The Kokomo Challenge is simple, visit every island in the Caribbean mentioned in the song Kokomo by the Beach Boys. We started this challenge as a family a few years ago, before the pandemic, when we realized we had been to Bermuda and the Bahamas in back-to-back years. During the pandemic we then went to Key Largo, and checked off another island. Most recently we also went to Montego Bay in Jamaica (both of which are mentioned separately in the song) and Aruba.
The official list of islands in the song include:
- Aruba (DONE)
- Jamaica (Montego is also mentioned separately) (DONE)
- Bermuda (DONE)
- Bahamas (DONE)
- Key Largo (Also counts for Florida Keys, separately mentioned) (DONE)
- Martinique
- Montserrat (7 years after the song, half of this island was destroyed by a volcano, but it is still visitable and inhabited)
- Haiti (the lyric is ‘Port au Prince I want to catch a glimpse)
For those who don’t realize, Kokomo as an island doesn’t exist. The only place name that matches Kokomo in a global gazetteer is a town in Indiana (land-locked), named Kokomo, Indiana.