A study commissioned by the Puerto Rico Hotel and Tourism Association shows tourists are choosing to spend their vacations in other Caribbean locations, rather than visiting the U.S. territory. Puerto Rico has historically been a top travel destination for tourists, but other Caribbean nations with improving their infrastructure and luring away visitors with their lower operating costs.

The Dominican Republic, which leads the Caribbean with 674 hotels offering nearly 60,000 rooms, has earmarked money for developing beaches, new golf courses, all-inclusive resorts and other attractions. Meanwhile, the tourism sector in Puerto Rico, which has 12,700 rooms in 145 hotels, has remained largely stagnant, officials said.

Here is a brief guide to electric systems used around the Caribbean. If you’re not familiar with the different plug types, you can see illustrations here.

• Anguilla, 110V, 60Hz, North American NEMA1-15, North American NEMA 5-15
• Antigua, 230V, 60 Hz, North American NEMA1-15, North American NEMA 5-15
• Aruba, 127V, 60 Hz, North American NEMA1-15, North American NEMA 5-15, European CEE7/7 Schuko
• Bahamas, 120V, 60 Hz, North American NEMA1-15, North American NEMA 5-15
• Barbados, 115V, 50 Hz, North American NEMA1-15, North American NEMA 5-15
• Belize, 110/220V, 60 Hz, North American NEMA 5-15, British BS-1363
• Bermuda, 120V, 60 Hz, North American NEMA1-15, North American NEMA 5-15
• Cayman Islands, 120V, 60 Hz, North American NEMA1-15, North American NEMA 5-15
• Dominica, 230V, 50 Hz, British BS-1363
• Dominican Republic, 110V, 60 Hz, North American NEMA1-15
• Grenada, 230V, 50 Hz, British BS-1363
• Haiti, 110V, 60 Hz, North American NEMA1-15, North American NEMA 5-15
• Jamaica, 110V, 50 Hz, North American NEMA1-15, North American NEMA 5-15
• Netherlands Antilles, 127/220V, 50 Hz, North American NEMA1-15, North American NEMA 5-15, European CEE7/7 Schuko
• Puerto Rico, 120V, 60 Hz, North American NEMA1-15, North American NEMA 5-15
• St. Kitts and Nevis, 230V, 60 Hz, British BS-1363
• St. Lucia, 240V, 50 Hz, British BS-1363
• St. Vincent, 230V, 50 Hz, North American NEMA1-15, British BS-1363
• Trinidad & Tobago, 115V, 60 Hz, North American NEMA1-15, North American NEMA 5-15
• Virgin Islands (British and U.S.), 115V, 60 Hz, North American NEMA1-15, North American NEMA 5-15

A number of languages are spoken in the Caribbean, most of a European origin. You can get by just about anywhere with English, but it’s fun to explore the islands and hear the local languages.

• Anguilla: English
• Antigua: English
• Aruba: Dutch, Papiamento, English, Spanish, Castilian
• Bahamas: English
• Barbados: English
• Bermuda: English, Portuguese
• British Virgin Islands: English
• Cancun: Spanish, English.
• Cayman Brac: English
• Curacao: Dutch, Papiamento, English, Spanish; Castilian
• Dominica: English, French Patois
• Dominican Republic: Spanish, Castilian
• Grand Cayman: English
• Grenada: English, French Patois
• Grenadines: English
• Guadeloupe: French, Creole Patois
• Haiti: French, Creole
• Jamaica: English, Patois
• Martinique: French, Creole Patois
• Puerto Rico: Spanish, Castilian, English
• St. Croix: English, Spanish, Castilian, French
• St. Kitts and Nevis: English
• St. Lucia: English
• St. Maarten: Dutch, English
• St. Thomas: English, Spanish, Castilian, French
• Tortola: English
• Trinidad & Tobago: Languages: English, Hindi, French, Spanish
• Turks & Caicos: English
• U.S. Virgin Islands: English, Spanish, Creole

Five more satellite island tours were added to the site today. Here is the full list of islands that are now available.

• Anguilla Map and Satellite
• Antigua and Barbuda Map and Satellite
• Aruba Map and Satellite
• Barbados Map and Satellite
• Bonaire Map and Satellite
• Grenada Map and Satellite
• Montserrat Map and Satellite
• Puerto Rico Map and Satellite

I’m working on a new set of satellite island tours to take advantage of the Google Maps API. For now you can take tours of the following islands and see popular sites from the sky. When I have the entire Caribbean completed I will launch a redesign of the site to better show off these pages.

• Aruba Map and Satellite
• Grenada Map and Satellite
• Puerto Rico Map and Satellite

According to USA Today, high-end resorts in the Caribbean are beginning to sell out for the first time in many years. Except for Grenada and Grand Cayman, the islands have rebounded from last year’s rough hurricane season. There are also a number of new resorts opening this year. I’ve included the list below along with links to their web sites.

• Aruba: Bucuti Beach Resort, now with a new adults-only wing.
• Barbados: Hilton, located near Bridgetown and historic Fort Charles.
• British Virgin Islands: Mainsail BVI, a 230 acre private island located 5 minutes by boat from Tortola.
• Dominican Republic: Sunscape the Beach Punta Cana, a beach front resort on the Eastern tip of the island.
• Turks & Caicos: The Palms, an ultra-luxurious property with 72 two and three-bedroom suites.
• Grenadines: Raffles Resort Canouan Island, set on 300 acres with three secluded white-sand beaches.
• Jamaica: Sandals Whitehouse European Village & Spa, a 50-acre resort on the south coast of the island.
• Puerto Rico: Paradisus Resort, on the northeastern shore of the island just minutes from El Yunque rainforest.
• West Caicos: Molasses Reef Ritz-Carlton Resort, located on a previously uninhabited 11-square-mile island.

Originally uploaded by sailrick.

Browsing through the Flickr tag “elyunque” brings up a number of images that offer a look at the Puerto Rican rain forest.

Visitors to San Juan, Puerto Rico can easily arrange for a taxi or tour bus to take them to the National Rain Forest, otherwise known as El Yunque. Those looking to explore a little further afield and get off the beaten path can consider hiking trails on the southern end of the park. Though it takes more planning to reach the southern reaches of the park, it could well be worth the effort.

The Associated Press’ Frank Griffiths offers a look into this less-visited area.

The forest suddenly becomes hushed except for the two-tone chirp of tiny tree frogs called coqui and the twitter of birdsong, though there’s no sighting of the endangered Puerto Rican parrots that live in El Yunque.

A panoply of giant ferns, banana trees and royal palms fan out overhead, among some 240 native tree species fed by the 100 billion gallons of rainwater that fall here each year.