Top 25 Caribbean Islands to Visit in 2025 — The Bahamas Leads with the Most Islands Featured
The Caribbean is evolving, just as its visitors are evolving. For every visitor looking to savor the region’s natural beauty, there’s another seeking out authentic cultural experiences, musical odysseys or wellness journeys.
Then there are the hotels: the region’s accommodations have never been better or more different, whether it’s the continued growth of all-inclusive resorts or the welcome development of personality-rich, unique boutique hotels. And then there’s the food — a reminder that this is also the world’s most diverse culinary destination. But the scope of the Caribbean can also be intimidating. There are so many places to choose from, so many hotels, so many cities, so many beaches, so many islands, so many possibilities.
Where to start? We’ve been covering the region exhaustively and comprehensively for a decade and a half, and our editors have been traveling to the Caribbean for a half century. Every day, we try to tell the story of that experience, based on year-round trips to the Caribbean, on-the-ground resarch and hotel stays across the islands. But if you want a place to start as you plan your 2025 trips, this is it: our annual list of the best islands to visit in the Caribbean includes our favorite hotspots and under-the-radar gems to check out as you look for travel inspiration. This year, we’ve gone deeper, focusing on specific areas within each destination.
Here are our favorite places to go right now, including, of course, some places that are not actually islands but simply cannot be missed. This is your Caribbean guide for 2025.
Exuma, The Bahamas It might have begun with the Swimming Pigs, but Exuma has skyrocketed to the top of many travelers’ radar for its indescribably beautiful water, pristine beaches and unmatched boating. Lots of places like to throw around the term “bucket list,” but Exuma is very much a box to be ticked – you can travel around the world and back and never see water like this. Exuma is also heating up in other ways, from new-look hotels (the historic Peace ’n Plenty just got a facelift) to a new Beaches resort in development, and a brand-new airport on the way. It’s an exciting time to visit this Bahamian archipelago, from the charms of Great Exuma to the south to the pilgrimage stop at Staniel Cay to the north.
Downtown Nassau, The Bahamas It’s one of the biggest transformations in the region in recent years. It’s taken about a decade, but the downtown corner of the Bahamian capital of Nassau has been dramatically reimagined into a walkable, exciting, fun neighborhood that is arguably the top downtown anywhere in the Caribbean. That ranges from the stunning work the team at Graycliff have done to create their Heritage Village to the artistic efforts of the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas and local artists like Antonius Roberts to The Pointe, the hotel complex that includes the excellent Margaritaville Beach Resort, its One Particular Harbour residential-style sister hotel. Then there’s the newest addition: the marvelously restored, revamped British Colonial Nassau, the city’s first hotel that has been lovingly and exquisitely upgraded in a way that honors its history and exemplifies the new Nassau. Nassau is, plainly, better than ever.
Cape Santa Maria, Long Island, The Bahamas The first time we visited this beach, one of our editors said it might be the most beautiful beach he had ever seen. And if you come here, you’ll find it hard to disagree. It’s so beautiful, so blue, so brilliant that pictures really don’t do it justice. But when you get here, you’ll find it hard to leave. Long Island is one of the great undiscovered places in The Bahamas, with just a handful of flights (including just one, on the excellent Makers Air, from the United States) and exceedingly few tourists. But this is the Grande Dame, home to a lovable bungalow hotel that is designed for stepping right out onto the sand and spending all day there. (The best part is the price: you can often find rooms here for under $400 and sometimes $300 per night).
Green Turtle Cay, Abaco, The Bahamas It’s less than two square miles. But there’s something here that can’t be measured. This little outpost in the electric-Blue Abaco chain of The Bahamas will have you instantly fall in love, whether you’re strolling through the streets of the old town of New Plymouth or checking into one of its beloved little hotels like the friendly Green Turtle Club or the enchanting Bluff House. But it’s actually rather easy to get here: fly from Miami or Palm Beach to Marsh Harbor, hop in a cab, then take a super-quick ferry from the mainland and you’re immediately transported into a different world
Cape Eleuthera, The Bahamas While North Eleuthera is largely the gateway to Harbour Island, and central Eletuhera is increasingly hot for the charms of Governor’s Harbour, we keep falling hard for the raw, stunning natural beauty of the southwestern corner of Eleuthera, home to the boutique Cape Eleuthera resort, where you have 4,500 acres all to yourself, filled with adventure and blissfully uncrowded. The hotel itself has some lovely toes-in-the-sand bungalows for the perfect beach fantasy. Read Full Reference Article.
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