Caribbean

The disaster is still in the islanders' bones today: On the morning of September 6, 2017, the center of Hurricane Irma crossed St. Maarten/St. Martin as well as the surrounding islands such as Anguilla or St. Barthélemy (St. Barth), leaving a swath of devastation in its wake. Shipwrecks in the harbor of St. Maarten - where Irma raged most devastatingly - and destroyed buildings along the coasts still bear witness to this today. The international Princess Juliana Airport on St. Maarten, the gateway to the Caribbean islands, was also largely destroyed and has only been largely functional again since this summer. Over 60 percent of the houses were uninhabitable. On St. Barth, even the entire infrastructure was destroyed. The vast majority of the
Most of the hotels on the islands were also badly affected and had to close for a year or more - but they have since been rebuilt in a more beautiful and luxurious way, and some have been extended and reopened.

The island of St. Martin is a special case: two names, two nationalities, two capitals. On the southern part is the Dutch St. Maarten, an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of the Netherlands with an international airport and the capital Philipsburg, characterized by cobblestone streets and colourful colonial buildings. There are fewer luxury hotels here; the island is more characterized by Dutch package tourism. Gambling is permitted on the island and there are also several casinos and vacation resorts with casinos. Philipsburg is also a popular port of call for numerous cruise ships.

One island, two names, nationalities & capitals

The smaller part of the island is the French overseas territory of Saint-Martin with the capital Marigot, including good shopping opportunities. Most ferries to St. Barth also depart from here. Incidentally, you also cross the EU border between the Netherlands and France on the short 15-minute journey from the airport to the ferry terminal. With Anguilla, the British also come into play. The British overseas territory is just 30 minutes by boat or seven minutes by plane from St. Maarten. The flat, rather sparsely vegetated island probably has the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean: wide, sweeping bays with fine, white sand and turquoise blue water. A prime example is the beach at Cap Juluca, famous from the Raffaello commercials. The atmosphere is Caribbean and relaxed, life moves at a leisurely pace and the clocks tick a little slower. Wild chickens run around everywhere on the island. Nobody bothers to collect their eggs, remarks cab driver John, and so there are more and more of them.

For those who want to be active, take advantage of the excellent water sports facilities, book a sunset cruise, play golf on the only 18-hole course located directly by the sea or visit a different one of the numerous dream beaches every day in a hire car. Eating and drinking in the island's numerous restaurants is also very popular - which is why the hotels often only offer breakfast as standard. Anguilla is often referred to as the "culinary hotspot of the Caribbean" in the relevant brochures and magazines, but this is a bit of an exaggeration ... Fish and seafood are the main culinary specialties on the island, including lobster and mahi mahi. If you like it down-to-earth and barefoot, visit Blanchard's Beach Shack directly on the beach at Meads Bay. There are also numerous restaurants and cafés around Roads Bay, Anguilla's harbor, some of which offer Caribbean and Creole cuisine. The locals also like to go out here.

St. Barthélemy is located on the other side of St. Martin from Anguilla. The island has been a celebrity hangout since the 1950s, when Howard Hughes, Greta Garbo, Robert Mitchum, Gore Vidal, Baron Rothschild and David & Peggy Rockefeller preferred to vacation at the Hotel Eden Rock. Today, stars such as Paris Hilton, Cindy Crawford and Mariah Carey come here. This makes St. Barth a real VIP hotspot and probably one of the most exclusive spots on earth, although the ferry crossing takes a little longer, but is preferred by travelers who are afraid of flying. St. Barth can only be approached by mini planes, and landing directly behind a hilltop is a real adventure... Whether by plane or ferry - you will notice clear differences to Anguilla as soon as you arrive. Everything seems much more European, St. Barth is French through and through with only a very slight Caribbean touch. The hotels are also less oriented towards the needs and wishes of American guests than on Anguilla. For example, the service staff in the hotels and restaurants are almost entirely made up of European employees. In addition to ten luxury hotels, St. Barth also has around 2,000 private, luxurious villas for rent. However, you should do this early enough, especially for the high season around Christmas and New Year's Eve. That's when everything is fully booked and the steep, winding roads are hopelessly congested. Almost everyone on the island hires a rental car or orders a cab and drives to Gustavia for tax-free shopping - after all, the waterfront is home to the who's who of luxury brands from Hermès to Prada and Dolce & Gabbana. You can also make your way to one of the many restaurants - there are said to be around 80, often serving classic French cuisine. Or you can head to Nikki Beach instead, the exclusive beach club and "place to be" (very pleasant out of season, especially on Sunday afternoons). But speaking of the beach. Yes, St. Barth also has some beautiful beaches, but they don't come close to the white dream beaches of Anguilla.

Lage

Die bogenförmig angeordneten Inseln der Karibik innerhalb des Karibischen Meeres

Fläche

220.000 km²

Bevölkerung

40. Mio. Menschen

Sprache

Neben den sehr wenigen verbliebenen indigenen Bewohnern leben vor allem Menschen afrikanischer und europäischer Herkunft, Kreolen sowie Inder (vor allem auf Trinidad und Tobago) und Chinesen auf den verschiedenen Inseln der Karibik. Spanisch mit ca. 70 % und Englisch mit ca. 24 % sind die Hauptsprachen der Karibik, daneben werden Französisch, Niederländisch und verschiedene Formen des Kreolischen oder Caribischen gesprochen (insbesondere im Alltag).

Anreise

Internationaler Zielflughafen der Region ist der Princess Juliana Airport auf St. Martin. Er wird täglich von KLM ab Amsterdam und von Air France ab Paris angeflogen. Weitere Anreisemöglichkeiten: über New York, Chicago, Miami und zahlreiche andere Ostküstenstädte.

Von St. Martin verkehren Flüge nach Anguilla mit Anguilla Air Services, Flugzeit knapp 10 Min., www.anguillaairservices.com.Nach St. Barth ca. 15 Min. mit Winair, www.fly-winair.sx,oder Air Caraibes, www.aircaraibes.com.Alles mit Maschinen bis max. 20 Passagiere. Alternativ nach Anguilla mit dem Boot ab einem Anlegesteg in Airportnähe (kurzer Kleinbus-Shuttle ab Terminal inklusive, am besten vorab übers Hotel organisieren, Fahrtdauer etwa 30-40 Min).

Nach St. Barth zuerst mit dem Taxi (ca. 15 Min.) nach Marigot zum Fähranleger und mit Voyager Express oder Great Bay Express in ca. 60–70 Min. nach Gustavia.
www.voy12.com,
www.greatbayferry.com

Religion

A great wealth of religious influences. Probably the best-known form of Caribbean religion is "voodoo". Protestant religious communities are also widespread in the Caribbean islands, to which most of the English-speaking islands adhere. Each of the Protestant islands has one or more Methodist, Baptist, Anglican and Adventist churches. There is also the Church of God and Hindu and Muslim temples and mosques. The Roman Catholic Church is also very widespread on the French islands.

Beste Reisezeit

Es herrscht tropisches Klima. Wegen der relativen Nähe zum Äquator sind die Temperaturschwankungen gering. In der Hochsaison von Dezember bis März sind die Temperaturen angenehm bei maximal 30 Grad und tiefsten Nachttemperaturen von 20 Grad.

In den Sommermonaten wird es wärmer und drückender. Die meisten Niederschläge fallen von Juli bis Oktober. Die Hurrikan-saison dauert etwa von Juli bis November. Viele Hotels haben von ca. Ende August/Anfang September bis etwa Anfang/Mitte November geschlossen.

Zeitverschiebung

-6 h (MESZ)

Währung

Auf St. Barth und St. Martin ist der Euro die offizielle Währung, aber auch US-Dollar sind üblich. Auf Anguilla ist der ostkaribische Dollar die offizielle Währung, gebräuchlicher ist aber auch hier der US-Dollar.

Visa

Allgemein erforderlich, ausgenommen sind Staatsbürger folgender Länder für einen touristischen Aufenthalt:
EU-Länder und die Schweiz: Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Belgien, Frankreich, Großbritannien, Luxemburg und Niederlande für Aufenthalte von bis zu 90 Tagen (Verlängerung um weitere 90 Tage vor Ort möglich) sowie alle übrigen EU-Länder und die Schweiz für Aufenthalte von bis zu 14 Tagen; Übrige Länder (für einen Aufenthalt von bis zu 90 Tagen, Verlängerung um weitere 90 Tage vor Ort möglich): Aruba, Bolivien, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Hongkong (China), Israel, Jamaika, Korea (Süd), San Marino, Suriname und USA; Übrige Länder (für einen Aufenthalt von bis zu 14 Tagen): Staatsbürger der meisten Länder können ohne Visum für touristische Aufenthalte von bis zu 14 Tagen (Verlängerung um denselben Zeitraum vor Ort möglich) einreisen.

Hotels

Sandals Grande Antigua

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Antigua verführt mit 365 Stränden und einer Leichtigkeit, die süchtig macht. Und mittendrin erhebt sich das Sandals Grande Antigua – ein Refugium, das Luxus...
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Skyline Villas Boutique Resort

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Exklusivster Newcomer auf den Turks and Caicos Islands ist das Skyline Villas Boutique Resort : Sechs Design-Refugien, eingerichtet mit stylischen Möbeln von...
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Sandals Royal Curaçao

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Für frisch Vermählte und Verliebte ist das Sandals Royal Curaçao die perfekte Destination. Gelegen im Herzen des Santa-Barbara-Naturschutzgebiets bietet das...
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