Bridgetown, Barbados' UNESCO-listed capital, blends colonial history, rich culture, and white-sand beauty. At The Careenage, pastel buildings overlook the Constitution River, with a plaque marking the city's role in the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Nearby Carlisle Bay offers turquoise water, soft sand, and shipwreck dives with turtles and tropical fish. Explore street food, Broad Street shopping, rum bars on Roebuck Street, and Nidhe Israel Synagogue and museum.

Bequia Island is a rustic, unspoiled Grenadine gem: virgin beaches, quiet bays, rum shacks, and a laid-back feel with only about 6,000 locals. Admiralty Bay is a stunning natural harbor, and tiny Port Elizabeth has a market, turtle sanctuary, and model-ship stalls. Hike Mount Peggy for views, then relax on Princess Margaret Beach or other golden-sand coves. It's a place to slow down, swim, read, and enjoy fresh catch, barbecue, and rum cocktails at beach bars.

Grenada, the "Isle of Spice," blends lush scenery and rich flavor: nutmeg, vanilla, cinnamon and cocoa fill the air at St George's market, while jungled hills, rainforest waterfalls, banana and cocoa groves, and the Grand Etang caldera showcase its fertile interior. The capital features a charming waterfront of Georgian buildings and terracotta roofs, and the coast offers white-sand beaches, turquoise seas, Grand Anse, and hidden palm-fringed coves. Enjoy it all with a local spiced rum punch.

Martinique, the largest Windward Island, lies 4,261 mi (6,817 km) from Paris but feels distinctly French with West Indian flair. Its cuisine blends French and Creole influences. The island is lush with tropical flowers, fruit trees, banana and pineapple fields, sugarcane, mountains, and rain forest. Hiking, snorkeling, scuba diving, tanning, and duty-free shopping are popular, and cruises often visit St-Pierre, buried by ash from Mont Pelée's 1902 eruption.

Deshaies' natural, sheltered harbour-the deepest in the Caribbean-once drew buccaneers, and legend says treasure is still hidden there. Pretty creole houses and a little church make it a postcard-perfect gem. On Basse-Terre, protected land and sea support rich biodiversity: rainforests, hot springs, waterfalls, a volcano, botanical gardens, beaches like Grande Anse, turtles, sunsets, and Antillean cuisine. Since 2011, it's also been the setting for Death in Paradise.

Soufriere, St. Lucia, sits beneath the Pitons, two sharp peaks that are the island's most iconic landmark. Lush hills, turquoise sea, and colorful colonial buildings give the town its postcard look. Founded in 1746, it was named for the nearby Sulphur Springs. Nearby attractions include the Botanical Gardens, Toraille Waterfall, golden beaches, coral reefs with clownfish and angelfish, fresh seafood, and cocoa groves for island chocolate.

St. Kitts is a lush volcanic island of crystal-clear Caribbean waters, reefs, white-sand beaches, rainforests, and a laid-back "limin" vibe. Explore vine-tangled trails, snorkel or dive with turtles and wrecks, or ride Basseterre's scenic sugar train through unspoiled landscapes. In Basseterre, see the Berkeley Memorial and Independence Square, and visit Brimstone Hill Fortress, the "Gibraltar of the West Indies," a UNESCO World Heritage Site with sweeping coastal views.

Philipsburg, on St. Maarten's Dutch side, offers electric-blue Caribbean waters, great scuba/snorkeling, soft-sand beaches, and elevated views. The island is split between French and Dutch sides, a division set by a 1648 truce after Columbus first saw it in 1493. In town, enjoy waterfront strolls, duty-free shopping, sea views, seafood, and guavaberry rum. Nearby Maho Beach is famous for low-flying planes from Princess Juliana Airport.

Gustavia, St Barthelemy's capital, is a chic Caribbean harbor town of red roofs, yachts, boutiques, bars, and French flair. From the lighthouse, you can gaze over waters loved by celebrities and divers. The island was first named by Columbus in 1493, later a Swedish colony, and returned to France in 1878; its heritage remains at Fort Karl above Shell Beach. Nearby are shell-strewn shores, turquoise waters, and quiet gems like Colombier Beach-ideal for a sunset rum cocktail.

Stretching just over 20 km, Anguilla is the discrete gem of the Caribbean. Still to be feature in the spotlight of Caribbean tourism, the white-sanded beaches, pristine waters and palm trees of the island make it a paradisiac destination that regularly attracts the likes of many American actors such as Denzel Washington, Robert de Niro and more recently Brad Pitt. A must-see for the avid traveller.

Miami is a seaport city on Biscayne Bay in southeastern Florida, the "Cruise Capital of the World." The Port of Miami has led global cruise passenger traffic for over 20 years. Florida's second-largest city, it has about 5.5 million in its metro area and is a major center for finance, commerce, culture, media, entertainment, arts, and trade. Its name means "big water"; Spain claimed it in 1566, and it became U.S. territory in 1821. It is very flat, averaging 1.8 m above sea level.