What comes to your mind when you hear the word “Caribbean,” a dream holiday?

Beautiful white, sandy beaches with coconut palms, warm weather, blue sea and the sun above your head. If you do not know where to travel, you should definitely come here.

The Caribbean islands offer the chance to take trips to cultural monuments, culinary specials or adventurous expeditions to a virgin nature as for example my favorite hideaway, Piegon Cay (in the picture).

The Caribbean region is located between the southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and the North American mainland. This includes the islands of the Caribbean Sea, the Bahamas and the coasts of South and Central America that boarder the Caribbean Sea. The area has over 44 million inhabitants and attracts roughly 25 million tourists a year, some tourist find the beauty of the region so enchanting they make this paradise their new home.

As the Caribbean lies in a tropical climate zone, the weather here is pleasant all year round. The rain season alternates with the dry season, during the rain season rains are abundant, but short and refreshing after a hot day. Even so, there are still summer temperatures and the sea is mostly as warm as a refreshing cup of coffee. However, there is a risk of hurricanes in this area, the hurricane season is from June till the end of October.

Historically the Caribbean, as well as America, was discovered by the famous explorer-- Christopher Columbus during his overseas expeditions at the end of the 15th century. Most of the islands were appropriated by Spain and the Spanish government tried to colonize the original inhabitants. An important turning point occurred during the end of the 19th century, when the Spain-American War broke out, and the Paris Peace of Treaty was signed, then most of Spain's possessions were handed over to America.

The indigenous population came to the Caribbean islands from mainland South America and at the time of Spanish colonization, the indigenous population was almost destroyed by disease and war. During this time Europeans colonialist established prosperous tobacco and cotton plantations, therefor 5 million West African slaves were brought here to labor the plantation fields. Most of the present Caribbean population are the decedents of these slaves. However, thanks to the colonization of European powers, there are innumerable ethnicities and nations. Culture and tradition are very diverse in this region. Most of the population speaks English because the United Kingdom had established a long running and prosperous colony here.

Not only the beaches and warm seas attract tourists to the Caribbean. There are sometimes favorable investment conditions and job offers. Add to this the typical colorful clothing and houses of its inhabitants, the exotic native flora and fauna, and it is easy to see why this region is considered a paradise by many.