Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Cooper Island Hideaways
COTTAGES $$
( 513-232-7173;
www.cooperisland.com
; cottage per week $1995)
The owners rent
out two simple villas: the Pink Beach House for two people, and the Hideaway for up to
six people. Both have a kitchen, outdoor shower and solar power for ceiling fan and iPod
docks. The cottages are located at Manchioneel Bay by the Beach Club. Rentals typically
are for one week, but shorter time frames are sometimes available.
Cooper Island Beach Club Restaurant
BURGERS,
SEAFOOD $$
( 284-495-9084;
www.cooper-island.com
; sandwiches $11-14, mains $26-32;
lunch & dinner, closed Sep; )
Cooper's bar-restaurant is a premiere gathering spot for
boaters. Tuna nicoise, jerk chicken and other fat sandwiches come out of the kitchen for
lunch. Happy hour sets the mood from 5pm to 6pm. Then it's time for dinner, when mussels
in coconut-curry sauce, vegetable-and-herb pasta and baked red snapper fill plates. Nice
eco-touches include the teak bar stools made from recycled fishing boats, and the kitchen's
fryer oil being turned into bio- diesel for the generator. Reservations for dinner are a must.
Free wi-fi.
Getting There & Away
You'll need your own boat to get to Cooper Island, unless you're staying at either of the
lodgings, in which case staff will make shuttle arrangements. Many day-sail operators
come to Cooper.
Salt Island
This uninhabited, T-shaped island, measuring a mile in both directions, lies just a dinghy
ride west of Cooper Island. The salt making that gave the island its name still goes on here,
and you can hike to various salt ponds to see it in action (though 'action' isn't quite the
word for watching seawater evaporate and leave behind a crust of white crystals).
The real attraction is offshore at the wreck of the RMS
Rhone
. The
Rhone
was a Royal
Mail Steamer that crashed against the rocks off the island's southwest coast during a hur-
ricane in 1867. Now part of a national park, the steamer's remains are extensive and have
become an exotic habitat for marine life. It's one of the most famous dive sites in all of the
Caribbean, and was a principal set in the film classic
The Deep
. Snorkelers can access it,
