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 and are a major area for cruise ships, 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.

Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti) and Puerto Rico, often grouped as the Greater Antilles, are by far the largest islands in the area and the most visited by travellers. The Caribbean also includes the Lucayan Archipelago to the north, which is comprised of the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Lesser Antilles, a group of much smaller islands to the east.

Bahamas Archipelago of islands and cays surrounded by coral reefs off the coasts of Florida. One of them was the first piece of American soil Columbus put his foot on.

Bermuda (Outside of image map, see dynamic map) Small and wealthy British overseas territory in the Atlantic, known for a type of shorts and the supposedly mysterious triangle.

Cayman Islands Known for offshore banking, and a great diving destination.

Cuba The largest Caribbean island-nation, marked by decades of socialist government. Famous for classic American cars, cigars, rum, and an embargo which (along with its socialism) crippled its economy.

Jamaica An island of tall mountains, birthplace of reggae and a Commonwealth Realm.

Haiti Founded by former slaves who won their freedom and then independence against the might of revolutionary and Napoleonic France. Today, having struggled against conflicts and natural disasters, Haiti is undergoing a period of gang violence.

Dominican Republic A fast-growing economy with some of the oldest colonial cities in the hemisphere.

Puerto Rico A United States territory with bustling nightlife, as well as great inland sceneries.

Lesser Antilles (Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, Montserrat, Saba, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint Martin, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Sint Eustatius, U.S. Virgin Islands, Barbados, Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago) Small islands facing the open Atlantic. Many of them are dependencies of other countries.

Leeward Antilles (Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire) Also known as the ABC islands, these islands off the coast of Venezuela are associated with the Netherlands.

Turks and Caicos Islands Fabulous beaches and offshore banking.

Other areas include:

• Navassa Island - Administered by the United States but also claimed by Haiti, special permission from the US government is required to visit, and access is difficult and hazardous.
• San Andrés and Providencia - Colombian territories off the coast of Nicaragua. These remote, off the beaten path destinations primarily cater to Colombian tourists.
• The Florida Keys are geographically adjacent to the Caribbean, and have a similar environment. Greater Miami is home to a large Caribbean culture.
• Belize, French Guiana, Guyana and Suriname are often considered part of the Caribbean as they share a common cultural heritage.

Map of Caribbean

• 23.136667-82.3588891 Havana The "Paris of the Antilles" with gorgeous colonial architecture and old American cars.
• 17.971389-76.7930562 Kingston The capital of Jamaica and a great place to experience the reggae life.
• 25.078056-77.3386113 Nassau The main island of the Bahamas.
• 18.5425-72.3386114 Port-au-Prince
• 10.666667-61.5166675 Port of Spain
• 18.465278-66.1166676 San Juan
• 20.021667-75.8294447 Santiago de Cuba
• 18.476389-69.8933338 Santo Domingo
• 12.108-68.9359 Willemstad

• Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park in Saint Kitts
• 19.604692-72.2185961 Citadelle Henri Christophe and Palais Sans Souci in Milot, Northern Haiti
• 21.883333-802 Gran Parque Natural Topes de Collantes in Central Cuba
• 22.15-77.8833333 Jardines del Rey — a chain of islands of the northern coast of Central Cuba
• Maracas National Park in northern Trinidad
• 22.73-83.34 Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Rosario in Pinar del Rio province of Western Cuba
• 18.465278-66.1166675 La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic Site in San Juan, Puerto Rico
• 22.615278-83.7158336 Viñales — a beautiful valley in Pinar del Rio province of Western Cuba
• 15.266667-61.2833337 Morne Trois Pitons National Park on Dominica featuring the Boiling Lake, the world's second largest geyser.

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

English, Spanish, Dutch and French respectively are spoken on various islands, depending largely on its former colonial power. However, the majority of the population might not speak the metropole-version of said language but rather a creole, which often incorporates a lot of words from other languages (usually African and/or Native American) and can sometimes differ so much in grammar and spelling as to be unintelligible to even native speakers of the European language the Creole is based on.

The well-educated upper class and those who work in the tourism industry will usually be able to speak a version of the national language closer to what European visitors are used to, and they will often be able to hold a conversation in one or several other European languages as well. However, the likeliness decreases the further you get away from big cities and major tourism hot spots. As most of the Caribbean has a long history of both slavery and racial discrimination, and Creoles arose with that background and still sometimes have a stigma attached to them, you should be extremely cautious not to say anything negative about the Creole languages, their speakers, or their intellectual background. Believe it or not, political tracts and works of literature have been written in various Caribbean creole languages for centuries now, and to give just one example, the Jamaican Patois of Bob Marley is just as capable of expressing complex topics as are any American or British pop songwriters. Code switching is also pretty common and many people can be heard effortlessly switching from one idiom into another depending on the social situation, speaking "broad" Patois with friends or family and a much more metropole-sounding variant with tourists or in formal situations.

The Caribbean Islands are famous for the "3 S's" Sun, Sea and Sand, which you can find plenty of in the region. There are all kinds of beaches from touristy ones with plane or shiploads of tourists to exclusive and expensive private islands, and of course places popular with locals. Some famous beaches include the Seven Miles Beach in the Cayman Islands and the Arashi beach and Baby Beach in Aruba. Traditionally (beach) tourism to this part of the world has been about resorts, cruises and package trips, but independent travel is certainly also possible.

While the indigenous heritage has all but disappeared, apart from the small remnant of the Carib people, who live in Dominica, the oldest colonial cities of the Americas can be found in the Caribbean. Perhaps no surprise as this was where Columbus and other Europeans first set foot in the New World, and several islands are still dependencies of France, Netherlands or the UK. Indeed, many of the World Heritage Sites in the Caribbean are colonial old towns, including ones in Havana, San Juan, Curaçao and the English Harbour.

Back then, the Caribbean Islands also became a major destination for Africans that the colonizers forcibly brought in to work as slaves. The enslaved people lived under inhumane conditions with hard work, violence, disease and starvation making up their daily life. Slavery is long gone; some former plantations have now been turned into memorials, for instance the Slave Huts on Bonaire. Black and mixed people make up a majority of the population of the Caribbean today, and the local culture has African influences, including the voodoo religion of Haiti, the carnival and various styles of Caribbean music and dance.

Natural attractions (other than beaches) include rainforests, volcanoes and other geologically interesting features such as the Boiling Lake in Dominica. Other interesting mountains include the pitons in Saint Lucia (pictured on their national flag), and Pico Duarte in the Dominican Republic, which is the highest point in the Caribbean.

Just traveling around the Caribbean can be exciting too, whether you do it by boat, plane or road. On Saba, you can land and take off on the world's shortest commercially used runway.

The Caribbean conjures up tales of pirates and buried treasures. There are a few interesting hideouts from the Golden Age of Piracy that hold the scars of its swashbuckling past.

Local cuisine is usually very well seasoned whether the outcome be savory, sweet or spicy. Don't be afraid to ask about what you're eating but be open minded when patronizing rural eateries where the cuisine is not tailored for international palates. The not-so-secret ingredient in much of the Caribbean (including the Caribbean coast of mainland Central America) is coconut and you may be surprised by the huge variety of foodstuffs that can be improved by the addition of coconut.

Many Caribbean countries also have large Indian communities due to the fact that many indentured labourers were shipped here from India to work on the plantations instead following the end of the Atlantic Slave Trade. As a result, Indian-influenced dishes like curries as flatbreads are common in countries which received a large number of these Indian indentured labourers such as Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.

Rum is of course the spirit of choice in most of the Caribbean and some of the most well known and internationally acclaimed distilleries are found in this region.

The most affordable prices for accommodations you gonna find in the Dominican Republic and on San Andrés.

Many islands have luxury hotels available specifically for international tourists. Larger resorts are also available with ready access to the sea and swimming pools, but with not much freedom for anything else.

All Caribbean countries have a Christian majority, with some having significant minorities of Muslims and Hindus, and Jamaica having a significant minority practising the indigenous Rastafari religion. Christians in the Caribbean tend to be more religious and conservative than those in the West, so expect many businesses to close on Sundays, when most of the locals will be at church.

Natural disasters that may affect the Caribbean are hurricanes during the summer and autumn, and less frequently but anytime and usually without warning: earthquakes and volcanic activity.

The crime situation varies considerably between islands and you should refer to the article on each island for specific information. Most places do experience low level theft such as wallets and cameras from unsuspecting tourists. Homicide levels also vary greatly, from high levels such as in Trinidad and Jamaica to low levels such as Cuba and Bermuda. Many islands with high crime rates often have exclusive resorts where tourists can be kept safe in a luxurious setting, with the obvious disadvantage that you will not do any exploring or see much of the local culture.

Fly west to the great deserts of Mexico, or go in the other direction and visit the massive rain forests of Brazil. Or you could go north and visit the impressive USA. Central America isn't far away, either.