Caribbean vs California - no contest
Jul 31st, 2007, 09:34 AM
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Caribbean vs California - no contest
Just got back from my first trip to Southern California on a family vacation... went there to cool off from mid summer heat in the Caribbean.
Lovely climate, but for somewhere that is so focussed on the beach.... their beaches (not to mention ocean water quality and water temperature) are not a patch on the Caribbean... we really are spoiled living here.
A little surprised that we don't get more California visitors... I left LAX at 9:45am Cayman (central) time and landed 5:45pm, so not that long a trip.
Any California resident Caribbean addicts care to enlighten me as to why we can't seem to attract more CA residents to the Caribbean ?
Lovely climate, but for somewhere that is so focussed on the beach.... their beaches (not to mention ocean water quality and water temperature) are not a patch on the Caribbean... we really are spoiled living here.
A little surprised that we don't get more California visitors... I left LAX at 9:45am Cayman (central) time and landed 5:45pm, so not that long a trip.
Any California resident Caribbean addicts care to enlighten me as to why we can't seem to attract more CA residents to the Caribbean ?
Jul 31st, 2007, 01:09 PM
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I also don't live in CA, but I can tell you that the last time we were in Kauai, it was packed with CA residents indulging themselves in Hawaii's best. People generally tend to fly wherever the climate is good but they can get there fast.
Jul 31st, 2007, 02:44 PM
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I don't know what it is about Windjammer Barefoot Cruises but they seem to attract many from california and the western section of the US and Canada. On one trip I became friends with a young woman from Texas, a gentleman from near San Francisco and another woman from Arizona. I don't know some of the people personally but know of some who even travel from Alaska. Go figure.
Jul 31st, 2007, 05:26 PM
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I used to live in Cal (both SoCal & NoCal) and yep, everyone goes to Hawaii. It's just easier to get to. Going east, you lose hours due to time difference. Going west, you gain the hours. There's absolutely no comparing the Caribbean to the beaches of California, even the nicer ones in Cal. Thank goodness I moved east!
Jul 31st, 2007, 06:28 PM
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I would guess that they all go to Hawaii or Mexico! My DH and I live in Mass., and we got to Hawaii every summer, and MANY of the people we meet there are from California. It's so much shorter for them. We go to the Caribbean, too, but there's something about Hawaii that's worth the long flight for us. Maybe Californians don't feel the same way about traveling to the Caribbean? The only time I've met people from CA in the Caribbean was once in Anguilla.
Jul 31st, 2007, 08:08 PM
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Hi everyone,
I'm a native Californian, and currently live in the San Diego area. And yes, we Californians do LOVE Hawaii. My first visit to Hawaii was in the early 70's... a bit different than Hawaii is now.... but we still love it.
Our family has gone to the Caribbean for a couple of cruises (with a stop in Grand Cayman for scuba diving, Tom!) and just last month we went for 2 weeks to the Virgin Islands.
It was a long haul for us to the VIs. We left at 10:15 p.m. (PST) and didn't arrive in St. Thomas until 1:30 p.m. the following day.
While we had a wonderful time in the USVI / BVI, our family still prefers Hawaii. We love the underwater marine life in Hawaii, and we're also not as accustomed to the heat and humidity of the Caribbean.
That being said, I hope to visit the Caribbean again in a few years! The beaches of St. John and Virgin Gorda were glorious!
I expect to (finally) be posting my VI trip report in the next few days.
Carole
I'm a native Californian, and currently live in the San Diego area. And yes, we Californians do LOVE Hawaii. My first visit to Hawaii was in the early 70's... a bit different than Hawaii is now.... but we still love it.
Our family has gone to the Caribbean for a couple of cruises (with a stop in Grand Cayman for scuba diving, Tom!) and just last month we went for 2 weeks to the Virgin Islands.
It was a long haul for us to the VIs. We left at 10:15 p.m. (PST) and didn't arrive in St. Thomas until 1:30 p.m. the following day.
While we had a wonderful time in the USVI / BVI, our family still prefers Hawaii. We love the underwater marine life in Hawaii, and we're also not as accustomed to the heat and humidity of the Caribbean.
That being said, I hope to visit the Caribbean again in a few years! The beaches of St. John and Virgin Gorda were glorious!
I expect to (finally) be posting my VI trip report in the next few days.
Carole
Aug 1st, 2007, 08:36 AM
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I suspect that one's first trip to the tropics is one where it is easier to get there. If they like it, they repeat. So West Coasters go more to Hawaii, East Coasters more to the Caribbean. We live in CA now, but lived on the east coast at time of first trip, went to the Caribbean, loved it. Now I'd rather take the redeye, change planes, to get to the Caribbean over Hawaii. Seems like people who like Hawaii are that way because it is American-familiar. We like the Caribbean because it is mostly other cultures. Other features are warmer water in the Caribbean, and the ability to stay in smaller boutique hotels in rooms only a stones throw from the ocean.
Aug 1st, 2007, 09:17 AM
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I agree that the redeye is a killer, so I guess when coming from CA to the Caribbean it is important to choose somehwere you can get to in one day without taking a redeye... as I noted, I got the 7:45am from LAX and landed in Cayman at 5:45pm (3:45pm West Coast time)... 10 hours airport to airport, not bad.
Oh, and you gain the hours going back (left Cayman around 7:30am, got to LAX about 1:30pm)
Oh, and you gain the hours going back
(left Cayman around 7:30am, got to LAX about 1:30pm)
Aug 1st, 2007, 01:16 PM
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I live on the East Coast (NC).My first trip to an island was to Kauai, Hawaii.Long flight and we lost alot of time flying back.
I have also traveled to the Caribbean..St John (twice),Grand Cayman,Aruba and Vieques.
Kauai is still my favorite place.If I lived in California..I would definitely go to Hawaii.
I am so far away from Hawaii that I would have to have 2 weeks available to go back and have time to get rested up before returning to work.I plan to go back one day...just don't know when.
Christie
I have also traveled to the Caribbean..St John (twice),Grand Cayman,Aruba and Vieques.
Kauai is still my favorite place.
If I lived in California..I would definitely go to Hawaii.I am so far away from Hawaii that I would have to have 2 weeks available to go back and have time to get rested up before returning to work.I plan to go back one day...just don't know when.
Christie
Aug 25th, 2007, 10:56 AM
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I was born in Southern California and spent most of my life on the beach there. I have travelled to Hawaii many times and yes, it is much easier to get here - an easier flight and that may be why many choose that. However, I much prefer the Caribbean "hands down" over Hawaii any day. The water is warmer, the culture and people are delightful and the pace is much more relaxing. My favorite island of all is Bequia. The travel there is brutal, but worth it. I am now in Arizona - the travel time is horrendous - it takes hours...but oh so worth it. For a California girl who thought that the beaches were the end all...the first time I stepped foot on Caribbean sand, I knew I had found my slice of heaven!
Aug 25th, 2007, 11:38 PM
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Hi Tom,
Caribbean beaches (at least the 2 islands I have visited so far - Provo, T&C and St John) definitely blow away anything in California (and most other parts of the world). It truly is no contest...unless you're into surfing. But the majority of the folks living here aren't all that focused on the beaches...there's too many other activities that distract us from the beach And yes, we know our water quality is bad.
I think the primary reasons most Southern Californians gravitate towards Hawaii and Mexico much more than the Caribbean are:
(1) Obvious one - location; they're both closer
(2) Another obvious - the higher comparable cost of Caribbean destinations (at least for the more desirable islands, like the Caymans
, for a land-based vacation)
(3) Marketing - in such a mass consumer market, we see tons more Hawaii and Mexico advertisements/programs here than the occassional Sandals or Jamaica ad. Forget about the other islands. Unless one picks up a travel mag, most people here aren't familiar with very many Caribbean islands. Understandable as many individual islands just don't have the huge marketing budget to compete.
(4) Familiar cultures - Southern Californians are very familiar with the surf culture and aloha spirit from the Hawaiian islands. We're definitely very familiar with parts of Mexican culture (food, drinks, simple phrases, etc.) because Mexican-Americans make up a large percentage of the population here. But I highly doubt many of us (including myself) could even differentiate the individual cultures evidenced in the Caribbean from the general Jamaican (yeah mon) stereotype.
But if you're going to find many Californians in the Caribbean, it's probably because it's port day on their cruise ship. So that should give you some idea as to the general travel view of the Caribbean coming from Southern California.
Another thing to consider as to why the Caribbean is not as popular it could be for the Californians that are more travel savvy -- because there are a lot of other beach destinations that LAX serves as a gateway to: French Polynesia, Fiji, Maldives just to name a few which have equally enthralling beaches (calm, turquoise waters and white sand) as do the Caribbean. There's also Australia, New Zealand, Phuket, Bali and many more beach destinations. So for us, the Caribbean is just one of many beach/tropical/diving destinations to choose from.
As for myself, I love the Caribbean. I generally take 1 beach vacation a year, and I plan to make one of the Carribean islands that choice every 3 years at the least.
Caribbean beaches (at least the 2 islands I have visited so far - Provo, T&C and St John) definitely blow away anything in California (and most other parts of the world). It truly is no contest...unless you're into surfing. But the majority of the folks living here aren't all that focused on the beaches...there's too many other activities that distract us from the beach
And yes, we know our water quality is bad.I think the primary reasons most Southern Californians gravitate towards Hawaii and Mexico much more than the Caribbean are:
(1) Obvious one - location; they're both closer
(2) Another obvious - the higher comparable cost of Caribbean destinations (at least for the more desirable islands, like the Caymans
, for a land-based vacation)(3) Marketing - in such a mass consumer market, we see tons more Hawaii and Mexico advertisements/programs here than the occassional Sandals or Jamaica ad. Forget about the other islands. Unless one picks up a travel mag, most people here aren't familiar with very many Caribbean islands. Understandable as many individual islands just don't have the huge marketing budget to compete.
(4) Familiar cultures - Southern Californians are very familiar with the surf culture and aloha spirit from the Hawaiian islands. We're definitely very familiar with parts of Mexican culture (food, drinks, simple phrases, etc.) because Mexican-Americans make up a large percentage of the population here. But I highly doubt many of us (including myself) could even differentiate the individual cultures evidenced in the Caribbean from the general Jamaican (yeah mon) stereotype.
But if you're going to find many Californians in the Caribbean, it's probably because it's port day on their cruise ship. So that should give you some idea as to the general travel view of the Caribbean coming from Southern California.
Another thing to consider as to why the Caribbean is not as popular it could be for the Californians that are more travel savvy -- because there are a lot of other beach destinations that LAX serves as a gateway to: French Polynesia, Fiji, Maldives just to name a few which have equally enthralling beaches (calm, turquoise waters and white sand) as do the Caribbean. There's also Australia, New Zealand, Phuket, Bali and many more beach destinations. So for us, the Caribbean is just one of many beach/tropical/diving destinations to choose from.
As for myself, I love the Caribbean. I generally take 1 beach vacation a year, and I plan to make one of the Carribean islands that choice every 3 years at the least.
Aug 28th, 2007, 01:03 PM
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Ok,
As a Californian, though born in Hawaii, I will admit that there is nothing like the Caribbean. We go just about every other year. Hawaii, not so much, too many people and, too "American". ;-)
Once we get to the Caribbean and people ask where we're from, they're amazed most of the time. Mainly because it's a 14 to 15 hour trip, and since we tend to go to the smaller, more remote, islands (VG, Nevis, etc.), it's even harder, usually a three leg plane ride. You really have to WANT to go there. And if you have kids, yikes!
Plus, the dang airlines keep taking flights away. It's going to run us anywhere from $1500 to $2000 in airfare alone!
So go easy on your CA brethren.
Limin' in December,
Dave.
As a Californian, though born in Hawaii, I will admit that there is nothing like the Caribbean. We go just about every other year. Hawaii, not so much, too many people and, too "American". ;-)
Once we get to the Caribbean and people ask where we're from, they're amazed most of the time. Mainly because it's a 14 to 15 hour trip, and since we tend to go to the smaller, more remote, islands (VG, Nevis, etc.), it's even harder, usually a three leg plane ride. You really have to WANT to go there. And if you have kids, yikes!
Plus, the dang airlines keep taking flights away. It's going to run us anywhere from $1500 to $2000 in airfare alone!
So go easy on your CA brethren.
Limin' in December,
Dave.
Aug 28th, 2007, 04:23 PM
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Dave,
I'd comment that Cayman was only about 8 hours elapsed time in each direction from LA, not too bad at all....also airfare for me this summer was only around $600 per person... but of course the Southern Caribbean is much further than the Western Caribbean and needs more connecting flights etc.
I'd comment that Cayman was only about 8 hours elapsed time in each direction from LA, not too bad at all....also airfare for me this summer was only around $600 per person... but of course the Southern Caribbean is much further than the Western Caribbean and needs more connecting flights etc.
Aug 28th, 2007, 04:36 PM
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Hi Tom,
I agree. I've flown to Jamaica and it's easier. Never been to the Caymans. Heck, 8 hours? Shoot, it takes that long to drive from SF to San Diego! And, no smog!
Man, it's just those legs out of San Juan and/or St. Thomas that get you. Ah well, there's always the rum punch waiting at the end of the journey.
Cheers,
Dave.
I agree. I've flown to Jamaica and it's easier. Never been to the Caymans. Heck, 8 hours? Shoot, it takes that long to drive from SF to San Diego! And, no smog!
Man, it's just those legs out of San Juan and/or St. Thomas that get you. Ah well, there's always the rum punch waiting at the end of the journey.
Cheers,
Dave.
Aug 29th, 2007, 02:15 PM
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Tom, you left the East End to vacation in SoCal? Silly you. I was born and raised in Cal. I now live in Nevis (10 years -after 6 years on Grand Cayman). I have to be in So. Cal right now to take care of my 90 yr. old parents in Palm Springs and am hating it. California was a lot more fun when I was a kid. Maybe it's that you just "can't go home". Today it's 117 in the shade here. Nevis is 80 farenheit with a lovely breeze off the Atlantic. I can't wait to get back to the island to cool off! I'm flying home to Nevis at the end of the month and then back again to get Mom into senior living in San Diego. I'm racking up the frequent flier miles. The problem here is that there are only a couple of non-stop red-eyes from LAX, SFO or SEA/TAC to Miami or San Juan. Everybody here thinks of Hawaii and Mexico. The media publicizes Hawaii and Mexico. The few mentions of the Caribbean seem to be ads for western Caribbean cruises. Since many of these cruises stop at Grand Cayman you might consider asking government house to instigate some "return to stay" ad campaign. I've found it easiest to fly to Chicago and overnight at the airport Hilton and head out relaxed to the Caribbean from there.
Happy Pirates Week Nov. 8-18 this year.
Happy Pirates Week Nov. 8-18 this year.
