Caribbean

The Caribbean is not one identity but many. French, British, Dutch, Spanish and Creole influences meet across islands of coral beaches, volcanic peaks, music, sailing culture and colourful coastal towns, creating one of the world's richest tropical regions.

The Caribbean islands divide into the Greater Antilles — Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Puerto Rico — and the long chain of the Lesser Antilles curving south-east towards South America. The Leeward Islands run from the Virgin Islands through Anguilla, St Barthélemy, Antigua and Guadeloupe; the Windward Islands from Dominica and Martinique to St Lucia, the Grenadines and Grenada, with Barbados standing apart to the east.

Five centuries of colonial history left a patchwork. St Barthélemy and Martinique are French, Aruba and Curaçao Dutch, Barbados and Antigua English-speaking, Cuba and Puerto Rico Spanish. Each island has its own food, music and pace — calypso and steel pan in Trinidad, reggae in Jamaica, zouk in the French Antilles — and a reputation built on a particular kind of stay, from sailing to villa life.

The high season runs from mid-December to mid-April, when trade winds keep the islands dry and temperatures sit in the high twenties. Christmas and New Year are the peak, above all in St Barthélemy, where the harbour of Gustavia fills with yachts. The weeks around Easter remain popular, and May and early June often bring settled weather and quieter beaches.

The Atlantic hurricane season officially runs from June to November, with the greatest risk from August to October; Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao lie largely south of the usual storm track. The calendar is rich in festivals: Trinidad Carnival before Lent, the St Barths Bucket regatta in March, Antigua Sailing Week at the end of April and Crop Over in Barbados, culminating in early August.

Each island keeps its own defining addresses. On St Barthélemy, Cheval Blanc St-Barth Isle de France stands on the beach at Flamands and Eden Rock – St Barths on its rock above St Jean Bay; on Anguilla, Four Seasons Resort and Residences Anguilla spans Barnes Bay and Meads Bay. Sandy Lane has defined the west coast of Barbados since 1961, Jumby Bay Island occupies a private island off Antigua, and Rosewood Little Dix Bay lies on Virgin Gorda.

LVXVRY books Four Seasons Anguilla through Four Seasons Preferred Partner — at the official hotel rate, with the privileges the programme attaches to the stay. For Cheval Blanc, Eden Rock, Sandy Lane, Jumby Bay and Rosewood Little Dix Bay, LVXVRY advises on and arranges the stay, matching the island to the traveller first, and can combine islands by private flight or yacht.