Location Vacation, Take One

Forget Hollywood. You can feel like a film star or starlet on your next vacation if you head to the warm waters of the Caribbean, which happen to be a popular location shoot for movies. You can go straight to St. Bart’s if you want to rub elbows with the glitterati.  But if you and your family want to be ensconced in the experience of movie magic, you’ll need to see the film locations themselves.  Best of all, you’ll avoid the dirt and smog of Los Angeles. Check out this list for some ideas.

Location VacationThomas Hawk / Foter.com / CC BY-NC

THE WINDWARDS:  First consider visiting the Windward Islands, which includes Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent & the Grenadines. Head to St. Vincent if you’re interested in seeing the production base for Pirates of the Caribbean: the Curse of the Black Pearl. You can see the “Port Royal” dock at Wallilabou Bay and start swashbuckling like Captain Jack Sparrow.

Then it’s on to Dominica where most of the second Pirates movie was shot.  Go to Hampstead Beach, High Meadow, or Indian River to look for views you might recognize from the film.  Another fun option for movie scene spotting is an aviation tour of the Grenadines, which served as a backdrop for several shots.  People are also permitted on board the ‘Scaramouche,’ a schooner that was used in the movie.

THE BAHAMAS:  For a series of location sightings, think about sailing towards the Bahamas. The Bahamas are a fantastic destination (many islands, many moorings, and so many beaches), and they also provide film directors with gorgeous, colorful backgrounds. The recent Casino Royale put James Bond on Paradise Island and had him walking through its immaculate Versailles Gardens.

Another Bond favorite, Thunderball, took place in Nassau, Rose Island, Love Beach, and the Golden Grotto; it also featured a Bahamian Junkanoo Parade. If you venture toward the Out Islands, look for North Bimini’s Alice Town, which is where Hannibal Lecter retired in Silence of the Lambs! If you’re easily unsettled, be sure to check it out during daylight.

THE POSSIBILITIES:

Both the comedy Trading Places and the intense drama The Shawshank Redemption end on St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands.  Though it’s scripted as Zihuatanejo, Mexico, the final beach scene in Shawshank actually showcases St. Croix’s national wildlife refuge, not Mexico.

Vacations tend to produce enough stimulation on their own, but if you want to increase the excitement you can go to Barbados where Agatha Christie’s A Caribbean Mystery was taped.  That ought to up the intrigue!  Jamaica is quite popular too because of Cocktail and Dr. No.  And if you are multi-lingual, then Aruba and Martinique also offer choices for you (Dutch and French films, respectively).

There are alternative locations throughout the world, sites that can also lay claim to being popular film locations, but few have the combination of sun and fun that the Caribbean can provide. London can be crowded and expensive, as can New York City. Vancouver is lovely in the summer but it’s not exactly known for its surf.

If you do go to the Caribbean, you’ll find plenty of water sport activities to round out your vacation experience.  Get the family on board and then plan your adventure.  Whichever destination piques your interest most, a film-based itinerary can offer the perfect twist to your holiday in the sun.  And who knows, you may run into a celebrity or two.

[Katie Harper is a guest blogger, movie buff, and travel enthusiast who enjoys seeking out remote movie locations while on vacation.]