Caribbean islands most affected by sargassum seaweed in the past include beaches in Barbados, Tobago, Guadeloupe, Dominican Republic and Martinique.
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The presence of Sargassum occurs over large areas from the tropical Atlantic in the east, to the Gulf of Mexico in the west, approximately 5,000 kilometers from the eastern tropical Atlantic to the west off the Mexican coast in the Caribbean Sea.
In Grenada, Grand Anse regularly tops the list of the world's best beaches due to its crystal clear waters and its 2 kilometre long stretch of white sand dotted with palm trees. It's also blessedly free of sargassum seaweed.
Sargassum inundations occur mainly on the windward coast of Saint Lucia like most Eastern Caribbean Island States, with occasional landings occurring on the southwest coast. This influences which assets are impacted.
While the overall amount of potentially toxic seaweed is declining, some beaches will still get hit with waves of it, the researchers said. Last month, for example, Mexico's Yucatan coast and the west side of Jamaica actually saw more sargassum, even as most places saw less.
Popular resort hubs, including Playa del Carmen and Tulum, have ramped up efforts to deter sargassum from affecting travelers. What is this? Both destinations have set up temporary barriers and hired more cleaners in an effort to attract more travelers.
I've been sailing on bareboat charter trips for over 10 years in the Caribbean, and we regularly sail past sargassum patches, or step over it on beaches. It's usually not too big of a deal, but some years are worse than others.
It identified heavy influxes of sargassum in 2018, 2019, 2022 and early 2023. Caribbean islands most affected by sargassum seaweed in the past include beaches in Barbados, Tobago, Guadeloupe, Dominican Republic and Martinique.
Sargassum can collect on windward coasts in the Turks and Caicos, such as on much of South Caicos, Grand Turk, the eastern side of North Caicos, and the Ambergris Cays.
The seaweed problem in Playa del Carmen is caused by various factors, including climate change, ocean currents, and pollution. The sargassum seaweed, which is the type that is currently affecting the area, originates in the Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic Ocean and is carried by ocean currents to the Caribbean.
Varadero is actually on the Atlantic Ocean, not the Caribbean. Sargassum has never, to my knowledge, been a problem in Varadero. It is, indeed, a beautiful beach, and I would have no worries at all, on that particular score.
Due to the currents, sargassum usually only affect the east coasts. In the Riviera Maya, most of the beaches are east-facing coast. As the islands of Yucatan have beaches in all four directions, there you might almost always find beaches free of brown algae.
While Sargassum may impact some beaches more than others, Punta Cana boasts areas with minimal or no seaweed. Bayahibe, Macao Beach, and Uvero Alto are among the clean, Sargassum-free beaches you can enjoy.