If you want to travel to the Caribbean, you have many options to choose from. Your Caribbean travel destinations include:

Antigua and Barbuda
Haiti
Aruba
Jamaica
Bahamas
Martinique
Barbados
Puerto Rico
Cayman Islands
St. Kitts and Nevis

Cuba
St. Lucia
Dominica
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Dominican Republic
Trinidad and Tobago
Grenada
Turks & Caicos Islands
Guadeloupe
Virgin Islands

Each destination offers its own experiences and exotic ambiance. Use this guide to learn about the Caribbean and what you need to know before you disembark on your trip.

Caribbean Weather

Most people travel to the Caribbean because of the region's amazing weather. Sunny with a steady breeze, the Caribbean provides ideal weather for hours of sunbathing and frolicking in the ocean. All islands, for the most part, offer the same climate with slight variations in weather patterns here and there (and the occasional tropical rainfall), making any island you select an ideal destination for your tropical paradise.

However, the majority of the Caribbean is within a hurricane belt. This means that during certain times of the year, the Caribbean can be hit by hurricanes. The official hurricane season in the Caribbean is June 1st to November 30th with August to October being peak months. Now even though the hurricane season is smack dab in the middle of prime summer vacation time, you need not worry. With technology today and weather tracking, it's now possible to identify when a hurricane or major storm will hit. So, if you're planning a Caribbean travel trip, find out what the current hurricane season is like and how the island of choice will fair during it.

Southern islands such as Barbados and Aruba, on the other hand, lie outside of the Caribbean hurricane belt and almost never fall victim to hurricanes. If you don't want to worry about planning your Caribbean trip around the hurricane season, the southern islands of the Caribbean are the best way to go.

Caribbean Activities

Each Caribbean destination has its own terrain and landscape, providing its own unique activities. Almost all destinations have amazing beaches, but some also have tropical rain forests and mountains. Puerto Rico, for example, has the only rainforest that's part of the U.S. National Parks system. Aruba, on the other hand, is one of the only islands that offer a non-tropical environment, offering dryer surroundings. So, depending on your Caribbean travel destination, your activities are limited to the natural makeup of the island. But in general, your activities will include sunbathing, playing in the ocean, nature hikes through the lush terrain (if available), trips into town to purchase the local merchandise, and experiencing the island nightlife.

Caribbean travel destinations are the key to a tropical getaway. With many island destinations to choose from, all offering optimal weather and relaxing activities, the Caribbean is definitely a destination to put on your list of places to visit.