Caribbean

Just 70 miles off the coast of Venezuela; Tobago is a smart choice for first-time visitors to the Caribbean with a gentle, no-hurry vibe that means relaxation is guaranteed. It’s only 25 miles long and most hotels lie in the flat, south-west corner of the island – close to the airport and wide, sandy beaches that are a key attraction. Here the elegant Coco Reef Resort & Spa sits beside idyllic white sands and includes a child-friendly lagoon, while the Magdalena Grand Beach & Golf Resort features three pools and an 18-hole PGA-designed course.

Welcome to the Caribbean island that’s got it all – from wonderful weather to fabulous beaches, bars, restaurants and hotels. The celebs love it... and so will you when you touch down in paradise. If it’s jet-set central you are after for your Caribbean holiday then head straight for the island of Barbados, which has been drawing celebrities, business leaders and oligarchs to its sandy shores for years. And small wonder.

Just smell that nutmeg, as it’s turned into everything from jam and syrup to ice cream. And don’t forget the chocolate, coffee, sugar cane and bananas too.  Grenada is known as “The Spice Island” – and for good reason. It’s been a major producer of nutmeg for more than a century and one of its most atmospheric sights is the monumental wooden Nutmeg Processing Station set beside the sea at Gouyave. This deliciously scented warehouse seems unchanged since the day it opened in 1952, and the lucrative spice is so much a part of island life it features on the national flag.

Follow in the footsteps of Bob Marley (and Winston Churchill, James Bond and Noel Coward too) and wing your way to Jamaica, to enjoy marvellous music, fabulous food, wonderful watersports and beautiful beaches.  No matter what you like best about the Caribbean, you are likely to find it in Jamaica. This former’ Spanish, then British, colony is not only one of the largest islands (there is 4,000 square miles of it) but one of the most diverse and without doubt one of the liveliest. Few would dispute that Jamaica is also one of the most attractive of the Caribbean Islands.

The Antiguans are justifiably proud of their stunning beaches – all 365 of them. It’s a wonder they managed to count them, as quite a few have inviting castaway-style bars that stock some very quaffable rums – locally-distilled Cavalier, which is aged in bourbon barrels, is a good quality one to bring home and it tastes great too.

Being driven around the bustling, cobbled streets of Havana in an ancient, but beautifully preserved 1950s Cadillac, Chevrolet or Oldsmobile, you feel like you have entered a different era.  It’s not just the unusual combination of grey Soviet-era brutalist architecture juxtaposed with gems such as the Gran Teatro (lit up at night it is a marvel).

CUBA is one of the world’s fastest growing tourist destinations – and with its diverse mix of vibrant urban nightlife, relaxing beaches and spectacular natural vistas, it’s not difficult to see why.  The country is attracting more visitors than ever before and even the Kardashians gave the island (the largest in the Caribbean) their seal of approval when they drove around capital Havana in a hot pink convertible Cadillac. Havana, the countries capital, with a population of two million,  recently got its first luxury hotel, the Grans Hotel Manzana Kempinski, which occupies an entire city block.

The ‘Spice of the Caribbean’, Grenada offers the chance to dive among coral, venture into lush rainforest and relax with the sun on your skin as aromatic scents fill the air.  From the cocoa fields a Belmont to Grand Etang National Park, from the white sandy beaches on the Caribbean side of the island to the rugged Atlantic coast, Grenada is all about adventure and relaxation-whatever kind of holiday you’re looking for.

With its five-star villas, white beaches and temperatures higher even than the balmy Caribbean average, Barbados is a byword for the dream holiday.  Barbados might have more than 70 miles of stunning shoreline, but there is so much more to this island than sea and sand (though that’s not a bad place to start).  Browse the Lime grove boutiques, play golf on some of the finest championship courses in the Caribbean, see the island from a different angle on a jeep safari, wander the beautiful Flower Forest, or swim with turtles with Jammin’ Catamaran Cruises.

If you love ivory sands and glass clear waters but run scared from all-inclusive, honeymoon-style resorts, then Tobago could be just the destination for you.  One of the southern-most islands of the Caribbean. Tobago is dotted with palm-fringed bays and charming fishing villages – all largely unaffected by tourism.

With year-round average temperatures of 29, and a pace of life that’s chilled out at its busiest, where better to while away a couple of weeks in a hammock with your favourite paperback and a rum punch?