The French Caribbean archipelago of Guadeloupe has officially reopened for tourism from the United States, Caribbean Journal has learned. 

The chain of islands in the Eastern Caribbean is welcoming travelers who show proof of a negative PCR test taken and received within 72 hours before arrival in Guadeloupe. 

Alternatively, travelers can show proof of a negative antigen test received within 48 hours before arrival in Guadeloupe. 

Vaccinated travelers will not need to quarantine and can immediately begin enjoying Guadeloupe; they’ll need to show proof of full vaccination — meaning that it’s been more than two weeks since their final vaccine dose. 

Unvaccinated travelers, however, will need to self-quarantine fro seven days, with all travelers aged 11 years or older presenting a negative PCR test or antigen test taken within 72 hours of travel. 

And yes, the reopening applies to all of Guadeloupe’s islands: Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Les Saintes, Marie Galante (a Mecca of Caribbean rum) and La Desirade.

So how do you get there? 

Air France is relaunching its flights from Miami to Pointe-a-Pitre on July 13, with service on Tuesdays and Fridays. 

You can also fly right now through St Martin, with service on Air Caraibes and Air Antilles. 

In November, major carriers JetBlue and American Airlines will resume their service to Guadeloupe. 

JetBlue will relaunch thrice-weekly service (Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays) on Nov. 1. 

American will resume Tuesday and Saturday flights from Miami to Guadeloupe on Nov. 6. 

The opening comes as another French Caribbean destination, Martinique, already opened its doors.

— CJ

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Buoyed by one of the Caribbean’s leading travel health systems, The Bahamas is seeing a broad tourism rebound. 

Indeed, tourism is rebounding every day in The Bahamas, Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar said this week. 

Almost 300,000 visitors have received Bahamas Travel Health visas to enter the country in the first five months of 2021, according to D’Aguilar. 

Tourism industry stakeholders in The Bahamas told Caribbean Journal that the country’s recent decision to waive pre-testing requirements for vaccinated travelers was also a major move. 

“Everyone sees it,” D’Aguilar said. “The airports are getting busier. The marinas up and down The Bahamas have never been busier. The occupancy levels in the hotels are improving and, most importantly, the tens of thousands of Bahamians who were furloughed as a result of this pandemic are slowly being called back to work.”

It’s borne out in the numbers. 

A total of 294,000 visitors have received health visas, with a dramatically improving growth rate. 

In January, the country approved 22,000 visas; 30,000 in February; 64,000 in March; 68,000 in April and 110,000 in May. 

“The rate of increase in their return is phenomenal,” D’Aguilar said. “Tourism is bouncing back.”

And the recovery is not just in the country’s traditional tourism hub in Nassau. 

About 60 percent of visitors are traveling to Nassau, while 40 percent are visiting the Out Islands. 

“That confirms to me that the [Out Islands] are bouncing back faster than Nassau,” he said. 

Indeed, in 2019, pre-pandemic, the breakdown was 75 percent Nassau and 25 percent Out Islands. 

That’s been led by Eleuthera, mostly Harbour Island, which accounted for 27 percent of all visitors to the Out Islands, D’Aguilar said, followed by 20 percent going to Bimini and Cat Cay and 19 percent to Abaco. 

Another 17 percent went to Exuma. 

The Minister attributed that trend to the demand fro low-density, secluded vacations at smaller properties, the kinds which are a specialty in the Out Islands. 

“That is exactly what happened,” he said. 

For more, visit The Bahamas. 

— CJ

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The world’s largest airline is planing another big expansion to the Caribbean, and it’s not from one of its traditional hubs like Dallas-Fort Worth or Miami. 

American Airlines has big international ambitions in Austin, Texas, with plans to launch new service to a host of Caribbean destinations. 

That includes new daily flights from Austin to San Juan, Puerto Rico, with flights beginning Oct. 7. 

On the same date, American will also kick off thrice-weekly service to Cancun, Mexico. 

And in November, Austin will launch new nonstop flights to destinations including Punta Cana, Dominican Republic and Nassau in The Bahamas. 

Both of those routes will operate four times each week, with service launching on Nov. 2. 

“Earlier this year we added more flights from Austin, and customers have spoken: they want more,” said Brian Znotins, American’s Vice President of Network Planning. “We’re eager to offer our customers even more opportunities to reconnect with family, friends and colleagues. Together with our partners, we’re making it easier than ever to connect Austin with the world.”

American is also adding service from Austin to a pair of hot destinations in Mexico: San Jose del Cabo, with thrice-weekly service launching Oct. 7, and Puerto Vallarta, with three weekly flights kicking off on Nov. 2. 

“For the past 40 years, American Airlines has connected Austin and Central Texas with the world,” said Steve Adler, Mayor of Austin. “We couldn’t be happier with the announcement of new and expanded service in AUS. We look forward to continuing our successful partnership with American for many more years to come.”

The announcement is an important sign, not just of the growth of Austin as a Caribbean tourism source market — but of the growing popularity of Caribbean travel amid the pandemic.

— CJ

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Very shortly into your visit to Hammock Cove you realize that you’re in one of the best hotel rooms in the Caribbean. 

You’re gazing out at the spectacle of the a secluded cove at the edge of Devil’s Bridge National Park, sitting in your infinity plunge pool. 

But what’s remarkable isn’t just the beautiful design of this room. 

It’s that this is what every room is like. 

This isn’t the grand presidential suite — it’s standard. 

And that’s part of what makes the Hammock Cove resort in Antigua so special. 

Hammock Cove, the newest resort in the Elite Island Resorts portfolio, consists of 42 cottage-style villas, all with private plunge pools, all with massive, wonderful bathrooms, all with expansive decks with wet bars and swinging chairs and endless views of a rarefied corner of Antigua. 

And that places it right at the forefront of the Caribbean travel industry. 

Because Elite and its chairman, Rob Barrett, have tapped into exactly what seasoned Caribbean travelers are looking for right now — the perfect resort for the age of social distancing. 

That means privacy. Comfort. High design. And, most importantly, all-inclusive. 

Because demands are changing. And tastes are evolving. 

A few years ago, all-inclusive meant something entirely different from what it does today. 

Today, that’s what many travelers want — not for the old tropes — not for the buffets or the excess, but for the ease, for the luxury of endless convenience. 

For the freedom to come and go, for the luxury of never having to reach for your wallet. 

All-inclusive isn’t a qualitative description anymore – it’s in many ways just an administrative one. 

And what that means is that some of the best resorts you’ll ever experience in the Caribbean are now all-inclusives. 

And that’s especially true of Hammock Cove, a place where you can easily stay in your room for nearly the entirety of your stay – or you can enjoy a surprisingly broad offering for what is an authentic, boutique resort — a lovely beach; a spa; two excellent restaurants (the food is among the best at any Caribbean all-inclusive)— and even an all-inclusive rum tasting bar. 

And then there’s the feel — the kind of serene quiet you only find at the greatest getaways, the one cultivated through masterful landscaping and perfect positioning; the resort that has that almost impossibly quiet soundtrack, the one where you only hear the shaking of the palm trees and the distant froth of a wave. 

But it all comes back to the rooms, the villas that are designed for what we all want right now — the independence, the privacy, the quiet, the personal pool, the views. 

And it’s all standard 

It’s all included. 

And that’s definitely what we’re all looking for. Isn’t it? 

For more, visit Hammock Cove. 

— CJ

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