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John’s parish, the small and tight-knit capital of the archipelago, there are cricket grounds and bobbing cruise ships on the horizon, while the slap and click of casino chips is never too far away.įor the best intro to the rest of Antigua (the larger of the two islands), most travelers will scale up to Shirley Heights Lookout, where the pearly-white of beaches, the deep green of the palm forests and the occasional bloom of bougainvillea spread out to reveal Falmouth and English Harbour – two of the earliest colonial towns here. Separated by a short gap of sky-blue Caribbean Sea in the midst of the Leeward Islands, the duo that makes up Antigua and Barbuda represent one of the region’s most well-rounded tourist draws. Oh, and it’s the home of the island’s deep-fried conch clams too! Further afield and the TIC offers up uber-romantic honeymoon suites on their own private island, beaches like Malcolm Beach, and the glowing turquoise currents of Chalk Sound to boot!Īlso see: Best things to do in Turks and Caicos The salt-washed jetties of Cockburn Town might be the capital, but it’s laid-back Providenciales that draws all the crowds.Īnd why not? This U-shaped speck of land comes fringed by alabaster-white Grace Bay, punctuated with luxurious five-star resorts, imbued with old pirate carvings from the 19th century, and ringed by coral gardens just waiting for the intrepid SCUBA diver. If it’s beaches you’re after (and let’s face it, what traveler to the Caribbean isn’t?), then Turks and Caicos is perhaps the perfect spot.Ī peppering of over 300 tiny islets in the midst of the Lucayan Archipelago, many of the TCI (as it’s known for short) are little more than just sand banks or rugged pillars of rock that rise above the waters of Caribbean Sea. Mo’Bay, meanwhile, pulses with nightlife and the smells of jerk chicken, while honeymooners kick back on beachside decks and sip Red Stripe to the sunset.
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Then, on the inland hills, visitors can seek out the birthplace of legendary Bob Marley at Nine Mile, or simply opt to flit between the rum bars of Kingston listening to the master and his steel-drum, Rasta off-beats. Start on the Jamaican north shore, where powdery white sands run their way along the coast from the ivory stretches of iconic Seven Mile Beach, past the sheer-cut Negril Cliffs, through the luxury uber-resorts of Montego Bay, around the gushing Dunn’s River Falls, and out to where famous James Bond Beach gives way to the jungles of Ocho Rios in plumes of swaying coconut palms, juniper bushes, mangrove and tamarind.įurther in the east and the mighty Blue Mountains rise in verdant swathes of jungle, Jamaican boas swinging from the vines and the scents of coffee beans wafting along the undergrowth. Let’s have a look at our list of the best Caribbean islands to visit: 1. It’s got everything from Cuban cigarillos to magma-spouting mountains, not to mention countless airbrushed beaches of pristine sand and shimmering turquoise sea. From the alabaster-white beaches of Bermuda in the north to the cactus-topped desert inland of the ABC Islands in the south, the windswept coves and surfing reefs of Dominica in the east to the jungle-dressed tips of Cuba and the Antilles in the west, the Caribbean has long been a treasure trove of things to do and see.Ĭombining adventure with relaxation, hundreds of years of colonial history with enthralling Arawak culture, West Indian spices with European gastronomic flair, honeymooners with hill walkers, budget backpacker haunts with some of the most exclusive hotels on the planet, it’s got something for every type of traveler.