St Vincent & the Grenadines

With five small islands ringed with coral reefs, the fabled Tobago Cays offer some of the Caribbean’s best diving and snorkeling.

The islands sit firmly in a national park and are only accessible by boat on a day trip from one of the Grenadines. And what a day trip it can be! The snorkeling is world class and the white-sand beaches look like strips of blinding snow. Underwater, sea turtles and parrot fish are just the start of myriad species you’ll see. The coral is gorgeous.

Bequia (beck-way) is the most perfect island in the whole Grenadines. Stunning beaches dotting the shoreline, accommodations to fit most budgets and a slow pace of life all help to create an environment that is unforgettable. There are fine restaurants, shops that retain their local integrity and enough golden sand and blue water to keep everybody blissful.

Blessed with breathtaking beauty yet very little development, the compact palm-covered island of Mayreau is the authentic Grenadines dream. With only a handful of vehicles, no airport and just a smattering of residents, it often feels like the fabled dessert isle.

Mayreau is a fantastic destination for independent travelers wanting to enjoy some of the Grenadines' best beaches and get a good dose of culture at the same time. There are no resorts and while yachts and bigger ships do dock here, once the sun goes down you'll have the place to yourself.

The island is so small you can't help get to know the friendly locals who are famed throughout the Grenadines for their hard-partying ways. With around a dozen bars for its 400-odd residents it's fairly clear it's not just a myth. It's said that tiny Mayreau's weekly beer order is more than twice that of Union Island, its far bigger neighbor.

Union Island feels like an outpost at the bottom of a country – and that’s just what it is. Before the introduction of fast boats, its remote location enabled it to become a base for contraband (which historically propped up the economy here) from all over the Caribbean.

The small port town of Clifton has an unpretentious charm and a more local feel than some of the towns on the more-visited Grenadine islands. You can easily spend a day wandering its short main street and the surrounding hills. It’s an important anchorage for yachts and a transport hub – there are boats to Carriacou in Grenada. It also has decent accommodations, services and just enough nightlife.

Narrow streets, arched stone doorways and covered walkways conjure up a Caribbean of banana boats and colonial rule. Kingstown heaves and swells with a pulsing local community that bustles through its throroughfares and alleyways. Steep hills surround the town, amplifying the sounds of car horns, street vendors and the music filtering through the crowd.

The nearby towns of Villa and Indian Bay are where you will find the majority of the island's resorts.

St Vincent's La Soufrière volcano dominates the northern part of the island and a hike to its summit is a highlight for adventurous travelers.

The crater is an otherworldly environment with shag-carpet-like moss growing on the ground and mounds of black rocks all around. There are also some active sulfur outlets.

There are two routes to the top. The easiest route, and the one that is officially promoted to visitors, begins from the windward side of the island, where a proper trail leads up from the car park to the summit. It's a moderate 2½-hour hike.

But if you're looking for real adventure, consider the leeward trail that begins near Chateaubelair at the end of the Leeward Hwy. It´s a longer, more challenging hike, but you'll be rewarded with views of both the volcano and the sea all the way up, and there's more bush along the trail. It takes around four hours from the trailhead and a local guide is essential as the path is not clearly marked.

What can you say about Mustique other than ‘Wow!’? First, take an island that offers stunning beaches and everything else you expect to find in paradise, then add to the mix accommodations that defy description or affordability. With prices that exclude all but the superrich, film stars and burnt-out musicians, this island is the exclusive playground of the uberaffluent.

The documentary The Man Who Bought Mustique (2000) tells the unlikely story of Lord Glenconner, the man who turned the island into a playground for the rich. Most visitors not staying in a fabulous retreat come on widely marketed day trips from Bequia. They join the local swells for drinks and more at Basil's, one of the Caribbean's great waterfront bars.