Caribbean Mystique

San Juan, the capital and most populous city of Puerto Rico, is the oldest city on US territory. It is the Caribbean commercial hub, best known for its beautifully restored historic district of Old San Juan. It is situated on a rocky peninsula girded by thick walls jutting into the crashing Atlantic surf. Read more about San Juan, Puerto Rico

Tortola is the largest and most populated of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that forms part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. Its capital is Road Town, situated on a pleasant harbour. Interestingly, Columbus noted the island during his second voyage. Read more about Tortola, Virgin Islands (British)

Basseterre is located on the SW coast of St Kitts Island in the Leeward Islands group, and is one of the oldest towns in the Eastern Caribbean. Subsequently, it is very well known for its variety of architectural styles and fascinating buildings, set against dense tropical forests and a huge dormant volcano. The domed colonial Treasury Building, or customs house, is a reminder of the value of these islands as sugar colonies. Read more about Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis

St John’s, the capital of the nation of Antigua and Barbuda (two islands) in the Caribbean, sits on the NW coast of the tropical island of Antigua that is home to magnificent beaches. St John's was hit significantly by Hurricane Irma (Sep 2017) but tourist infrastructure remained intact. St John’s reflects its British heritage with such edifices as Fort Barrington overlooking the shoreline, and 17th C Fort James. Read more about St John's, Antigua and Barbuda

Saint-Barthelemy (St Bart’s) is a French island located in the Caribbean among the Leeward Islands. St Bart’s has long been considered a playground of the rich and famous, and is known for its beautiful pristine world class beaches, gourmet dining in chic restaurants, and duty free high-end designer shopping. Two interesting fact are: firstly, that the population is nearly entirely of European ancestry, and secondly that the island - consisting principally cliffs and hills - has no rivers or springs. Read more about St Bart's, Guadeloupe

The island is shared in two parts as: the northern part Saint-Martin (a French overseas collectivity) and southern part Sint Maarten (of the Kingdom of the Netherlands): hence its name St-Martin / St Maarten. It lies in the NE Caribbean, located 300 km E of Puerto Rico. This tiny island is an extremely popular holiday and duty-free shopping destination famous for its variety of 37 palm-treed beaches that include salt-water ponds. Read more about St Martin (Philipsburg), Sint Maarten (Dutch part)

Charlotte Amalie is the capital and largest city of the US Virgin Islands, located on the island of Saint Thomas. It is famous as a deep-water harbor that was once a haven for pirates. Indeed, Blackbeard's Castle, named after the notorious pirate of the same name, is one of five National Historic Landmarks in the U.S. Read more about Charlotte Amalie, Virgin Islands (U.S.)

Casa de Campo is a relatively new ‘Resort-port’ in the Dominican Republic, which is entirely geared to the Caso de Campo Resort, rather than an existing town. It is situated on the eastern side of Hispaniola, an island that it shares with Haiti. This port, still in its infancy in terms of development, is somewhat controversial because most of the more interesting options are available only through ships' shore excursions, and hence there's a limited range of activities for independent travellers. Read more about Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic

The port city of Nassau, which dominates the entire island of New Providence, is the capital of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, and interestingly is home to over 70 percent of the country’s population. It is well known for being an historical stronghold of pirates with connections to the infamous Blackbeard. A visit to the Pirates of Nassau Museum provides the details. Read more about Nassau, Bahamas

Miami, located on the Atlantic coast at the southern tip of Florida, where outdoor sports are open all seasons and dress is casual, is a melting pot of cultures. Miami and Miami Beach are in effect two distinctly different cities, as Miami Beach is almost exclusively tourist orientated, while Miami is a cosmopolitan city with a distinctly Latin American flavour. Don’t miss the South Beach section where fashion designer Gianni Versace lived and died that is one of the trendiest neighbourhoods in the world. Read more about Miami, USA