Caribbean attractions

Half moon-shaped Sun Bay Beach on Vieques boasts palm-lined sands, clear turquoise waters, and plenty of room for relaxing. As one of the most accessible beaches on this Puerto Rican island—and the only one with public facilities—it’s a popular spot for day-trippers. Plus, its calm waters with gentle waves make it ideal for swimming, especially at its far eastern end.

Rising from the center of St. Maarten/St. Martin, Pic Paradis (Peak Paradise) is the island’s highest point as well as its wettest, which ensures the vegetation is lush and green year-round. Climb to the 1,391-foot (424-meter) summit for sweeping views of Orient Bay, Philipsburg, Simpson Bay Lagoon, Marigot, and the neighboring islands.

The former home of explorer and governor of Puerto Rico Juan Ponce de Léon, Casa Ponce de Léon is a simple stone building with an important place in history. Visitors come to travel over 500 years back in time to the days of great oceanic exploration and see an important landmark in the history of the Americas.

Salt Cay island is the smallest of the main inhabited Turks and Caicos Islands. At only 2 square miles (around 7 square kilometers) with no built-up tourist hotels or resorts, it attracts visitors hoping for something a little more adventurous than the typical Caribbean holiday, but with all the laid-back charm of the region.

Located just outside Falmouth, Jamaica Blue Waters Beach Club is a private beach experience close to the cruise port. Featuring a pretty white-sand beach, a designated swim area, food and drink options, along with music and entertainment, the beach club offers an easy way to enjoy a relaxing day by the water.

Situated between Rendezvous Beach and Maunday’s Bay in Anguilla’s West End, Cove Bay is one of the few beaches on the island with no resort development. As such, it attracts travelers wanting a quiet alternative to some of the busier beaches on the island.

A ship transformed into a restaurant and entertainment hub, D-Boat SXM draws visitors to the island of St. Maarten who come to eat, drink, and enjoy the Caribbean coastline from this unique floating viewpoint.

Located behind the Dominica Museum in Roseau, this atmospheric covered market along the seafront sells fresh fruits, spices, handmade knickknacks, and typical tourist souvenirs and t-shirts. Carrying a history of over 300 years, the market was the setting for important political meetings, the center of the island’s colonial slave trade, and where executions were carried out.

At only 10 miles (15 kilometers) long by 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) wide, Anegada, one of the British Virgin Islands, is affectionately referred to as the “drowned land” for its numerous salt ponds and its sunken feel, sitting just above sea level. Visitors enjoy miles of white sandy beaches and may even spot the curious-looking pink Caribbean flamingo, among other wildlife.

This boardwalk winds along the Dominican Republic’s Samaná Bay, where tourists, locals, artists, and musicians gather to relax near the shoreline and take in epic views of the island’s striking blue horizon. Lively outdoor cafes serving strong brews and local cuisine and interesting shops selling handmade items line this strip, a popular destination for travelers to Samaná.

La Flor Dominicana produces some of the Dominican Republic’s most well-known cigars at their factory in La Romana. Visitors get a behind-the-scenes look at how tobacco plants are transformed into cigars, from leaf sorting and stripping to hand-rolling, aging, fermenting, and packing.

For one of the Bahamas’ best-smelling—souvenirs, nowhere compares to the Freeport Perfume Factory. Housed in a bubblegum-pink Bahamian mansion, you can blend and bottle your own island fragrances here. Of course, you can also choose from the factory’s most successful scents, such as Pink Pearl and Bahama Blue.

The Rand Nature Centre sits on 100 acres (40 hectares) of beautifully preserved land—home to hundreds of bird species, including a large number of wintering northern songbirds. In addition to the plentiful birds, the center has an extensive network of trails winding past pine barrens, coppices, wildlife ponds, and a native plant arboretum.

Spanning 494 acres (200 hectares), the Dr. Rafael María Moscoso Botanic Garden—or National Botanical Garden—is the largest botanical garden in the Caribbean. Named after the first Dominican botanist to catalog the island’s flora, the garden is home to nearly 70,000 different species of plants and flowers.

Lucaya Harbor serves as the official point of entry for Grand Bahama Island. This modern coastal suburb of Freeport appeals with its walkable collection of shops and restaurants, many centered on the open-air Port Lucaya Marketplace, which regularly features live music in Count Basie Square.

The tiny Caribbean island of Barbuda has an outsize claim to its name: the Frigate Bird Sanctuary, home to the largest population of frigatebirds in the Western Hemisphere. Situated within Codrington Lagoon National Park’s mangrove forests, the 5,000-bird-strong colony is most popular in the winter when the male birds’ unique mating ritual is on full display.

Famed for being the monument that gave Bridgetown its name, Chamberlain Bridge crosses the Constitution River in Barbados' capital city. This pedestrian-only bridge was once a swing bridge, but was replaced with the current lift bridge in 2006 to allow boats to pass underneath to reach the inner harbor during storms.

Emperor Valley Zoo is Trinidad and Tobago’s largest zoo, located north of the Queen’s Park Savannah on the island of Trinidad. The zoo houses familiar animals, such as lions and giraffes, and also showcases flora and fauna unique to the area, including crab-eating raccoons, boa constrictors, and Trinidad motmots—an endemic bird species.

Mercado Santurce is a great place to get a feel for San Juan's culinary scene. Here you can see vendors hawking everything from fruits and veggies to hand-held bites and other prepared foods, and see where many of the city's restaurants source their produce. In the evenings, the surrounding Placita de Santurce comes to life with street-food vendors and crowds.

As the capital of French St. Martin, Marigot is a unique fusion of French and West Indian culture, alive in the ambiance, cafes, bakeries, wine shops, and the Creole gingerbread houses along Rue de la République. History buffs gravitate to Fort Louis, built in 1789 to overlook Marigot Bay.

Located on the narrowest part of Eleuthera, the Glass Window Bridge is a concrete bridge that forms the top of a window-like gap between cliffs that separate Gregory Town and Upper Bogue. On one side, you can see the dark blue waters of the Atlantic, and on the other, the calm turquoise waters of the Eleuthera Blight.

Located in the campus of Puerto Rico University in San Juan, the Museum of History, Anthropology and Art possesses one of the most important archaeological collections in the Caribbean, including a vast array of artifacts from the island’s indigenous Taino people. Rounding out the displays are notable works by Puerto Rican painters Francisco Oller and José Campeche.

The Yaque del Norte is the longest river in the Dominican Republic and a popular destination for whitewater rafting. Running through the beautiful scenery of the Cordillera Central mountains, the river offers a combination of thrill-seeking and great views.

In the center of northern Trinidad is the town of Arima, less than an hour's drive or bus ride from Port of Spain. Nestled in the foothills of the island’s Northern Range, Arima is a good jumping-off point for visiting natural areas in the northeastern part of the island. While you’re in town, visit such destinations as the Asa Wright Nature Centre and the nearby Brasso Seco Community Centre, a popular base for waterfall hikes and birdwatching trips.

In the heart of the Basse-Terre rainforest, Guadeloupe Zoo feels more like a jungle adventure than a zoo visit. You can walk across treetop canopies while observing exotic birds, reptiles, monkeys, and big cats. There are over 450 animals to discover; around 85 species are native and endangered. There’s also an insectarium and more than 1,000 plant species.

One of the Caribbean’s great snorkeling destinations, Creole Rock is a small rocky outcropping just off St. Martin’s northern coast. Teaming with the life above and under the sea, the reef is part of a protected marine reserve. It’s also an important bird rookery where pelicans and brown boobies come to lay their eggs.

Nestled in the hills of central Dominican Republic, the town of Bonao rewards visitors who venture off the tourist path. Known for its traditional arts and culture, and excellent museums, the town is also surrounded by lush green hills dotted with rivers, streams, and waterfalls.

Located directly east of Port of Spain, the town of Sangre Grande is the economic hub of northeastern Trinidad and is a good base for visiting nearby attractions in the region by the same name. It is a particularly idyllic destination for nature lovers, as it has ample opportunities to hike, see howler monkeys in the wild, or do a bit of birdwatching.

At the entrance of Montego Bay’s famed Hip Strip, the family-friendly Aquasol offers more than just pristine snorkeling and lazy sunbathing. Here, travelers looking for more active beach time can enjoy water- and land-based fun, from banana boat rides, jet-skiing, kayaking, and glass-bottom boat trips to go-karts, tennis, and volleyball.

One of the lesser developed beaches of St. Kitt’s southeast peninsula, tranquil Turtle Beach is a lovely little stretch of sand, boasting opportunities to spot monkeys playing in the trees and swim with a view of the green mountains of Nevis. Snorkelers come here to observe the protected coral reef teaming with fish.