It may sound hard to believe, but your group’s next visit to the Caribbean could be so packed with adventure, there might not be time for the beach.
Between the verdant mountain ranges, craggy canyons, remote waterfalls, spooky caves and rushing rivers, stretching out on the sand may have to wait as attendees lace into their hiking boots, strap on climbing gear, buckle into a zip line harness or shoulder a couple of dive tanks. Oh, and don’t forget the bobsledding.
Beyond the dazzling oceanfront settings that draw so many visitors to this part of the world are untold adventures that will inspire your group to hit the ground running when their plane lands in paradise.
1. Mountain Madness
The Dominican Republic’s Pico Duarte is the tallest peak in the Caribbean, rewarding those who hike to its 10,127-foot summit with sweeping ocean and sea views to the north and south.
But you don’t have to go all Sir Edmund Hillary on your Caribbean mountain trek. Most of these verdant peaks are gently sloped and sized for fun, as you’ll discover at Jamaica’s Mystic Mountain, Ocho Rios, which pays homage to the country’s legendary bobsled team—a worldwide sensation during the 1988 Winter Olympics—with its own bobsled ride down the mountain toward sea level.
“It’s like a coaster through the forest,” says Norma Bailey Moore, sales manager for Rain Forest Adventures Mystic Mountain (www.rainforestadventure.com), which operates the bobsled ride and other attractions on the mountain overlooking Ocho Rios’ scenic harbor. “The sleds have handles on the side to control speed, like a real bobsled. Me, I like to let it ride as fast as it can go, and that is a true rush, but more tentative riders can slow it down if the speed and sharp turns are too much.”
Mystic Mountain also has event space for up to 600 people, with sit-down dining space for 100.
If quiet alpine treks are more your group’s speed, try the gentle slopes of El Yunque National Forest (www.fs.usda.gov/elyunque), the only tropical rain forest in the U.S. National Forest System, set near Puerto Rico’s eastern coast in the Luquillo mountain range, mere minutes from the Wyndham Rio Mar Beach Resort and other hotels.
“You can be sunbathing in the morning on the beach at your resort and within a half-hour be in a tropical rain forest, taking a dip in a cool river,” says Forest Supervisor Pablo Cruz.
A variety of hiking trails traverse the forest, including the 1.8-mile, low-altitude La Coca Trail, and the more moderate Big Tree Trail. Meanwhile, the El Portal Rain Forest Center can be rented for group events.
“As long as it’s not detrimental to the forest, we can do pretty much anything,” Cruz says.
2. “Seas” the Moment
The Caribbean Sea shimmers like a warm basin of brilliant blue water, bordered by the Greater and Lesser Antilles to the north and east, and by the Yucatan Peninsula, the eastern coast of Central America and South America’s north coast to the west and south. Small wonder that many meeting groups find themselves swimming, sailing, windsurfing, kiteboarding, Jet Skiing, fishing, diving or snorkeling during their off-hours.
A couple of clicks on any tourism website are bound to yield programs like those offered by Aqua Mania in St. Maarten (www.stmaarten-activities.com), whose Lambada catamaran sails popular cruises of up to 65 to the nearby island of Prickly Pear.
“People enjoy the sailing, there are nets up front for sunbathing and a big walk-up bar. It brings people together,” says Debby Lind, Aqua Mania’s manager. “Once you get to the island, there’s a lovely barbecue on the beach, people snorkel and swim, go for walks around the island and just hang out together. Some of the big incentive groups plan activities on the beach.”
You also can pick up the pace with Powerboat Adventures (www.powerboatadventures.com) out of Nassau, offering one-hour high-speed boat rides to the Exuma cays, 38 nautical miles away. The day includes a stop for sun and fun at the company’s private Ship Island Cay, with island treasure hunts, Survivor-style challenges and themed events among the options for groups.
Even the flip side of Caribbean water sports is amazing—the underwater world of coral reefs, including those fringing the Bahamas, Aruba and the Cayman Islands, not to mention the reefs, wrecks, walls and underwater caves of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Touted as the world’s second-largest coral reef, the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef stretches from the Yucatan Peninsula down to the Bay Islands of Honduras and is easily accessible from both Cancun and Cozumel.
“Cozumel diving is among the finest in the world, and among the most affordable,” says Rita Morales, director of promotions for Cozumel Tourism. And though resort courses can help novices take the plunge, you don’t have to necessarily be a certified diver to appreciate the colorful underwater panorama waiting on the ocean floor, Morales notes.
“There are many glass-bottom boat tours, a submarine and snorkeling trips that take non-divers to the reefs,” she says. “Anyone can enjoy their natural beauty.”
3. Caving
While some visitors are content beneath the waves, others are heading underground to explore an eerie landscape of stalagmites and stalactites in subterranean caves, an unexpected—and rare—occurrence in the Caribbean.
In Aruba, the pre-Columbian Arawak Indians left still-visible drawings in the Fontein Cave, set within the deep recesses of rock along the island’s windward coast. Nearby, the Guadirikiri Cave, with two chambers illuminated by filtering sunlight, is home to a colony of (harmless) bats.
You also might see a bat or two flapping through the Rio Camuy Caves in northwest Puerto Rico, known as the third-largest cave system in the world and featuring trails that descend through a fern-filled ravine to huge, cathedral-like caverns, some up to 180 feet high. An underground river flows along the cave’s bottom, home to a unique species of fish that is totally blind.
“This tour definitely attracts a unique kind of crowd, a more adventurous one,” says Daniel Hackett, product manager, Americas & Caribbean, for Viator (www.viator.com), an outfit offering literally hundreds of adventure programs throughout the region. “Our tour is designed for groups of all sizes, and there is no strenuous physical activity involved.”
Viator also offers excursions to Harrison’s Cave in Barbados and the Green Grotto Caves on Jamaica’s north coast.
4. Horsing Around
Back above ground, you can cover more ground—with less exertion—on the back of a horse, whether it’s splashing through the surf courtesy of Trikk Pony Stables (www.trikkpony.com) in Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, or exploring lush bucolic vistas capped by rumbling volcanoes with Centaura Costa Rica (www.centauracostarica.com).
“Give people a horse, and you give them freedom,” declares Esteban Elizondo, owner of Centaura, a ranch based 20 minutes away from the dramatic Arenal Volcano, which is included on many rides.
“We go from mountaintops all the way down to the flatlands, crossing pastures and rivers,” Elizondo says. “We also go into the rain forest, which is so rich and abundant in Costa Rica.”
Specializing in small, private groups of up to eight people, Centaura accommodates all skill levels to allow what Elizondo calls a “bonding experience” between the horse and rider.
“You form a relationship with the animal, and you do it in an amazing place,” he says. “It doesn’t get any better.”
Larger groups can check out Anywhere Costa Rica (www.anywherecostarica.com), which can handle 30 or more people for an outing.
“It’s a good way to see the Costa Rican countryside,” says General Manager Pablo Brenes. “Riding a horse lets you enjoy the view without too much effort.”
5. Animal Magnetism
One thing to be on the lookout for during any tour, horseback or otherwise, are the colorful birds and animals you might pass along the way. In Costa Rica, it could be playful monkeys swinging through the trees, while in Virgin Islands National Park on the unspoiled island of St. John, keep your eyes peeled for 140 species of birds, along with dolphins and migrating whales in the surrounding waters.
While most people love the dolphins—and there are dolphin encounter programs everywhere in the Caribbean, including Cancun—a less-photogenic creature is still a major crowd pleaser at the QE II Botanic Park in George Town, Grand Cayman, home of the giant blue iguana.
These “blue dragons” were at the point of extinction 20 years ago; today, there are about 40 free-roaming iguanas in the park, featured on a separate tour that requires an additional charge, reports John Lawrus, the park’s general manager.
“The best time to see them is in the morning before it gets too hot, or in the late afternoon when the sun is still out,” he says.
6. Free-Wheeling Adventure
When getting there takes a back seat to how you arrive, your group might be ripe for some off-road adventure. How about a little dune buggying in the Dominican Republic, across banana plantations and farmland? Viator’s (www.viator.com) program includes a stop for real Dominican coffee and a visit to an authentic limestone mine.
“You drive through the ‘outback’ of the Dominican Republic and see the local culture,” says Daniel Hackett, Viator’s product manager for the Americas and Caribbean. “People of all ages can enjoy it. You drive the buggy so you can control the speed.”
In Jamaica, Chukka Caribbean Adventures offers a number of off-road group excursions, including an ATV or dune buggy ride through the open pasturelands of the Blue Hole Estate (www.chukkacaribbean.com). In addition to group incentive outings, Chukka can help you plan corporate activities and retreats, and can arrange specific itineraries for SMERF groups as well.
7. Chasing Waterfalls
They’re cool, they’re gorgeous, and you’re going to fall, hard...but in a good way. Say “waterfall” in the Caribbean and most people automatically think of Dunn’s River Falls in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, where terraced steps allow people to link arms and climb from bottom to top, pausing to swim and slide along the way.
In the verdant rain forest of Puerto Rico’s El Yunque, two trails lead to the breathtaking La Mina Falls, which cascade over a cliff into a pool big enough to invite swimming and “showering” beneath the falls.
Meanwhile, the Dominican Republic checks in with no fewer than 27 waterfalls, and all are covered in eco-adventure tours offered by Iguana Mama (www.iguanamama.com).
“You swim, hike, slide and jump,” says Leandro Garcia, Iguana Mama’s manager. “Our guides explain what to do, you get a harness and jacket, and off we go.”
The timid can take gentler jumps farther down the river, he says.
8. Above and Below
Two parks along Mexico’s Riviera Maya, Xcaret and Xplor, are part of Experiencias Xcaret (www.xcaret.com).
Xcaret eco-archaeological park (www.xcaret.com) offers shark and dolphin swims, jungle hikes and encounters with manatees, marine turtles, jaguars and spider monkeys.
Nearby is Xplor (www.xplor.travel), which takes you above and below the ground, as visitors raft along spectacular underground rivers, traverse rugged terrain via amphibious vehicles, and fly over the jungle canopy on 14 zip lines and two hanging bridges.
