The Cayman Islands is finally reopening for tourism – with a multi-phased plan.
Most notably, beginning in mid-October, vaccinated travelers will be able to visit Cayman without quarantine.
The plan will begin a “limited introduction of tourism” on Sept. 9, the destination announced.
That phase, subject to the achievement of an 80 percent on-island vaccination rate, will allow for a “limited introduction of tourists with secure verification of vaccination status,” the destination said.
Vaccinated travelers will be subject to a quarantine, however.
The Kimpton Seafire in Grand Cayman.
All travelers will continue to apply for entry via the Travel Cayman Portal (you can find it here).
In the next phase, beginning Oct. 14, quarantine requirements will be removed for all verified, fully vaccinated travelers; unvaccinated visitors will have to apply for entry and quarantine for 14 days.
Beginning Nov. 18, Cayman will allow unvaccinated children to travel with vaccinated adults tourists, without a quarantine for children. (Unvaccinated visitors above the age of 12 will be required to quarantine for 14 days).
And finally, on Jan. 27, 2022, following a “thorough assessment” from government and health officials, the destination will mark its “grand reopening” — meaning all travelers will be welcome without quarantine or travel restrictions.
That will also coincide with the relaunch fo cruise tourism.
Little Cayman in the Cayman Islands.
“Since March 2020, the Cayman Islands has been deliberate in all efforts to protect our people and visitors; from rapid and widespread testing, investing in the Caymanian workforce and implementing a phased strategy to safely reopen our shores to luxury-seeking visitors, the health and safety of our community was paramount in all decisions,” said Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan. “”My colleagues and I in government have worked tirelessly to develop this phased approach in preparation for the opening of our borders to international travellers – and we are pleased to announce the wait for paradise is almost over. Our guests will appreciate the impactful developments and enhancements we’ve made to the destination – surely proving that Cayman is worth the wait.”
The Caribbean Rum Awards St Barth, the region’s leading celebration of fine rum, is set for the first week of November.
This year’s fourth annual edition of the Caribbean Rum Awards will be held from Nov. 2-7, with an unmatched collection of rum and rhum agricole and a slate of marvelous rum experiences.
The festival includes the rum competition, a series of master classes, tastings and special events, along with several gastronomic rum-pairing dinners at the Quarter Kitchen and Cocktail Lab, the island’s hottest restaurant.
“We are back in St Barth for the fourth edition of an unparalleled global celebration of rum,” said Alexander Britell, editor and publisher of Caribbean Journal and co-founder of the Caribbean Rum Awards. “From the Caribbean’s leading rum makers to rum expressions you simply won’t find anywhere else, this is a must-visit experience for all rum lovers.”
It’s all focused at the Rhum Room, home to the largest selection of fine rhum of any bar in the world, led by international rum expert Christopher Davis.
“We look forward to a new season and the 4th Annual Caribbean Rum Awards. We are increasing the Master Classes by world-renowned rum producers to provide more education to the ever-hungry rum collectors and amateurs alike,” said Christopher Davis, proprietor of the Rhum Room and co-founder of the Caribbean Rum Awrads and St Barth Rum Festival. “This year we will be adding more days to the event in order to accommodate the demand from last year and the enquiries for this year. We will also have a Rum Cocktail competition featuring the best bartenders on St Barth as last year the audience was limited due to restrictions so we anticipate a much bigger and more festive event this year. We are also giving our local Rhum Arrangé producers a day to exhibit their unique St Barth rhum flavors where the visitors will be able to sample and purchase from their collections. Please reserve tickets to the events, rum & cigar pairings and Rum Dinners early as we have very limited space.”
Velier’s Daniele Biondi leading a master class last year.
The event headlined by the Caribbean Rum Awards themselves, which bring an international panel of judges for a blind tasting of the Caribbean’s greatest rums.
And then there’s Accutron Rum Expo, which gathers some of the most sought-after rums in the world for a free tasting event to the public.
This year’s CRA will also bring back the People’s Choice Panel is accepting applications for non-professional rum fans to join and sample-judge-award a People’s Choice winner from a group of world-class rums. (To apply please send an email to Christopher@RhumRoom.com to be considered).
Last year’s Caribbean Rum Awards was the only global in-person rum competition of 2020, held in November 2020 in Gustavia.
This year’s CRA will again include Uber-Premium categories in both Molasses Rum and Rhum Agricole, both featuring rum groupings never before seen at any other rum festival.
One of the Caribbean Rum Awards judges, Martinique’s Guy Ferdinand.
Attendees can sample an extraordinary selection of rums, meet with distillers, enjoy rum and cocktail events, taste fine cigars and enjoy the glamour of the Caribbean’s most luxurious destination.
WIMCO is the official villa rental company of the Caribbean Rum Awards, and Tradewind Aviation is the official airline of the event.
The event comes as the island is seeing soaring visitor arrivals since reopening for tourism in June — even in the lighter summer season, the island’s villas had their highest occupancy for June since 2008.
“St Barth is buzzing again,” said Stiles Bennet, president and CEO of WIMCO. “Last week saw the opening of Atelier Joel Robuchon, making the restaurant scene more exciting than ever. Sophisticated travelers are flocking to the island this summer. In early November, we are already seeing a 55% occupancy rate for the week of the Caribbean Rum Awards, Nov 1-7. We are thrilled to support this gastronomic event which is being expanded this year to include multiple rum and food paring dinners. It should be a great week to visit the island.”
For distillers looking to participate in the event or competition, contact rum@caribjournal.com.
St Kitts and Nevis has significantly reduced its quarantine time for fully vaccinated travelers, the twin-island destination announced.
The country has reduced its “Vacation in Place” period for fully vaccinated international travelers from nine days to just three days.
That includes testing on day four; upon receiving a negative result, travelers are then free to roam the destination.
“Vacation in place” means travelers can move freely around their approved hotel, eating at restaurants and enjoying the amenities of the property. They can’t leave the hotel, however.
Travelers still have to show proof of a negative PCR test result within 72 hours before arriving in St Kitts and Nevis.
The Four Seasons Nevis.
The two islands are only open to fully vaccinated travelers; non-vaccinated children under 18 traveling with fully vaccinated parents are welcome, however.
They’ll observe the same period of “Vacation in Place” as their parents.
Travelers are considered fully vaccinated if two weeks have passed since their final dose of a vaccine – either the second dose of a two-dose vaccine like Pfizer or Moderna or AstraZeneca or a single-vaccine like Johnson & Johnson.
Travelers need to upload proof of vaccination when they fill out their Travel Authorization Form (you can find it here).
Approved hotels for international travelers include the Four Seasons, Golden Rock Inn, Montpelier Plantation and Paradise Beach in Nevis; and the Marriott St Kitts Beach Club; Park Hyatt; Royal St Kitts and St Kitts Marriott in St Kitts.
Whether it’s serenity of the cliffs of Negril, the sands of Montego Bay’s crescent shores or the sizzle of jerk in Port Antonio, Jamaica is the Caribbean’s sensory feast, a vibrant, endlessly energetic destination that never ceases to make you feel.
And that hasn’t changed.
After reopening for tourism in the summer of 2020, the island’s easy-to-follow travel protocols make visiting Jamaica a breeze right now — and that means the Jamaica you’re longing for is exactly what you’ll get.
Miss Lily’s, the Seven Mile Beach outpost of the New York hotspot.
It’s a quick digital form to fill out, and you’ll need to show proof of a negative PCR test taken and received within three days before traveling to Jamaica.
It’s one of the Caribbean’s simplest travel entry protocols — and it means that when you arrive in Jamaica you’ll find that Jamaica’s tourism industry has implemented a strong series of protocols, from regular sanitizing to broad mask wearing — meaning you’ll feel safe the moment you land at the airport.
And that’s it — you land and enter one of Jamaica’s tourism-safe “resilient corridors” and you can go about enjoying your vacation, discovering a buzzing Jamaica — one that has seen its tourism industry recover ahead of schedule.
The cliffs of Negril.
And that’s true across the island.
In Montego Bay, you’ll find as impressive a collection of hotels and resorts as ever — whether you’re checking in to the dazzling Eclipse at Half Moon resort or the hip new S Hotel Montego Bay, the latter a sister hotel to Kingston’s popular Spanish Court.
The stunning infinity pool at Eclipse at Half Moon in Jamaica.
In Negril, you can dive right in — the magical cliffs of Negril at inimitable hotels like Rockhouse; the low-key charm of Bloody Bay; and, yes, Seven Mile Beach is still, well, Seven Mile Beach, a never-ending array of beach sights and sounds, from bopping meals at Miss Lily’s to the art of sandy souvenir hunting.
In Port Antonio, you can spend your days on the beach at the edge of the rainforest, and the nights with the sound of Mento.
The British Virgin Islands’ Saba Rock resort is making its long-awaited comeback.
And now it’s got an opening date, Caribbean Journal has learned.
The resort, which had already announced a fall relaunch, is already taking reservations for an Oct. 15 return.
It will mark the culmination of a nearly four-year effort to rebuild the private-island resort, which shuttered in the wake of Hurricane Irma in 2017.
The newSaba Rock will include seven rooms, along with two “island suites,” all done up in a colorful, crisp, contemporary style that’s a major new look for the property.
One of the new-look rooms at Saba Rock.
Saba Rock has always been something of a town square in the heart of the North Sound of Virgin Gorda, drawing all manner of traveler, from kiteboarders to yachters to beach lovers, in an unmatched setting in the BVI.
And yes, Saba Rock’s beloved food and beverage operation is coming back two, with an expansion.
It will include a pair of “richly stocked bars” — meaning one on each of the two stories of the property.
That’s along with a new open-air restaurant serving lunch and dinner, with freshly-caught seafood, burgers, ribs, wings and “other savory local favorites.”
“A free pirate and dive story is included at no extra cost,” the property says.
The rebirth of Saba Rock part of a broader comeback for the North Sound, sometimes dubbed the “Billionaires’ Row” of the Caribbean.
A rendering of “Bitter End 2.0.”
That includes the iconic Bitter End Yacht Club, which is in the midst of its own reconstruction project.
