Caribbean

  The U.S. Virgin Islands are a group of Caribbean islands and islets.   The British Virgin Islands, part of a volcanic archipelago in the Caribbean, is a British overseas territory. Comprising 4 main islands and many smaller ones, it's known for its reef-lined beaches and as a yachting destination.  

 Guadeloupe, a French overseas region, is an island group in the southern Caribbean Sea. Resembling a butterfly, its 2 largest islands are separated by the Salée River.  

 Martinique is a rugged Caribbean island that’s part of the Lesser Antilles. An overseas region of France, its culture reflects a distinctive blend of French and West Indian influences. Its largest town, Fort-de-France, features steep hills, narrow streets and La Savane, a garden bordered by shops and cafes.  

 Barbados is an eastern Caribbean island and an independent British Commonwealth nation. Bridgetown, the capital, is a cruise-ship port with colonial buildings and Nidhe Israel, a synagogue founded in 1654. 

 Saint Lucia is an Eastern Caribbean island nation with a pair of dramatically tapered mountains, the Pitons, on its west coast. Its coast is home to volcanic beaches, reef-diving sites, luxury resorts and fishing villages.  

  Grenada compromises a main island, also called Grenada, and smaller surrounding islands. Dubbed the “Spice Isle,” the hilly main island is home to numerous nutmeg plantations. 

Bonaire, an island municipality of the Netherlands, lies off Venezuela’s coast in the southern Caribbean. Its reef-lined coast is protected by Bonaire National Marine Park.  

 Curaçao, a Dutch Caribbean island, is known for the capital, Willemstad, which has pastel-colored colonial architecture, floating Queen Emma Bridge and the sand-floored, 17th-century Mikvé Israel-Emanuel Synagogue.  

Aruba is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about 29 kilometres north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná and 80 kilometres northwest of Curaçao.