With 30 major islands – and more than 100 if you include every cay, spit and sandbar that disappears at high tide – the Caribbean offers a mind-boggling variety of destinations.
There are volcanoes that are covered in jungle, vibrant islands, and those with only one hotel. And then there are the beaches – some deserted, others shoulder-to-shoulder with bars. Which one should you choose?
ANGUILLA, THE HIGH POINT IN LOW-KEY SOPHISTICATION
Perfection: Sandy Ground’s stretch of rickety bars on the beach comes alive at sunset
Here you’ll find the best beaches of them all: blinding white sand gently shelving into gin-clear shallows to a sea so turquoise it would test a Surrealist painter’s palette.
There are many places to walk along the strands at dawn, as well as sophisticated spots for lunch and sandy shacks where you can grab a lobster snack. Some are lively at day like Shoal Bay in east, while others become lively at night with Sandy Ground’s stretch of rickety bars.
Anguilla is primarily about taking in the sun and cooling down in the waves.
Although the island is not cheap and difficult to reach, it offers a wide range of excellent hotels and villas in fantasylands of architectural styles, including Moorish, Greek, and modernist abstractions in white concrete.
Anguilla also has serious restaurants, with cuisines including imaginative at Hibernia, innovative at Blanchards and equatorial ‘cuisine of the sun’ at Veya. Independent-minded Anguillians are laid back to a point of horizontal; their island offers the ultimate in low-key Caribbean sophistication.
Make a splash! Cap Juluca, B&B from £1,054 a night (belmond.com).
Best value: Carimar Beach Club, one-bedroom self-catering cottages from £198 a night (carimar.com).
FANCY A COOL RUNNER’S RIDE IN ADVENTURE-FILLED JAMAICA
Majestic Blue Mountains: Jamaica’s highest mountain range is the Blue Mountains. The Blue Mountains have the highest peak at 7,402ft.
Jamaica is green and mountainous, with inland waters that are as cool and inviting than its sea. There are many challenging hikes in the Blue Mountains, including to the 7,402ft summit, the John Crow Mountains, and the exceptional Cockpit Country. However, there are also inland pools that you can swim in and waterfalls to admire such as Mayfield and Reach Falls. There are zip-lines and bumpy off-road tours as well as bobsleigh descents in Cool Runnings style. But best of all is river rafting – quite the opposite of white-water rafting – as you are punted on a bamboo raft along the Martha Brae or the Rio Grande, with a Red Stripe beer in hand and silken water between your toes.
Jamaica is large by Caribbean standards, with a strong island culture – the Jamaicans are demonstrative and lively and at times the streets really do reverberate to a reggae beat.
There’s an exceptional range of hotels in a full range of prices, from the traditional classics to funky modern hideaways.
The Jamaicans are energetic and lively, and the streets can sometimes reverberate with a reggae beat. Pictured is a colorful Jamaican streetmarket
Due to the all-inclusive resorts’ effect, independent restaurants are rare. But street food can be fun.
Take a road trip and stop where the Jamaicans do, for corn soup or jerk chicken and a johnny cake – cornmeal flatbread.
Make a splash! Round Hill, B&B from £431 per night (roundhill.com).
Best value: Geejam, B&B from £184 per night (geejamhotel.com).
CHIC ST. BARTS – DRESS TO IMPRESS (AND PARTY ON TABLES).
Heavenly: Pictured here is Eden Rock, a chic spot on St Barts where people dress up not down. So pack your summer fashion!
The Caribbean cuisine wasn’t something you could be proud to call gourmet. Now that chefs and suppliers are up to international speed, you can eat well – if you choose well.
St Barts is French, but classical recipes are reimagined and often steeped in local spices (try L’Esprit Salines). You can also expect Italian (L’Isola), Japanese (Orega and Kinugawa) and trusty French creole food at Eddy’s.
Dine by day, with fashion shows to divert you, in gardens under overhanging greenery (Le Tamarin), and right on the shoreline at Eden Rock’s Sand Bar and La Cabane at Cheval Blanc’s Isle de France. Evenings are beautiful with stunning views of Gustavia harbour from Bonito or La Guerite. You can dance on the tables at Ti St Barth club.
St Barts is known for its high quality food. It’s elegant, stylish, and well-presented. The island has a more metropolitan feel than the Caribbean. It is also not inexpensive, but there are many great hotels and numerous villas. There is also an active social scene that takes place on the beach as well as in the evenings.
This is a place where people dress up, not down. So pack your summer fashion.
Make a splash! Eden Rock, B&B from £1,445 per night (oetkercollection.com).
Best value: Hotel Le Village, B&B from £162 per night (levillagestbarth.com).
WHY TINY NEVIS IS A BIG ATTRACTION TO HISTORY FANS
In Charlestown there’s a miniature museum of Nevis history in Alexander Hamilton House – where the US founding father and subject of the hit musical was born
Caribbean history may be mired in controversy right now but there’s no question that a beautifully designed plantation house sitting perfectly in its environment looks utterly magical.
There are a few plantation-style hotels in Nevis that date back to 50 years ago, when tourism was not a major concern. After tiny, charming Charlestown and its miniature museum in Alexander Hamilton House – where the US founding father and subject of the hit musical was born – look out for Horatio Nelson’s marriage register at Fig Tree Church and a museum devoted to Nelsonabilia. Then hike the Upper Round Road and seek out hidden ruins – you will discover windmills with massive iron crushing gear mouldering away, and stone ruins that now only whisper of the island’s elegant past.
Nevis is a small island that is quiet and breathtakingly beautiful. It is an island you will fall in love. Charming villas have been built thanks to careful development.
There is some seaside activity, of course. In the light scattering of hotels on the west-facing Pinney’s beach, the beach bars doze by day and come alive at sundown.
Make a splash! Montpelier Plantation, B&B from £170 per night (montpeliernevis.com).
Best value: The Hermitage, B&B from £130 per night (hermitagenevis.com).
DOMINICA’S ECO WONDERLAND IS BUZZING WITH WILDLIFE
Dominica, which has fewer white-sand beach beaches than most Caribbean islands, approaches things differently.
The volcanic Dominica is a lush rainforest, so fertile that you might expect a pencil root to grow, and has a soundtrack of buzzing, buzzing, peeping and tweeting.
There are gardens filled with exotic tropical greenery and flowers (try Papilotte), dozens of bird and butterfly species, as well as two rare types parrots and large insects that seem to chirp when they move.
Hiking trails venture up into dwarf and cloud forest, then down into the volcanic underworld – the island’s ‘Valley of Desolation’ has a fumerole, a sulphurous volcanic vent, with the Boiling Lake at its heart.
What’s more, this place is as fertile beneath the sea as above, and known for its colourful corals and whale-watching.
Dominica is a small island with few white-sand beaches. Some hotels make a point of being immersed in the rainforest.
There is a strong creole influence in the islands. Most islanders speak French Creole with lively chatter on buses and in markets.
Make a splash! Secret Bay, B&B from £592 per night (secretbay.dm).
Best value: Jungle Bay, B&B from £141, per night (junglebaydominica.com).
WHY DO FAMILIES RULE THE BRILLIANT BARBADOS ROOTS?
Barbados, pictured, is big for families due to direct flights from the UK and hotels in all price brackets have kids’ menus, activity programmes and babysitting
There’s a warm welcome for children in the Caribbean, whether on the beach or in the children’s soft play areas of the inevitable fast-food restaurants. Barbados is big for families due to direct flights from the UK and hotels in all price brackets have kids’ menus, activity programmes and babysitting, and when you want to explore together, there is calm and protected swimming if you choose the west coast or the Miami Beach lagoon on the south.
Tried-and-tested outings for family fun include swimming with turtles around Folkestone Marine Park, a Jolly Roger cruise for a day’s piracy, seaborne bouncy castles and banana boat rides.
Inland, head for Harrison’s Cave for stalactites and the Wildlife Reserve for monkeys and agouti.
Head for Harrison’s Cave for stalactites (above) and the Wildlife Reserve for monkeys and agouti
Multigenerational travel can be expensive. Consider renting a villa or apartment to accommodate your family. There are many options along both coasts. Barbados is an ideal place to begin your Caribbean vacation. The west and south coasts have different characters – the west more expensive and stylish, the south busier – but they are equally friendly.
Make a splash! Sandy Lane, B&B with two children, £1,577 per night (sandylane.com).
Best value: Bougainvillea Hotel, B&B from £214, per night (bougainvilleabarbados.com).
DROP ANCHOR AT SECLUDED VIRGIN ISLANDS BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
The British Virgin Islands has many excellent hotels. Some are set on their own islands, making them very private and isolated. Pictured is the Anegada Beach Club’s beachside room.
With more beach bars per square mile than any other island, along with reliable winds and excellent anchorages, it’s no wonder the British Virgin Islands are a hub for sailors.
A well-developed sailing industry means you can take a catamaran or monohull, sailing yacht or motor yacht, crewed or ‘bare’ boat (or a captain to settle you in), and even a berth on a weekly scheduled catamaran. You can snorkelling reefs and desert island picnic spots during the day, then enjoy evening entertainment at one of the many bars.
There are also excellent hotels in the BVI, some of which are set on their own islands, making them very private and isolated.
The British Virgin Islands are a great place to sail, with their reliable winds and excellent anchorages. Tortola is the capital island.
Tortola, the capital of the island, is bustling with cruise ships and yachts (and the strong financial industry, which has led to wonderful places to eat out).
Elsewhere, life takes place at a low-key to comatose pace, particularly in Jost van Dyke – dozy tropical perfection – and Anegada – undiscovered Caribbean.
The beaches are stunning, with the water so clear that yachts seem like they hover above and with sand as talcum-powder.
Make a splash! Guana Island, B&B from £640 per night all-inclusive (guana.com).
Best value: Sugar Mill Hotel, B&B from £252 per night (sugarmillhotel.com).
There is something for everyone here in the Caribbean. Here are some top tour operators who can help you select the right island or accommodation for you.
Caribtours(caribtours.co.uk), offers a wide range of hotels and islands in the Caribbean, including the best all-inclusives.
Elegant Resorts (elegantresorts.co.uk) offers Caribbean luxury on more than a dozen islands.
Only Grenada(justgrenada.co.uk), covers Grenada in detail and offers a wide range of prices.
Tropic Breeze(tropicbreeze.co.uk has a great selection of accommodation at a variety of prices in the Caribbean, including sailing in British Virgin Islands.
- All rates are for low seasons and are subject to local taxes and charges.
FANCY CHIPS AND FISH AT COWELL’S HOUSE?
There are few places that offer beachside dining like Barbados’ west coast. Here are six great places to enjoy delicious food.
Lone Star, Alleynes Bay
This former garage is now the most popular hangout for the famous and wealthy. Simon Cowell and guests at Sandy Lane resort nearby love it.
On a gorgeous beach, it serves up simple favourites such as beer-battered sea bass and chips (£32) and moules frites (£30), as well as the more exotic grilled jerk lobster (£52).
It’s easy to spend all day here, with lunch followed by an afternoon on a sunlounger before a bit of snorkelling in the usually calm sea, and a pina colada at sunset (thelonestar.com).
Sea Shed, Mullins Beach
Since it opened in 2019, this has fast become a favourite of locals, tourists and stars, offering great pizzas from £14, steak frites (£25) and a lovely coconut panna cotta (£7).
It is spread over three levels and feels like a theatre at night, but a club by day. There are showers for you to refresh after a dip. Its cocktails are also excellent (seashedbarbados.com).
Ocean fresh: One fish dish at The Fish Pot in Clinketts
The Fish Pot, Clinketts
Since 19 years, this family-run restaurant has been serving fresh fish and Caribbean sauce twists.
Based in a former 18th Century fort, it’s opposite The Little Good Harbour, a cosy hotel run by the same owners.
Swordfish with a banana curry (£22.50) and herb-crusted ahi tuna (£24.50) were highlights of a concise dinner menu – lunch is a more wide-ranging affair (fishpotbarbados.com).
Orange Street Grocer, Speightstown
This smart, mainly organic deli-bistro wouldn’t look out of place in West London – apart from the sea views.
Everything is made from scratch and there’s a large vegetarian selection. My son Luca loved the fish tacos (£16) (theorangestreetgrocer.com).
Champers, Rockley Beach
Overlooking one of the island’s best large beaches, this is a sophisticated place. Specials include fish pie (£17) and shrimp curry (£24), but the coconut pie dessert is the star attraction (champersrestaurant.com).
Surfside, Holetown
The fried chicken (£16) was the best we found, and the curried chicken and potato roti (£10) was heavenly.
The main selling point of the room is the screens showing English cricket and football. It makes for a relaxing retreat from the sun.
Gary Edwards