The best Caribbean holidays

No expense spared
Exclusive little Anguilla has the most stunning beaches of any single
Caribbean island I have visited – you are spoilt for choice for
talcum-powder soft, white-sand strands. One of the very best beaches is the
mile-long crescent of Maundays Bay, and stretching along it are the
Moorish-style, domed buildings of secluded Cap Juluca (pictured below; capjuluca.com),
which house the hotel’s minimalist rooms and suites. Booked through Elegant
Resorts: £2,475 b b.

Mid-price
Of the main Caribbean islands, Antigua is a great choice for a
flop-on-the-beach holiday. Adults-only Galley Bay (eliteislandresorts.co.uk),
a well regarded, Caribbean/Tahitian-styled all-inclusive on the west coast,
backs on to an idyllic and tranquil 3/4-mile-long white-sand beach. Most of
the bedrooms, and the restaurants, lie directly behind the beach. Booked
through Tropic Breeze: £1,889 all-inclusive.

On a limited budget
Grenada has one of the Caribbean’s best inexpensive, beachfront hideaways. The
modest and low-key La Sagesse (lasagesse.com),
tucked away on the south coast, sits at one end of a magical, unspoiled long
arc of golden sand, with the section in front of the 12-room hotel shaded by
curvaceous palms. When I last visited, there was not a soul in sight on the
beach. Booked through Just Grenada: £1,190 room only.

Best for romance

Offering barefoot strolls along empty beaches and memorable sunsets, along
with intimate and secluded hotels where you might stay in private cottages
set in lush gardens, or have your own plunge pool, the Caribbean does
romantic holidays very well.

No expense spared
Perched on a hilltop in south-western St Lucia and somewhat resembling a James
Bond lair, futuristic Jade Mountain ((jademountain.com)
is just the place to woo a loved one. Its gigantic, open-plan bedrooms,
called sanctuaries, enjoy mesmerising views through “missing” fourth walls
of the island’s green Pitons thrusting out of the sea, and most have their
own iridescent-tiled infinity plunge pools. The rooms are free of technology
– the idea being you should focus your attention on your partner. Booked
through ITC Classics: £3,169 b b.

Mid-price
Thirty-something couples love intimate Little Arches (littlearches.com),
a pretty-in-salmon-pink hotel on Barbados with something of a hacienda look.
There are just 10 individual bedrooms, with four-poster beds, and Café Luna,
the highly rated and romantic rooftop restaurant, is a big draw. Situated on
the fringes of the south-coast fishing village of Oistins, Little Arches is
ideally located for engaging with local life, with a fantastic beach,
popular with Barbadians, across the lane, and Oistins’ famous Friday night
fish fry a walk away. Booked through Caribtours: £1,399 b b.

On a limited budget
Ti Kaye (tikaye.com) ticks all
the boxes for romance. It occupies a dreamy, isolated, clifftop spot on St
Lucia’s west coast, and guests stay in private, gingerbread cottages with
open-air garden showers, plus a hammock and rocking chairs on sea- and
sunset-facing terraces. Some rooms also have plunge pools. Steps lead down
to the pristine, and often virtually empty, silvery sands of Anse Cochon.
Booked through Kenwood Travel: £1,127, room only.

Best for families

The chief downside for a family holiday in the Caribbean is the cost, with
airfares often cripplingly high over school holiday periods. That said,
accommodation can be good value over the May and October half terms and the
school summer holidays, as these periods fall within the region’s low
season. The other drawback is the long flight: minimise travel time by
choosing an island to which you can fly direct, and preferably non-stop.

Large all-inclusive hotels with lots of facilities and children’s clubs are
the most popular places to stay for families. However, villas can also be
ideal: at many properties you can arrange for the housekeeper or a chef to
prepare meals, and rental rates are much cheaper in the school summer
holidays than the peak winter period. CV Travel (cvtravel.co.uk)
has a large portfolio of Caribbean villas, or search homeaway.co.uk for
direct bookings.

Lastly, consider a villa or apartment within a hotel complex – an arrangement
that offers roomy accommodation and self-catering facilities, plus access to
restaurants, sports facilities and children’s clubs. Ask Caribtours (caribtours.co.uk)
about options.

Prices in this section are for a family of four (children aged 8 and 10), for
a week over May 2013 half term, sharing the cheapest type of suitable
accommodation. Outside school holiday periods, prices should be much lower.

No expense spared
Beaches Turks Caicos (beachesresorts.co.uk)
is a strong contender for the Caribbean’s best, large family-oriented
all-inclusive. The many facilities include a pirate-themed waterpark, and
the hotel sits on the spectacular 12-mile-long Grace Bay beach. Booked
through Kuoni: £7,374 all-inclusive. There’s a similar but smaller and
somewhat cheaper Beaches in Negril, Jamaica.

Mid-price
St Lucia’s Windjammer Landing (windjammer-landing.com)
is a classic example of a best-of-both-worlds “villa hotel”. Much of the
accommodation in the hilly complex comes in the form of villas and suites
with kitchens, and there are several good restaurants, a host of watersports
and a well-regarded children’s club for 4-12 year olds. Booked through
Caribtours: £4,439 room only in a One Bedroom Villa.

The excellent value Dreams Palm Beach Punta Cana (dreamsresorts.com)
is my pick for families of the many large all-inclusives in Punta Cana, the
Dominican Republic’s main resort. It’s on a lovely stretch of reef-protected
beach, the food is good for an all-inclusive (there are no restrictions on
eating in the à la carte restaurants), clubs are available for children from
three to 17 years old, and evening entertainment includes movies on the
beach. Booked through First Choice: £4,336 all-inclusive.

Beach View (beachviewbarbados.com)
is an excellent choice for families on Barbados, and, given its prime
west-coast location, offers great value. It is made up of three dozen smart
and spacious apartments/suites with full kitchens, and a super pool area,
with a large adult and children’s pool.

Across the busy road lies the sea, with Paynes Bay beach, one of the island’s
best, a couple of minutes’ stroll away. Booked through Virgin Holidays:
£3,670, room only.

On a limited budget
If I ever make it to Grenada with my family, I will tempted to book into Lance
aux Epines Cottages (laecottages.com).
The 11 plain but spacious, homely and well-equipped cottages and apartments
are spread over three acres of mature gardens that back directly on to a
pretty, peaceful and well protected sandy beach at the rear of yacht-filled
Prickly Bay. Booked direct, and with British Airways flights: £3,400
self-catering in a two-bedroom apartment.

Best for watersports

Parts of the Caribbean offer outstanding sailing and diving, and the waters
off a number of islands are ideal for windsurfing and kite-surfing. Many
hotels provide watersports facilities, with non-motorised ones typically
included in the rates.

No expense spared
Most diving experts rate the Cayman Islands as the Caribbean’s number one
destination for underwater explorations. The waters off sleepy Little
Cayman, which include Bloody Bay Marine Park and its famous Bloody Bay Wall
(a 6,000ft sheer drop), are particularly special. Booked through Dive
Worldwide, £2,795 for six nights full board at the Little Cayman Beach
Resort, 10 dives and a stopover night on Grand Cayman.

Mid-price
Sunsail has yacht charters from six Caribbean bases, including in the British
Virgin Islands – arguably the best, relatively easy sailing in the
Caribbean, with easy navigation and short hops between islands. In the BVI,
Sunsail also offers flotilla holidays, travelling in a group of yachts
headed by a lead crew: £1,515 per person based on four sharing a Sunsail 36i
yacht, including flights and transfers. Novices can gain experience
beforehand at a sailing school in Sunsail’s Tortola base.

On a limited budget
Windsurfing and kite-surfing are the raison d’être for Cabarete, a laid-back,
cosmopolitan resort on the Dominican Republic’s north coast. The wind
conditions and calm, reef-protected waters are near perfect for the
watersports, for all levels of ability. Booked through Sportif: £925
self-catering at La Punta Apartments; one week’s windsurf or kite-surf hire
£175 extra, or £305 with five days’ instruction also included.

Best for food

As a generalisation, the Caribbean isn’t a holiday destination renowned for
its gastronomy, but a few islands are exceptions. Barbados, St Barths and
Anguilla all have a wide choice of quality, upmarket restaurants. I’ve also
eaten very well recently on St Lucia, most notably at Boucan by Hotel
Chocolat (hotelchocolat.com/uk/boucan).

No expense spared
The ultra-stylish little Gallic outpost of St Barths has a slew of high-end
French restaurants, with local seafood to the fore but foie gras and other
provisions flown in from Paris. Under the direction of famous Alsace chef
Jean-Georges Vongerichten, the restaurants at the glamorous Eden Rock (edenrockhotel.com)
serve some of the island’s best food. Booked through Carrier: £2,575 b
b.

On a limited budget
Bayfield House (bayfieldbarbados.com),
an immaculate, English-run guesthouse in a 1930s plantation-style home,
offers some of the best-value accommodation near Barbados’ upmarket west
coast: low season room rates start at around £100 a night, including
excellent breakfasts. The savings made on your accommodation can be spent on
meals out at the island’s many good (and pricey) restaurants. Booked direct,
and with British Airways flights: £1,007 bb.

Best for partying

Nights out in the Caribbean can be very lively. Some islands, such as Barbados
and St Lucia, lay on weekly street parties that are equally popular with
locals and tourists. You may want to coincide your holiday with a carnival,
which take place at different times of the year on different islands.

No expense spared
The Caribbean’s most famous and riotous carnival is held in Trinidad’s
capital, Port of Spain. Geodyssey’s Carnival Party Marathon package includes
tickets to the finals of the Steelpan and Carnival King and Queen
competitions, transfers to the main parades and Children’s Carnival, and a
recovery trip to a beach. Based on six nights, February 28 to March 6 2014,
at the Hilton Trinidad, £2,785 b b. Book soon, as rooms over the
carnival will fill up, and airline seat prices will rise.

Mid-price
Of Jamaica’s main resorts, Negril has the best beach and most enjoyable bar
scene, with a big choice of watering holes behind the beach and on the rocks
of the West End. Some bars are laid back, others, like Rick’s Cafe, where
daredevil exhibitionists dive off the cliffs, party-central affairs. The
most characterful hotel on the beach is Country Country (countrynegril.com),
a gathering of gingerbread cottages. Booked through Discover Jamaica: £1,399
b b.

On a limited budget
After dark, things get lively along the strip of bars and clubs in Rodney Bay
Village, St Lucia’s only proper resort. Moreover, every Friday night, the
nearby fishing village of Gros Islet holds a jump up (street party) until
the small hours, with Caribbean beats belting out of loudspeakers, and
stalls selling beer, home brews and food. Stay at the great value Bay
Gardens Beach Resort (baygardensbeachresort.com),
on Reduit Beach (St Lucia’s best). Booked through Trailfinders: £999, room
only.

Best for culture and history

The once-acquisitive Spanish, British, French and Dutch have left a complex
and visible colonial heritage on many islands, and there is much to be
absorbed in the countries’ native, Creole cultures too. As well as the
recommendations below, Antigua, Barbados and Jamaica have some fascinating
colonial-era sights, and Puerto Rico is good for touring.

No expense spared
A good way to immerse yourself in the Caribbean’s British colonial past is to
stay in historic plantation houses. Several of the best are on the sister
islands of St Kitts and Nevis. Booked through Tropic Breeze, four nights
room only at Ottley’s Plantation Inn (ottleys.com)
on St Kitts, then three nights full board at Nevis’ Nisbet Plantation Beach
Club (nisbetplantation.com),
once the home of Nelson’s wife Fanny Nisbet, costs £1,629. GUIDES

Mid-price
With its Spanish colonial architecture, revolutionary history, communist
peculiarities and ubiquitous live music, Cuba is the most culturally
rewarding Caribbean country. Explore has one of the best selections of
guided, small-group Cuban tours. A week taking in Havana, Viñales valley
(the island’s scenic tobacco heartland), the Bay of Pigs, the time-warped
colonial town of Trinidad and Che Guevara’s mausoleum costs £1,285 b
b in late November.

On a limited budget
To keep costs down, visit just Havana. The only Caribbean city worthy of a
city break offers a hugely atmospheric old town, absorbing museums,
world-class ballet and cabaret shows, and a great deal else besides. Casas
particulares (private homes) are the cheapest places to stay. Cuba Direct
can book packages staying in some good-quality casas, checked out by the
company: in an en-suite room in an Old Havana casa, £767 b b.

Best for nature

The exotic natural world is all around you in the Caribbean. Many hotels have
lovely tropical gardens; hummingbirds may make an appearance at breakfast;
and on some islands such as St Lucia, Grenada and St Vincent, you can make
fairly easy treks in to the rainforest. But if nature is to be your prime
focus, I’d head for Dominica, or Trinidad and Tobago.

Mid-price
Mountainous, coated in rainforest, with spectacular waterfalls and a so-called
boiling lake, Dominica’s awesome, verdant interior cries out to be explored
– and the island is criss-crossed with hiking trails. Booked through MotMot
Travel, a week staying in three of Dominica’s most characterful,
eco-oriented guesthouses, plus a whale watching trip – the waters off the
island are among the best in the Caribbean for this – and birdwatching tour,
costs £1,965 half board.

On a limited budget
Thanks to their proximity to South America and the diversity of habitats, the
twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago offer an incredibly diverse birdlife.
MotMot Travel can tailor-make trips to the best places to view the birds.
Four nights at Trinidad’s Asa Wright Nature Centre, an ex-plantation house
turned into world-famous retreat for birdwatchers, with excursions to see
oilbirds and scarlet ibis, then three nights at Tobago’s Blue Waters Inn,
with a boat trip to nearby Little Tobago seabird sanctuary, costs £1,350,
including most meals.

Best for pampering

For spa facilities and treatments, hotels in the Caribbean are generally not
on par with their Indian Ocean and Asian rivals. However, there are
exceptions. As well as the suggestions listed below, the spas at Sandy Lane
and the Coral Reef Club on Barbados, and at Sugar Beach on St Lucia (with
treehouse treatment rooms), are particularly impressive.

No expense spared
The serene, award-winning spa at Parrot Cay (comohotels.com/parrotcay),
an exclusive, private island getaway in the Turks and Caicos favoured by
A-list celebrities, is usually cited as the Caribbean’s best. At the hotel’s
COMO Shambhala Retreat, you can sign up for a wide range of Asian-inspired
treatments, join complimentary yoga and Pilates classes, and relax in the
“Jacuzzi garden”. Booked through Elegant Resorts: £2,195 bb.

Mid-price
The cost of a break at St Lucia’s BodyHoliday (thebodyholiday.com)
may look more in the no-expense-spared than mid-price range. However, an
impressive array of activities is covered in the all-inclusive rates,
including a spa treatment each day in the expansive Wellness Centre, as well
as yoga, Pilates and tai chi sessions, plus many sports. It’s a great choice
for solo travellers. Booked through Tropical Sky: £2,049 all-inclusive.

On a limited budget
Jakes (jakeshotel.com) is
a laid back, rustic-chic hotel on Jamaica’s south coast. Its natural-feeling
Driftwood Spa opens on to, and is yards away from, the ocean, and treatments
use ingredients from the local vicinity. Yoga is an important feature at
Jakes: the open-air yoga deck on the spa’s roof is a lovely spot, and yoga
weeks are offered at certain times of the year. Booked through Tropic
Breeze: £1,229 room only.

Best for escapism

For utter escapism at a price, you could head to a hotel on its own island:
several are in St Vincent in the Grenadines, and other examples include
Peter Island in the British Virgin Islands, and Parrot Cay (see above). But
there are countless, more affordable opportunities to get away from it all
in the Caribbean, with virtually every island having secluded places to
stay.

No expense spared
Petit St Vincent (petitstvincent.com)
is a private, 115-acre splodge of green in the Grenadines, surrounded by two
miles of white-sand beaches. Scattered over the beaches, hillsides and
cliffs are 22 luxurious cottages, offering privacy and separation from the
outside world: none has Internet access, TV or a phone (room service is
summoned with a flag system). Booked through Carrier: £3,760 full board.

Mid-price
Also in St Vincent and the Grenadines and reached by a small plane from
Barbados or ferry from St Vincent, the laid-back little island of Bequia
offers escapism without isolation. Its best hotel, the smart Bequia Beach
Hotel (bequiabeach.com),
sits right on Friendship Bay beach, a long, beautiful and tranquil arc of
golden sand. Booked through Just Bequia: £1,595 b b.

On a limited budget
Barbados is one of the busier and more built-up Caribbean islands. But even
here you can escape the crowds, by basing yourself over on the scenic and
undeveloped east coast. Mellow Sea-U Guest House (seaubarbados.com),
near Bathsheba’s stunning, wave-pummelled beach, offers good looking and
great-value accommodation. Booked direct, and with British Airways flights:
£1,008 b b.

Other contacts

Caribtours (020 7751 0660; caribtours.co.uk);
Carrier (0161 492 1354; carrier.co.uk);
Cuba Direct (020 7148 3042; cubadirect.co.uk);
Discover Jamaica (020 7078 7518; discoverjamaica.co.uk);
Dive Worldwide (0845 130 6980; diveworldwide.com);
Elegant Resorts (01244 897516; elegantresorts.co.uk);
Explore (0845 291 4541; explore.co.uk);
First Choice (0844 871 1604; firstchoice.co.uk);
Geodyssey (020 7281 7788; geodyssey.co.uk);
ITC Classics (01244 355527; itcclassics.co.uk);
Just Bequia (01373 814244; justbequia.co.uk);
Just Grenada (01373 814214; justgrenada.co.uk);
Kenwood Travel (020 7749 9220; kenwoodtravel.co.uk);
Kuoni (01306 747008; kuoni.co.uk);
MotMot Travel (01327 359622; motmottravel.com);
Sportif (01273 844919; sportif.travel);
Sunsail (0845 868 0476; sunsail.co.uk);
Trailfinders (020 7368 1200; trailfinders.com);
Tropical Sky (0843 249 5361; tropicalsky.co.uk);
Tropic Breeze (01752 880880; tropicbreeze.co.uk);
Virgin Holidays (0844 557 4321; virginholidays.co.uk).

Read more

Caribbean travel guide
With more than 700 islands to choose from, the Caribbean caters for all
tastes. Our destination expert Fred Mawer picks the best and outlines what
each has to offer.

What’s new in the Caribbean?
Fred Mawer offers an update for the Caribbean, including new flights, hotels
and tours

Cuba: at home on another planet
Life on board a superyacht
Anguilla on a budget
Miranda’s Caribbean fling
The best golf courses in the Caribbean
Jamaica: the two sides of Negril
St Kitts: back to my island roots