Caribbean

General Info:

The islands of the Caribbean Sea or West Indies are an extensive archipelago in the far west of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly strung between North and South America. They've long been known as a resort vacation destination for honeymooners and retirees, but a small movement toward eco-tourism and backpacking has started to open up the Caribbean to more independent travel. With year-round good weather (with the occasional but sometimes serious exception of hurricane season in the late summer and early fall), promotional air fares from Europe and North America, and hundreds of islands to explore, the Caribbean offers something for almost everyone.Regions:

Bahamas

a cluster of islands north of the Greater Antilles and southeast of Florida

Turks and Caicos Islands

a cluster of islands south of The Bahamas

Greater Antilles

Cuba

Cayman Islands

a small island close to Cuba that functions as an offshore financial centre

Dominican Republic

Haiti

Jamaica

Puerto Rico

Lesser Antilles

The Lesser Antilles can be further divided into three groups:

Leeward Islands

Anguilla

Just a 20 minutes ride away by boat from Saint Martin, Anguilla is a member of the British Commonwealth of nations, Anguilla is not very touristy (yet), but has incredible white sand beaches.

Antigua and Barbuda

Known for its 365 beaches, one for each day of the year.

British Virgin Islands

Dominica

Caters for the eco and budget minded travelers.

Guadeloupe

Montserrat

Saba

Saint-Barthélemy

Sint Eustatius

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Martin

U.S. Virgin Islands

Windward Islands

Barbados

Grenada

Martinique

Saint Lucia

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Trinidad and Tobago

ABC Islands

Aruba

Bonaire

Curaçao

Get in:

By plane

From Europe to:

Aruba (AUA) from London (LGW), Manchester (MAN) by Thomson Airways,

Antigua and Barbuda (ANU) from London (LGW),Manchester (MAN) by British Airways, BMI, Virgin Atlantic and from Frankfurt (FRA) by Condor

Barbados, Bridgetown (BGI) from London, Manchester by Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Caribbean Airlines and from Frankfurt by Condor

Cuba from London (LGW) by Virgin Atlantic, Air Jamaica, from Madrid (MAD) by Iberia, from Paris (CDG) by Air France and from all three by Cubana

Grenada, Maurice Bishop International (GND) from UK by Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Excel from Germany Condor

Saint Lucia, Hewanorra (UVF) from London (LGW) by Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Caribbean Airlines and from Manchester (MAN) by Virgin Atlantic

Martinique Fort-de-France (FDF) from Paris by Air France, Air Caribes

Tobago (TAB), from London (LGW) by British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and from Frankfurt (FRA) by Condor

Trinidad, Port-of-Spain (POS) from London by Caribbean Airlines

Turks and Caicos Islands (PLS), from London (LHR) through Nassau, The Bahamas

Curacao (CUR)- from The Netherlands, KLM

From United States to:

Curaçao (CUR), Bonaire (BON) from Miami (MIA) - by Insel Air. If you fly Insel Air, give yourself at least 24 hours grace period between any connecting flights. Insel Air is notorious for their unreliability and poor customer service.

Curacao, (CUR), Providenciales, (PLS) - by American Airlines

Aruba, (AUA) - by Delta Airlines, AirTran, American Airlines, Jetblue Airways, US Airways, United Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Continental Airlines and SLM

From Canada to:

Aruba (AUA) - WestJet, Air Canada, Sun Wing Vacations,

Sint Maarten - WestJet

San Andrés - Air Transat

Airlines:

Air Caraibes: from Paris to Guadeloupe, Martinique

Air France: from Paris to Guadeloupe, Martinique

Air Jamaica: London to Jamaica and Cuba

American Airlines: from Miami to; Antigua, Aruba, Barbados, Curaçao Dominican Republic, Grand Cayman, Grenada, Jamaica, Kingston, Montego Bay, Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, St. Croix, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Trinidad

British Airways: from London (LGW) to Antigua, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Tobago and from Manchaster to Saint Lucia.

Caribbean Airlines: from London to Barbados, Saint Lucia, London - Antigua, Belfast - Tobago (see BWIA Route map)

Cayman Airways: from the Cayman Islands to multiple gateways in the US

Condor/Thomas Cook: from Frankfurt (FRA), see Condor Route map

Cubana: To Cuba from Madrid, Paris, London

Iberia: from Madrid to Havana, San Juan de Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo.

Insel Air Direct flights from Miami and Inter-Island travel. Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Haiti, Las Piedras, Miami, Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, St. Maarten, Suriname, and Valencia.

Intercaribbean: from Providenciales (PLS) in the Turks and Caicos Islands to various Caribbean destinations including Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, the Bahamas and Puerto Rico.

JetBlue to Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Saint Maarten, Puerto Rico, Aruba, Saint Lucia and Barbados mostly to New York and Boston and some also to Washington DC, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale.

Virgin Atlantic: from London to Antigua, Barbados, Grenada, Havana, Jamaica, St Lucia, Tobago and from Manchester to Barbados and St Lucia

WestJet: from Lester B. Pearson Toronto International Airport to Princess Juliana Airport.

Get around:

Numerous companies offer cruises, charters, and boat tours in the Caribbean.

By plane

 * LIAT  has connections between most of the eastern Caribbean
 * Caribbean Airlines, a Trinidad-based offers flights between islands and Canada, US, Europe and other airport in South America
 * American Eagle is another notable air carrier between islands
 * Jetblue  Expanding its base in Puerto Rico offers budget flights between USA, Dominican Republic, U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Maarten.

By boat
Safety:
 * Express des Iles offers transport between Dominica, Guadaloupe, Martinique, St. Lucia and other islands for about €67 one-way and €100 round-trip. Bear in mind that at some islands, if you are not a legal resident, proof of onward travel may be required. If you fail to provide it, you may get your entry refused by the immigration officer.

All of the Americas (with 16.3 killed per 100,000 population) suffer from homicide rates far above those in most of Asia (3.0), Europe (3.0) and Oceania (2.9) but some countries in the Caribbean feature in the highest murder rates in the world.

Most visitors are aware of the high rates of gun crime in the United States Virgin Islands (with 52.6) or Jamaica (39.3), but you might be unaware that even sleepy littleSaint Kitts and Nevis (33.6) had a murder rate seven times greater than the scary old mainland USA in 2010!

The well policed Bahamas rang up a rate of (29.8), Trinidad and Tobago (28.3), Puerto Rico (26.5), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (with a state Latin motto of "Pax et Justitia" or "Peace and Justice" had 25.6), Dominican Republic (22.1), Saint Lucia (21.6) and Dominica (21.1).

To put this in perspective, rates in more placid countries like Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Germany, Spain and New Zealand average well under a single person intentionally killed per 100,000 of their population each year.

Those of a nervous disposition when confronted by these kind of statistics may want to start researching a holiday in Martinique (2.7) or Cuba (4.2) since it's rather uncomfortable to wear stab or bullet proof vests in these warm and humid climates of course, not to mention it make you look a bit of a prat...