Tell me if you’ve dreamed of this Caribbean fantasy like I have… A lush, untouched island with zero mega-resorts. Hiking through a dense emerald jungle, soaking in a natural hot spring, and eating fresh seafood on an empty beach without fighting for a spot in the sand. I feel like I literally dream about it …

I’ve spent years traveling around the Caribbean for fun, for travel conferences, and I even lived there long-term twice. When you spend that much time there, you quickly realize there’s a huge difference between a town that looks on great Instagram and a local community that blows your mind in real life. Whenever people ask …

I hate getting excited to go to a new Caribbean beach only to find that the water looks murkier than some of our dammed-up rivers in Kentucky. When my wife Liz and I chase perfectly transparent water, we entirely avoid the heavy surf zones and decaying Sargassum blooms that ruin so many coastal vacations. After …

Last year I had to cancel my September getaway at the very last minute, and it still stings. We had had our bags completely packed for Los Cabos. I was incredibly ready to sit back, unplug, and sip ice-cold drinks beachside for a solid week. Then, exactly three days before our flight, Hurricane Lorena popped …

I’ve spent years living in and traveling around the Caribbean. I’ve covered tourism conferences like CHTA, sat down with tourism boards, and made lifelong friends from island to island. When you spend that much time on the ground, you quickly realize there’s a huge difference between a beach that looks great in a brochure and …

Trying to lock in the perfect tropical escape used to feel like a travel compromise. For years, if you found a destination that was actually safe and empty, getting there was a nightmare. On the flip side, the spots with direct flights out of the U.S. were almost always the same ones plagued by massive …

Whenever I’m stuck in the States for too long, I start dreaming of the Caribbean. But after years in the travel industry, I have realized that not all islands are created equal. Some are essentially just giant, flat sandbars designed for mega-resorts, while others possess a deep, layered culture that makes you want to explore …

If you have ever stood on a pier in the Caribbean, you’ve probably witnessed the ultimate vacation nightmare: a massive cruise ship slowly pulling away from the dock while a frantic passenger waves their arms from the shore. It’s brutal to watch. When Liz and I plan our trips, we usually just try to fly …

There’s a trap with the standard tropical vacation. You spend months looking forward to it, you fly down, and you spend five days straight doing absolutely nothing but sunning, drinking cocktails, and eating heavy buffet food. By the time you get back home, you feel exhausted—you basically need a vacation to recover from your vacation. …

When most people start mapping out a Caribbean getaway, their minds immediately default to the massive, heavily marketed heavyweights. They look at sprawling mega-resorts in Jamaica or fight for a sliver of sand in the Bahamas. But if you want to skip the intense crowds and find an island with actual soul, raw jungle beauty, …

Right now, when I open my social media feeds for inspiration, all I see is a continuous, exhausting loop of people fighting for a six-inch patch of pebble beach in Positano, or waiting in a two-hour line for a mediocre $30 spritz in Santorini. The Mediterranean is undoubtedly beautiful, but the summer crowds have turned …

The first time I visited Playa del Carmen, I was absolutely hyped to finally check out the world-famous Mexican Caribbean beaches. But when I walked down to the water, the sand was totally covered in massive, rotting piles of sargassum seaweed. The smell was intense, the water was dark brown, and it completely ruined the …