Star Collector: Leeward & Windward Caribbean Havens

The island is shared in two parts as: the northern part Saint-Martin (a French overseas collectivity) and southern part Sint Maarten (of the Kingdom of the Netherlands): hence its name St-Martin / St Maarten. It lies in the NE Caribbean, located 300 km E of Puerto Rico. This tiny island is an extremely popular holiday and duty-free shopping destination famous for its variety of 37 palm-treed beaches that include salt-water ponds. Read more about St Martin (Philipsburg), Sint Maarten (Dutch part)

Soper's Hole is a small settlement on the secluded south-west tip of Tortola, the largest and most populated of the British Virgin Islands. Tortola is a tax haven and home to many offshore companies that do business worldwide with many workers coming from other Caribbean islands. Read more about Sopers Hole, Virgin Islands (British)

San Juan, the capital and most populous city of Puerto Rico, is the oldest city on US territory. It is the Caribbean commercial hub, best known for its beautifully restored historic district of Old San Juan. It is situated on a rocky peninsula girded by thick walls jutting into the crashing Atlantic surf. Read more about San Juan, Puerto Rico

San Juan, the capital and most populous city of Puerto Rico, is the oldest city on US territory. It is the Caribbean commercial hub, best known for its beautifully restored historic district of Old San Juan. It is situated on a rocky peninsula girded by thick walls jutting into the crashing Atlantic surf. Read more about San Juan, Puerto Rico

Virgin Gorda (‘Fat Virgin’) is the third largest and the second most populated of the British Virgin Islands. The main business centre is Spanish Town, to the SW of this elongated island. Ships tender to port. Read more about Virgin Gorda, Virgin Islands (British)

Read more about Gustavia, Saint Barthélemy

Falmouth is a coastal town on the SW of the island of Antigua, one half of the twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda in the Leeward Islands, Eastern Caribbean. The country was named by Christopher Columbus in 1493. (In September 2017 Barbuda, 42 km to the north, was 95% decimated by Hurricane Irma.) Falmouth lies aside one of the many natural harbours on Antigua’s shoreline. Read more about Falmouth, Antigua and Barbuda

The island is shared in two parts as: the northern part Saint-Martin (a French overseas collectivity) and southern part Sint Maarten (of the Kingdom of the Netherlands): hence its name St-Martin / St Maarten. It lies in the NE Caribbean, located 300 km E of Puerto Rico. This tiny island is an extremely popular holiday and duty-free shopping destination famous for its variety of 37 palm-treed beaches that include salt-water ponds. Read more about St Martin (Philipsburg), Sint Maarten (Dutch part)

Basseterre is located on the SW coast of St Kitts Island in the Leeward Islands group, and is one of the oldest towns in the Eastern Caribbean. Subsequently, it is very well known for its variety of architectural styles and fascinating buildings, set against dense tropical forests and a huge dormant volcano. The domed colonial Treasury Building, or customs house, is a reminder of the value of these islands as sugar colonies. Read more about Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis

Read more about Gustavia, Saint Barthélemy

Montserrat (‘Serrated Mountain’), also known as the ‘Emerald Isle of the Caribbean’, is a lush green volcanic island in the Leeward Islands of the NE Caribbean. It is a British Overseas Territory. The island is 16.5km N-S and10kmE-W, and one-third of its area is covered by lava flows from the 1995-2000 eruptions of Soufrière Hills volcano (French: “sulfur outlet”; 915m). Read more about Montserrat, Montserrat

Îles des Saintes is an archipelago in the French Antilles, a dependency of Guadeloupe, which in turn is an overseas department of France. The large island of Guadeloupe lies 12km to the north. Les Saintes consists of two very mountainous volcanic inhabited islands, Terre-de-Haut Island and Terre-de-Bas Island, with seven other uninhabited islets. Read more about Les Saintes, Guadeloupe

Roseau, a small, compact and most important urban settlement, is the capital and largest city of the island of Dominica, in the Caribbean. Dominica has been nicknamed the ‘Nature Isle of the Caribbean’ for its unspoiled natural beauty. Interestingly, it is built on the site of the ancient Kalinago Indian village of Sairi. Read more about Roseau, Dominica

Pigeon Island is a 40 acre islet with artificial causeway built in 1972 joining it to Gros Islet commune, on the northern tip of the island-country of Saint Lucia. Saint Lucia is part of the Lesser Antilles in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The island as a whole has switched hands between the British and French throughout its existence. Read more about Pigeon Island, Saint Lucia

The city of Bridgetown is the capital and largest city of the island country of Barbados, a major tourist destination in the West Indies. The city has numerous attractions, landmarks, monuments, museums, and art galleries of an international standard. It is also a starting point for visiting many other popular cities on the island. Read more about Bridgetown, Barbados