Places to avoid in Carribean

[Vronsky]

Dear All,
From your experience, what places in the Caribbean are best avoided when looking for authentic islands/coasts unaffected by 1) mass tourism crowds and/or 2) crime ??

THANKS,
V.

[boatman61]

The Caribbean..

[Canibul]

mass tourism crowds=crime.

It's hard to have criminals unless you have some victims.

[Greg4cocokai]

Originally Posted by boatman61

The Caribbean..

+1! Arrived 2 months ago and ready to head to Panama.

[Canibul]

Swing by Venezuela if you'd like to learn a little bit about real crime.

[Saa Bear]

Tis why I plan to sail to Labrador Canada, Iceland and Spitzbergen Norway

[Vronsky]

Originally Posted by boatman61

The Caribbean..

Oy, me got it rite the second time, now havent I ??

[Steadman Uhlich]

Howdy.

What follows is just a bit of info I picked up by reading here and there, so understand it is not from personal experience in these locations. I make no claims to being an expert source on this topic.

I am writing this not to promote fear, but simply to answer your question.

Numerous accounts of "piracy" (attempts) and serious crimes against cruisers seem to mention Venezuela and Honduras several times. There are several threads (topics) here on this forum devoted to "Pirates" where you can see these accounts.

One account that surprised me (found on another blog I cannot recall now) was that of a sailor who cruised around one of the islands in the Bahamas in a very tiny cruiser (very small boat with very shallow draft). He was looking for pristine beaches and wanted to avoid the usual tourist destinations. He was told by locals that even the island's police avoid a long stretch (entire side of island as I recall) because it is notorious for drug runners who use it as a staging area for sorties to Florida. In essence, his story was that he was warned against that side of the island and warned to not go up any secluded inlets (where the drug boats would be kept). He did cruise there, and was scared when a fast boat with some "threatening" (his words as I recall) men came after him (and he felt at great risk), but due to his very shallow draft he was out of reach. So, while those beaches may look pristine and uninhabited, there may be reasons for avoiding some.

I hope this helps. I know it is not specific. Good luck and have a nice trip.

[denverd0n]

Bottom line is that the economy of every island nation in the Caribbean is driven by tourism. As a result, you are going to find tourists everywhere.

Every island nation in the Caribbean is also plagued--at least to some extent--by poverty. These are mostly third-world countries where there are rich people, and there are poor people, and there is little to no "middle class." As a result, you are going to find crime everywhere.

Of course, there are plenty of places where the tourists are few and far between. By the same token, there are plenty of places where the crime is minimal--probably no worse than, perhaps better than, wherever you might call home.

If you want to avoid masses of tourists, and high crime rates--just as with almost anywhere else on this planet--avoid the larger cities. In the United States, you will find more tourists and more crime in New York city than you will in Omaha, Nebraska. By the same token, in the USVI you will find more tourists and more crime in Charlotte Amalie and Cruz Bay than you will in Maho Bay or Limetree Cove.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by boatman61

The Caribbean..

Originally Posted by Greg4cocokai

+1! Arrived 2 months ago and ready to head to Panama.

Come guys, the "Caribbean" has a Western side too, which includes Panama, and is not as overrun by tourism as the Eastern Carib.

[tbodine88]

Originally Posted by Vronsky

Dear All,
From your experience, what places in the Caribbean are best avoided when looking for authentic islands/coasts unaffected by 1) mass tourism crowds and/or 2) crime ??

THANKS,
V.

Do not avoid Great Inagua, an island, that is difficult to get to except by boat or private plane.

The people a friendly. There are few businesses. I enjoyed meeting the light house keeper. There is a large colony of rosette spoon bills living in the salt marsh there.

Fuel was expensive, although beer was $3, when I was there.

Another island without too many tourists is Barbuda, for the same reasons.

The only place I had to deal with crooked people was Antigua, but I loved it there as I have friends on the island, and its beautiful.

The boat boys off Guadeloupe were pushy. But I acted poor and they left me alone.

The people of St Kitts were wonderful to me.

[Canibul]

For us who live in "the islands", it's very telling to hear someone refer to "the Caribbean" as though it were a specific country. Kinda like saying "South America". I can tell you from personal experience, Ushuaia Argentina is way, way different than Parika, Guyana. Yet to so many, it's all "South America".

San Juan is not really much like a French, English, or Dutch settled island. Not in population, politics, language, nationality, culture, or history. So to lump it all together as "The Caribbean" is a disservice to many.

[pistarckle]

Wow , not many answer that the Chamber of Commerce would like ! If its so BAD out there why is it full ?
The answers kinda depend on the person that answers the question , many cruisers go restaurant to bar and complain about all the dangerous drunks . Others might go from quiet anchorage to quiet anchorage and complain about nothing . Myself I like to stay away from touristy ports and I am always back aboard by dark .
If I hear of a place to stay away from then that is where I gotta go . I was told to stay away from Haiti , we loved and stayed sixty some days .
Then again if you are the kind of person that believes without question what you read on the internet then you should stay completely away from the Eastern Carib .
Most crimes against boaters are like crimes every where , many times involving alcohol or drugs , mostly at night .

[Hud3]

We spent two years cruising up and down the Lesser Antilles, visiting all but three of the islands, and enjoyed each of them for it's own unique characteristics. We had no bad experiences whatsoever, and thoroughly enjoyed all the friendly, welcoming people we met.

Nevis impressed us as a lovely, friendly place, so we sold our home in Virginia, USA, and bought a house on Nevis, living there full-time for six years. We made many friends, both ex-pats and locals. I have no idea why our experiences in the eastern Caribbean seem to be so radically different from those who talk about crime and unpleasantness.

[Cheechako]

nice beaches, few tourists, low crime: Bahamas (most anywhere but Nassau), Les Saintes. There seem to be spots out side of the main ports and cruise ship docking ports on most islands that are nice and uninhabited by beach goers. Most the crime I hear about is around centers where there are tourists to prey on.
I think too many people follow the path of others , everyone to the same places instead of getting off the beaten path.