Belize

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 continues south into Honduran waters) is the Caribbean's equivalent of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. It makes for incredible diving, sailing, kayaking, and fishing, and a good place to start exploring it underwater is the Hol Chan Marine Reserve near San Pedro. With Ambergris as a base, it's easy to make dive trips to the famed Blue Hole at Lighthouse Reef and to the Turneffe Islands.

And it's also an easy day trip to the nearby mainland, where the jungles are home to jaguars, birds beyond belief, and marvelous Mayan ruins – and you can still be back on the island to watch the sunset from your favorite bar.