Text size:

Nonstop to the Caribbean

10 places in paradise that are only a flight away

BY JAY CLARKE | Special to Newsday

Providenciales, Turks & Caicos -- The bay in Providenciales in Turks & Caicos. (File Photo courtesy of Turks & Caicos Tourist Board)

Many airlines are cutting back service to the Caribbean this fall and winter, but New Yorkers bound for the islands will still enjoy plenty of options. They can fly nonstop to 26 Caribbean destinations from the New York area's three major airports, about the same as last year. However, because airlines are retrenching in the face of high fuel costs and a faltering economy, they'll have fewer flights to choose from.

FLIGHT CHANGES

American Airlines, the biggest carrier to the Caribbean, has scheduled 45 fewer flights a week to that region from LaGuardia and Kennedy airports and no longer will make Caribbean nonstops out of Newark International. Continental has cut back 22 flights a week out of Newark. On the plus side, rival airline JetBlue, seeing an opportunity, has jumped in with additional service to the region, including 16 more flights each week to the Dominican Republic from Kennedy. Service to San Juan also is being beefed up.

NEW ROUTES

Delta will inaugurate a nonstop from JFK to Bonaire this winter, "and we're actually adding some frequencies" to other destinations, says Carlos Santos, the airline's regional manager. Air Jamaica is adding nonstops to Barbados and Grenada from JFK, and Continental will be flying to two new destinations from Newark -- Grand Cayman and Montego Bay.

This has cheered Enrique de Marchena, president of the Caribbean Hotel Association, who had feared a sharp drop in Caribbean flights would drive winter vacationers to other destinations.

Here are quick updates on some top Caribbean destinations reachable nonstop from New York area airports.

1. PUNTA CANA

SERVED BY American and Delta from Kennedy; Continental and Delta from Newark.

WHAT'S NEW This booming resort area of the Dominican Republic came through hurricane brush-bys with almost no damage. Meanwhile, there seems to be no end to the growth of Punta Cana as a favored Caribbean destination. Luxury developments like Roco Ki, Cap Cana and Moon Palace resorts are opening this year, and Four Seasons, Fairmont, Ritz-Carlton and Westin also will be coming on the scene. New golf courses are springing up as well, nudging the Dominican's east coast closer to becoming the Caribbean's golf capital.

INFORMATION Dominican Republic Tourist Office, 888-374-6361 or 212-588-1012, godominicanrepublic.com.

2. CANCUN

SERVED BY JetBlue, American, Mexicana and Aeromar from Kennedy; Continental from Newark.

WHAT'S NEW With new luxury hotels like the 371-room Aqua showing the way, Cancun is starting to distance itself from its spring-break reputation. Also newly opened are Westin .Lagunamar Ocean Resort, the first hotel-branded vacation ownership resort in Cancun, and the Secrets Silversands Riviera Cancun, an adults-only resort with 446 suites. And at the new Cancun Country Club complex, visitors can play on two 18-hole golf courses designed by Tom Fazio and Nick Price. There are new attractions as well. Adventurers can explore Rio Secreto (the Secret River) on a tour by wading through caverns and underground passages. Since June, seven Mayan communities have started an alternative tourism network called Puerta Verde (Green Door) for visitors who want to experience local traditions. Organized tours are available through NGO Kanche, a nonprofit group.

INFORMATION Mexico Tourism Board, 800-446-3942, visitmexico.com.

3. BARBADOS

SERVED BY American and Air Jamaica from Kennedy.

WHAT'S NEW Cricket is the national sport, traffic drives on the left, and the literacy rate is the highest in the Caribbean (and higher than in the United States). Barbados is the most English of all the Caribbean islands, except that rum, not tea, is the national drink. Among new features awaiting travelers is the recently reopened Harrison's Cave, the island's most popular attraction; the spruced-up Casuarina Beach Resort, winding up a $30 million expansion; and a renovated Oistins Fish Market, site of a famous weekend fish fry.

INFORMATION Barbados Tourism Authority, 800-221-9831, visitbarbados.org.

4. PROVIDENCIALES