Considering the Bermuda Triangle on Your Caribbean Holiday

It’s not unusual for some people coming into the region on their first Caribbean holiday to ask questions about the Bermuda Triangle and the mysteries surrounding it. This is inevitably a controversial area where widely differing opinions exist.

Here, we’ll try and put a basic framework on the subject.

Where is it?

It’s a roughly triangular area of sea running from Bermuda to Miami, from Miami to Puerto Rico then back up to Bermuda, which many people may stay very close to on a Caribbean holiday. Incidentally, it’s worth noting that most if not all of this area isn’t really in the Caribbean, though the boundaries of the triangle are often ‘blurred’ to include areas of it.

What’s the big mystery?

For some decades, writers and paranormal researchers have put forward the theory that there have been a large number of inexplicable disappearances of vessels and aircraft in this triangle. The theory and its mystery are based upon two key assumptions: that the disappearances cannot be explained and that there are more of them in the triangle than anywhere else on Earth.

Many famous cases have been documented and included in the dossiers. Theories put forward by believers in the Bermuda Triangle to explain these cases include: extra-terrestrials; geological phenomena; ancient hidden civilizations; space-time continuum anomalies and so on. Many films, TV programmes and books have been produced on the subject. You can swot-up on the topic while you’re enjoying your Caribbean holiday and you may find out some fascinating facts.

Have vessels and aircraft vanished in this area?

Yes – but then again, such things happen everywhere on the planet.

Why can’t scientists explain the phenomenon?

Many scientists and critics of the Bermuda Triangle culture criticise it from a number of perspectives:

• Ships and aircraft vanish everywhere on the planet. The argument that these occurrences are much higher in the Bermuda Triangle than elsewhere, is apparently statistically suspect.
• There are logical explanations for some of the cases listed as ‘mysterious’ in the Triangle’s mythology but these are ignored.
• The fact that (e.g.) a ship disappeared makes the cause ‘unknown’ by definition. It will never be known unless the wreck was to be found, but it is a vast ocean, so an explanation may never be forthcoming - that isn’t a reason to attribute it to esoteric causes and intervention.
• Some classic cases now incorporated into ‘Triangle lore’ actually happened a considerable distance away from the Triangle itself.
• Many of the classic cases cited as evidence happened before the advent of modern satellite navigation and tracking systems.

Many conclude that there is no Triangle and no mystery.

So, there’s nothing at all to it?

That must be a matter of personal judgement based upon the respective cases put forward by those who ‘believe’ in the Triangle and those who do not. Many respectable researchers do find some of the cases difficult to explain and believe that there is more work to be done.

Before you head off on your Caribbean holiday, why not take the time to do some research so you can make your own decision – you might surprise yourself!

Helen C. Edwards works for the Essential Hotel Collection. If you're going on a Caribbean holiday, we have a handpicked portfolio of privately owned hotels offering superb accommodation. We have an intimate knowledge of every property and can provide the perfect accommodation to make your island dreams a reality.

Writer and Online Marketing Manager in London.