Away from the really entrancing sandy beaches, there are a couple of little gems well worth an excursion. In the caves of Fontain and Guadirikiri, Indians have left traces of themselves that are still not completely understood. In Sabana Besora, Italian builders in the beginning of the last century decorated some apartment houses with pretty ornaments. Another adventure is a dive to the ghost ship Antilla, which has lain off the northwest coast of Aruba for sixty years, and is now home to iridescent fish and gaudy corals.

Neat and proper with its colorful gable-houses, but nonetheless thoroughly Caribbean, the island capital of Willemstad takes visitors straight to its heart. Its wonderfully preserved architecture from colonial times has earned it a place on UNESCO’s list of world cultural sites. One magnificent experience is the floating market, particularly on a Saturday, when traders from nearby Venezuela offer their produce on old wooden barges. All the creatures of the sea can be viewed in the Curaçao Underwater Park – feeding allowed!

The trip to Soufriere is an experience in itself, and the little town is a perfect gem – pure Caribbean. You can smell the sulfur in the air as you approach Sulfur Springs crater, jokingly described as a drive-in volcano, bubbling away quietly to itself. Everyday island life can be experienced in the capital of Castries, where the small farmers bring their colorful produce to the covered market on the weekends – a feast for the senses!

Introspection and nature are the keynotes on Tobago. Divers flock to Buccoo Reef, one of the most beautiful coral reefs in the world and home to countless tropical fish – a masterpiece of nature. In the enchanting Englishman’s Bay, time seems to have stood still. Here, you can easily give in to the illusion that palm trees, sandy beaches and waves constitute perfect happiness. Guided tours are organized by the Asa-Wright Nature Center in Trinidad, a former plantation of incomparable beauty right in the heart of the rainforest.

An excursion in the footsteps of Robinson Crusoe along the east coast is magnificent. Bridgetown, the capital, is thrilling – not for its office complexes but rather for the peaceful co-existence between modernity and tradition. In the middle of it all is the synagogue, the oldest Jewish place of worship in the New World, lovingly restored by the National Trust. The whole spectrum of exotic tropical plants is assembled in the Botanical Garden. Not far from this idyll is Bathsheba, once a fishing village but now known mainly for Soup Bowl beach, a mecca for surfers who come here to measure themselves against the ocean. Inshore it’s worth a visit to the numerous manor houses from British colonial times.

The Route de la Traversée in the irresistibly beautiful Parc Naturel de la Guadeloupe offers a world of adventure. Spectacular views, strolls with raccoons or physically demanding trips to the crater of La Soufriere – the wilderness fascinates young and old alike. Le Gosier offers high life under the palms: over a glass of Ti-Punch, the national drink, you can get even closer to the Caribbean spirit. The far-from-morbid cemetery of Morne à l’Eau is a veritable city of the dead. Also dedicated to the past is the Musée Archéologique Edgar Clerc, which preserves a colorful record of the island’s colonial days. The cultural highlight of this party-loving island is the “Fête des Cuisinières” in August, on which the female chefs, dressed in traditional clothing, march through town.

From Fort-de-France, the Route de la Trace, the most beautiful road in Martinique, heads North into the mountains. Nobody with a penchant for unusual architecture should miss the Bibiliothèque Schoelcher, before making for the fascinating highlands outside the town. “All about bananas” could be the slogan of the banana museum on the east coast, on the former sugar plantation known as the Habitation Limbé. The cultural history of the yellow fruit is documented here, from cultivation to shipment. Picturesque coastal roads lead toward the south, where magical coves and sleepy fishing villages appear around every bend in the road.