, but the reward is having an entire Caribbean beach practically to yourself for the whole afternoon.

• The Price Breakdown: When the cruise ships finally leave for the day, the sandy village of West End comes alive. The local street food scene here is totally unbeatable. You can walk right up to a beachfront smoker and grab a heaping plate of authentic charcoal grilled chicken with rice and beans for about $4 to $6. It is incredibly filling and keeps your travel budget perfectly intact while you enjoy the sunset.

Editors Tip: Check the latest customs rules and tourist fees for your destination before you head to the airport.

Tobago: The Old School Caribbean

Tobago is the sleepy, incredibly lush sister island to Trinidad. Because it is part of an independent English speaking republic, there are absolutely no language barriers to worry about. The winter weather is spectacular, with daily highs sitting comfortably around 83 to 85 degrees. The local hospitality is famously warm, and the entire island moves at an incredibly slow, relaxed pace.

Tobago completely bypassed the massive tourism boom that transformed places like Jamaica and the Bahamas into concrete jungles. It is exactly what people picture when they think of the Caribbean forty years ago. It remains untouched, wild, and incredibly beautiful. There are no massive all inclusive compounds fencing off the beaches, just small local guesthouses and boutique hotels deeply integrated into the jungle landscape.

• The Unique Experience: You will want to spend your days exploring the Main Ridge Forest Reserve. It is the oldest protected rainforest in the Western Hemisphere. You can hike through dense tropical foliage to find hidden waterfalls, and then cool off at Englishman’s Bay. It is a perfect crescent of pristine sand backed by dense rainforest, featuring just one small local shack on the sand instead of a massive hotel block.

• The Price Breakdown: Trinbagonian food is heavily spiced, incredibly delicious, and very cheap if you know what to order. While the famous curried crab and dumplings will cost you around $15 due to the price of fresh blue crab, you can easily find local beach BBQ stands serving up amazing grilled chicken plates for roughly $5 to $7. You can also grab local street food staples like doubles, which are curried chickpeas wrapped in flatbread, for just $2 to $3.

Stop freezing in the snow and dealing with massive winter crowds. Pack your bags, follow the cheap local food, and head to the real Caribbean this winter.

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