Jimmy Buffet's Parrothead Caribbean Island-Hopper Golf Tour
by American Way Magazine, with golf options and other research added by Fat Guy
Royal St. Kitts GC
About.com
American Way Magazine
CaribbeanGolf.com
T&L Golf
Fat Guy Foreword: I'll be the first to admit, despite the fact that I'm a beach/island kinda guy, I'm no Parrothead. Don't get me wrong; I dig Jimmy Buffet tunes, in the sense that they're the perfect background music if I'm in the right beach bar, holding the right frozen blender drink, and wearing flip flops, swim trunks, and a Hawaiian shirt that's wet on the bottom from my suit. I dig when drunk girls scream out the lyrics to Margaritaville, and I like adding, "My salt, where the f*&%'s my salt?!", like I'm some kind of insider (although the tune has reached that massively overplayed 'I-don't-care-if-I-ever-hear-this-song-again' status for me). But I don't own a Buffet album, I've never been to a Buffet show (I know, I know, it's on my bucket list), and I've never read one of his books. I've only ever been to three of his restaurants (the one at Broadway @ The Beach in Myrtle is a great post-round/Happy Hour evening-starter spot for Jimmy's famous 'boat drinks').
When I stumbled on a couple great articles about Buffet's favorite Caribbean haunts, I smelled a good theme for a golf trip. I don't think Jimmy's a golfer, but everybody has character flaws. We'll just fill in the holes on where to play near some of his favorite Caribbean spots, along with a few addtional beachy Buffet-vibe spots recommended by some trusted travel publications.
From what little I've read about Buffet, he strikes me as the type who'd be just as much at home on a sand patch local 9-holer as he would on an oceanfront resort course, so we'll hit a little of both on our tour.
A Guide to Jimmy Buffett's Caribbean
By Robert Curley, About.com Guide
Jimmy Buffett, American's party pirate-in-chief and unofficial ambassador to all things tropical, has lived in, traveled in, and written many songs about the Caribbean.
Both in interviews and song lyrics, he's been open about sharing some of his favorite Caribbean spots with fans; Buffett songs include stories of sunny days and foggy nights spent on islands like Jamaica (where police in Negril once shot at Buffett's plane, thinking it was being used to smuggle drugs), Cuba ("Havana Daydreamin'"), St. Barths, St. Martin ("For five wild years in L'Orient, the party never stopped..."), Barbados ("Thought I might sail down to Bridgetown, spend some time in the Barbados sun"), Martinique ("Well now, if I ever live to be an old man, I'm gonna sail down to Martinique, I'm gonna buy me a sweat stained Bogart suit, and an African parakeet."), Tortola, Antigua, and even Haiti.
So if you're a Parrothead, or just want a taste of the carefree life celebrated by Buffett in his music, here's a guide to walking in some of Jimmy's sandy footsteps [with some golf options thrown in by Fat Guy]:
Bahamas
Play: Well-to-do course collector Parrotheads and Bond fans won't be able to resist teeing it up at the famous Ocean Club. But in the interest of experiencing more local flavor, hit Blue Shark Golf Club. The fifteenth and seventeenth holes are the highlights of this complete redesign by Greg Norman of what used to be the South Ocean Club course on New Providence Island. Known as the "blue holes," they straddle giant lagoon sinkholes connected to the ocean by subterranean channels. The rest of the layout, part of which overlooks the Atlantic, features Norman's familiar white sand bunkers and crushed-coquina waste areas. Architect: Greg Norman. Yardage: 7,100. Par: 72. Tee Times: www.bluesharkgolf.com.
Booze & Grub: Jimmy loves Staniel Cay Yacht Club, Bahamas: A yachting resort in the Exumas that Buffett calls one of the 10 great places in the world to get a waterside drink. Or Kaye's, Rum Cay, Bahamas: A waterfront bar and grill on the remote island of Rum Cay, known for its deserted beaches and wreck diving. Ruby's is a little spot just beyond the cemetery and library on Harbour Island. "Her burgers remind me of the ones my grandmother used to make with onions and breadcrumbs in the meat, and then there is that drop-dead Bahama bread they are served on"
Forbes Traveler chills at Nippers on the 7-mile beach at Great Cuana Bay on this tiny Bahamian out island. Things can get pretty rowdy on weekends when the Abaco crowd rolls through the door, but on weekdays Nippers is an ideal place for a cool drink and a good book on the outdoor deck overlooking the sea.
Nippers
Stay: Buffet digs Pink Sands Hotel, Harbour Island, Bahamas: Part of the Island Outpost chain of small luxury island resorts, Pink Sands has 25 eclectically decorated cottages along a three-mile stretch of mostly deserted pink-sand beach.
Beach: Long Island, Bahamas: Some of Buffett's favorite beaches are found on the island's west side.
Provo, Turks, & Caicos
Play: Provo G&CC (www.provogolfclub.com) is a Top 10 Carribean course designed by Karl Litten that recently received a $1.5 milllion makeover. The course features variable trade winds, rugged limestone outcroppings, lush indigenous vegitation including over 900 palms and legions of local flowers, and 12 artfully designed lakes.
Booze & Grub: Margaritaville, Turks & Caicos: Grab a boat drink and then dip your toe in the 500,000-gallon pool at the new Margaritaville at the cruise-ship terminal on Grand Turk. Travel Channel named Da Conch Shack to their list of Sexiest Beach Bars. "Da Conch sits right on the beach in beautiful Provo, Turks and Caicos. In true island spirit, it's famous for two things: fresh local seafood and a wide selection of rum. As the name suggests, conch is the house specialty but the in-season grouper, snapper and lobster are not to be missed."
Stay: Turtle Cove Inn, Turks & Caicos: The swimming pool at this budget hotel is a popular apres-dive hangout in Provo.
Grand Cayman
Play: The Links at SafeHaven (~$120) has large, fast, undulating greens, ocean winds, Caribbean vistas sprinkled with mahogany and palm trees, and risk/reward doglegs that require strategy.
Booze & Grub: Margaritaville, Grand Cayman: This new, multi-level entertainment complex overlooking the Georgetown harbor has a swim-up bar, water slide and pool as well as a nighclub and restaurant. CaribbeanGolf.com likes two other restaurants, Hemingway's and Bamboo, that look out over the water under swaying palms (the latter also features live jazz). The Seven-Mile Beach Bar is perfect for drinking a rum and Coke while watching the boats bob on the gentle waves.
Stay: CaribbeanGolf.com recommends the Hyatt Regency Grand Cayman Beach Suites, located on the famous Seven-Mile Beach, with development on one side and world-class views of the sun setting over the sea on the other.
Jamaica
Play: Per T&L Golf, you can no longer see local Johnny Cash roaming the Wyndham Rose Hall Resort & Country Club's refurbished Cinnamon Hill Ocean Course ($80-$125; 876-953-2650), but you'll still have to walk the line to avoid the chasms of this Robert von Hagge and Rick Baril layout. Perennial favorite Half Moon Golf Club ($130; 876-953-2211) is a long stroll courtesy of Robert Trent Jones Sr.; and, just down the road, the Tryall Club ($40-$115; 876-956-5681) has completed a thorough renovation, restoring this famed oceanfront gem to the shape it deserves.
Booze & Grub: Margaritaville, Jamaica: No visit to Jamaica would be complete for a true Parrothead without a pilgrimage to one of Buffett's own Margaritaville restaurants and bars. Travel Channel named Margaritaville Jamaica as one of their Sexiest Beach Bars in the world. "With margaritas in 52 flavors and white-sand beaches stretching 7 miles, this truly is a paradise beach bar. Wastin' away in Margaritaville never felt so good." There are also 5 other Margaritaville locations in Jamaica, including Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, and Negril. There's even a Margaritaville in the Sangster International Airport terminal if you need one last taste of the islands before heading home.
Forbes Traveler digs Floyd's Pelican Bar, about a quarter mile off Treasure Beach. Old school Jamaica come to life, Floyd's is a tiny homemade thatch-roofed shack on thin wood pylons on a sandbar surrounded by water. Order a rum or a Red Stripe, and whatever the proprietor Floyd caught that day, served on rickety bench seats around simple wooden tables. Play a round of dominoes, then jump straight into the Caribbean.
Stay: Jimmy digs Strawberry Hill, Jamaica: Located far from ther touristy coastline, this Blue Mountains resort features a dozen Georgian-style cottages and a luxury Aveda spa, on a mountaintop perch overlooking Kingston. Or Goldeneye, Jamaica: Buffett is an author as well as songwriter, so no surprise that he has some affinity for Goldeneye, the one-time Jamaica home for 007 author Ian Fleming. For the more adventurous, stay at The Caves, Jamaica. Another Island Outpost property, The Caves is a legendary Jamaica hideout with cliffside villas, subterranean snorkeling, a restaurant, and even a hot tub, all built into natural caves.
Further Distractions: Bob Marley Museum, Jamaica: This Kingston museum tells the story of the life and music of a man who inspired musicians like Buffett as well as generations of Jamaicans.
Puerto Rico
Esquire digs Tamboo Tavern (Rd 413, Kilometer 4.4, Sandy Beach Rd, Rincon). "Tamboo Tavern is not a beach bar but a bar on a beach. It juts way out into the sand in the middle of a sleepy alcove of shoreline near Rincón. Midmorning, the people who know about it trickle onto the beach and towel-mark their territory, starting closest to Tamboo's stilts and spreading outward. Proximity is key, because the days are metronomed by trips back and forth to the bar for to-go-friendly piña coladas. The human-to-surfboard ratio is about three to one. The afternoon showers come in like clockwork and everybody takes cover on Tamboo's deck. That's when the day gets its second wind. The Postal Service album is playing. There's a black-and-white Cary Grant movie on in the corner. The band sets up for the night crowd while the sun turns more orange and truncated by the minute. And -- as if on cue -- the foggy spray of the humpback whales emerges on the horizon. And even with all of this -- the sunset and the whales and the smell of Sex Wax in the air -- Tamboo fends off every ounce of hackneyed Jimmy Buffettisms the way a beach bar couldn't possibly do. Order piña colada with a dark-rum 'floater.' What the hell."
Play: Warm up for Puerto Rico's most dramatic course with a round at Punta Borinquen G&CC (www.worldgolf.com/courses/puertorico/punta-borinquen-golf-and-country-club.html). Punta Borinquen is ocean front with ocean views from many holes, a good value, wide-open, and windy. It's not very challenging, but you can't beat the views and the value. It was designed by Fred Garbin, built by the U.S. military, and was once played by Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Then tee it up at nearby Royal Isabela GC (www.royalisabela.com). With its impeccably manicured fairways and greens routed along rugged cliffs and through lush vegetation, dramatic ocean views and the sound of waves bashing the coast, the scene here borders on surreal and is reminiscent of several world-class golf properties. Bandon Dunes and Kapalua immediately come to mind.
Be sure to bring a camera to Royal Isabela. The front nine is inland, hilly and framed by waist-high native grasses and tropical vegetation. The back nine resembles a links, with deep bunkers, wind-swept fairways and massive greens routed along three miles of cliffs, 150 to 350 feet above the water. The course was designed by Pete Dye disciple David Pfaff, but Pfaff says the course designed itself. The rolling farmland, the tropical vegetation and, of course, the cliffs helped route holes as well as any computer program could. Just like the Dominican Republic's Teeth of the Dog, which Pfaff helped build with Dye, most of Isabela's holes are recallable long after playing. The course is either par 72, 7,538 yards or par 73, 7,667 yards, because the sixth hole has two fairways and two greens. The owners couldn't decide on a routing, so from the same tee boxes you either play a par 4 up the right fairway or a par 5 up the left. Perhaps the scariest tee shot in the Caribbean is on the 200-yard 17th. There's no bailout between you and a smallish green on a jut of land above dense jungle. If you've ever seen the work of artist "Bud" Chapman, you'll swear you're playing one of his infamous Fantasy Golf Holes.
Forbes Traveler is partial to the more upscale Encanto Beach Club at the El San Juan Hotel outside San Juan.The sprawling club wraps around the lagoon pool and overflows onto a wooden deck with drop-dead views of Isla Verde beach. Patrons lounge in groovy '60's style pod chairs, hammocks or luxurious daybeds with gauzy canopies. The roving mojito cart serves its signature cocktail seven different ways, including mango and watermelon.
Play: Golf Magazine's Travelin' Joe says, "Among the better bargains on the island is Dorado del Mar at the Embassy Suites (787-796-6125, www.embassysuitesdorado.com/golf; $55-$120), a hilly 1998 Chi Chi Rodriguez design 45 minutes west of San Juan that features iguanas, swaying palms and a terrific 10th hole, a 525-yard par-5 that overlooks the Caribbean Sea."
Golf Digest says, "Most of the island's best courses are located east of San Juan's Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport -- including Bahía Beach Resort & Golf Club, refurbished in 2007 by Robert Trent Jones Jr. The par-72, 7,014-yard Bahía Beach feels like it's routed through a jungle -- especially because the nearby El Yunque National Rainforest and its tallest peak -- El Toro -- are your background for most of the round. You don't need a machete to play, but you do have to slalom your golf shots over and around tall coconut palms, lagoons and tropical underbrush. Miss a fairway and your ball is likely gone for good. The course's signature holes are the final three -- a par 5, par 3 and par 4 -- which play along a crescent-shaped beach and are defended by a strong right-to-left breeze. Bahía is completely developed with several lodging options, including multi-bedroom villas that foursomes can split in-season for $259 per person a night, including golf and continental breakfast. There's also a new St. Regis Hotel on property that villa guests have access to, but the villas are much better-suited for golfers, both in proximity to the course and in amenities. Each has its own kitchen, and you can arrange to have staff grocery shop or cook for your group. Once inside the gates of Bahía Beach, you're in a tropical paradise. The staff has taken an eco-friendly approach to the property, so it's like vacationing in a nature preserve. If you keep a window open, you'll soon learn that the sweet chirp you hear all night long comes from the tiny coqui frog. It's as good a lullaby as you'll ever have."
Native Chi Chi Rodriguez says, "Dorado Beach Resort & Club is a very impressive place. There are four courses. They just opened the East course after an 18-month restoration, and it's gorgeous. The new bunkers are amazing. They have a rolling look that makes them seem as though they are part of the distant ocean. And the redesign allows golfers of all skill levels to enjoy the course."
Stay: Hunter S. Thompson spent some time drinking at the oceanfront Caribe' Hilton (www.caribehilton.com) during his Puerto Rico stint circa 1960, which became his novel The Rum Diary. The Caribe was the cornerstone of Puerto Rico's American-driven boom back in the '50's, and is still a grand upscale place to hang. Thompson also spent time at the Condado Beach Hotel, which is now called the San Juan Beach Hotel (www.sjubeach.com). Next door is La Concha (www.laconcharesort.com), a hotel/casino that was the setting for a few scenes in the book.
British & U.S. Virgin Islands
U.S. Virgin Islands: St. John, St. Croix, St. Thomas
Play: Of the islands that make up the U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Croix by far offers the best golf options. In fact, many vacationers set on spending most of their time at the resorts and beaches on St. Thomas or St. John plan day trips to St. Croix for a round or two of golf after exhausting the possibilities on the other two. Buccaneer Golf Course (800 255 3881) Located in Gallows Bay, St. Croix, is a newly renovated course that offers panoramic views of the Caribbean Sea, with St. Thomas and St. John on the horizon. Carambola Golf Course (340 778 5638); Robert Trent Jones, Sr. designed this internationally acclaimed championship course on the northeast side of St. Croix. Reef Golf and Beach Resort (340 773 8844); The third golf option on St. Croix is nine hole loop, tucked into the tranquil Teague Bay on the island's east end.
Mahogany Run Golf Course (340 777 6250); St. Thomas' Mahogany Run is a challenging course designed by George and Tom Fazio with both lush valley holes and bayside par-3's.
Booze: Esquire rated Skinny Legs (www.skinnylegs.com, St. John) as one of the top bars on the planet. "They are a peace-loving people at Skinny Legs: a 'Pretty OK Place.' And Coral Bay, St. John, is a peaceable place. In fact, Skinny Legs is one of those rare points on the face of this dirty globe from which all good feelings emanate. Travelers wash up at Skinny's for the harmonic convergence and stay for the rum punch and a cheeseburger grilled behind the bar in the open for all the world to smell. Also popular lately is the Cruzan Coconut Swizzle. Ask Moe, he'll tell you what's in it. Dedicated bartenders and best friends Moe Chabuz and Doug Sica (from Lawrence, Massachusetts, and Red Bank, New Jersey) found a little spot by the water on the Coral Bay side of the island and started Skinny Legs in 1991, because the world just needed the place, Moe says. He and Doug put their last dime into it, and "we did everything wrong," but it's become the center of the Coral Bay community, and one of those joints you just never want to leave. So don't. There's darts and horseshoes out back, and Red Stripe, and good music, and lots of screens for the playoffs if you can tolerate the New England fans."
Stay: Blue Heaven Rendezvous, St. John: Luxury villa inspired by the 1995 Jimmy Buffett song.
British Virgin Islands
Stay: Anegada Reef Hotel, B.V.I.: Small, family run resort located on a beautiful and largely deserted sandy island in the British Virgin Islands.
Grub: Village Cay Marina, Tortola, B.V.I. Jimmy says, "I can tell you how 'Cheeseburger in Paradise' got written. It was probably 1974, and I was on my very first boat, a 33-foot sailboat. We had gotten into some weather and had to go into Ponce in Puerto Rico to get fixed. We sailed from Ponce with a rigged-up bow spread that was broken, and it was a rough passage. We sailed into Roatán, got off the boat, and were starving. We were dying for a cheeseburger after being at sea for 10 days eating fish. And there, like an oasis, was this brand-new restaurant at the Village Cay Marina. We went in and just started gobbling cheeseburgers and drinking piña coladas because we were so glad to be on land. We had about three cheeseburgers each. For some reason, as I was walking out I looked and saw a package in the kitchen and the label was written in French: Cuoderrie Produit de Cheval. Do you know what cheval is? Horse. I went back to the guy and said, 'This will never do. You've got a good idea here, but you've got to take the horse meat off the menu.' We went back the next day and the owner was very proud that he'd gotten real hamburger from Puerto Rico, and we sampled the cheeseburgers again. I wrote the song right there: 'Cheeseburger in paradise, heaven on earth with an onion slice.'" Others resaurants and Parrothead stories proclaiming the inspiration restaurant for the song include Stanley's Wecome Bar & Restaurant on Tortola, Le Select in St. Bart's, and Ma Ruby's in the Bahamas.
See also: Luxury Living Mag's list of the Top Cheesburgers In Paradise.
Booze: Also making Travel Channel's Sexiest Beach Bar list is Foxy's Bar, Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands. "If you're in the mood for a whole lotta fun with a Caribbean vibe, then Foxy's Bar in Jost Van Dyke, BVI, is the place to be. The bar opens at 9:30 a.m. Foxy himself performs every afternoon, singing and telling jokes in a Calypso style that's made him famous. Sly Fox, Dread Fox, and Friggin In De Riggin are the specialty drinks of the house in addition to several draft beers fresh from their microbrewery."
Foxy's
Spotcoolstuff.com digs the Soggy Dollar Bar. "On Jost Van Dyke, along a beautiful stretch of sand and nestled up against a palm tree ridden hill, sits the Soggy Dollar Bar. Time was that the only way to get here was by boat. With the introduction of the road between Great Harbor and White Bay it is now possible to drive to the Soggy Dollar. Still, the majority of bar guests arrive by boat and swim to shore (which means the majority guests are shoeless and in their bathing suits). No matter the manner of your arrival you’ll find this cool bar a haven from the stress of modern civilization."
Soggy Dollar Bar (love how both guys in the foreground are checking out that chick's nice bikini-clad ass)
Travel Channel named Willy T.'s Floating Bar, Norman Island, British Virgin Islands, as one of their Sexiest Beach Bars in the world. "Get off the beach and onto the water at Willy T.'s Floating Bar on BVI's Norman Island. Sitting just offshore, Willy T.'s promises a good time -- things tend to get pretty rowdy later in the day when ski shots and body shots heat up the bar area. Bring the party to shore by purchasing a bottle of Willy T.'s brand rum on your way back to dry land." Uptake.com also digs The Wet Willie, aka Willy-T's aka the William Thornton. "Not your typical beach bar. In fact, it isn’t even on the beach; it is on the water. This floating restaurant/bar pirate ship, located in the waters of the Blight on Norman Island in the British Virgin Islands, is a cultural experience on it’s own, especially at night. Have a couple of pain killers (the signature Virgin Islands drink), definitely have a go at the shotski (an ingenious idea which is basically a long piece of wood shaped like a ski which holds several shot glasses from which everyone drinks in one go!), and if you are feeling risque enough, strip down and jump off the stern rail…just ask the bartender for a peek at the album, you’ll understand. Let’s just say, if you lean towards modesty its best if you leave right after dinner."
AOL Traveler loves the Bomba Shack, Cappoons Bay, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. "Only a shanty of a bar, but solidly full of funk, Bomba’s corrugated iron and driftwood walls are hand-painted with slogans preaching peace and good vibrations. Fronting the teal waters of Tortola’s Cappoons Bay, this surf shack hosts the best full moon party in the Caribbean (crowds hover around 400 during high season)."
Bomba Shack
Hang: Cane Gardens Bay, Tortola. British Virgin Islands: Popularized in Buffett's song "Manana," this town is famed as the home of the Callwood's Rum Distillery. If you are in Road Town, you are on the wrong side of the island. Rent a jeep and get yourself up over the central peak of the island's main mountain and down the other side. Watch those brakes on the downhill run and keep a close look out for the occasional runaway pig. Once things level out you are on a shore immortalized in song by the Caribbean's legendary troubadour, Jimmy Buffett; "Things will be better, that's what they say, as soon as we sail onto Cane Garden Bay." Before you become mesmerized by the colors of the sea, stroll west on the beach. Soon, if you are lucky, you will see a quaint, open sided wooden structure with Victorian gingerbread, elevated in case of the rising tide. Walk up the stairway and into the Wedding Chapel Bar and Restaurant. It is neat and tidy like the deck of a well cared for ship. Pooie Callwood is the proprietor, and he just might be persuaded to cook you up some lobster he caught that morning. Sit at the rectangular bar to admire the spectacular view and he will certainly pour you a glass of Callwood rum from the family distillery (actually better described as an old fashioned still) located a few palm trees away. As you sip your drink lift your eyes up to the edge of the roof where you will find the words of Bob Marley's "Buffalo Soldiers" hand painted by Pooie in a continuous circle about the bar. Pooie will put some reggae on the stereo and as the sun sets you can raise a glass to those long ago warriors "stolen from Africa" whose descendants now populate the islands of the Caribbean.
St. Maarten
St. Maarten is an island in the Tropics owned equally by the Netherlands Antilles and France. Number 3 on Travel Channel's list of the Sexiest Beach Bars takes us to Sunset Beach Bar in the southern Dutch region. Boasting beautiful views of the St. Maarten sunset, the bar is also where the beautiful people gather to cut loose. Each Tuesday the bar holds a bikini contest -- and they encourage participants to get a little crazy in order to walk home with a little cash. Or hit Mr. Busby's at the Dawn's Beach resort on Orient Beach.
Mr. Busby's
Antigua & Barbuda
Play: Cedar Valley GC (www.cedarvalleygolfag.com) or Jolly Harbour Beach RM&GC, both on St. John's.
Stay, Booze & Grub: Admiral's Inn, Antigua: Located at the historic Nelson's Dockyard, the hotel and restaurant are build in and around a 1785 former storehouse and harbor office.
Beach: Barbuda: Another of the singer's favorite beach spots. Bing Travel says, "Most of Barbuda's beaches are wide, sandy and blessedly deserted. Many are also pink, the soft coral color a lovely contrast to the aqua sea."
St. Barts
Play: The closest golf course to St. Barts is just ten minutes away on St. Martin. Personally, I'd have to make the effort to play a course named Mullet Bay just so I could buy a golf shirt at the pro shop. This 1970 Joe Lee layout has spotty hours of operation and spottier conditions, but that makes it perfect for a round where you keep score by the numer of boat drinks consumed rather than swings of the club (but with these facilities, you'd better bring your own Thermos-full). For golfers looking for more substantial play, St. Croix and St. Thomas host a number of respected golf courses and are also a plane ride away (see above).
Booze & Grub: Le Ti, St. Barts: Famous party spot for the rich, famous, and others hiding out in St. Barths. Le Select, St. Barts: "I let them use the Cheeseburger in Paradise trademark for the restaurant and I get to eat and drink free for the rest of my life.".... Jimmy also lists Le Select as making one of the 10 best cheeseburgers on the planet. "I sort of watched this burger evolve and actually was the cook the first night the stand opened, flipping burgers for my friend Eddie Skatlborough. I overheard some people at the counter waiting for their burgers, and they said, "How sad. You know he used to be famous, but now he's cooking cheeseburgers.".... "There's a party down at Le Selecte, music, rum and cheers. Faces in the shadows, God, I haven't seen for years..."
Maya’s, St. Barts: Buffett, a frequent visitor to St. Barts, calls Maya's his favorite restaurant in the Caribbean.
Stay: Eden Rock, St. Barts: Jimmy wrote some of his songs while staying at this Relais & Chateaux property, which literally perches on a rock on St. Jean Beach.
Nevis & St. Kitts, West Indies
Play: Sugar was always king on St. Kitts and Nevis, but times change and places evolve. Now these two islands are keen on landing golfers and tourists. There's always a sense of adventure and foreign intrigue when you can play a course with 'Royal' in the name, so tee it up at Royal St. Kitts (www.royalstkittsgolfclub.com), designed by Peter Thomson and remodeled by Thomas McBroom in 2003 to include 83 reshaped bunkers, 12 lakes, wide fairways, large greens, and a new irrigation system. The 3rd and 4th holes are on the Atlantic Ocean, and 14 through 17 are on the Carribean Sea.
Royal St. Kitts #17
Stay: Jimmy crashes at Hurricane Cove, Nevis. A small bungalow resort on the northern point of the island of Nevis, with beautiful views of neighboring St. Kitts. While the Four Seasons isn't very Buffet-like, Forbes Traveler says upscale family guy Parrotheads will dig the pool cabana at the Four Seasons Nevis Resort. "This family-friendly resort accommodates kids (with beach activities like scuba lessons) and their parents, who watch from the bar as they sip Nevisian Smiles, blended mixes of Baileys, Tiamaria liquor, Malibu and pina colada. The deck is styled in cheerful Caribbean colors--sea green and sunny yellow--with white wicker furniture."
Dominica
Papillote, Dominica: Resort near Trafalgar Falls has a rainforest restaurant where Buffett once enjoyed "mountain chicken," a local frog dish.
St. Lucia
The Lime on Reduit Beach is popular with tourists, locals, and a Forbes Traveler fave. "Pub grub includes steak & kindey pie and West Indian roti. Grab an outside table and watch the world walk by. Evenings it morphs into The Late Lime, a dance club that rocks til the wee hours. An awesome spot to bookend the weekly is the Friday night Jump Up street party at Gros Inlet on the other side of the harbor."
Barbados
Another Forbes Traveler fave is Sharkey's. "Part of the eclectic Boatyard complex on Carlyle Bay, Sharkey's is just what the doctor ordered for those who feel the need to let their hair down in normally staid Barbados. A heady blend of British expats and local partygoers, this is a big, boisterous place where the action often spills onto the boardwalk and beach. Weekly events include a Wednesday beach party and 'Friday Night Lime' after-work wind down."
St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Bequia Island
Beach: It's not quite Buffet-esque, but fans of the Pirates Of The Caribbean series will want to hit Tobago Cays Marine Park in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. From the first Pirates movie, it's the white sand "deserted" island where Capt. Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth Swan get stranded together--who could forget Depp's classic line, "Why's the rum gone?"--and my God, could you even wrap your imagination around being stranded on a deserted island with Keira Knightley? "Petit Tabac is completely uninhabited, and highly protected. Translation: A perfect Caribbean island with no glitzy palazzos on the beach, no jet skis or fishing boats rumbling over the reefs, and an overwhelming sense that you've reached world's end (no, wait, that's the other movie!). Petit Tabac is an easy day trip from St. Vincent's Union Island, from where you can hop a boat ride on the Scaramouche, a schooner that played the part of a merchant ship in the The Curse of the Black Pearl." [BudgetTravel.com]
Grub & Booze: Awesome Caribbean food and drinks are the hallmarks of Frangipani, a bayside getaway on the Grenadines largest landfall. The terrace is a great place to while away a lazy afternoon, watching people saunter up and down the waterfront Belmont Walkway and the yachts coming into anchor from all over the West Indies. Live calypso or reggae after dark.
Buffet says, "Frangipani, Bequia: Eat at the restaurant at the Frangipani hotel on the tiny island of Bequia in the Grenadines is renowned for its West Indian cuisine."
Bimini
The Compleat Angler, Bimini: A favorite of both Buffett and Ernest Hemingway, the Compleat Angler sadly burned down in January 2006.
Curacao
Forbes Traveler digs Blues Bar. Perched at the end of the Avila Beach pier, Blues is the coolest bar on Curacao in both temperature and atmosphere, the breeze floating through the big open windows and everyone dressed to the nines—women in tight, tight skirts, the men in jackets and ties. Eyes glued to a stage set above the bar, where willowy divas and energetic sax maestros belt out blues and jazz classics from as far back as the '30s. Come early for the awesome seafood menu and stay as late as you can for the tunes.
Belize
A U.S. couple who has traveled Mexico and the Caribbean extensively and now lives in Playa del Carmen recommends II Bar, somewhere on Caye Caulker, Belize. Caye (pronounced Key) Caulker is what being "laid back" is all about. A sleepy little island off the coast of Belize, Caye Caulker offers an alternative to the fast paced resort life found on most Caribbean beaches. Nightlife? Forget it. If Caye Caulker had sidewalks (which it does not) they would be rolled up before dark. But there is a bar worth seeing: the II (pronounced "eye eye"). Again, this is not a beach bar, but an island bar with enough character to be worthy of this list. It's somewhere near the end of Front Street (ask any local). We found it by walking around the one room school, ducking under several clotheslines filled with someone's washing and heading up a set of very rickety stairs. Then it's across the rope bridge through the open doorway, past the "Body-Shot table" and there you are! The bar is an homage and shrine to Bob Marley so expect a lot of reggae and dreadlocks. The "II" is an open air shack with two floors rising above the neighborhood and looking out to sea. When we were there we had to climb out a second story window and hug a ledge to get to a door which led up to the third story (second floor of the bar) and a room filled with couches, rum drinks and lots of locals swaying to the tunes. Like the island itself, the II bar is all about being laid back, 'mon.
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The unedited American Way article on Jimmy Buffet's Caribbean below:
Jimmy Buffett's Caribbean
by Mark Seal, American Way Magazine
Celebrating the release of his latest CD, Far Side of the World, Jimmy Buffett takes us on his ultimate island-hopping tour of the tropical paradise.
"I've always looked at life as a voyage … with a thousand ports of call behind me and, I hope, a thousand more to see," writes singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett in his best-selling autobiography, A Pirate Looks at Fifty. Few performers epitomize their geography better than Jimmy Buffett does the Caribbean. Born in Mississippi, he did a stint in Nashville, but didn't find his voice - or his audience - until he moved to Key West, Florida, in the early '70s. As Buffett's star rose, his sails opened and he began living his songs, captaining all manner of boats throughout the Caribbean and piloting the Albatross, a 10-passenger Grumman seaplane. Parrotheads, as Buffett's band of global groupies are called, have reason to rejoice this month: the release of Far Side of the World, his 33rd album. So doff the tie and throw away the wristwatch. It's time for an island-hopping weekend with Jimmy Buffett in the Caribbean.
FRIDAY
LODGING
"One of my favorite hotels in the whole Caribbean is in Haiti: the Oloffson in Port-au-Prince. From Lillian Hellman to Graham Greene, it has an incredible literary history. To me, it's the Caribbean of the '30s. In Nevis, you can either stay in a big, fancy resort like the Four Seasons, or you can get into Hurricane Cove, near the airport. It has verandas and palm-lined beaches. [On Harbour Island in the Bahamas] I have some friends who run the Pink Sands Hotel, which I like. [On Jamaica] I stayed over at Strawberry Hill, which is one of Chris Blackwell's Island Outpost hotels. I also stay at Goldeneye, which was Ian Fleming's house. Goldeneye is a wonderful spot. It's like being in a James Bond movie. If you want action, go to St. Barts. I owned a hotel there, which was more of an all-night bar than it was a hotel, but it burned to the ground. Now my favorite hotel there is the Eden Rock."
MUSIC
"I took my kids to the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston, Jamaica. If you're a Bob Marley fan, you should go there. It's a funky little place, but worth going to. The great thing about the Caribbean is the diversity of the music. I have made it my business to collect CDs from the islands. Calypso, reggae, soukous, zook, you name it, I like it."
DINNER
"I always liked Papillote underneath Trafalgar Falls in Dominica. It serves mountain chicken, which is like these large frogs. Of course, everything tastes like chicken, but they're great. There's a hot waterfall and a cold waterfall up at the falls. They'll take you from the airport and drop you at this little restaurant, and then you can hike to the falls and come down and have a meal."
NIGHTLIFE
"I've always wanted to do 'The Jimmy Buffett 10 Best Bars in the Caribbean' as a show. Just get in my seaplane and play these bars. I'd start in Bimini at the Compleat Angler, where Hemingway lived and which influenced The Old Man and the Sea. Then the Staniel Cay Club in the Bahamas and Happy People Marina. Happy People has a great dance floor and Staniel Cay's got a great dinner. Then I would go to Kaye's on Rum Cay, which is down at the end of the Bahamas. It's a very remote, very beautiful island. From the Bahamas, I'd stop at the Turtle Cove Inn in Providenciales, which I would put as one of my top 10 seafood restaurants in the world. They do the best fresh conch dishes there. I'd then go to the Anegada Reef Hotel and play there. After that, Le Select in St. Barts, where I let them use the Cheeseburger in Paradise trademark for the restaurant and I get to eat and drink free for the rest of my life. If I was heading south from there, one of my other little spots would be the Admiral's Inn in Antigua. It's where all the yachties go. And there's Frangipani, a great little French hotel with a great restaurant in Bequia."
SATURDAY
BREAKFAST
"I eat breakfast at Eden Rock on St. Jean Beach in St. Barts. I like the view because I used to live in St. Jean. I wrote a couple of books and albums there, and I used to rent a room at the Eden Rock. It was kind of my office."
BEACHES
"The most deserted beaches I've ever seen are on Long Island in the Bahamas. There are a couple of little hotels there and this incredibly long pink sand beach. The beaches in Barbuda, off of Antigua, are absolutely beautiful, too. The reefs have some of the best diving in the world."
FISHING
"Up-island in the Bahamas, I'd have to say Harbour Island. You can fish there, and there are nice restaurants and a marina. Just look up "Bonefish Joe" Cleare, and he'll take you fishing. I think every island has a Bonefish Joe, but he's probably the best one."
MOUNTAINS
"There are beaches in Jamaica, but I go for the mountains. I really like islands with mountains. It's that incredible rivers-meet-the-ocean kind of thing. Dominica is probably my favorite, and Jamaica as well. I like the Cockpit Country up in the Jamaican mountains. Tropically lush plants. And it just smells good. You get away from the heat of the beach and get into altitude, and there are farms up there and beautiful rolling hills and mountains and rivers, and you can see the ocean."
LUNCH
"I like to eat at my own restaurants in Jamaica. Margaritaville in Montego Bay, and Marguerite's, which is the restaurant next to it. Marguerite's is the best restaurant in MoBay, and not just because I happen to be in business with them. It's kind of a combination of jerk and Cajun, and it's really nice there. I'm getting ready to go down in a couple of weeks to open Island Village [a Margaritaville clone] in Ocho Rios. Then there's a little hotel and restaurant called The Caves in Negril, which is a great spot. It's just basic Jamaican: beans and rice and jerk. It's also a great place to stay because the rooms are carved out of caves."
SHOPPING
"Here's what I bring back from the islands: King, the great grapefruit drink that you can't get in America. I will shop for wine in St. Barts. I love blush wines. Everything is exorbitantly priced in St. Barts, but one of the great bargains is the rose wines. The other thing is this great coconut oil from Nevis that they press down there. Of course, there's no sunscreen in it whatsoever, but it's the best coconut oil around. I collect hot sauces from all the islands. Naturally, each island thinks it has the best peppers. My favorites are Matouk's from Trinidad and Pickapeppa from Jamaica."
DINNER
"First, I'd go to Le Select in St. Barts and have a Ti Punch. If I could pick anywhere for dinner in the Caribbean, it would be Maya's on St. Barts. Maya's is right on the water and they have great French-Creole cuisine. After that, I'd go to Bete A Z'ailes, a great place for music on the harbor. I'd finish my night at Le Ti-St. Barths, which is as close to the misbehaving that I remember when I owned my hotel on St. Barts."
SUNDAY
HIKING
"There's this incredible hike from Cap-Haïtien, a city down on the water in Haiti, up into the old fortress of Henri Christophe, who was the first king of Haiti. He built these palaces that were based on Versailles and San Souci right there in the jungles of Haiti. They're all ruins now, but it's amazing to take the walk up the road they built to this fortress. Last week, I took my son over to Brimstone Hill in St. Kitts, which is the fortress that's called the Gibraltar of the Indies. It has an incredible history of the Amerindians that the French were fighting. The fort has monkeys climbing all over it. You can take a cab ride from the airport in St. Kitts. It's worth a day trip."
ONE HUNGRY DAY IN THE CARIBBEAN
"I can tell you how 'Cheeseburger in Paradise' got written. It was probably 1974, and I was on my very first boat, a 33-foot sailboat. We had gotten into some weather and had to go into Ponce in Puerto Rico to get fixed. We sailed from Ponce with a rigged-up bow spread that was broken, and it was a rough passage. We sailed into Roatán, got off the boat, and were starving. We were dying for a cheeseburger after being at sea for 10 days eating fish. And there, like an oasis, was this brand-new restaurant at the Village Cay Marina. We went in and just started gobbling cheeseburgers and drinking piña coladas because we were so glad to be on land. We had about three cheeseburgers each. For some reason, as I was walking out I looked and saw a package in the kitchen and the label was written in French: Cuoderrie Produit de Cheval. Do you know what cheval is? Horse. I went back to the guy and said, 'This will never do. You've got a good idea here, but you've got to take the horse meat off the menu.' We went back the next day and the owner was very proud that he'd gotten real hamburger from Puerto Rico, and we sampled the cheeseburgers again. I wrote the song right there: 'Cheeseburger in paradise, heaven on earth with an onion slice.'"
Cane Garden Bay, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. If you are in Road Town, you are on the wrong side of the island. Rent a jeep and get yourself up over the central peak of the island's main mountain and down the other side. Watch those brakes on the downhill run and keep a close look out for the occasional runaway pig. Once things level out you are on a shore immortalized in song by the Caribbean's legendary troubadour, Jimmy Buffett; "Things will be better, that's what they say, as soon as we sail onto Cane Garden Bay." Before you become mesmerized by the colors of the sea, stroll west on the beach. Soon, if you are lucky, you will see a quaint, open sided wooden structure with Victorian gingerbread, elevated in case of the rising tide. Walk up the stairway and into the Wedding Chapel Bar and Restaurant. It is neat and tidy like the deck of a well cared for ship. Pooie Callwood is the proprietor, and he just might be persuaded to cook you up some lobster he caught that morning. Sit at the rectangular bar to admire the spectacular view and he will certainly pour you a glass of Callwood rum from the family distillery (actually better described as an old fashioned still) located a few palm trees away. As you sip your drink lift your eyes up to the edge of the roof where you will find the words of Bob Marley's "Buffalo Soldiers" hand painted by Pooie in a continuous circle about the bar. Pooie will put some reggae on the stereo and as the sun sets you can raise a glass to those long ago warriors "stolen from Africa" whose descendants now populate the islands of the Caribbean.
jimmy buffett's caribbean essentials
lodging
eden rock, st. barts; $275-$1,550; 011-590-590-29-79-99
four seasons nevis, nevis; $495-$2,550; (869) 469-1111
goldeneye, jamaica; $1,250-$5,000; (876) 975-3354
hotel oloffson, haiti; $69-$113; 011-509-223-4000
hurricane cove, nevis; $125-$325; (869) 469-9462
pink sands hotel, bahamas; $655-$2,100; (242) 333-2030
strawberry hill, jamaica; $325-$775; (876) 944-8400
restaurants
the caves, jamaica; jamaican; all inclusive; (876) 957-0270
eden rock, st. barts; breakfast; $17-$20; 011-590-590-29-79-99
le select, st. barts; casual; $5-$9; 011-590-590-27-86-87
margaritaville, jamaica; casual; $18-$23; (876) 952-4777
marguerite’s, jamaica; caribbean/cajun; $8-$23; (876) 952-4777
maya’s, st. barts; french-creole; $20-$40; 011-590-590-27-75-73
papillote, dominica; caribbean; $22; (767) 448-2287
nightlife
admiral’s inn, antigua; (268) 460-1027
anegada reef hotel, anegada; (284) 495-8002
bete a z’ailes, st. barts; 011-590-590-29-74-09
compleat angler, bahamas; (242) 347-3122
frangipani, bequia; (784) 458-3255
happy people marina, bahamas; (242) 355-2008
kaye’s, bahamas; no phone
le select, st. barts; 011-590-590-27-86-87
le ti-st. barths, st. barts; 011-590-590-27-97-71
staniel cay yacht club, bahamas; (242) 355-2024 or (954) 467-8920
turtle cove inn hotel, providenciales; (649) 946-4203
attractions
bob marley museum, jamaica; (876) 927-9152
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