JAMAICA

Father-son jaunt filled with learning moments

When I read that Negril has an ordinance barring any building higher than a palm tree, I filed it away as an interesting ecotourism fact. I was also intrigued when I heard that the funky beach town on the western tip of Jamaica is a hot spot for psychedelic Caribbean sunsets. I've long believed that everything should stop -- at least for a few minutes -- when the day begins and ends. Sunrise and sunset are logical moments to interrupt our self-absorbed routines and give thanks for the time that we...

LUXURY

Luxury in the Yucatán

The iced cucumbers sent an arctic jolt pulsing down to my eye sockets -- not an altogether unpleasant sensation -- and temporarily blotted out the Caribbean Sea.

Yucatán on a dime

Could I spend a week in the Yucatán without busting my budget? That was what I asked myself a few weeks ago when I was making plans to go to a friend's wedding on the beach in Tulum. It seemed silly to spend the money to fly all the way there and not see a little of the country beyond the beach. But times being what they are, I had to do it on the cheap if I was going to do it at all.

All-inclusives go upmarket

Cindy Ortega needed a break. ''I'm with children all day long,'' said Ortega, who owns Kids Learning Adventure, a Miami pre-school facility. So she and her husband Roberto booked a four-night stay at a luxury adults-only all-inclusive resort in Mexico over Valentine's Day weekend.

JAMAICA

Funky Kingston sets the beat of the Caribbean

Beyond the resorts of Jamaica's north shore lies the largest English-speaking city in the Caribbean.

QUICK TRIPS

Finding beasts and blue holes in the Bahamas

At 2,300 square miles, Andros is the largest of the Bahamian islands. It's also the most mysterious, its porous, limestone base riddled with swamps, creeks and underground tunnels and caverns. As a result of this unforgiving landscape, Andros remains sparsely populated -- despite its 30-mile proximity to Nassau -- with just a few hardy villages dotting its eastern shores.

All-inclusives: Resorts offer myriad of styles

Order breakfast while still in bed at the new Aura Cozumel Wyndham Grand Bay. You'll have just enough time for a dip in the private plunge pool above your third-floor suite before room service delivers smoked salmon, fruit and coffee.

GETTING THERE

Nonstop flights make Caribbean, Bahamas just a hop away

While airlines are cutting flights from other parts of the country, South Florida is actually getting new service.

QUICK TRIPS

Turks and Caicos Islands are booming

This tiny group of islands in the West Indies has one of the world's fastest-growing economies, sparked by high-end resorts and a booming real estate market.

PUERTO RICO

Taking the kids to Puerto Rico

Accidental tourists find an island filled with natural attractions.

Mellow with Marley at Jamaica all-inclusive

In retrospect, it was pretty unnecessary to go searching for Bob Marley in Jamaica. At Club Ambiance, the all-inclusive resort at Runaway Bay on Jamaica's north shore where my friend Jay and I stayed for a long weekend, the gazebo bar at the end of the pier started playing the reggae star's songs at breakfast and didn't quit till sunset, and a three-foot-tall statue of the singer perched on the railing, his back to the Caribbean Sea.

CURACAO

Curacao: An underwater wonderland

Curac¸ao is blessed with a diverse reef environment on a foundation of volcanic limestone.

Young and restless at Cancun all-inclusive

It was like a scene out of CSI: Cancun. I awoke on an achingly bright Saturday morning to find that the curtains in my fifth-floor room at the Golden Parnassus resort had already been parted (or never drawn). The door to the balcony was wide open, so the room was as hot and sultry as the air outside. The TV was on, clothes littered the floor, and I'd fallen asleep in my bathing suit and T-shirt. I got out of bed and stepped into the remains of a burger and fries sitting on the floor that I'd gotten...

Rambling all-inclusive near Puerto Plata, D.R.

On a sun-drenched afternoon in the Dominican Republic, a young bride stood under a cloudless sky, draped in lace and her dark hair covered in a wisp of veil. The groom was dapper in a light linen suit, his fingers interlaced with hers. The woman said ''I do'' in Spanish; he responded in kind. Family and friends toasted the union with champagne; I raised my Happy Happy cocktail, wishing them well despite not knowing their names or their love story.

Booking an all-inclusive resort: Trip tips

Booking an all-inclusive in the Caribbean can be all-consuming. Unlike a standard hotel, there are myriad variables to consider: Do you want a full bar in your room or will bottled water suffice, full or limited access to the pools and restaurants, freedom to roam the town or guided tours only?