Shopping for Gifts
Friday, July 31st, 2009Shopping while on vacation is inevitable and you generally end up buying gifts for friends, colleagues, and family members. Most people do this without any guilt as they love seeing the pleasure on people’s faces when they open their gifts. The Caribbean is an excellent place to go shopping while on vacation. There are a number of benefits of shopping in the Caribbean. Most gifts or souvenirs serve to remind you of the great times had during the vacation. One might also be able to pick up a gift that is unique to the region. Locally grown produce such as fresh fruit and vegetables can be taken home as well.
While vacationing in St. Lucia, visitors can purchase fresh fruit in the market at Castries. If visitors to the island are traveling back on the same day, the fresh fruit is attractively packaged to make it easier to carry back home. For those staying in St. Remy, the waterfront market on Saturdays is a great place to pick up fresh fruit and vegetables.
Barbados is another place in the Caribbean that has some excellent handicrafts on sale in the local markets. Local items such as handpainted fabrics, handmade dolls, pottery, and shells are great gifts to take back home. Barbados rum is a specialty of this island. Many visitors can take back a bottle as a souvenir of the times spent drinking on the island.
Grenada is known for its excellent spices. Woven baskets filled with spices such as cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger are available in the Craft and Spice market on Grand Anse Beach and other local markets. Straw baskets, coral jewelry and woodcarvings are some popular local products available in the markets.