Caribbean Combination Cruise: San Juan, Antigua & St. Lucia

Founded by the Spanish in 1521, Puerto Rico's capital is the second oldest European settlement in the Americas. Modern San Juan is a bustling city, home to over a third of the island's population, but the cobbled streets of the Old Town remain the biggest tourist draw. The colonial-era fortifications have been awarded UNESCO World Heritage status, crowned by the imposing waterfront El Morro fortress, and the Old Town is full of attractive, brightly coloured houses. Outside of the Old Town you can find designer shopping on Avenida Ashford, and the north of the city is fringed by beautiful beaches, including fashionable Condado with its hip hotels and bars.

Languid, laid-back Virgin Gorda is blessed with beautiful beaches and wonderfully friendly people. Life proceeds at a slower pace here, and highlights include The Baths, an unusual collection of granite boulders, grottoes and pools on the island’s southwest shore.

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. The capital, St John's, is worth a look, but if you've got time to visit the south coast you'll find historic Nelson's Dockyard a lot more interesting.

Bequia is an incredibly friendly, laid-back island blessed with pristine golden sand beaches and some excellent restaurants. It’s also a popular sailing destination; the yachts tend to congregate around Admiralty Bay, where you’ll find the little waterfront town of Port Elizabeth.

Browse the markets of charming St George’s, fragrant with the scent of cinnamon and nutmeg, and you’ll soon understand why Grenada is known as the ‘isle of spice’. This is one of the Caribbean’s most enchanting islands, fringed by gorgeous beaches and largely unsullied by mass market tourism.

Scarborough is the capital of Tobago, a sleepy island where tourism remains mostly low key. The town has a few interesting colonial era sights, but we’d recommend exploring Tobago’s natural treasures instead, including stunning reefs, secluded waterfalls and a rainforest reserve that draws birdwatchers from around the globe.

There’s more to Barbados than just beaches; the delightful architecture of the old garrison in Bridgetown, the capital, is fully deserving of its UNESCO World Heritage status, and the island interior is littered with old sugar plantations and natural wonders such as Harrison’s Cave.

Castries, Saint Lucia’s diminutive capital, is home to some interesting markets and colonial buildings. The island’s highlights are situated elsewhere, however, and we’d recommend either heading south towards Soufrière, where the iconic Piton mountains guard a beautiful bay, or north to the bars, restaurants and beaches of Rodney Bay.

The island of Dominica stands out from the rest of the Caribbean, a rugged natural paradise that remains blissfully free of mass market tourism. The capital, Roseau, is pleasant enough, but the island interior offers so much more, including thick jungle, bubbling hot springs, cascading waterfalls and abundant birdlife.

Laid back and low key, Saint Kitts is an island typified by rolling green hills, characterful beach bars and the lingering remnants of the sugar cane trade that once dominated here. Attractions include the UNESCO-listed Brimstone Hill fortress, the 18-mile Scenic Railway and the faded Georgian elegance of the capital, Basseterre.

Sleepy, low key and utterly charming, Nevis is a real Caribbean gem. Dominated by the towering Nevis Peak, the island is dotted with former plantation houses that have been turned into characterful hotels. Drop in for lunch or afternoon tea, and if there’s time have a look round the elegantly faded Georgian capital, Charlestown.

Philipsburg is the gateway to an intriguing little Caribbean island with a dual personality: the Dutch side, St. Maarten, is the livelier of the two, with shopping malls, casinos and more of a nightlife scene, while French-speaking St. Martin is a more refined (and more expensive) affair, with a laid-back, continental air and a host of exclusive resorts and restaurants.

Founded by the Spanish in 1521, Puerto Rico’s capital is the second oldest European settlement in the Americas. Modern San Juan is a bustling city, home to over a third of the island’s population, but the cobbled streets of the Old Town remain the biggest tourist draw.