Pirates, parties and adventures – these are the words that come to mind when one thinks of the Caribbean. The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands in between the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. The area is organized into 30 territories, some of which are the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, Dominican Republic and Barbados. The culture of Caribbean people has been developing for centuries until contact with the Europeans circa 1500 AD, which dramatically changed the region and transformed it into a blend of a variety of different cultures across the globe.

The Caribbean is a region of extraordinary biological diversity, it accounts for around 8% of the world’s coral reef and upwards of 100,000 different species of fungi. Some of the islands are home to indigenous tribes, which preserved their native culture after encountering foreigners. Spanish, English and French are the most widely-spoken languages in the Caribbean. Most of the islands have breathtaking coasts with sun-kissed beaches and crystal-clear water, making the Caribbean one of the most highly desired travel and study-abroad destinations in the world.

When to Go

The weather patterns in the Caribbean can largely be divided into the dry and the wet seasons. The sun shines year around, and the temperature never drops to be noticeably cold. The dry is season is generally preferred among visitors; it ranges from January until July.

Attractions

The Caribbean is known across the world as a place of relaxation and leisure; the most popular places in the Caribbean are not constructions of human engineering, but works of unparalleled beauty of Mother Nature. The Seven Mile Beach in Cayman Islands, Flamenco Beach in St. Lucia, the Gold Coast in Barbados are a few of dozens of breathtaking beaches in the Caribbean. The Caribbean also has a multitude of parks, such as the Turtle River Park in Jamaica, and various unique cultural hotspots like Cuba’s Havana.

The University of West Indies at Cave Hills, Barbados: http://www.cavehill.uwi.edu/

College of the Bahamas: http://www.cob.edu.bs/