By the Caribbean Journal staff

Canadian travel giant Sunwing has added another new nonstop route to the Caribbean.

The company has announced the planned launch of new nonstop flights between Thunder Bay, Ontario and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.

The weekly Wednesday flights will launch on Dec. 19 and operate through March 27, 2019, according to the company.

The recently-renovated Riu Palace Punta Cana.

Sunwing will be resuming service from Thunder Bay to Varadero, Cuba and Cancun, Mexico for the winter season as well.

“We are delighted to be returning to Thunder Bay this coming season and to be offering our customers even more choice from their doorstep; without the need to make the long winter drive to Toronto or change planes to reach the sunny south,” said President of Tour Operations, Andrew Dawson. “Our seasonal flight services from Thunder Bay have always been well received and we are very pleased to be able to expand our operations even further this year. Punta Cana is consistently one of our most popular vacation hotspots and we are sure that it will become a perennial favorite with our customers in Thunder Bay for many years to come.”

The launch is part of a wider expansion to Punta Cana by Sunwing, including new flights to the Dominican Republic’s most popular destination rom both Sept-Iles and Val-d’Or, Quebec.

The post Sunwing Adds New Nonstop Punta Cana Route appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By Alexander Britell

MONTEGO BAY — In years of golf lessons, no one had ever asked me that.

It was a humid morning in Montego Bay at the Tryall Club in Montego Bay, Jamaica’s destination golf resort and among the best in the Caribbean, and I was taking a lesson with Ewan Peebles, a Scottish transplant who has been in the country since 2002.

The question was simple.

Ewan, Jamaica’s top golf pro, had asked me to explain to him what he had just taught me and how to execute it, as if he were the student.

It seems so simple, so obvious, but in all my previous instruction I had never been asked. And it made me think about what I had just learned in a totally new way.

Jamaica’s leading golf pro, Ewan Peebles.

The reality is not all golf pros are created equal — too many go through the motions, regurgitating tips that may or many not sustainably work.

Peebles is different — he has a quiet demeanor, quickly analyzing your swing and approach without needing to say too much, and offering easy-to-understand, discrete, replicable solutions — the kind of golf instruction that lasts.

But that’s the kind of instruction you get at Tryall, which has long been a bit of an in-the-know spot for golf lovers, just as Jamaica and the wider Caribbean region have been.

Tryall, whose Ralph Plummer-designed, 18-hole, 6,836-yard course has undergone a major transformation in the last few years, is looking to make that the point to golfers abroad, something that Jamaica itself has begun working on.

And it’s easy to explain.

Playing golf in Jamaica is a wonderful experience — from the windy challenge of seaside courses to the fact that you’re always joined by an expert caddie — a rarity at a public course. (I played as a single, meaning my round turned into a full-fledged playing lesson of its own).

It all adds up to a world-class golf resort, whether you’re looking to improve your game, go on a golfing getaway or just fit in a round on a traditional vacation.

“People don’t realize how good of a golf destination Jamaica is,” Peebles tells me on the putting green.

And that’s all the explanation you need.

— CJ

The post The Tryall Club, Jamaica’s Top Golf Destination appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By Alexander Britell and Guy Britton

HARBOUR ISLAND — There’s the sound of the driven drumming of Junkanoo, the dynamic beat spreading across the hills of the island.

This is Independence Day in The Bahamas, meaning fireworks, rum, Kalik and vigorous celebration.

If it feels like almost everyone on the island is here, that’s because it’s pretty close to true.

And on Harbour Island, that means one thing: Valentines.

This colorful 41-unit resort and marina near Dunmore Town hasn’t just become the best all around hotel on an island known for its places to stay – it’s become the center of the island, the town square, the fulcrum.

Valentines’ newest addition, the historic Sapodilla House villa.

There’s a bit of everything here: a pool with a great new shack-style bar; a bar and restaurant; a fitness center; a terrific locally-run coffee shop called Cocoa Coffee House and the island’s best waterfront dining option, the scene of the aforementioned junkanoo. (And yes, there’s a private beach club a short golf cart ride away on the pink sand.)

There’s even a brand-new conference center that’s straight out of a class-A office building in New York or Chicago, one that’s quickly become one of the more in-demand meeting locations in The Bahamas.

And yes, it’s the all-around place to stay, with well-appointed rooms with full kitchens, serious space and the feeling that you’re always being taken care of.

Because while travelers uniformly head to the beauty of Pink Sand Beach, the energy of Harbour Island has always been disparate, scattered on Bay Street and across the island’s many tiny watering holes.

Sapodilla House is a charming, historic addition to the property.

There’s an energy here, one only underscored by the presence of the many yachters and boaters who dock at the property’s 51 transient slips.

There’s even a new poolside conch salad stand.

Harbour Island’s center of gravity has shifted, and the island’s place to be, to meet and, well, to stay, has become this one.

It’s the heartbeat of Harbour Island.

For more, visit Valentines.

See more in the latest CJ Video.

— CJ

The post VIDEO: Valentines, the Heartbeat of Harbour Island appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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