Caribbean

About Madeira

When you travel around Madeira it quickly becomes clear why it is known as the Garden Island - it is simply awash with colour from a breathtaking display of sub-tropical plants and flowers. So it is hardly surprising that large and colourful flower markets are one of the most arresting features of Funchal, Madeiras capital.

The size of a market town, Funchal is easily walkable although, the further inland you explore, the steeper and narrower some of the streets become. Locally made wicker furniture, lacework and tapestries all make good buys along with the ubiquitous Madeira wine.

Funchal is also the base for tours to the islands botanical gardens; the fishing village of Camara de Lobos where Churchill went to paint; Camacha, the wicker centre; the levada walks, part of an ancient irrigation system; and to Reids Hotel for traditional afternoon tea.

About Antigua

With over 365 beaches, there is a slice of white sand heaven for every day of the year - even a leap year - on the idyllic Caribbean holiday island Antigua, which played host to Admiral Horatio Nelson’s fleet in the late 1700’s. Nelson’s Dockyard now bustles with crew and passengers from yachts and cruise ships sailing these waters for pleasure rather than for King and Country.

The main port, St John’s, is also the capital and a vibrant hub for shopping as well as being within easy range of some of the best beaches – at Fort James, Deep Bay, Galley Bay and Hawksbill. Almost perfect weather conditions and low humidity, due to the warm prevailing trade winds, allows Antigua to boast of being the sunniest of the Eastern Caribbean islands with the lowest annual rainfall. It is also the largest of the English-speaking Leeward Islands although it is only 14 miles long and 11 miles wide. Still, with a population of less than 70,000, this means there are lots of wide open spaces – especially on those gorgeous beaches.

About Tortola

If you want to experience the ‘undiscovered’ Caribbean, cruise to the unspoiled British Virgin island of Tortola. Rising to 1,709 feet at its highest point and famed for its rugged volcanic landscape, Tortola has proved difficult to develop as a major tourist haunt, and so has preserved its charm.

Its quaint capital, Road Town, is charming and compact. Just five minutes walk from the tender drop-off at Wickhams Quay you will find Main Street, home to a colourful crafts market and a range of small speciality shops selling Tortolan ceramics, Mexican glassware and unusual carvings sculpted from sea flotsam.

You will also find some of the loveliest and least crowded beaches in the Caribbean. At Cane Garden Bay you can tuck into a barbecued freshly caught fish; snorkellers will find the most eye-boggling marine life at Lower Belmont Bay, while those who prefer to stay dry can stroll through spectacular virgin rainforest at Mount Sage National Park.

About St Maarten

Half French and half Dutch, St. Martin/Sint Maarten is one of the Caribbean’s most diverse and interesting islands.

Ships dock at the Dutch capital Philipsburg, a delightful warren of narrow streets called steegjies, where you will find interesting shops and leafy courtyard cafés. Start your exploration at Wathey Square, which is home to a fine collection of traditional West Indian ‘gingerbread’ houses as well as a colourful market.

If you would prefer to enjoy a little French ‘je ne sais quoi’, take an island tour to the pretty French capital Marigot, worth visiting for its colourful markets, lovely café-lined waterfront and the chic boutiques of Marina Port La Royale, where you can pick up unusual jewellery and leather goods. Or spend your day on a catamaran trip from Philipsburg for fabulous deep-sea snorkelling with lunch.

About St Kitts

If you have ever dreamt of the classic Caribbean island, chances are it looked a lot like St. Kitts. You will recognise that mixture of deserted beaches, sleepy villages, lush rainforest greenery and sugarcane fields and maybe even the mini-mountain range with a dormant volcano in its midst.

Yet the first thing you will see when the ship docks is pretty much brand new: St. Kitts cruise terminal and marina complex - a collection of shops, bars, restaurants and gardens. Once through that, though, you can explore the back streets and impressively restored Georgian buildings of the capital, Basseterre.

Independent since 1983, St. Kitts covers just 65 square miles but has its own World Heritage site: Brimstone Hill fortress.  Another option for St. Kitts cruise visitors is the 45-minute ferry to sister island Nevis.

About St Lucia

St Lucia has a fascinating if bloody history with the French and British spending years fighting over it. One look at this luscious island will show you why.

Cloaked in verdant rainforests, its skyline dominated by the dramatic twin peaks of Les Pitons and its gardens a riot of hibiscus and bougainvillea; St. Lucia is the epitome of a Caribbean paradise.

Here you can watch parrots and hummingbirds skim through the trees, bask on beautiful beaches, visit charming fishing villages, view stunning volcanic scenery and glory in the Caribbean’s best botanical gardens.

If it is your first visit, an island tour to the dramatic Soufriére volcano will show you the island’s full beauty.  Boat trips to spot dolphin and whales are also available, as are biking, jeep and hiking tours of the rainforest.  But do leave time to explore the shops of Castries, where you can pick up bread, wine and even ketchup made from bananas.

About Barbados

Watching the Atlantic surf crash down on the rugged east coast of this richly diverse island and, for a moment, you may feel you could be on the Cornish coast but the moment you hear the waves of gospel singing emanating from a tiny local church you realise you could not be anywhere else but Barbados.

While, over on the sheltered west coast, the glorious beaches are pure Caribbean. And there are more beaches and a lot more bars, cafés, restaurants and clubs creating a vibrant 24/7 lifestyle on the south coast, too.

In the capital and cruise port, Bridgetown, there are intriguing signs of its British colonial past while, across the island, you are really spoilt for choice.  You can enjoy every watersport under the sun; stunning nature walks and bike rides; or maybe a trip to the uniquely magnificent Harrisons Cave underground complex of caverns, waterfalls, stalactites and stalagmites.

About Ponta Delgada

A strong Portuguese influence pervades Ponta Delgada from the stylish colonial architecture to the food and wine served in its restaurants.  But that should really come as no surprise as this is the main Portuguese Azores cruise port even if these remote Atlantic islands are 760 miles distant from their parent country.

The capital of Sao Miguel, the largest of the nine mountaineous, thickly-forested Azores islands, Ponta Delgada is probably the most spectacularly beautiful, too. It certainly has the most dramatic attraction:Sete citadades.This is a 15 square mile extinct volcanic crater in which two separate lakes have formed - one deep blue, the other emerald green. They make a remarkable sight, not to mention a great photo-opportunity.

There is also a chance to bathe in the volcanic streams and therapeutic sulphur springs where locals come to picnic, burying their stewpots and sweetcorn so that they are cooked by natural heat.