Renaissance Island

Renaissance Island is a small private island off Oranjestad belonging to a hotel, and it has become one of the most photographed places in the Caribbean for one reason: a handful of Caribbean flamingos live on the beach at one end and walk among the loungers. They are not wild in any meaningful sense; they were brought in and are kept and fed there. The island also has a quieter beach at the other end, mangroves with a walkway, and a reef for snorkelling. Access is by a boat that leaves from a dock inside the hotel lobby, which is itself a slightly surreal arrangement.

What you actually see

• The flamingos - on the private beach at one end of the island.
• The two beaches - one adults-only with the birds, one for families.
• The mangrove walkway - through the stand at the island's centre.
• The boat from the lobby - leaving from a dock inside the hotel.

When to go

Year-round. Day passes for non-guests are limited in number and sell out, particularly in high season and on cruise days; they are released on a set schedule and must be bought in advance.

Honest expectations

The flamingos are kept birds fed by the hotel rather than a wild population, which the photographs do not convey. Day passes are limited, expensive and frequently unavailable. Feeding the birds is done from sold pellets and they will peck at anything held. It is a hotel amenity rather than a nature site.

Nearby

Oranjestad is fifteen minutes by boat; the hotel is in the centre of it.