Caribbean Travel Guides

Islands, Beaches & Culture

24 destinations

The Caribbean stretches across more than 700 islands, each with its own distinct personality. Curaçao dazzles with colourful Dutch architecture and world-class diving. Jamaica pulses with reggae, jerk chicken, and Blue Mountain coffee. Aruba offers year-round sunshine and white-sand Eagle Beach. Barbados blends British colonial charm with lively fish fry nights. Whether you're after all-inclusive resorts, boutique stays, or adventurous off-the-beaten-path islands, the Caribbean has a destination for every style of traveller.

Caribbean Destinations

Anguilla, British Caribbean

Anguilla

Anguilla is a British Overseas Territory of approximately 18,000 people — a flat coral island of 35 square miles approximately 8 kilometers north of Sint Maarten, in the northeastern Caribbean. It is the finest beach destination in the Lesser Antilles and arguably in the Carib…

Antigua & Barbuda, Caribbean

Antigua & Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda is a twin-island nation of approximately 100,000 people in the northern Lesser Antilles — Antigua (108 square miles, capital St John's) is the larger and more developed island, while Barbuda (62 square miles, approximately 1,800 residents) is 27 miles to th…

Aruba, Dutch Caribbean

Aruba

Aruba is a Dutch Caribbean island of approximately 106,000 people, 29 kilometers long and 9 kilometers wide, situated 29 kilometers north of the Venezuelan coast — far enough south to be completely outside the Atlantic hurricane belt. This geographical fact defines everything …

Commonwealth of the Bahamas — independent since 1973, Commonwealth realm

Bahamas

The Bahamas is an archipelago nation of approximately 700 islands and 2,400 cays in the Atlantic Ocean — strictly speaking not the Caribbean Sea but the Atlantic, which helps explain the specific crystalline quality of Bahamian water — stretching 1,000 kilometers from the wate…

Barbados, Caribbean

Barbados

Barbados is a coral limestone island of 166 square miles at the eastern edge of the Caribbean Sea — the easternmost island in the Lesser Antilles, 250 miles northeast of Trinidad, exposed to Atlantic trade winds on its east coast and protected by calmer Caribbean waters on its…

Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean

Bonaire

Bonaire is a Dutch Caribbean island of approximately 22,000 people — 288 square kilometers of semi-arid landscape, salt flats, cactus forest, and the most accessible coral reef in the Western Hemisphere. A special municipality of the Netherlands since 2010 (not a separate coun…

British Virgin Islands — Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke, Anegada

British Virgin Islands

The British Virgin Islands is a British Overseas Territory of approximately 60 islands, cays, and rocks in the northeastern Caribbean — the largest being Tortola (capital: Road Town), Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke, and Anegada. The total resident population is approximately 35,0…

Colombia (Bolívar Department)

Cartagena de Indias, Colombia

Cartagena de Indias is the Caribbean's most beautiful colonial city — a UNESCO World Heritage Site on Colombia's northern coast where a 13-kilometer ring of 16th-century Spanish fortifications encloses a city of bougainvillea-draped iron balconies, cobblestone plazas, pastel-p…

Curaçao, Dutch Caribbean

Curaçao is the largest of the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao) — a Dutch Caribbean island of approximately 160,000 people, 444 square kilometers, situated 65 kilometers north of Venezuela and completely outside the Atlantic hurricane belt. Like Aruba, it sits far enough s…

Dominica, Nature Isle of the Caribbean

Dominica

Dominica is an independent island nation of approximately 73,000 people in the middle of the Lesser Antilles — between Guadeloupe to the north and Martinique to the south. It is 290 square miles of dense tropical forest, volcanic peaks, rivers (365 rivers drain the island — on…

Dominican Republic (eastern Hispaniola)

Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is the most visited country in the Caribbean — a nation of 10.6 million people occupying the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola (shared with Haiti to the west), with a tourism infrastructure of extraordinary scale and variety. It is simultane…

Grenada, Caribbean

Grenada

Grenada is a three-island state of approximately 124,000 people in the southeastern Caribbean — the main island of Grenada (133 square miles), Carriacou (13 square miles), and Petite Martinique — located 90 miles north of Trinidad and 100 miles southwest of St Vincent. The isl…

Guadeloupe, French Caribbean

Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe is a French overseas region and department in the northern Lesser Antilles — like Martinique, it is an integral part of France, governed by French law, using the euro, and with its residents being full French citizens. The archipelago includes the main butterfly-sha…

Jamaica (independent nation, Commonwealth realm)

Jamaica

Jamaica is the most culturally influential island in the Caribbean — a country of 2.8 million people that has given the world reggae music, dancehall, Bob Marley, jerk cooking, Blue Mountain coffee, patois, Usain Bolt, and a sense of ease and warmth that the phrase 'no problem…

Martinique, French Caribbean

Martinique

Martinique is a French overseas region and department — an integral part of France, not a territory or colony. Its approximately 360,000 residents are French citizens. It is governed by French law, uses the euro, and is part of the European Union. It sits in the Lesser Antille…

Montserrat, British Caribbean (Emerald Isle)

Montserrat, Emerald Isle

Montserrat is a British Overseas Territory of approximately 5,000 people — a 39-square-mile island in the northern Lesser Antilles, 43 kilometers southwest of Antigua. It is called the Emerald Isle of the Caribbean — settled by Irish Catholics in the 17th century, the island h…

Puerto Rico, USA

Puerto Rico is the Caribbean's most multidimensional destination — a US territory the size of Connecticut that contains a UNESCO-listed colonial city, the only tropical rainforest in the US National Forest system, three bioluminescent bays among only five known in the world, w…

Sint Maarten / Saint Martin, Caribbean

Sint Maarten

Sint Maarten/Saint Martin is the smallest territory in the world divided between two sovereign nations — 37 square miles split between the Kingdom of the Netherlands (the southern Dutch Sint Maarten, 16 sq mi) and the French Republic (the northern Collectivity of Saint-Martin,…

Saint Barthélemy (St Barths), French Caribbean

St Barts

Saint Barthélemy (St Barths or St Barts) is a French overseas collectivity of approximately 10,000 permanent residents on a 21-square-mile island in the northeastern Caribbean, 35 kilometers northwest of Sint Maarten. Originally settled by Swedes (ceded to France in 1878 — the…

St Kitts & Nevis, Caribbean

St Kitts & Nevis

St Kitts and Nevis is a two-island federation at the northern end of the Lesser Antilles — the smallest country in the Western Hemisphere by both land area (261 square kilometers) and population (approximately 55,000). St Kitts (officially St Christopher) is the larger island,…

Saint Lucia (independent nation, Commonwealth realm)

St Lucia

Saint Lucia is a volcanic island of 616 square kilometers in the eastern Caribbean Sea between Martinique to the north and Saint Vincent to the south — one of the Windward Islands, and the most dramatically beautiful island in the Caribbean. Its defining feature is the Pitons:…

Trinidad & Tobago, Caribbean

Trinidad & Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago is a twin-island republic at the southern end of the Caribbean chain — 7 miles from the northeastern coast of Venezuela, making it geologically part of South America rather than the volcanic Caribbean arc. Trinidad (1,864 square miles, population approximat…

Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac & Little Cayman

Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands are a British Overseas Territory in the western Caribbean Sea — three islands (Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman) approximately 240 miles south of Miami and 480 miles south of Florida. Grand Cayman, the largest and most visited, has a population o…

Cuba

Havana, Cuba

Havana is one of the most singular cities in the world — a capital of 2.1 million people that has existed in a state of economic suspension for over sixty years, preserving by circumstance what other cities destroyed by development: its colonial architecture, its 1950s America…

Caribbean Travel Guides — Common Questions

Which Caribbean island is best for first-time visitors?

Aruba and Barbados are the top picks for first-timers. Aruba has reliably sunny weather year-round, safe beaches, and excellent infrastructure. Barbados offers a mix of calm west-coast beaches and livelier south coast, plus easy non-stop flights from North America and the UK.

What is the best time to visit the Caribbean?

December through April is peak season — warm, dry, and low humidity. This is outside the hurricane season (June–November). That said, islands south of the hurricane belt (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Barbados, Trinidad) are safe to visit year-round and often cheaper in summer.

Do I need a visa for Caribbean islands?

Visa requirements vary by island and nationality. US and EU citizens can enter most Caribbean destinations visa-free for 30–90 days. Some islands — like Cuba — require specific visas or travel cards. Always check the entry requirements for your specific island before booking.

What is the cheapest Caribbean island to visit?

Dominican Republic and Jamaica typically offer the best value — especially with all-inclusive packages. Cuba is also very affordable for those who can travel there. Avoid super-expensive islands like St Barts or Anguilla if you're budget-conscious.

Is the Caribbean safe for tourists?

Most popular Caribbean tourist areas are safe. Stick to well-travelled resort areas, use reputable taxis or ride-shares, and avoid deserted areas after dark. Curaçao, Aruba, and Barbados rank among the safest islands. Research your specific destination before travelling.

Ready to explore Caribbean?

Search flights and hotels for your Caribbean trip.

Search Flights Find Hotels