Unless you have months to spend in the Caribbean, there"s little chance you will be able to see everything the various islands have to offer. And while most of the suggested itineraries for Caribbean travel revolve around the popular spots of Jamaica, Aruba or the Virgin Islands for a week or so, the Caribbean is laid out perfectly for those who wish to island hop and get a sampling of what each has to offer. Everyone who has returned from the islands will have their own ideas about how to construct a Caribbean itinerary – the following are a few, along with Caribbean travel tips to keep in mind.

1-3 Days

Few people come to the islands for this short a period of time, and those who do can barely afford to take a day trip somewhere. Not even cruises run this short. But if you are just heading down for an extended weekend, stick to the large urban areas. Suggested itineraries for Caribbean travel over this short of time include San Juan, Puerto Rico, which is always a guarantee for a good time, while St. Thomas and the Cayman Islands are the most well equipped for shorter a shorter Caribbean itinerary. Just like Vegas, if you are going gambling in the Caribbean, a few days is probably all you need. The best casinos are on Aruba, though St. Maarten and the Dominican Republic provide some decent competition for that title.

4-7 Days

Now we are getting an opportunity to do a little island hopping. Hundreds of cruises ship out each day towards the Caribbean islands, many of them lasting a week or so and coming into port at several different cities. Most of these cruises cover the northern islands and leave from a few stateside locations. Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are also good location to begin a whirlwind tour of the Caribbean. Usually you will get a glimpse of both the British and United States Virgin Islands, Jamaica and maybe one of the Turks and Caicos chain, if you are lucky. By far the most popular island hopping tours generally include bouncing across the Virgin Islands. More adventurous travelers include the French West Indies in their Caribbean itinerary. Seven days may not be enough to get them all in, but day trips originating in St. Lucia can lead you to Dominica, Martinique and Guadeloupe within hours. Those dispensing Caribbean travel tips usually applaud the ability to quickly move around by plane. If you plan to island hop this way, there are a hundred different combinations of islands you can visit. One of the most important Caribbean travel tips to keep in mind is that the cheapest flights usually can be found in Puerto Rico or Jamaica, so those are good islands to start on. If you prefer the Dutch West Indies, a week is enough to focus completely on Aruba and Curacao, though savvy travelers will know to spend the majority of their time on the latter.

Caribbean Map

7+ Days

If you are venturing through the Caribbean without the benefit of a cruise, you should probably budget at least seven days to get a true grasp of the region. Since so many islands have cultures heavily influenced by the European countries that colonized them, it can be an interesting experience to sample one from each region. This is only doable by plane travel, or if you have a lot of time, however. Flying into the Dominican Republic, moving on to St. Maarten, before heading south to Martinique and Barbados is a sample itinerary that includes most of the different types of cultures in the Caribbean. Another way to see the region is to pick a small cluster of islands and stick to those. This way you get to become more embedded in a single culture. If you touch down in St. Lucia, you can easily travel to all the French islands. The same with Aruba and the Dutch influenced nations. If you want to take a rich cultural vacation, start in Haiti and journey onto the Dominican Republic before making your way to Cuba. Though not as easily laid out as many vacations, it could easily be the most rewarding. For those that want a more relaxed version of island hopping, the conventional wisdom says to stick to the Virgin, Cayman and Turks and Caicos Islands.

Regardless of how long you have to spend in the Caribbean, the many distinctive cultures will have you immediately wanting to return. There are hundreds of plausible directions for your vacation to head in, these are only a few suggested itineraries for the Caribbean.