Caribbean beaches: The complete guide

What's so special about Caribbean beaches?

Are you kidding? The Caribbean is one of the top destinations for sun, sea and sand. Set in a 1,700-mile arc running between Florida and South America, the islands form a chain separating the Atlantic Ocean from the Caribbean Sea. There are around 60 islands and cays in all, some large and populous, others just dozy blips. And that's excluding the Bahamas, which number about 3,000 reefs and sandbars, some so low that they threaten to disappear at high tide.

In the Caribbean you will find the archetypal half-moon strands of talc-soft sand, blindingly white, backed by a fringe of coconut palms, and lapped by wavelets flopping lazily out of gin-clear shallows. You can choose from walking beaches, magnificent strips of ankle deep sand that glitters with phosphorescence at night; people-spotting beaches; sporting beaches where straw-haired surfers strut their stuff; and secluded beaches where you can imagine yourself washed up on a desert island.

Let's cut to the chase: where's the best sand?

The softest, finest sand tends to be on the low-lying groups such as the Bahamas and the Leeward Islands, but the mountainous islands have their place too, with secluded coves between massive, forested headlands.

Where does it come from?

It's fish we have to thank. Parrot-fish particularly. They bite the coral, crunch it up and spit out the stony residue as grains of sand. Wave action also breaks down dead reef into small particles. The sand is white because the corals build a sub-skeleton of limestone. Although most Caribbean islands are originally volcanic, over the millennia they have been "capped" by reef as the sea rises and falls around them. Those that have not tend to have dark sand, the residue of volcanic material. Pink beaches, also found in the area, are created by shells that are ground down by the waves.

Beaches have been known to disappear. The winter swells sometimes cause the sand to filter away, though it usually shuffles back in calmer weather. Beaches affected by hurricanes – these can damage the reef down to 200ft below the surface – will usually be back to normal after a few months.

Can I get my kit off?

Nudity, including going topless, is frowned on (and actually illegal) on most islands. Well, apart from the French islands, where tourists going topless is accepted and there are some unofficial areas for complete nudity. On English-speaking islands you can usually get away with it if you are in a secluded area. The Superclubs hotels in Jamaica provide areas for nudists.

Who owns them?

In most Caribbean islands the beaches are public up to the high-water mark, so in theory you can use any beach. However, there may be no access across land, so you might have to swim or jet-ski in. In practice there are enough beaches with public access to keep you happy on every island.

Only a few islands have public facilities on the beaches, but if there is nowhere to change, hotels sometimes have a room where you can do so. Lifeguards only patrol the most popular beaches, and not on every island.

Anything to watch out for?

Apart from sunburn, there are a few hazards to bear in mind. Sandflies may plague you late in the day. These tiny mites, so small they also go by the name "no-see-ems", pack an irritating bite. Many beaches are backed by the tall manchioneal tree, which has poisonous sap; don't shelter under them in the rain because the run-off can cause blisters. Columbus called their small green fruit the "apples of death" (the name of the tree comes from the Spanish for apple, manzanilla). Be careful sheltering under palms; people have been killed by falling coconuts.

Any famous beaches?

Columbus's landfall in 1492 is disputed, but the general consensus is that after struggling with the weed of the Sargasso Sea and a crew in near mutiny in the Bahamas, he landed at Long Bay on the island of San Salvador. Another theory places his landing in the Turks and Caicos Islands. On his fourth voyage, Columbus spent a year marooned in Jamaica when his ships sank off St Ann's Bay.

The pirate Jack Rackham, a man apparently with a penchant for calico underwear, was run to ground in 1720 by the Royal Navy while cavorting with his henchman (and henchwomen Anne Bonney and Mary Read) on Negril beach in Jamaica. Now it's famous as Jamaica's longest (five miles) and coolest beach resort. In Dr No, Ursula Andress appeared from the waves on a beach near Ocho Rios in Jamaica. Ian Fleming wrote some of the Bond novels in his house not far from here.

What about beach bars?

With a drinking opportunity on nearly every strip of sand, the British Virgin Islands have more beach bars per square foot than any other part of the Caribbean. They get crowded and extremely lively at night when yachties pour ashore. Try the Cooper Island Beach Club; Gertrude's in White Bay on Jost van Dyke (except when cruise ships are in); and Billy Bones on Norman Island. Offshore is the Willy T, a moored ship and rumbustious floating bar known for its "body shots" (salt on the lips, lemon between the legs and tequila in the belly button) and communal shots off a water ski.

In Grenada, the Aquarium is set on a small strip of sand on the tapering southwest peninsula, ideal for a lazy day out. And in Nevis try Sunshine's Bar, a ramshackle red, gold and green shed facing the sunset from palm-backed Pinney's Beach.

Bomba's, on Payne's Bay in Barbados, is also a rustic affair rumbling with reggae. You can get great food on the sand in Barbados from Mullins Beach Bar (near Speightstown).

On Anguilla the Dune Preserve – boats built into the sand dunes – is one of the coolest bars. If you are lucky, Bankie Banx, the bar's ice-cool owner, will play his wistful guitar music.

With all the tropical fruits, cocktails are a Caribbean staple. Many were invented here – Piña Colada (Puerto Rico), Daiquiri (Cuba) and more recently the Bahama Mama and Painkiller (almost a national drink in the British Virgin Islands). The traditional rum punch (rum, sugar, lime and a juice) is drunk in every island but is now universally obliterated by sticky, bright red Grenadine syrup.

And food?

Though the Caribbean is hardly known for its food, you can expect to eat well in St Barts and Anguilla, expensive islands that have developed good reputations for cuisine. In St Barts, the tiny Eden Rock hotel has a delightful beachside bistro called the Sand Bar. The Lafayette Club in Anse de Grand Cul-de-Sac has been known to stage fashion shows with lunch.

For more local fare you can get the best barbecued Anguillian crayfish and lobster at the Palm Grove a shed on the windswept Junks Hole Beach.

Hey, let's have a party!

If there's one thing other than rum that unites the West Indies, it's dancing. Nearly each island has its own rhythm: soca (Trinidad), zouk (Martinique, Guadeloupe), reggae (Jamaica), salsa (Cuba, Puerto Rico) and merengue (Dominican Republic). For dancing on the beach the Virgin Islands are good: at Quito's Gazebo above the sand on Cane Garden Bay in Tortola, Quito himself often plays calypso and island rock.

On tiny Jost van Dyke you might hear the eponymous Foxy playing (ad-libbed songs especially sung for you), but this bar (and the six others on Great Bay) is most famous for the New Year Party, which brings thousands on yachts. Bomba's Surfside Shack on Tortola is built of driftwood (Bomba is one of the only people who benefits from hurricanes) and has interesting drinks additives in the rum punch at his Full Moon parties. Barbados is another party island, particularly on the south coast.

And a book for the beach?

The funniest book to come out of the Caribbean tourist industry is Herman Wouk's Don't Stop the Carnival, which describes the nightmare life of a Caribbean hotel manager. It was published nearly 40 years ago, yet is as killingly true as ever and it's hard to look your hotel manager straight in the eye after reading it. Jamaica's Anthony Winkler has written some hilarious views of that island – The Lunatic, The Great Yacht Race and The Painted Canoe are the best. Most recently, One People by Guy Kennaway (Payback Press) tells of the wonderful, side-splitting illogicality of Jamaican village life.

The most romantic beaches

Anse la Roche, Carriacou, Grenada

Finding the beach is a veritable treasure hunt. Follow the path from a gnarled tree leaning over the road north out of Bogles, turn left by the boulders down to a clearing with a dried pond and a ruin, head down the hill from a rock which usually has a conch shell on it. A perfect, usually deserted stretch of sand, tucked away from the crowds.

Frenchman's Cove, Port Antonio, Jamaica

Simply the most delightful setting. A river meanders down to a small cove between crab-claw headlands, each overhung with fantastic greenery. It'll cost you J$100 entry.

Crane Beach, Barbados

In the southeast of Barbados, beyond the airport, are a number of coves cut into the limestone cliffs, with extraordinarily blue sea and sumptuous sand, some with a screen of palms. Crane Beach is topped by the classical pillars of a hotel, but Bottom Beach, Harrismith Beach and Foul Bay (named for its reputation as an anchorage rather than anything else) are more natural and often deserted.

Sandy Spit, Jost van Dyke, British Virgin Islands

This sandbar is so low-lying that it threatens to disappear at high tide. It's the archetypal tropical island with nothing but a few palm trees. Visitors arrive by yacht, slither overboard and swim to shore. Unfortunately there's no guarantee that you'll be alone.

The first 500 readers to call 01476 541 080 before 17 December save £5 on the normal £14.99 price for 'Caribbean & the Bahamas', the Cadogan guide by James Henderson; please quote 'Independent offer'

Where should I stay?

Anguilla

Abercrombie & Kent (0845 0700 613, www.abercrombiekent.co.uk) is offering seven nights in a superior room at Cap Juluca on Maundays Beach for £3,090 per person, from 5 January to 6 March; cost includes flights, accommodation on a b&b basis, transfers and watersports.

Bahamas

Harbour Island

Pink Sands on Harbour Island is part of Island Outposts Group, owned by Chris Blackwell of Island Records. It overlooks one of the Bahamas' renowned pink-hued beaches. Scott Dunn (020-8672 1234) is offering seven nights for £1,850 per person, including return flights via Nassau to Harbour Island and half-board accommodation.

Cat Island

A week in a cottage at the Fernandez Bay Beach Club on Cat Island costs from £1,187 per person with Discover the Bahamas (01737 218 803, www.discover-the-bahamas.co.uk). The resort is on a mile-long beach. The price includes international flights, domestic transfers and room-only accommodation.

Grenada

Tropic Breeze (01752 880977) can offer a two-week trip, staying for a week at Spice Island Beach Resort from £1,475 per person including flights and then a week sailing the Grenadines on a six-berth, 40-ft yacht from £200 per person. Alternatively, consider a delightful small, less expensive hotel like La Sagesse Nature Centre (001 473 444 6458).

St Barts

Elegant Resorts (01244 897 999, www.elegantresorts.co.uk) is offering seven nights in a beach cottage at the chic Eden Rock hotel on St Jean beach; £2,130 per person sharing, including international flights and b&b accommodation.

Top 10 beaches

1. Pinney's Beach, Nevis

A delightful, three-mile strand of light brown or "golden" sand (above), backed along its entire length by a tangle of tall palms. It is mostly undeveloped, with just a few bars, and is a great place to walk.

2. Grace Bay, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands

A 12-mile stretch of blindingly white sand set against a surreal blue sea. It is gradually becoming more built up, but there are still miles of sand to walk on, so soft you may find yourself stumbling to get through it.

3. White Bay, Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands

Mounded white sand in a quiet corner of this comatose island. There are a couple of bars (find out when cruise ships are due and avoid it then) and a tiny hotel hidden in the trees.

4. Coco Point, Barbuda

On an island that has supreme sand, this is a wonderful curved strand, 50 yards deep in places. There are just two unfeasibly expensive hotels, superb snorkelling offshore and miles and miles of sand to walk along.

5. Saltwhistle Bay, Mayreau, the Grenadines

The perfect crescent-shaped, palm-backed beach on this tiny, dozy Grenadine island. There is a hotel hidden in the sandy palm-garden, but the bay is perfect if you are cruising the islands on a yacht.

6. Shoal Bay East, Anguilla

"Shoal" means reef, and this beach has good snorkelling offshore, but the sand is also superb. There are a couple of bars where you can get a beer and fried chicken or fish.

7. Pink Beach, Harbour Island,
Eleuthera, Bahamas

One of hundreds of beaches around the Bahamas, Pink Beach is distinguished by its particularly delicate shade, and has more than three miles of lovely sand to explore. With most development hidden away and huge waves crashing in off the Atlantic, you will feel you are walking to the ends of the earth.

8. Stocking Island, Exumas, Bahamas

Stocking Island is a short boat ride from downtown Georgetown on Great Exuma, across the huge, turquoise bay. Excellent strips of sand surround the island.

9. Grande Anse des Salines, Martinique

Right in the south, this is the finest beach on this French island, a half-moon curve backed almost along its entire length by palm trees and with views across to St Lucia.

10. The west coast, Barbados

Calm and sedate, protected from the Atlantic swells by the island itself, the west coast of Barbados is a series of coves and strands separated by cliffs. It is almost completely developed now, but is still one of the prettiest strips of sand in the Caribbean.

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