Caribbean

For sailors, there is no sight to match a blue sea raked by a steady breeze but sheltered by a long barrier reef, with a string of islands on the horizon. Which is why the Abaco Islands, stretching for more than 130 miles through the northernmost Bahamas, have long been recognized as one of the world’s favorite winter cruising grounds.

Largest of the many Islands of The Bahamas (104 x 40 miles), mysterious, mangrove-choked Andros is also the least explored, which means that you'll be sharing space with more terns and whistling tree ducks than humans--and maybe even a chickcharnie or two, those mischievous mythical inhabitants that are exclusive to this island. Reputed to be elfin creatures with three fingers, three toes, and red eyes, chickcharnies bring lifelong good luck to anyone lucky enough to see one. Andros even has its own "Loch Ness Monster," a dragon-like sea monster called the Lusca. No wonder the island was c...

Antigua is an island that has always lived by the wind. In the late 18th century, when Horatio Nelson was still a captain, he made the island Great Britain's most important Caribbean naval center. Today the superbly restored dockyard that bears his name at English Harbour is home base for April's Sailing Week, the Caribbean's premier yachting event – and its most boisterous beach party. As for beaches, Antigua's promoters like to say that the island has 365 of them, one for every day of the year. Certainly there are more beaches than you could ever stroll during a long holi...

Aruba is not your typically lush margaritaville. Located deep in the southern Caribbean, just 15 miles off the coast of Venezuela and outside the hurricane belt, its arid interior landscape appears to be straight out of Arizona. But people sure do love it. Like its sister isles of Bonaire and Curaçao (together, the three make up the "ABC" islands), Aruba has a character and architecture defined by its Dutch heritage and its proximity to South America. As a modern vacation spot, this Netherland Antilles island covers all the bases, with deluxe resorts, powdery white sands, 27 dive si...

Barbados, the easternmost of the West Indies, is sometimes called "Little England" for its resolutely British character. Here you can read the cricket headlines over a breakfast of bangers, enjoy afternoon tea at your hotel, even don a jacket for dinner. But those traditions sometimes take on a Bajan twist. Breakfast can also feature fried flying fish, the rum shops function as local versions of British pubs, and the island "tuk bands" feature both drums and pennywhistles. Beyond the busy streets of Bridgetown, this highly developed island offers all the creature comforts of a longstanding ...

You’ve probably know Antigua: resorts aplenty, more than 300 beaches, a favorite with sailors… But what about Barbuda? In the West Indian dual nation of Antigua and Barbuda, she is the forgotten stepchild – and for some sophisticated travelers, that’s all the more reason to count their blessings. Barbuda is actually about half the size of her glamorous sibling (and only a 20-minute flight away). However, as sister islands go, A & B are worlds apart. Barbuda has more than its share of glorious (and virtually deserted) beaches, but most of the island is low and scrubby, and the small populat...

Belize isn't an island – but it should be. When visitors first started coming in numbers to this country just south of Mexico on the Caribbean a decade or so ago, they usually made a quick bead to its offshore islands. The largest of them, Ambergris Caye (pronounce it KEY, as in Key West), has a scattering of mostly low-key resorts popular with divers and fishermen and a town (San Pedro) with sand streets and a lively nightlife of dance clubs. Sound a bit like Margaritaville? Well, Margaritaville should have diving this good. The barrier reef that stretches the length of Belize (and con...

It could be said that Bermuda is the Caribbean for those who don't want to travel to the West Indies. Bermudians, of course, will gently point out that their beloved islands are not in the Caribbean at all but in the Atlantic, about 900 miles east of North Carolina, as the seagull flies. Nonetheless, the place has the look and feel of a Caribbean isle, albeit a very genteel one – like a British-style Hamptons gone tropical. You can certainly do as little as you wish on a Bermudian holiday, and stay in great comfort at long-established resorts or small, intimate hotels. However, for thos...

What we think of as Bimini is actually two separate islands, North and South Bimini, separated by a shallow, narrow channel. North Bimini, the focus of the population and activities, consists of a strip of land 7 miles long and no wider than 700 yards. South Bimini, has a small airstrip and two hotels. As a result, it's silent and rustic, while still offering easy access via water to the North Bimini happenings. Despite the fact that Bimini is the Bahamian island closest to the United States, sitting only 48 miles east of Miami, its easy way of life is reminiscent of the past. The isla...

The words on the license plates are a clue: "Diver's Paradise. " From fantastic snorkeling just off the beach (just imagine being dropped into a tropical fish tank) to deep wall dives, Bonaire offers what is arguably the best diving in the Caribbean. Much of the credit goes to its visionary Marine Park – the island waters have been protected since 1979. Yet Bonaire is no one-hit wonder. Sure, other watersports are popular (windsurfers find steady tradewinds and a conveniently shallow sandy bottom at Lac Bay) and it's not hard to find a secluded beach (the black sands of Boca Cocolis...