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GETTING THERE FAST Airlines and round~trip ticket prices from NYC to the Caribbean. From the Caribbean airports below, you can rent a car or take a bus or ferry to each Urban Access destination. Oranjestad, Aruba. $530, direct on American Airlines or via connecting flights on American Airline s, Delta, Avianca, U.S. Airways and Aeropostal. Tegucigalpa, Honduras. $575, via connecting flights on American Airlines, LACSA, TACA International Airlines, Continental. Bridgetown, Barbados. $425, direct on Air jamaica, American Airlines and BWIA West Indies Airway, or via connecting flights on LIAT. Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. $350, direct on American Airlines or via connecting flights on American Airlines, LIAT and Delta. Then take a ferry to St john. Havana, Cuba. $860, via conneeecting flights on Air jamaica, Cubana Airlines, LACSA and Campania Mexicana. Flights from the US are still embargoed. Nassau, Bahamas. $270, via connecting flights on American Airlines, Delta and U.S. Air. The cheapest route is by boat from Florida. Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. $350, direct on American Airlines, or via connecting flights on American Airlines. islands aren't as developed as most in the Caribbean, Honduras not only makes a convienent, but inexpensive diving destination. Divers can encounter angel fish, morays, sea turtles, dolphins, rays, coral gardens, black coral and cliffs, drops up to 200 ft., purple tube sponges, good snorkeling, parrotfish, pufferfish, and mazes, tunnels and cave like features. Water temperatures remain around 82 degrees year round and visibility can be up to 100 feet. The best diving time is from October to April-the rainy season is from November through january. The island of Roatanis about 30 miles off the mainland and is home to villagers, shops and restaurants. Guanaja is about half the size of Roatan-13 miles long-with similar tropically forested hills. Most travel on the island is by water taxi. For more information on accomadations and diving trips, visit roatan-island.awwm.com/, www.scubadiving.com/travel/bayislands4/. www.3routes.com/scuba/ca/hon/, www.bayislandsonline.com/, and www.diveguide.com/hond.htm. For more information contact the Honduras Institute of Tourism, 800-410-9608 or www.hondurastips.honduras.com. SEA KAYAKING BAHAMAS The Exumas, off the coast of the Bahamas, are comprised of 365 cays (rocky islands) and stretch across pristine water for 120 miles. The Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park (www.exumapark.com) within the Exumas is made up of 15 larger cays and encompasses 176 square miles. There are no commercial developments in the park and you probably won't encounter another group your entire trip. But you will see more ocean than you've ever seen and at least a couple of sharks. There are few sea kayaking guiding services that will take you out. The only two are Starfish (877-398-6222 orwww.kayakbahamas.com) and Ibis Tours (800-525-9411 or www.ibistours.com). Acommodations are also scarce. Try staying at the Peace & Plenty in the Exuma capital of George Town (800-525-2210, www.peaceandplenty.com). For more information, contactthe Bahamas Tourist Office, 800- 422-4262 or www.bahamas.com. BIKE TOURING CUBA Bike touring in Cuba can take you from the colorful city of Havana to the tobacco and sugar cane fields that pepper the island. Explore the quiet beaches and high mountains. Cuba is rich with intoxicating music, geographic diversity and hospitable people and there is no better way to discover the country than by bike. Buy a map, learn Spanish and sleep wherever you can find camping or hotels. For a compelling account of a bike tour in Cuba, read Cuba Is Not Only Varad by Adamuszek, jerzy . www.theworldoutside .com/trips/CubaMS.html, For shorter guided tours, visit www.ccc-tours.de/ www.outdoorholidays.com!Holidays/iCycleTouring.htm. For more information, contact the Cuban Interest Section, 202-797-8518 or www.cubatravel.cu. SEA CLIFF CLIMBING ARUBA Climbing areas are hard to come by in the Caribbean; in fact, there may be only one. Grapefield, on the southeastern end of Aruba, is a sea cliff crag that lies just outside the town of Seroe Colorado, past San Nicolas. If you continue on this road past Boca Grandi beach and Aruba prison you'll reach Grapefield Climbing Area. Grapefield, also known as the Fontein Coast, got its name from the grape trees that used to grow on the cliffs before Exxon polluted the area. Now that the oil company has cleaned up, the trees are reappearing. The rock at Grapefield is volcanic, covered by layers of ancient coral reef that have been weathered over time and are now suitable for climbing. Still sharp in some places and covered in pock marks, the cliffs can reach up to 50 feet and some climbs include cave like features. In the mid 90S Dutch climbers began to explore the area and in 1997 one ofthem opened a climbing school. Unfortunately, the school is no longer in business, but the climbing area is still open to those who have their own equipment. In some sections, climbing is advised after 10:30 AM and in others after 1:30 PM when base of the cliffs are in the shade. There are a couple of bolted route s. To view a map of the at least 20 routes, ranging from 5.6 t05.11, go to www.climbing.nl/aruba/. For more information, contactthe Aruba Tourism Authority at 800- 862-7822 or www.aruba.com. For more information on Caribbean travel, contact the Caribbean Tourism Organization, 212- 635-9530 or www.caribtourism.com 0 r 75