The first night I ever spent in the Caribbean, 25 years ago, was in a small beach resort in Jamaica with my wife and two young children. Around 2am we heard a fire alarm go off and immediately rushed out of our room in a panic.
‘But there’s no fire,’ a security guard assured us. ‘So what’s all that loud ringing?’ I asked. ‘It’s the sound of tree frogs,’ he explained with a smile, ‘calling for a mate’.
True story – and since then I’ve had the good fortune to visit 27 Caribbean islands and territories from the Bahamas to Tobago via Aruba, including forgotten corners such as St Eustatius, Montserrat and Bonaire.
Every time I step off the plane into that comforting warmth I relish the tropical colour, lilting rhythms and genuine smiles with which travellers are welcomed. Even after making some fifty trips, I still marvel at the brilliant experiences the islands offer, from snorkelling with turtles and climbing volcanoes to boozy lobster lunches and dinner under the stars where you end up dancing with the hotel staff.
Every winter I’m asked where is the best place to go in a charismatic region that offers much more variety than we realise, from idyllic coral cayes to majestic, rainforest-cloaked mountains and cultural flavours that include French, Spanish, Dutch, Irish and Creole. While every island has its charms, these are my all-time faves.
OLD SCHOOL NEVIS
In the 16 years I’ve been visiting, Nevis has barely changed and is still home to characterful, family-run hotels lost in the hills
For a sense of how the Caribbean was before the mega-cruise ships and 600-room all-inclusive resorts moved in, jump on a flight to St Kitts then take the short boat transfer across to its quieter sister isle.
In the 16 years I’ve been visiting, Nevis has barely changed and is still home to characterful, family-run hotels lost in the hills, such as The Hermitage and Montpelier Plantation, that have disappeared elsewhere.
The island has pedigree – Horatio Nelson was married here in 1787 and Diana, Princess of Wales, visited with the young princes in 1992 – while the crowning glory is the magnificent, 3,232ft-high Nevis Peak, which can be climbed (nevisisland.com).
MY TIP: Drop in on the Friday night roadside barbecue on the outskirts of the capital, Charlestown. Organised by the island Water Department, it’s a good place to meet locals, visitors and expats over some tangy jerk ribs.
BOOK IT: Seven nights at Montpelier Plantation & Beach from £2,225pp B&B, including British Airways flights from Gatwick on March 11 and transfers. Book by March 1 (juststkittsnevis.co.uk).
AUTHENTIC GRENADA
In Grenada base yourself beside the two miles of well-maintained sands at Grand Anse Beach
If you like to explore by hire car or excursions choose this safe and scenic ‘Spice Island’. Grenada – which is a trio of isles – has embraced tourism but not sold out to it.
People still have time for a chat and the Grenadians genuinely want you to enjoy their homeland, which has a tremendous, mountainous interior where they cultivate spices, tropical fruits and the cacao beans used to create award-winning organic chocolate.
Base yourself beside the two miles of well-maintained sands at Grande Anse Beach, where options include the luxury all-inclusive Spice Island Beach Resort and, just behind it, the more affordable Blue Horizons Garden Resort.
You can walk to bars, shops and restaurants and take a bus into St George’s, one of the prettiest capitals in the Caribbean.
MY TIP: Visit the 400-acre Belmont Estate in St Patrick to learn about spices and chocolate, and don’t miss the waterwheel-powered River Antoine rum distillery, founded in 1785.
BOOK IT: Seven nights at Spice Island Beach Resort from £5,440pp all-inclusive, including Virgin Atlantic flights from Heathrow on March 4 and transfers. Book by February 15 (justgrenada.co.uk).
STRESS-FREE ANTIGUA
The island has good beaches and is dominated by all-inclusives that run the full range from the cheap and cheerful to dress-for-dinner
For an easy-peasy, fly-and-flop holiday, pick Antigua. There are plentiful flights that only take eight hours and a bit, and within minutes of arriving you’re in holiday mode.
The island has good beaches and is dominated by all-inclusives that run the full range from the cheap and cheerful Jolly Beach Resort to dress-for-dinner Curtain Bluff with water-skiing and caviar spa treatments.
Some are isolated, so look at a map before booking, but nowhere on the island is more than a 45-minute drive away.
English Harbour is the star attraction with its World Heritage-listed Nelson’s Dockyard, a Georgian-era naval docks that celebrates its 350th anniversary this year (visitantiguabarbuda.com).
MY TIP: Go for a lazy fish lunch on the tiny island of Little Jumby where a Caribbean outpost of The Hut restaurant, well-known on the Isle of Wight, opened in November (thehutlittlejumby.com).
BOOK IT: Seven nights at The Inn at English Harbour from £4,219pp half-board, including Virgin Atlantic flights from Heathrow on March 20 and transfers (tropicalsky.co.uk).
KICK BACK ON ANGUILLA
There’s 33 beaches on this upmarket isle that’s a mere 16 miles long with a thriving restaurant scene but no great sights to see
In my view this low-lying British Overseas Territory has the best beaches in the Caribbean, fringed with clean, white sands and turquoise waters that can’t fail to hit the holiday spot.
There’s 33 on this upmarket isle that’s a mere 16 miles long with a thriving restaurant scene but no great sights to see. That means you’re free to totally relax, enjoying romantic downtime and soul-boosting spa treatments in superlative hotels like Belmond Cap Juluca and Malliouhana.
If you’re the active type, the sporty Aurora Anguilla Resort has a two-mile beachfront, Greg Norman-designed golf course and an entertainment park with water slides, pickleball and a climbing wall (ivisitanguilla.com).
MY TIP: Book a trip to Prickly Pear Cay for a lobster lunch sailing aboard Tradition, a 45-year-old hand-crafted sailing boat that’s been immaculately restored (tradition-sailing.com).
BOOK IT: Seven nights at Malliouhana from £6,540pp B&B, including Air France flights from Heathrow to St Maarten via Paris on March 3, and transfers (inspiringtravel.co.uk).
VIBRANT JAMAICA
Everyone flies in for the beaches, but it’s the magnificent scenery inland that captivates me
The largest English-speaking island in the Caribbean has a dynamic spirit that has given the world iconic figures as varied as Bob Marley, Usain Bolt and, via author Ian Fleming who resided there, James Bond.
Everyone flies in for the beaches, but it’s the magnificent scenery inland that captivates me, including the World Heritage-listed Blue and John Crow Mountains which soar to 7,402ft and produce an outstandingly mellow coffee.
The rum’s pretty good too, while Jamaican cuisine is a spicy feast of jerk chicken, beef patties and goat curry followed by desserts made with mango, pineapple and coconut (visitjamaica.com).
MY TIP: To see the best of this 146-mile-long island stay in two or three places including the Blue Mountains. Alternatively, book guided excursions through your resort or with Island Routes (islandroutes.com).
BOOK IT: A nine-night small group tour costs from £2,485pp, departing Kingston on March 19 and including accommodation, transport, activities and breakfast. Flights extra (explore.co.uk).
Don’t bother with…
ST MAARTEN
It’s one of the most densely populated places in the Caribbean and unashamedly commercial with casinos, timeshare resorts and high-rise condos
The Dutch half of an island shared with French-speaking St Martin is a useful transport hub, served by flights from Amsterdam and Paris, but there’s no need to linger.
It’s one of the most densely populated places in the Caribbean and unashamedly commercial with casinos, timeshare resorts and high-rise condos.
If you’re into duty-free shops and tacky souvenirs (windmills, pirate hats, T-shirts saying ‘I’m on a rum diet and lost three days’) then fine.
If not, follow local advice to ‘stay on the French side, party on the Dutch side’.
NASSAU
Nassau is one of the busiest cruise ports in the world and home to the monster resort complexes Baha Mar
The Bahamas is a dreamy sprinkling of some 700 islands well worth visiting – but don’t waste precious holiday time in this international gateway on New Providence.
Nassau is one of the busiest cruise ports in the world and home to the monster resort complexes Baha Mar, with over two thousand rooms, and Atlantis Paradise Island with over three thousand.
Instead, push straight on to quieter escapes like Harbour Island with its bewitching, three-mile long Pink Sand Beach.
