ISLAND HOPPING
Main picture, opposite: looking towards the South East Peninsula on St. Kitts Left, beached in Barbados, a Jamaican raft and the warm waters of Puerto Rico
HOT TIP
Hop to it... Travellers wanting to explore will fi nd an endless array
of options – but the main tip is to plan your trip from “gateway” islands that have direct fl ights from the UK, such as Barbados, Antigua, Jamaica, Saint Lucia and Grenada.
experience than fl ying. But as the Caribbean covers such a vast area, with long distances between some islands, ferries only operate on certain routes. The British Virgin Islands also has a good network of ferries and water taxis, which makes it easy to combine stays on the main islands of Tortola or Virgin Gorda with smaller isles such as Jost Van Dyke or Anegada. You could even hop over to the US Virgin Islands of St. John, St. Croix or St. Thomas next door, either for the day or a longer stay. For the best way to explore these islands, combine a hotel stay with a few days on a yacht to fl oat around in sybaritic leisure.
“Travellers who prefer to stay put can take advantage of numerous day trips, from Anguilla to St. Maarten for a day’s shopping; from the BVI’s to St. Thomas in the UVIs for browsing its boutiques”
The same can be said for the Grenadines, where explorers can spend a few days on St Vincent at the northern end of the chain before heading southwards by plane, ferry or yacht to smaller Grenadine islands, such as Bequia, Mustique or Canouan. Another smaller island chain is the Dutch ABC islands where travellers can fl y between all three to sample the world-class diving of Bonaire or soak up the Dutch architectural heritage of Curaçao. Travellers to Antigua can jump on the ferry to visit its smaller, quieter sister island Barbuda, either for the day or longer. There are also fl ights and ferries from Antigua to the Irish-infl uenced outpost of Montserrat, more famous now for its active volcano.
St. Kitts and its quieter sister Nevis make another good combination, with ferry services between them, as do Trinidad and Tobago. These two islands may only be a 20-minute
fl ight apart, or two-and-a-half hours by ferry, but they are like chalk and cheese with Trinidad a commercialised and well-developed hub, and Tobago an unspoilt gem, famous for both its beauty and its relaxed pace of life
In the French Caribbean, Guadeloupe can be combined with its offshore islands including La Desirade, which provide a more rustic contrast. Travellers who prefer to stay put can take advantage of the many day trips, from Anguilla to St. Maarten for shopping; from the British Virgin Islands to St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands for boutique browsing; or from St. Vincent to Mustique to see where the royals play. From St. Martin visitors can connect by plane or boat to St. Eustatius.
From Grenada, hop to its quieter sister islands Carriacou or Petite Martinique or from Saint Lucia take the regular Express des Illes ferry which connects to the French isle of Martinique, Dominica and Guadeloupe or vice-versa. Probably the easiest and ultimate way to explore a whole clutch of islands in one go is by boat, whether aboard a yacht or a cruise ship. The Caribbean is the world’s most popular cruising ground with a huge range of ships offering many different itineraries. However you choose to explore the Caribbean, as long as you’re realistic and plan your journey carefully, the Caribbean can be truly your oyster.
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