Consisting of more than five thousand islands, cays and reefs, each inhabited island has a culture all of its own, in the Caribbean however, they do have one thing in common.
Here all water sports are on offer. Sail, fish, swim and dive in the warm blue waters and coral reefs of the Caribbean Sea. Ride horseback on the white beaches beside the clear, sapphire waters.
Take to the dance halls in Cuba, where Salsa is the dance of choice. Visit the warm shores of Barbados where the local population is known for its friendliness and visit the oldest rum distillery in the world.
Hike in the blue mountains of Jamaica, the home of Reggae, and whilst there pay a visit to the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston.
Dive in the Cayman Islands, one of the top diving destinations on earth, it also has the only Turtle Farm in the world that practices controlled breeding of turtles. Take a sunset cruise or windsurf on one of 365 pink and white beaches of Antigua.
Countries in the Caribbean
Anguilla
Anguilla is a sleepy little island encircled by isolated white beaches touched by azure seas. Here golden, sand stone cliffs protect quiet sun drenched bays.
Visiting this island is like taking a step back to the Caribbean of forty years ago where the locals are all folksy laid back people.
Swim or snorkel in the warm, clear waters. Spend a day in a relaxing spa, where the specialty is water massage therapy. Sip cocktails or enjoy exotic seafood in restaurants and outdoor spaces overlooking the calm and peaceful sea.
Take a sunset cruise. Ride horseback in the shallow waters along the sandy beach. Cliff jump into the turquoise waters below. Dive in the surrounding waters or take a boat ride around the island and just feast your eyes on Nature’s blessings.
Antigua and Barbuda
These beautiful twin West Indian Islands are located in the Caribbean Sea.
The Antiguan coastline consists of three hundred and sixty five powdery, white beaches bathed by warm, turquoise waters. The surrounding emerald green hills drop down onto the beaches creating isolated coves and bays.
The lovely natural harbour on Antigua is the only operating Georgian dock in the world. Every year it is host to Antigua Sailing Week, one of the world’s foremost regattas.
Reach Barbuda by boat or helicopter, to languish on the pink sand beaches. Visit the mangrove estuary to see one of the biggest frigate bird sanctuaries in the world.
Dive in the coral reefs that surround the islands. They are bristling with colorful tropical fish. Play golf right next to the tropical beaches.
Zip line through the forest in Antigua. Hike up the mountains and take the time to look down on one of the prettiest places on earth.
Aruba
Aruba is a Dutch Caribbean island situated twenty-nine kilometers off the Venezuelan coastline. It is one of the most visited islands in the Caribbean, as its warm and dry climate attracts sun lovers and water sports enthusiasts. It also boasts modern shops, resorts, restaurants and casinos.
On one side of the island, snow-white beaches meet crystalline ocean waters where pink flamingos patrol the sands. Here you can dive into German ship that sunk in World War Two that tropical fish now call home or visit the local donkey sanctuary or an ostrich farm.
The Arikok Desert lies on the other side of the island, scattered with cacti and edged by crashing waves, this is home to rattle snakes, whiptail lizards, parakeets, iguanas, donkeys and goats.
Explore abandoned goldmines and hike through ancient sacred caves adorned with stalactites and stalagmites to find rock paintings left by the ancient people that once lived here.
Barbados
With three thousand hours of sunshine yearly, Barbados is a beach lovers’ paradise. It is also one of the most developed islands in the Caribbean.
Governed by Britain for three hundred and forty years, it still carries the moniker “Little Britain”. This is a nation that plays cricket, drinks afternoon tea and dresses for dinner.
Most of the residents of Barbados live in busy Bridgetown or in little villages scattered around the islands. The coast has broad pink beaches, many sheltered by cliffs.
The lush interior is covered in forests, botanical gardens and fields and fields of sugar cane.
Visit Saint Nicholas Abbey. Built in 1650, it is one of the few remaining Jacobean houses still in existence, and it has been beautifully restored and furnished.
Swim with turtles. Take a tram ride through Harrison’s Cave where lovely columns rise and fall into the pools below. Visit a rum distillery, or simply enjoy the view to the sound of reggae and the taste of rum.
Bahamas
The Bahamas is just off the coast of Florida and stretches over eight hundred kilometers towards Cuba. The country consists of more than two thousand islands and cays, boasting some of the best beaches on earth.
Nassau, the capital of New Providence Island is home to seventy percent of the population of the Bahamas. Cross the bridge to Paradise island and visit the remains of a fourteenth century monastery and the enormous water theme park.
In Freeport the Garden of the Groves is home to exotic birds, alligators and ten thousand species of plants. It has the world’s largest underground limestone cave and the reefs provide plenty of prospects for fishing and diving.
For free divers the world’s second deepest underwater sink hole, reaching depths of two hundred meters, can be found on Long Island.
British Virgin Islands
The British Virgin Islands is paradise for yachtsman as constant trade winds blow over this group of sixty Caribbean islands. Here visitors charter yachts for week-long journeys through some of the prettiest landscapes in the Caribbean.
Rugged volcanic islands and flat coral atolls float in warm, sapphire waters. Here divers swim with moray eels, stingrays and barracuda amongst the colorful coral gardens around the islands. The beaches are dressed in snow white sands and windsurfs and kitesurfs sail across the surface.
In September 2017 Hurricane Irma struck with a force that stripped the trees of bark and leaves and left eighty-five percent of the buildings in ruins. Already intrepid business owners have started to pick up the pieces and many of the restaurants and hotels have re-opened, and chartered yachts once again sail from island to island.
Caribbean Netherlands
The Netherlands’ island municipalities of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba otherwise known as the BES islands, are also commonly referred to as the Caribbean Netherlands.
Bonaire, just off the coast of Venezuela boasts some of the best diving spots in the Caribbean. The island landscapes include mangroves, salt pans and hills peppered with cactus. Flamingos, parakeets and herons, sea turtles, goats and iguanas live in the wild. Just off the coast the island of Klein Bonaire is uninhabited.
Take a water taxi to dive, to swim with turtles or to enjoy the isolation. St Eustatius, also known as Statia, attracts divers to its colorful reefs, and sunken vessels.
Most of the thirteen square kilometers of Saba island, is a volcano, which at nearly nine hundred meters above sea level making its peak the Netherlands’ highest point. The island is covered by rain forests scattered with wild orchids and interspersed by stone paths.
Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands in the Caribbean is one of the top diving destinations in the world. The warm waters are filled with coral gardens, and the wrecks of ships that teem with diverse and colorful marine life. Here at Sting Ray City tourists play, interact and swim with stingrays.
Seven-mile Beach with its wide expanse of pristine white sand fringed with coconut palms is just one of many of the lovely beaches that grace these islands. Inland the islands are covered with lush forests filled with exotic birds and flowers. Beneath the earth, beautiful crystal caves are open for exploration.
The Cayman Islands cater to tourists who flock there in large numbers so here you will find exceptional restaurants, grand resorts, relaxing spas and a plethora of water sports and entertainment to choose from.
Cuba
Having suffered for years from sanctions, Cuba’s sometimes scruffy streets and buildings have clung to a bygone era. Here is a place that is distinctly different, an anachronism in the twenty first century.
Here colorful vintage cars drive past splendid colonial buildings. Bright and colorful modern buildings stand besides cobbled streets. 1950’s shop signs hang above businesses.
Recently, the pace of change has accelerated, and the wonderful spirit that is Cuba may soon merge into the uniformity of modern day cities.
Havana, the capital, is full of colonial architecture. It was once the most fortified city in the world and the forts still stand watch over the city. What better way to tour Havana than in one of the many classic cars that drive her streets. Visit the lively bars and listen to the ever-present jazz music or rumba and salsa into the early hours of the morning.
Dominica
Little changed since it was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1493, the Caribbean island of Dominica is known as Nature Island. Dominica’s unspoiled wild beauty adorned the screens of cinemas as the chosen location for the Pirates of the Caribbean.
The mountainous island is covered in lush rain forest, filled with wild orchids, ferns and deep red anthuriums. The forested mountain slopes are home to a few rare plant and bird species, including two endangered species of parrot.
With the highest concentration of dormant volcanoes in the world the island also boasts nine active volcanoes, deep river gorges, waterfalls and atop a mountain the second biggest thermal lake in the world.
This is a great adventure destination. Here you can dive in coral reefs, hike up the slopes of a volcano, or kayak through turbulent river waters. Beneath the twin Trafalgar falls that plunge from a cool mountain lake, relax in the geo-thermal springs and just absorb the smells, sounds and sights of the jungle.
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic shares an island in the Caribbean with Haiti. It is surrounded and defined by its beautiful coastline, home to humpbacked whales and tropical fish. Large portions of the sandy white beaches are heavily shaded by palm trees and in other areas, dark cliffs drop into the clear blue waters of the Caribbean.
This country has an interior more diverse than most other islands, with a desert and the tallest mountain peaks in the Caribbean. The mountains support lush tropical forests. Here enormous limestone caves containing hundreds of paintings left by ancient indigenous people, hide cool and tranquil pools of water.
The capital, Santo Domingo, is the oldest colonial city in the new world. Here cobbled streets and modern highways are lined by old colonial mansions, brightly colored modern homes and modern retail outlets. The city boasts the oldest cathedral in the Americas built between 1512 and 1540, and it boasts the final resting place of Christopher Columbus.
Grenada
Grenada consists of the main island of Grenada and two smaller islands which make for very good day trip or fishing and sailing destinations. The main island is known as the spice island as it has several nutmeg plantations on the slopes of its hills, and the scintillating fragrance of cloves, ginger and nutmeg hangs in the warm tropical air.
Although less developed than some of the other islands in the Caribbean, Grenada has beaches that can compete with any of those on other islands and they are less crowded.
The mangrove plantations wander all the way down to the beautiful beaches. The mountain slopes are covered with lush rainforests and a clear crater lake.
Grenada is a reasonable size and offers visitors plenty to do. It is popular with the sailing community. It also boasts great diving spots with wrecks and reefs and an underwater sculpture park.
Saint George the capital is a busy and pretty little town that dates back centuries. The unspoiled beauty, spicy foods and calypso music on these islands form a backdrop to an unforgettable holiday experience.
Guadeloupe
The French archipelago of Guadeloupe consists of five islands located in the Caribbean. The two main islands are linked by bridges and resemble the wings of a butterfly.
Despite having been colonized by a number of European countries, the culture and cuisine of the islands is strictly French, and you can enjoy French cuisine at its best in Guadeloupe.
In the port city of Point-a-Pitre, the capital, colorful and pungent markets, where spices and tropical fruits are sold draw visitors daily.
The beaches come in an assortment of colors from pink to black and golden yellow to powdery white. Here the warm Caribbean waters invite sun lovers to participate in the many exciting water sports.
In the Guadeloupe National Park find rainforests, coastal forests, waterfalls and mangroves. Climb the slopes of the active volcano. The view from the top is spectacular and the sides of the volcano are still warm to the touch. Hot springs, mud baths and sulfur pools are scattered all over the islands, warm therapeutic waters spawned by the volcano.
Haiti
Located in the Caribbean, Haiti shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. In 1804 Haiti became the world’s first black republic when it shed its French colonizers in the only successful slave rebellion ever to take place.
Haiti’s main attraction is its beaches. Like many other Caribbean islands, it has long sandy beaches, shaded by palms and washed by warm tropical waters, but here the beaches have not been commercialized and they are not crowded. Chaos and coups over the past few decades have chased the tourists that flocked there in the 1960’s to other destinations.
Haiti means mountainous land. The country is literally rolling in layers and layers of mountains. The mountainous interior is crisscrossed with rivers and streams and beautiful waterfalls that drop into bright blue pools below, making this is a great destination for hikers and climbers.
Jamaica
Jamaica, the third largest island in the Caribbean is also one of the most beautiful. With varied landscapes that include rainforests, mountains, beautiful waterfalls and exquisite beaches.
Here you can dive and snorkel in colorful coral gardens, that teem with tropical fish, take a trip on a bamboo raft at sunset or swim after dark in warm bio-luminescent waters.
Famous for rum and reggae, here the people live and love their music. Music governs the rhythm of life on the island. Embracing the rhythms of African folk music, it wafts soulfully from nightclubs and drifts from the many churches. This was after all the home of Bob Marley. Visit the museum in Kingston dedicated to him.
Here you can savor exotic and flavorful Jamaican food, which can be purchased from any number of five-star restaurants or in street bazaars.
Jamaica also produces some of the best coffee in the world in the plantations on the slopes of the Blue Mountains, the Caribbean’s highest mountain range.
Martinique
This Caribbean Island in the Lesser Antilles is an overseas French region. Famous for its rum distilleries, the island is called the rum capital of the world. It is also considered by many to have some of the best cuisine in the Caribbean. The streets are lined with expensive French restaurants, boutiques and retail outlets. Josephine Empress to Napoleon was born on Martinique, and the house where she lived is now a museum.
The island has been blessed with abundant beauty from its powder white beaches, azure waters, a looming volcano and lush rainforests. The indigenous people who lived on this island at the time of its discovery by Columbus called it the Isle of flowers and it is clear why. The island is resplendent with the color and fragrance of orchids, frangipani, anthurium and hibiscus.
Montserrat
An overseas territory of the UK, Montserrat in the Caribbean is part of the Lesser Antilles. Devastated by a volcanic eruption in 1995 a large portion of the island is now an exclusion zone, and the capital Plymouth lies abandoned, the once lovely Victorian homes half submerged in volcanic debris.
Many refer to the island as Little Ireland because of its resemblance to the Emerald Island and because of the origins of many of the inhabitants.
Montserrat is surrounded by black sandy beaches hedged in by cliffs that drop down to the shore. The surrounding waters, warmed by the volcanic ash, has in recent years attracted an abundance of marine life and diving and snorkeling around the island are very popular.
The rainforests are home to ninety species of birds.
Netherlands Antilles
The islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao makes up the Netherlands Antilles in the Caribbean Ocean. These tropical islands are popular for their water sports, all year warm weather and top-notch facilities.
Curacao has more than forty beaches, many contain resorts and offer visitors the luxuries of modern living. Along the shoreline, dive amongst shipwrecks or in the Mushroom Forest so called because the lower parts of the corals have been eroded into mushroom shapes.
Aruba is situated twenty-nine kilometers off the Venezuelan coastline. It is one of the most visited islands in the Caribbean, as its warm and dry climate attracts sun lovers and water sports enthusiasts. It also boasts modern shops, resorts, restaurants and casinos.
Bonaire, also just off the coast of Venezuela boasts some of the best diving spots in the Caribbean. The island landscapes include mangroves, salt pans and hills peppered with cactus. Flamingos, parakeets and herons, sea turtles, goats and iguanas live in the wild.
Puerto Rico
This US territory is one of the Caribbean’s top destinations. Here culture and cuisine blend Spanish, Indian and African influences into a colorful and tasteful fusion, and modern amenities like world class hotels and restaurants share space with remnants of the Colonial past.
More than five hundred years old the capital, San Juan, has lovely cobble stoned streets that are lined by colorful Spanish colonial architecture. Hundreds of these homes have been restored to their former glory.
Puerto Rico’s lovely palm lined beaches and warm tropical waters are one of its biggest drawcards. Here you can find beaches where calm, clear waters lap the golden sands and others where waves crash upon the shore. Just beyond the waves you can drift dive off the steep sloped reefs.
The interior of the island consists of forested mountains. The island has 268 acres of caves, several nearby islands and a scattering of quaint villages. There are always plenty of things to do in Puerto Rico.
Saint Barthélemy
This French owned Caribbean island is known to the locals as Saint Bart’s.
The capital city, Gustavia, was once a sleepy fishing village, but due to the popularity of the island amongst the jet setters of the world, it now boasts luxury hotels and resorts, restaurants and high-end boutiques.
Here you can shop duty free, party the night away or take some time out in a spa. In the harbour small fishing boats jostle for space with luxury yachts. There are several colorful villages along the coast.
Rolling green hills hide coves and bays of white sandy and shell beaches that are touched by perfectly clear warm aquamarine seas. Snorkel or dive in colorful reefs or sunken ships or in the marine reserve where turtles, spotted eagle rays and reef shark play.
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Kitts and Nevis is a pair of tropical islands close to Puerto Rico, Nevis Peak forms a beautiful backdrop to almost everything on the small island of Nevis.
The island is rimmed with talcum beaches and sapphire Atlantic and Caribbean waters. Here you can visit old sugar plantations where the houses have been turned into hotels, hike through the lush green countryside, mountain bike or ride, and dive in the warm, tropical waters.
Not without infrastructure, Nevis boasts a top-class golf course and several restaurants that serve delicious Caribbean food.
Saint Kitts is the larger of the two islands, equally bedecked with long silvery beaches. The volcanic slopes in the interior nestle in verdant rain forests. From the slopes six other islands are visible.
Basseterre, the capital, boasts lovely Georgian houses and nineteenth century churches. The Brimstone Hill Fortress located here is one of the best-preserved fortresses in the Americas.
Saint Lucia
The Caribbean island of Saint Lucia is rich in natural beauty. Here and in the surrounding waters Nature virtually swaggers with pride.
The vibrant coral reefs around the island invite divers and snorkelers to dive with the trumpet fish, frogfish and seahorses, finding thrilling wall dives in the clearest water. Nearly eighty percent of the island is forested, home to four endemic bird species. Here the forest trails are bordered by ferns and wild flowers.
The iconic sharply pointed Piton mountains, volcanic plugs standing more than 740 metres high guard, the bay near the town of Soufrière. For panoramic views of the island, cross the causeway to the national park on Pigeon Island and climb to the ruins of the British Fort Rodney.
Here you will find the world’s only drive in volcano surrounded by sulfur pools. Zipline through the forested mountainside. Take a walk through the twelve-acre botanical gardens and relax in warm thermal pools.
Saint Martin
Saint Marin is the smallest Caribbean island to be shared by two countries; In the north, French Saint Martin and in the south, Dutch Sint Maarten.
Like many Caribbean islands, Saint Martin has snowy white beaches lapped by warm, turquoise waters. Here it is all about fun in the sun surfing, diving, sailing and windsurfing, are all popular water sports. The island is cooled by soft tropical winds, making it a popular destination for yachtsmen.
Zipline in the lush green tropical forest that cover the rolling hills of this island or visit the butterfly farm. It houses the largest species of moth on earth.
The atmosphere in Saint Martin is distinctly French. It is well served by hotels, restaurants offering exquisite French and Creole food. The pretty harbor capital of Marigot has plenty of outdoor cafes, bazaars and shops.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, a group of thirty Caribbean islands and cays, boast soft sandy beaches in shades of black and white, warm tropical waters and a hinterland covered by rain forests – everything that you would expect of a Caribbean getaway but without the crowds of tourists.
Once only approachable by sea, the islands were once an isolated get away for rich and famous yacht owners.
Small quiet hotels along the coastline serve Saint Vincent tourists but a ferry trip away in the Grenadines luxury resorts rub shoulders with the homes of the wealthy. Each of the islands is unique and easy to access.
Located on Saint Vincent the oldest botanical gardens in the western hemisphere, spectacular waterfalls and a volcano. Here you can swim with turtles, dive in the coral gardens of the Tobago Cays, hike the jungle trails home to the rare Saint Vincent parrot or chill out on the golden sands.
Trinidad and Tobago
This dual-island nation in the Caribbean is close to the Venezuelan coastline. In recent years rich oil and gas reserves have made these islands quite wealthy so unlike other Caribbean islands the country is not dependent on tourism for income.
The two islands boast a far greater range of flora and fauna than other Caribbean islands as they were joined to the South American continent until the end of the last Ice Age.
Port of Spain, the capital city, is a bustling metropolis with high rise buildings and plenty of shops and restaurants. This is the birthplace of Calypso, limbo and soca, so expect a song in the air and a swing in your step.
On Tobago find white sand beaches, lushly forested mountains, waterfalls and surrounding coral reefs. This is home to over two hundred species of bird. Tobago has some of the best cocoa in the world, so take the opportunity to visit a plantation and see how chocolate is grown and processed.
Turks and Caicos Islands
The forty coral islands that make up the Turks and Caicos Islands boast the third largest barrier reef on earth. Here amongst the coral gardens, you will find some of the most spectacular diving spots in the world.
There is a multitude of top resorts and restaurants along the magnificent beaches of Providenciales, the main island, where the sand is white, warm and inviting, lined by palms and touched by pale blue, shimmering water.
Last year Grace Bay Beach received second place in Trip Advisor Traveller’s Choice for the best beaches in the world. This is but one beach on a coastline that spans three hundred and seventy kilometers.
Turks and Caicos Islands have the world’s only conch farm, and this sea snail forms a large part of the cuisine on the islands.
United States Virgin Islands
The US Virgin Islands consists of a trio of islands in the Caribbean, Saint Thomas, Saint John and Saint Croix, each with its own unique brand of pleasures.
Saint Thomas is known for its luxury resorts, restaurants, pubs and top end shops. Here you can flyboard, zip line, hike, birdwatch or kayak at night through luminescent waters.
Saint John is a nature lover’s dream with more than half the island dedicated to the national park. The island is surrounded by marvelous coral reefs teeming with tropical fish, sea turtles and spotted eagle rays.
The wide, white beaches of Saint Croix surround the sugar cane fields and lush forests of the interior. Sip rum cocktails distilled on right here on the island.
The islands were devastated by hurricanes in 2017, but rehabilitation of the damaged infrastructure is well underway.
