9 of the best quiet Caribbean islands (2024)

There are few secrets left in the Caribbean. Or so it can feel anyway — but with over 7,000 islands to choose from, there are still less-visited spots that bring a mix of seclusion and comfort away from the cruise ship passengers and spring breakers. With a bit of adventure and a little more travel, the region still has tranquil corners to explore, from volcanic peaks to isolated beaches. Here are the best quiet islands in the Caribbean.

Main photo: Cabbage Beach on Paradise Island in the Bahamas (Alamy)

1. St Vincent and the Grenadines

Best for Crusoes and couples who want to be alone
Want to spin the clock back to the days before the Caribbean’s mega-cruise ships, glitzy casinos and all-inclusives? You can in St Vincent: the 32 islands and cays of the Grenadines are a last bastion of old-school R’n’R, with a gentle vibe that will best suit honeymooners and romancing couples. St Vincent lacks a cracking hotel but is worth touring to see its dramatic volcanic scenery and pirate-lair bays, so stay on nearby Bequia then take a day trip over on the local ferry. Further south, it’s all about castaway dreams on Petit St Vincent, Palm Island or Young Island, where your luxury cottage might come without TV, phone or wi-fi for proper peace and quiet.

•

2. Bahamas

Best for footprint-free beaches
We’re talking a stupefying 700 frangipani-scented islands to choose from, each brimming with flour-fine beaches, glassy bays and coves framed by silver buttonwood trees. The catch? To reach the really knock-your-socks-off bits of the Bahamas, you’ll need to catch an extra flight (and sometimes a ferry, too) from the chaotic capital, Nassau, which teems with cruise-ship crowds — but on the Bahamas’ unspoiled Out Islands, life slows to hermit-crab pace. North of Nassau, the Abacos are a necklace of sleepy cays linked by small ferryboats, which makes exploring a doddle. Clapboard-cute Hope Town on Elbow Cay makes a pretty base, with its candy-striped lighthouse and picket-fenced lanes.

• Best hotels in the Bahamas

3. French Antilles

Best for tropical beauty meets Gallic glamour
These islands are fabulously Français, with a dash of Caribbean je ne sais quoi. St Barts is super-chic, a tiny tropical take on the Côte d’Azur (without the froideur and with much better beaches). Guadeloupe is half Caribbean beach idyll, half tropical wilderness (with its own volcano!), though it wears its Creole authenticity slightly haughtily. Martinique’s quiet sophistication belies the fact that it offers some of the best hiking in the Caribbean, thanks to its extraordinarily rugged geography. And St Martin has the most delicious street in the Caribbean: Grand Case Boulevard, with big-name French chefs and great Creole food.

• Best hotels in St Barts

4. St Kitts & Nevis

Best for active families and explorers
St Kitts is the gateway to these gorgeous twin islands, 37km long and crowned by mighty volcanic Mount Liamuiga. It’s also where the English first settled in the Caribbean, in 1624, so expect plenty of atmospheric leftovers from the colonial era. A 45-minute ferry ride southeast, quieter, sleepier Nevis is dominated by the beautiful triangle of Nevis Peak. There’s not as much to see here, but the hotels are top-class and it has a charm and character that’s been lost on the Caribbean’s more-developed islands. This is a good choice for families, especially with older children: activities include horse-riding on the beach, mountain-biking and, in the summer, watching turtles nesting.

• Best hotels in St Kitts and Nevis

5. Grenada

Best for stacks to see and do
Grenada ticks all the brochure-holiday boxes. Unlike some of its Caribbean counterparts, Grenada isn’t a pint-sized blob (it’s nearly as big as the Isle of Wight), so there’s lots to see. Highlights include the mountainous rainforested interior, waterfalls, foodie farm stops (nutmegs, cocoa, rum) and the capital St George’s — as pretty as a postcard, with Georgian buildings rising above a natural harbour. The island gets the balance just right between being geared up for holidaymakers while keeping tourism development low-key (and low-rise). In fact, only the southwest corner, particularly the area around Grand Anse, is focused on tourism.

• Best hotels in Grenada
• Best beaches in Grenada
• Best things to do in Grenada

6. Dominica

Best for nature lovers
If you haven’t come to the region in search of huge beaches but instead fancy some jungle adventure as part of your trip, Dominica is for you. With steep mountains and impenetrable dense vegetation, from above it appears like a chunk of the Amazon jungle floating in the ocean. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s here you’ll find the Caribbean’s longest hiking trail (the Waitukubuli, which starts inside the Cabrits National Park) as well as plenty of hotels that feel as though they’ve grown with the trees. The water isn’t off-limits, of course; there’s some sensational diving off Dominica, too.

• Best things to do in Dominica

7. Montserrat

Best for daredevils
Some islands feel emptier because of their remoteness, while others feel undiscovered. The British Overseas Territory of Montserrat is neither of those things but is nonetheless a rarely visited place thanks to the fury of the Soufriere Hills volcano. A series of eruptions began in the mid-1990s, releasing enough lava to destroy the Victorian capital of Plymouth. Today the southern half of the island remains off-limits, but for volcano fans — or anyone truly looking to get away from the crowds — Montserrat provides a rare chance to see an island being reborn. New investment and new ports are coming back to the islands, ahead, undoubtedly, of the tourists.

8. Corn Islands, Nicaragua

Best for doing nothing
Not regarded as part of the traditional Caribbean island set, Nicaragua’s Corn Islands are nonetheless indisputably in the relevant sea. After a period of British governance, they fell into the hands of pirates for many years, before being used for fairly intensive coconut farming. Today they offer a pure sort of tourism, a genuine hammock-under-palm-trees sort of destination. Little Corn gets the majority of visitors, though that’s still a fraction of many of its Caribbean neighbours. The snorkelling is excellent, the Nicaraguan rum fabulous, and the expectations of you doing anything beyond relaxing are lower than a sea cucumber’s belly.

9. Vieques, Puerto Rico

Best for glowing seas
For Europeans, Puerto Rico may well feel like an undiscovered destination altogether, but this nearly-but-not-quite US state is full of life. While the main island has plenty in common with mainland US, the eastern island of Vieques feels like something else altogether. Once used by the US Navy as a bombing range, its human population has understandably never been very high. Today it’s something of a green secret, with nature reserves, pristine beaches, and few visitors. The undoubted highlight is Mosquito Bay, which was officially recognised in 2008 by Guinness World Records as having the brightest bioluminescent plankton in the world.

• Best hotels in the Caribbean
• Best Caribbean cruises
• Caribbean hurricane season: when is it and how will it affect my holiday?

Additional reporting by Jamie Lafferty and Richard Mellor

Take me there

Inspired to visit the Caribbean but yet to book your trip? Here are the best packages from British Airways and Tui.

Sign up for the Times Travel Newsletter here.