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Rapidly becoming a luxury destination with high-priced villas and upscale resorts, Anguilla, the most northerly of the British Leeward Islands, retains the laid-back character of a sleepy backwater. Goats still wander the streets and reggae music blares from passing cars.

Antigua & Barbuda are best visited during the cool, dry winter months (mid-December to mid-April). The average daily temperature is 81°F (27°C) and it's no coincidence that this is also peak tourist season. The islands get warmer in July and August, averaging daily highs of 86°F (30°C). The wet season peaks around August to October, during the Caribbean's tropical hurricane season.

Although large-scale tourism dominates the island (read: luxury resorts from here to sunset), there are still undeveloped areas on the exposed northern coast, and much of the interior is inhabited by nothing more than goats and contorted divi-divi trees.

The 18th-century Privateers' Republic has become a modern banker's paradise, at least on New Providence and Grand Bahama. On the other islands - once known as the Out Islands but now euphemistically called the Family Islands - the atmosphere is more truly West Indian.

Barbados sits almost a hundred miles east of its closest neighbour, so when the Spaniards, Danes, French and others were busy fighting over the rest of the Caribbean, Barbados sat back with its Pimm's on ice, remaining solidly British.

This tiny nation is so laid-back it's almost comatose. Dabbling its toes in the Caribbean Sea, Belize has more in common with its island neighbors than the fiery volatility of Central America - its history is thoroughly coup-free. Soak up the glorious natural wonders and rich cultural history.

While the name might conjure up torrential storms, rainfall on Bermuda is moderate and evenly distributed throughout the year. While there is a slight drop in rainfall around April, temperatures in the proceeding months tend to rise comfortably above 25°C (80°F), peaking in August and taking the chill off the nights of the earlier months.

Bonaire is out of the hurricane belt so you don't have to figure the big blow into your schedule.

Parts of the British Virgin Islands are so beautiful, you'd happily marry the closest iguana just so you could stay there forever. Think dramatic green hills, blue skies, tripped-out sunsets and beaches where the loudest noise is the donk of a coconut dropping on sand as soft as a baby's bottom.

Thanks to a thriving tourism and cruise-ship industry, resorts and condos have sprung up all over, and you can count on every convenience, from air-con and cold beer to swanky shopping and ESPN. But if you want to get away from it all, it's easy to escape satellite dishes and slickness, not least of them underwater.

Travel in Cuba can involve anything from sipping mojittos at an all-inclusive resort in Varadero to scraping the spit and sawdust off your shoes outside the Casa de las Tradiciones in Santiago. The burgeoning tourist sector rubs up against the Cuba of communist myth.

The island Curacao lies below the hurricane belt, so there's usually no need to worry about being blown away while on vacation.

Dominica is balmy, rarely getting below 29°C (85°F) on the coast, though the mountains are cooler and wetter, especially during the rainy season (July to October). Peak-season winter (December to February) rates are similar to off-season summer (June to August) rates, so the best time to visit Dominica is definitely in winter.

The white-sand beaches, impressive mountain ranges veined with spectacular rivers and waterfalls, and saltwater lakes teeming with exotic wildlife are just part of the Dominican Republic's appeal. Whether you're looking to party, relax or explore, the Dominican Republic has a lot to offer.

The islands of the Caribbean Sea, collectively known as the West Indies are sorted by size and location into the Bahamas (or Lucayan archipelago), the Lesser Antilles and the Greater Antilles. The Greater Antilles are Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (composed of Haiti on the west side and the Dominican Republic on the east side) and Puerto Rico. The smaller islands in the vicinity of these four major islands are sometimes also treated as part of the group. The Greater Antilles are made up of continental rock, distinct from the Lesser Antilles, which are mostly young volcanic or coral islands.

Not only does the 'Spice Island' produce nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, ginger and cloves, this rugged land of mountains, rainforests, waterfalls and secluded beaches has also given birth to an intriguing history and people.

Bequia, Canouan, Carriacou, Mustique, Petit Martinique, Petit Saint Vincent, Palm island and Union Island

One of the most urbanized of the region's islands, you'll need to scratch beneath the French polish to get a grip on Guadeloupe's Creole core. Away from the tourist hub, the buzz of insects in the banana groves and the whiff of coconut rum will put you firmly back on Caribbean time.

Guyana's natural attractions are spectacular, unspoiled and on a scale that dwarfs human endeavor. While lingering effects of Dutch and British colonization make for an unpredictable political and demographic climate, the Guyanese are doing what they can to make their country an ecotourism haven.

Haiti is a poverty-stricken land of urban overpopulation, denuded hillsides and a people suffering the wounds of civil strife and oppression. It is also a vibrant country of colourful art, fantastic music, cloud forests and an intensely spiritual people whose humour and passion are legendary. It's worth planning a visit to Haiti around Carnival (the three days leading up to Ash Wednesday) or Rara (the week leading up to Easter), when music and dancing seem to erupt spontaneously. Avoid the weeks leading up to an election, including the presidential election in December 2000, when less pleasant but equally spontaneous eruptions of passion tend to make their mark.

Jamaica is a year-round destination: winter is usually warm by day and mild to cool by night; summer months are hot. The rainy season extends from May to November, with peaks in May and June and in October and November. Rain usually falls for short periods (normally in the late afternoon), and it's quite possible to enjoy sunshine for most of your visit during these months. In Portland parish, however, it can rain for days on end. Tourism's high, or 'winter', season runs from mid-December to mid-April, when hotel prices are highest. Many hotels charge peak-season rates during Christmas and Easter. Tourism's high, or 'winter', season runs from mid-December to mid-April, when hotel prices are highest. Many hotels charge peak season rates during Christmas and Easter.

The two main groups of the Lesser Antilles are the Windward Islands in the south and the Leeward Islands in the north. The Windward Islands are called such because they were more windward to sailing ships arriving in the New World than the Leeward Islands, given that the prevailing trade winds blow east to west. The trans-Atlantic currents and winds that provided the fastest route across the ocean brought these ships to the rough dividing line between the Windward and Leeward Islands. The Netherlands Antilles, divided into two groups, one off the coast of Venezuela and one in the Leeward Islands, is also a part of the Lesser Antilles.

Martinique is a slice of France set down in the tropics. Islanders wear Paris fashions and eat croissants. Zouk music pouring out of tape players, bars and nightclubs will remind you, however, that Martiniquans have a culture of their own, solidly based on West Indian Creole traditions.

The mix of modern and traditional, clichéd and surreal, is the key to Mexico's charm, whether your passion is throwing back margaritas, listening to howler monkeys, surfing the Mexican Pipeline, scrambling over Mayan ruins or expanding your collection of posable Day of the Dead skeletons. Mexico is a traveler's paradise, crammed with a multitude of opposing identities: desert landscapes, snow-capped volcanoes, ancient ruins, teeming industrialized cities, time-warped colonial towns, glitzy resorts, deserted beaches and a world-beating collection of flora and fauna.

Montserrat has survived hurricanes and more than one devastating volcanic eruption. Split into the Safe Zone, Daytime Entry Zone and Exclusion Zone, the tiny island continues to rise from the ashes. With volcanic rock covering the dusty roads, no stoplights, only two hotels and a smattering of guesthouses, Montserrat is truly like no place on the planet.

Navassa Island is about two square miles (5.2 km²). It is found at a strategic location 160 km (90 nautical miles) south of the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, about one-quarter of the way from Haiti to Jamaica in the Jamaica Channel. It reaches an elevation of 77 m at an unnamed peak 100 m south of the lighthouse, Navassa Island Light.

Travellers who venture into the island's mountainous interior or explore its undeveloped coasts come across stately hill towns where the locals in the plaza seem to have been feeding the same pigeons for decades, and reefs where divers can see 30 species of fish in as many seconds.

Dubbed the 'Unspoiled Queen', low-key Saba (pronounced SAY-ba) has strikingly little tourism - only about 25,000 visitors a year. Ruggedly steep, Saba is not known for its raucous nightclubs and flashy resorts. Instead, you'll find stunning hiking trails, pristine diving, day spas and awesome ecolodges.

Nonchalance, happiness, calm, luxurious, warm. St-Barts is welcoming, St-Barts welcomes you. St-Barts will charm you with its patchwork of landscapes and the diversity of proposed pleasures. Your stay will leave you with the exquisite souvenir of balmy tropical evenings swayed by the local biguine music, flavored with vanilla and peppered with Caribbean spices. Lazy days, sporty days, the sea is the king, the excellent restaurants, the refinement of the hotels...everything you need to spend a good vacation.

Sint Eustatius (affectionately known as 'Statia') may lack glorious beaches, but it also lacks the madding crowd. Visiting this tranquil little outpost is like stepping back into the Caribbean of the past - islanders strike up conversations, stray chickens and goats mosey in the streets and the pace is delightfully unhurried.

Given that rates are higher and places more crowded during the peak winter tourist season (mid-December to mid-April), the best time to visit, price- and weather-wise, is November and early December. The summer low-season (June to August) is also fine; but keep in mind that, if you plan to travel to other Caribbean destinations, some of them are appreciably hotter than St Kitts and Nevis during the summer.

A spate of resort developments on St Lucia has made this high, green island one of the Caribbean's fashionable package-tour destinations, but it's still a long way from being sanitised and overdeveloped. Bananas are still bigger business than tourism in this archetypal island paradise.

St Maarten is warm all year round, but the rainy season (June to October) can bring humidity and hurricanes. The island is a cruise ship magnet for most of the year, so there is not much of an off-season, but prices are highest during mid-December to mid-April. The best times to visit are November to early December and May to June.

It's not quite as cosmopolitan as Martinique, nor is it the royalty and rock-star magnet that is chic St Barth - nevertheless, with its fine French restaurants, European-inspired duty-free shops and glorious beaches, St Martin is infinitely more refined than its Dutch island-mate Sint Maarten.

Jagger and Bowie call it home, as do aristocrats, wealthy yachters and rehabbing celebrities. Despite its pockets of world-class luxury, most of St Vincent and the Grenadines is a tranquil, lost corner of the Caribbean.

It's not always easy to get around this river-heavy, forest-dense country, and the mix of languages can make it hard to communicate. But, with a little perseverance, travelers will be richly rewarded as they stroll the streets of gorgeous Paramaribo or watch giant turtles emerge from the sea.

Tobago and its big sister, Trinidad, are the Caribbean's odd couple. Tiny Tobago is relaxed, slow-paced and largely undeveloped.

Columbus caught sight of Trinidad in 1498 and christened it La Isla de la Trinidad, for the Holy Trinity. The Spanish who followed in Columbus' wake enslaved many of Trinidad's Amerindian inhabitants, taking them to toil in the new South American colonies. Spain, in its rush for gold, gave only scant attention to the potential of Trinidad's land, which lacked precious minerals. It took until 1592 for the Spanish to establish their first settlement, San Josef, just east of the present-day capital of Port of Spain. Over the next two centuries, Spanish colonisers made to establish tobacco and cacao plantations but crop failures and a lack of support from Spain left the island only lightly settled.

At first glance these oddly named and misshapen islands may not be the prettiest in the Caribbean, covered as they are with cactus and thorny acacia trees. They are, however, fringed with exquisite beaches and several hundred miles of coral reef that keeps the Turks & Caicos on the world's top 10 dive list. The peak tourist season is between winter and spring (mid-December to mid-April). Some hotels are booked solid around Christmas and Easter; it's especially advisable to plan ahead if you want to visit during these periods. Hotels are slightly cheaper between mid-April and July.

If people are going to persist with an American dream, they may as well wake up to some of this. Though the US flag and Postal trucks prevail, the commonalities pretty much stop there. The laid-back vibe and some of the most magnificent coast on earth provide a taste of paradise and a bit of light relief to millions each year.

Venezuela is epic in proportion: it boasts South America's largest lake and third-longest river, the highest waterfall in the world, the longest of all snakes, and some of the most spectacular landscapes you'll ever see. There are the snowcapped peaks of the Andes in the west; steamy Amazonian jungles in the south; the hauntingly beautiful Gran Sabana plateau, with its strange flat-topped mountains, in the east; and miles of white-sand beaches fringed with coconut palms on the Caribbean coast.