Travel Tips & Trends

Safe harbor during hurricane season

The Caribbean hurricane season typically runs from the beginning of June to the end of November. While the experts at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) are projecting a 75% chance that the Atlantic hurricane season will be more active than normal this year, cruisers and other travelers can usually find plenty of safe harbors during the storm season-along with bargain prices.

It pays to be a little flexible in your travel plans. Consider a cruise instead of a single destination. If the weather forecast changes unexpectedly, the ship may head for a different port to avoid rough water; a day on land may become an extra day at sea; a planned Eastern Caribbean itinerary may even be changed to a Western Caribbean one or vice versa.

This is all possible because the Caribbean is a large enough area that there can be great variation in weather conditions from one part to another. According to the Caribbean Hurricane Network, the islands that least often experience a hurricane are Bonaire, Curacao, Trinidad and Aruba. In fact, these four islands have each had five or fewer hurricanes since 1851 and none was severe. The Bahamas are the area most often affected in the Caribbean.

Regardless of the destination, travelers should always buy travel insurance that covers weather-related problems and delays. It's also a good idea to take a cellphone that works internationally, in case you need to tell friends back home about a change of plans.