The Dominican Republic is the most popular island with visitors. It’s a perfect mix of beach resort luxury, tropical rainforest paradise, and pretty colonial towns. Trinidad is the capital of carnival, where a party of some sort is never far from breaking out. To Jamaica’s beautiful beaches are added a super-laid-back attitude and the rich musical culture. Antigua fits the desert island dream to a tee.

Cuba – just opening up to America again – is the Caribbean’s biggest, most populated island, an intriguing cultural stew of cuisines, cultures and rhythms that – along with the rum – will leave you intoxicated.

What a lot of choices this diverse box of treasures holds. The beaches and resort hotels at the likes of Punta Cana are all-inclusive paradises. Kick off your sandals for a pair of boots and you could be hiking through rainforest, or up Pico Duarte, the Caribbean’s tallest mountain. Historic rum factories are uncorked around Puerto Plata. Santo Domingo, the Dominican capital, was the first port of call for Christopher Columbus on his way to the New World and is a beautiful UNESCO-protected historic town.

Discover Jamaica With its long-established British links, Jamaica’s a top destination for UK sun seekers, and they’ve got good reason to love it. The beaches are classically Caribbean with white sand, palm trees, coral reefs and blue waters. Then there are the forests, mountains, waterfalls and banana plantations – pure beauty. Finally, the people, the music, the food, the culture; they’re all as wonderful, welcoming and worth exploring as you’ve been led to believe.

Food is an obsession with the Caribbean locals, and if you’re a visitor you should be no different. Super-fresh fish, spicy meat stews, straight-from-the-tree fruit juice and some of the best rum and coffee in the world are highlights of Caribbean cuisine.

Eating like royalty is every Caribbean’s birthright! The cuisine is spicy and international – mixing African, European and Latin American flavours. With fantastic local produce – yam, plantain, fish, goat, fruit – to conjure with, Jamaican food is as rich and diverse as the island’s landscapes.

From Barbados to Cuba, there are dozens of special tastes. Cou cou in Barbados, which is made from corn meal and okra; in Cuba it's ropa vieja, steak flank in a tomato-based suace; Sancocho in the Dominican Republic is a meat and rich dish and from Jamaica you'll enjoy Ackee and Saltfish for breakfast, primarily.

Everything that makes the Caribbean great – Barbados is a good choice of top-quality resorts; party people; beaches and jungles; a beautiful historic capital – can be found in spades in Barbados. Bridgetown has UNESCO World Heritage Status, but the beaches and wild interior don’t need any certification to confirm their timeless beauty.

One of our favourite picks for a family holiday is the Dominican Republic. With great deals on flights, hotels and the all-important all inclusive package, where can you go wrong for a late 2017 escape or a big-time 2018 holiday? The big beach resorts around Punta Cana, La Romana, Samana and Puerto Plata offer great value all-inclusive access to some of the best beaches in the world.

Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with 16th-century churches, plazas and forts, standing over a beautiful port. There are good museums to explain the island’s place in world history too. There’s more UNESCO protection for the pristine Eastern National Park (Parque Nacional del Este), an internationally important land and sea wildlife reserve full of colourful species from pelicans to dolphins.

The Dominican Republic is made for family or his-and-her beach breaks, with big resort hotels offering brilliant value and all-inclusive facilities with perfect sands and crystal-clear waters.

Jungle tumbles down the dramatic mountains in the interior. Head for the hills and get ready to explore an unspoiled new world and release your inner Bear Grylls with rainforest adventure sports.

Get ready to change your desert island preconceptions in beautiful Santo Domingo, where modern high rises stand side-by-side with the oldest European buildings in the Caribbean. It’s lively, laid-back, and enormous fun.

Climbing the Blue Mountain Peak is just one inland adventure to experience on this stunningly beautiful island. The Blue Hole springs at Ocho Rios, the Dunn’s River Falls, the cliffs at Negril - Jamaica is packed with natural wonders to discover.

You’ve got a picture of the perfect Caribbean island in your head already – the palm tree-fringed, white-sand beach, the funky little beach bar under the trees, yachts sailing by on the deep blue sea. The good news is that you’ve got it just right; the Caribbean more than lives up to the most demanding expectations.

Lying back on a perfect island beach. Seven Mile Beach in Negril has room to spread out. Montego Bay is busy with beach bars and water sports. You can surf at Boston Bay Beach in Port Antonio, or lose yourself on Winnifred Beach, a favourite with the locals as well as seclusion-seeking visitors.

From jumping Montego Bay to fashionable Seven Mile Beach or isolated Treasure Beach, Jamaica’s coastline is one of the best for sun and sand in the world. And guess what you’ll find at Reggae Beach?

Cancun, technically a Mexican resort, actually offers some of the best all inclusive beachfront hotels in the Caribbean. Cancun's spit of sand reaches out in the Caribbean Sea, and offers the same weather and hospitality you might imagine on say, Barbados, the Dominican Republic or Cuba.

With gorgeous beaches, a range of all inclusive hotels and great deals on 7 nights stays in Cancun, we've got your 2017 / 2018 Caribbean holiday covered.

Try Jamaica. Dancing the night away is expected in the home of reggae. From African-inspired folk songs or church gospel to booming dancehall beats and street sound systems, everything’s got passion and rhythm. We recommend the main strip of Montego Bay, an area that in daytime is considered a true Caribbean paradise, and at night bursts with life.

Bridgetown, Barbados, is home to many cocktails bars and nightclubs that specialise in the Caribbean drink of choice: rum. Live music is also very popular in Barbados, so grab a seat in the sun, a cold rum cocktail and relax.

On the island capital of Aruba, Oranjestad, you'll find a mix of relaxing evenings spent at one of the many beach bars, to heaving nightclubs where the party often doesn't end til dawn. 

Havana, in Cuba, is home to a nightlife that is miles away from anything you might've experienced in the U.K. Cuban themed bars and clubs have oft been established across the country, but the real Havana magic has to be experienced for itself.

The twin islands of Antigua and smaller Barbuda are as beautiful as any in the Caribbean. The reefs around the shore make the islands’ diving really rewarding. Smaller and less-developed than some of the islands but with 365 beaches, Antigua has room for everyone on its sands.

The times are changing in Cuba. But it’s the years of time standing relatively still that give the crumbling, colourful facades and classic American motors of Havana much of its charm. Elsewhere there are resorts and beaches to match any in the region, and a rum, a cigar and some Afro-Cuban beats are the icing on a colourful cake.

Trinidad (busy and relatively built up) and Tobago (chilled and empty) are a beautiful contrast. Party in Port of Spain or zip wire through Tobago’s protected forests before lying back on the pink tinged sands.

St Lucia is a supremely romantic island, its mountains, waterfalls and beaches stealing the hearts of many a visitor. Brilliant beach-front resorts include the famous Sandals brand. A party can always be found in St Lucia, Gros Islet, and peace and quiet is the hallmark or Choc Bay.

Jamaica has a proud cultural heritage with music just the best known of its exports. Historic houses and capital-city museums celebrate everyone from Noel Coward to Bob Marley. The best way to understand it all is just to dive in and immerse yourself.

Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic was founded in 1496, making it one of the oldest cities in the Caribbean. History oozes out of the very brickwork that makes up some of Santo Domingo's historical facade.

Cancun, although primarily a purpose-built Hotel Zone, has amazing access to some of the best historical sights in Mexico. We're talking Chichen Itza, Tulum and various other Mayan ruins that are a world away from the glitzy all inclusive hotels along the Caribbean beaches.

Cuba was, until very recently, an island that was closed up tight to the rest of the world. Following recent political shifts, Cuba has opened up to tourism, and some of its old-world charm which was retained so long by isolation - think 1950s cars, fashion and architecture - is sure to be lost as moneyed tourists descend on its streets. The best time to visit Cuba is in 2017 or 2018, before this magic is lost.