Sleepy little Culebra is a world away from mainland Puerto Rico, an undeveloped gem with some of the finest beaches in the Caribbean. The surrounding waters are scattered with uninhabited cays and fantastic snorkelling sites, and part of the island is a protected National Wildlife Refuge.

Isla de Vieques, just off the coast of Puerto Rico, has all the charm of the Caribbean of the past: beautiful, uncrowded and welcoming, with amazing wildlife including Paso Fino horses roaming free. And if that's not enough, the world famous Mosquito Bay is the brightest bioluminescent bay in the world.

Tiny Anguilla is home to no less than 33 beaches, blessed with some of the most gloriously white sands in the Caribbean. A clutch of high end hotels and gourmet restaurants attract a well-to-do crowd, but the island has a more low key, laid back vibe than its glitzy neighbours, St Martin and St Barths.

Gustavia is the chic and petite capital of Saint Barths, a tiny French Caribbean island that’s renowned as a haunt of the rich and the famous. You can certainly live well here if you’ve got the means, with an array of gourmet restaurants and luxury boutiques aimed squarely at the A-list. The beautiful beaches, on the other hand, are free and open to all.

Antigua is famously home to 365 beaches - one for every day of the year - and there is an undeniable allure to the many white sand coves dotted along the coast. Falmouth Harbour lies on the south of the island, close to historic Nelson’s Dockyard and the lookout at Shirley Heights.