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June 25, 2013May 29, 2019

Palm Trees in Paradise

Nothing is quite as calming as a pictures of a palm tree next to beautiful blue water, and over the years we’ve amassed a nice collection of these types of pics. So…we thought we’d put some of our favorites together to share with you. Actually, we can’t verify that they are all palm trees – sorry- we’re far from palm experts, but they’re definitely palm looking plants that give us the same tropical feel! Since we couldn’t narrow it down any more than this, this is a sort of Tropical Palm Pictorial Journal. Pull up a glass of rum and enjoy a little tropication!

No wonder it’s called “Palm” Island…(The Grenadines)

Gorgeous palms on Saltwhistle Bay Beach, Mayreau.

Shoal Bay, Anguilla. This one gets extra points for the hammock :)

Palm Tree Tire Swing in Cane Garden Bay, Tortola

O.K, these are palm fronds on a palapa (and a small palm to the right), but we’re gonna count it anyway because it’s just super fun to look at and remember. Extra points for the rum punch at Guys Driftwood Boat Bar in St. Maarten.

Hard to believe there could be palm trees on a manmade conch shell island off of Union Island in the Grenadines, but as you can see, there certainly are palms on Happy Island!

Lovely palms and boats at Smathers Beach, Key West.

Gorgeous palm sunset on Kauai…

Cool leaning palm at Bolongo Bay, St. Thomas

Amazing palms and scenery of Tobago Cays, The Grenadines

The palms burned (cinematically – thank goodness) on Petit Tabac in the film Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl

The perfect twin palms of Maho Bay, St. John

A palm tree shadow at the gorgeous Magens Bay Beach, St. Thomas

View of the palms at Spring Bay, Virgin Gorda from the crystal clear blue water

A palm and a beautiful beach, what more do you need on Prickly Pear Cays, Anguilla?

A palm and a view at Smuggler’s Cove, Tortola

And I guess it wouldn’t hurt to end up with a palm (or two) and a Painkiller (or two) on White Bay, Jost Van Dyke in front of the Soggy Dollar Bar…would it?

To see more posts on these and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches, Bars & More, Tropical Travel Guide, 2013
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

June 15, 2013May 29, 2019

Orient Bay Beach, St. Martin

Orient Bay Beach on the French side of St. Martin is undoubtedly the best known and busiest beach on the island.

With two miles of beautiful, powdery, white sand it’s easy to see why so many people flock to Orient to spend time lounging, walking, visiting one of the great beach bars, people watching and playing in the stunning blue water.

You might know Orient Beach as the “nude” beach and yes, the southernmost part of Orient is clothing optional and part of the naturist resort Club Orient.

The rest of Orient is divided into sections – each with it’s own restaurants, chair and umbrella rentals and shops. Heading north from Club Orient, the sections include Kontiki, Kakao, Bikini Beach, Waikiki, Coco Beach and Palm Beach.

Kontiki

Each section has a different feel and some sections are busier then others – although there were pockets of activity all the way down the beach. It did seem that in general though, the beach became a little quieter and less crowded as we walked north – away from Club Orient.

Bikini Beach

Coco Beach

Orient also offers water sport options and rentals such as kiteboarding, parasailing and jet skiing.

Orient Bay Beach can get really busy, especially on days when there are numerous cruise ships at port in Philipsburg. But even if you prefer quieter beaches, with two + miles of gorgeous sand and water, you can almost always find a quiet spot to relax and just take in the beauty….

Find Orient Bay Beach on our St. Maarten/St. Martin Map
Press the Orient Bay Beach bar underneath the map

To see more posts on St. Martin and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches, Bars & More, Tropical Travel Guide, 2013
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

June 7, 2013January 15, 2020

Smuggler’s Cove, Tortola

Smuggler’s Cove is a gorgeous, tranquil, soft sand beach fringed with palms on Tortola’s northwest side.The road to Smuggler’s Cove is bumpy and slow going, but you can also access the beach by taking a 20 minute hike from Long Bay Beach. Smuggler’s is usually quiet in the mornings, but can get busy on weekends and afternoons.

Most of the time the water is great for swimming and there are some areas of good snorkeling, but be careful of rough surf when there is a north swell. Be sure to stop by Nigel’s Boom Boom Beach Bar & Grill for a cold one and a light meal!

The palms lining the shore are tropically gorgeous and offer a lot of great shade when needed.
(Update: the hurricanes of 2017 destroyed many of the palms in the area so currently there is not as much shade as there once was.)

View of Jost Van Dyke from the beach

Go for: swimming, snorkeling and water sports (on calm days), sunbathing, picnics and scenery…

To see more posts on Tortola and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

All information is correct to our knowledge at the time of writing, but be sure to verify current information before your visit.
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

May 28, 2013September 25, 2019

Rum Therapy Sailing in the British Virgin Islands (The Wrap Up)

From Trellis Bay, we headed over to the island of Jost Van Dyke. On our previous sail, the conditions were not favorable the day we were to head to JVD, so we were not able to get there and that made us even more excited to visit this time.

We made our first stop on beautiful little Sandy Cay between Tortola and Jost.

After spending some time in the water we took the hike through the center of the island.

We made our way back to the boat and headed just a short hop north to an even smaller uninhabited island called Sandy Spit.

The snorkeling was excellent and we felt like we had our own private island for just a few hours…

After spending a quiet night moored at East End Harbour, JVD, we began the last day of our trip motoring into White Bay.

We spent the day visiting all of the great beach bars on White Bay from one end to the other – for research purposes, of course, as well as lounging in its crystal clear blue water…

One more Nilla Killa and a few more minutes of sand and sun and we headed back to the boat for a short nap and a sail to Norman Island to spend our last night at the Willie T…

After an excellent dinner aboard the cat prepared by our Chef, our Captain dinghied us over to the Willie T where we spent the rest of the evening having a great time. We made a lot of new friends that probably didn’t remember us the next day and the only problem we had was finding our dinghy after an evening of revelry! Hmmm…and some of us somehow ended up with a Willie T tattoo… ;)

Find the rest of the Rum Therapy Sailing in the BVI series here:
Part 1 (Norman and Peter Island
Part 2 (Virgin Gorda)
Part 3 (Saba Rock and Anegada)
Part 4 (Great Camanoe, Trellis Bay, Beef Island)

To see more posts on the BVI and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC. All information is correct to our knowledge at the time of writing, but be sure to verify current information before your visit.

April 24, 2013June 5, 2019

Pumpkin Bluff Beach, North Caicos

O.K. we admit it – we are just crazy about beaches. Something about the beautiful blue water and creamy white sand absolutely soothes our souls. We’ve been lucky to have seen some amazing beaches in our travels and this is one of the top on our list.

Getting there:If you don’t like deserted beaches, with miles of undisturbed sugar soft sand, you should probably not read any further. We visited this one, Pumpkin Bluff Beach on North Caicos three times during our stay on the island, never saw another person – and LOVED the solitude…

Pumpkin Bluff was not the easiest beach to find on North Caicos – perhaps the reason it was so isolated. In fact, we never saw a sign leading to Pumpkin Bluff and originally called it Shipwreck Beach because of the freighter shipwrecked just off the reef. It wasn’t until we returned home and located the beach on a map that we realized the name was Pumpkin Bluff. Still think we like Shipwreck Beach better!

We’d recommend just getting a good map and exploring until you find it – it’s well worth it. Three Mary Cays on the right in the distance is a great place to snorkel.

Pumpkin Bluff has very long expanse of beautiful white, soft sand and the water is shallow and clear for a long way out. The weather was calm and warm while we were in North Caicos and the swimming (and floating) were great!

The Rum Therapy gang enjoying the beach all to ourselves…

Amenities: none :)

Recommended for: swimming, anyone that enjoys a quiet beach experience. Take a picnic and your favorite rum drinks and enjoy the solitude.

Other Turks & Caicos post that you might enjoy:

Rum Therapy in Turks and Caicos

Mudjin Harbour, Middle Caicos

Find Pumpkin Bluff Beach on our Turks and Caicos Map

To see more posts on the Turks and Caicos islands and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

March 28, 2013June 5, 2019

Saltwhistle Bay Beach, Mayreau

A beautiful crescent shaped beach with soft, white sand and incredibly clear, calm water. Saltwhistle Bay Beach is found on the small island of Mayreau in the Grenadine chain. Good anchorage for the boats and yachts that clamor for mooring in the beautiful bay.

Access: Get to Mayreau by boat. Good anchorage (although it’s getting better known by boaters and so it can get busy with boats trying to moor there). We also noticed several larger ships anchored in Saline Bay. From Saline Bay you can hike over the hill through the village of Old Wall and down into Saltwhistle Bay.

Beach: a long crescent of soft white sand beautifully fringed with palm trees. Great for swimming with gentle sandy access and usually calm surf. Shallow for quite a way out. Great walking beach. Separated from the rougher Atlantic side by a small strip of land.

Recommended for: swimming, walking, relaxing and those that don’t need or want a ton of amenities.

Tip: if you have the time, hike up the hill to the village of Old Town. There are several good bars (careful – they serve Sunset Very Strong Rum – good, but potent!), great views and very friendly people.

Other St. Vincent and the Grenadines post that you may be interested in:

Jack’s Bar, Bequia

Coconut Bar, Young Island Resort

Petit Tabac, The Grenadines

Mopion, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Happy Island, an Island and a Bar

copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches, Bars & More, Tropical Travel Guide, 2013
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

October 5, 2012September 25, 2019

Rum Therapy Sailing in the British Virgin Islands (Part 1)

Sailing takes me away to where I’ve always heard it could be,
Just a dream and the wind to carry me,
And soon I will be free…Christopher Cross

It’s no secret that we love to sail.

Can you beat the feeling of the sun warmed sea air on your face and the sounds of the sea as you adjust the sails to catch the warm breeze? We’ve been lucky enough to sail the British Virgin Islands (BVI) twice and are hooked. Once on a sailboat and once on a catamaran, we can’t wait to go back again. Although we’ve seen quite a bit of these picturesque islands, there is still so much more to explore and we look forward to doing just that.

Through lots of pictures and just a few words, we’d like to share some of what we’ve experienced – so far – in the BVI. Check out this MAP to see the location of each of the islands.

Norman Island
At the southern tip of the British Virgin Islands, this privately owned, uninhabited island has plenty to experience. We spent one night on both of our sails in The Bight – a sheltered harbour which makes a great anchorage. While there, we:

1. Took a hike to the top!
(You can find the path behind Pirates Bight. Great views of The Bight, Peter Island and Tortola.)

2. On our way back down, we stopped for a drink, some sun, beach time and chatter with fellow boaters at Pirates Bight.

3. Dinghy-ed up for a drink at the infamous Willy T’s.
(Go during the day for some tasty food and a (usually) quieter crowd. Go at night for the party! Read more about one of our visits here: Rum Therapy at Willy T’s)

4. Snorkeled the Caves
(Just past Treasure Point is a great area to snorkel with several caves and abundant fish. Keep your eyes open for treasure – apparently some was found years ago in The Caves.)

Peter Island

We took a short sail around Norman to Peter Island, home of the magnificent Peter Island Resort and Spa. We spent an awesome day in Deadman’s Bay doing the following:

1. Walked the beach, kayaked and enjoyed cocktails at the Deadman’s Beach Bar & Grill

2. Snorkeled
(Turtles can sometimes be found in the sea grass beds)

3. Took a short hike up the road to get a beautiful view of Deadman’s Bay and the other side of the island

After a great day basking in the sun at Deadman’s Bay, we moved the boat around the island to Little Harbour for the night. As the sun went down, we enjoyed some rum and wakeboarding behind the dinghy. We’d already had a great couple of days and were looking forward to heading north the next day to the beautiful island reputedly named The Fat Virgin by Christopher Columbus – Virgin Gorda.

Check out Rum Therapy Sailing in the British Virgin Islands (Part 2):
Virgin Gorda

April 7, 2012June 6, 2019

Tropical Sunsets

There’s just something special about a tropical sunset. Looking at the brilliant hues of orange and pink shimmering off of the ocean makes us sigh and long for more island time. The following are our favorites from the Rum Therapy Tropical Sunset folder and each one brings back memories of warm breezes, soft sand and most likely, a rum drink in hand as the sun sinks below the watery horizon.

We’ve yet to capture the elusive “green flash”, but you never know, if we keep taking sunset pictures, we might get lucky someday! Which one is your favorite?

Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Oahu, Hawaii

Mayreau, The Grenadines

Oahu, Hawaii

Another sunset in Oahu, Hawaii

St. Croix, USVI

Anguilla Sunset

Hanalei Bay, Kauai

Young Island Cut, St. Vincent

At sea near Carriacou

White Bay Overlook, Jost Van Dyke

Isle Pinel, St. Martin

Union Island, The Grenadines

White Bay, Jost Van Dyke in front of Ivan’s

And last, but certainly not least,
Anse du Grande Columbier, St. Barths

To see more island posts, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches, Bars & More, Tropical Travel Guide, 2013
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

March 28, 2012May 29, 2019

Sunset Bar and Grill, St. Maarten

Ahhh…Sunset Bar and Grill in St. Maarten. Where else can you enjoy a delicious rum punch on a beautiful beach while a 747 roars over your head?

Doesn’t sound that good to you? Well, when researching places to check out on our recent trip to St. Maarten, a good friend mentioned that we really ought to check this place out. We thought it would be a novelty and that we’d stop by just for a quick beverage, but we ended up having a blast!

The day we got there by mid-afternoon the bar was already hopping! There were plenty of people on the beach enjoying the warm sunshine and we noticed a surfboard acting as a sort of sign with a flight schedule written on it.

We ordered several Rum Punches and Mojitos along with a few appetizers.

Just as our first round was being served, we saw people clamoring towards the beach. Within seconds, a huge US Airways jet blasted right past us, over the fence and landed on the runway just feet from the bar. Wow – talk about close! I grabbed my camera and headed to the sand to see if I could capture the next landing.

In addition to great drinks and the jet entertainment, Sunset Bar and Grill frequently has live music and even crab races. And if you’re short on cash, women can drink free – if you’re willing to go topless.

After all the airplanes have landed for the day, Sunset offers a quiet waterfront dining under the stars. So really – Sunset Bar and Grill should be on your list of beach bars to check out next time you’re in St. Maarten. Just don’t stand in the middle of the beach when a 747 takes off….

To find out more about Sunset Bar and Grill in St. Maarten, check out their website here: http://sunsetsxm.com/

Find Sunset Bar & Grill on our St. Maarten/St. Martin Map
Press the Sunset Bar & Grill bar underneath the map

Other Posts on St. Maarten/St. Martin that you might enjoy:

Sint Maarten Yacht Club Bar & Restaurant

Calmos Cafe, St. Martin

Sarafina’s Bakery, Marigot St. Martin

Le Galion Beach, St. Martin

Karakter Beach Bar, St. Maarten

Guy’s Driftwood Boat Bar, St. Maarten

Orient Bay Beach, St. Martin

copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches, Bars & More, Tropical Travel Guide, 2013
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

January 26, 2012January 15, 2020

Bomba Surfside Shack

Have you heard of the “Full Moon Parties” on Tortola? Then you’ve probably heard of The Bomba Shack.

The Bomba Shack is quite the sight. Erected of materials dropped off by friends, the building looks as if it shouldn’t stay upright in a heavy wind. (It actually made it through a pretty fierce hit from Hurricane Earl in 2010 with minimal damage!)

Update: unfortunately the Bomba Shack was destroyed in the hurricanes of 2017. We are not sure if there will be any attempt to re-build, but we will update this post with any additional information as we receive it.

The walls and ceiling are adorned with graffiti, tons of pictures and clothing (namely undergarments). The architectural style is to say the least ….interesting. During the day, it’s a quiet place with a nice view of Jost Van Dyke.

Bomba’s Rum Punch with Jost Van Dyke in the distance

Bomba opened his bar in 1976 on Cappoons Bay – between Long Bay and Cane Garden Bay. He began the infamous Full Moon Parties in 1989 and due to the popularity of these get-togethers (there have been 800-1,000 people in attendance), Bomba opened up “The Back Yard” across the street in the same architectural style. It includes a bandstand for the live music and another bar.

We attended Bombas Full Moon Party in January of 2010 and did a little research on it before attending. One website said “Not for the easily offended” and after attending, we completely understand what they meant. Leave the kiddos at home – this party starts around 9 p.m., doesn’t really wind up until dawn, and it’s wild!

Many people come to partake in Bombas Mushroom Tea which is only served during certain hours, with special glasses that you need to purchase. Some of the locals we talked to recommended skipping the tea and going for Bombas Rum Punch instead, or adding rum to the tea. We tried both the tea and the punch – for research purposes of course…

Pouring the Mushroom Tea

Midnight rolled around and we said goodbye to Bomba. As we looked around, the place had gotten crowded with both locals and tourists and we waded through a sea of people trying to find our ride. This party was just gettin’ started!

To see more posts on Tortola and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory