Try these alternative Caribbean islands this summer

Not all of the Caribbean is teeming with tourists. Just consider the luxurious, stunning and under-appreciated isle of Anguilla.

It has long hovered at the bottom end of visitor numbers in the Caribbean — with just 30,000 or so visitors in 2019, compared with the million or more sun seekers who hit the Bahamas each year.

But don’t blame the island itself. Blame the airlines! Anguilla has long suffered mostly thanks to the inconvenience of getting there from the States.

Now, that’s changing.

Last year, American Airlines launched a new direct, non-stop flight from Miami to Anguilla that is still running three times per week.

But even if you must stop over, a stay at the island’s Aurora Anguilla is worth the trip. A reimagining of the awfully named Cuisinart Resort, it just reopened under new owners with seven onsite restaurants and not one, but two golf courses from Greg Norman’s team.

Will Anguilla turn into the Aruba? Definitely not. Will it lose its “exclusivity?” Maybe.

If you’re an island hipster looking for undiscovered cool, we’ve got a few fresh ideas for alternative beaches to visit that could inspire even the most jaded Caribbean-goer.

Meh about another trip to Mustique or St. Barts? Consider Canouan

If you are private jetting from Europe to Basil’s Bar, you’d have to touch down on this island, Mustique’s even tonier rival. Locals snark that it’s where billionaires go to escape the millionaires next door.

Hunker down at Canouan’s Mandarin Oriental, one of the chain’s best branches, sitting on its own beach on the island’s east coast near the island’s highest peak, Mount Royal (rooms from $1,800).

There’s golf, too, via the 72-par Jim Fazio-designed 18-holer — most people pootle round the isle on golf carts (just keep an eye out for crossing turtles, common enough that Canouan means “island of turtles” in local patois).

To compare IRL with VIP life here, happy hour at Scruffy’s on the marina is a chance to elbow-rub with locals and the yachties, both crew and owners, or follow the music in town to one of the ad hoc bars, doling out glugs of the local rum, Sunset Very Strong — the ABV is too high to legally take it back on the plane.

Getting there: You won’t find the airport here, CIW, listed on Google Flights, but the Mandarin Oriental has its own, charter-ready jet, or try Grenadine Air, which includes Canouan’s airport in its air-bus service.

Done with diving in the DR? Come to Sint Eustatius

First, call it Statia, like the locals do. This tiny, barely 8-square-mile island is ringed by a marine park with stand-out spots ideal for pro-level divers — like the 130-plus-foot Volcano Fingers. Just don’t believe the stories: The blue beads they bring back as souvenirs aren’t slave trade relics, but the jetsam of a shipwreck.

What’s helped drive new interest in Statia is the arrival in late 2021 of its first ever boutique hotel, the 32-room Golden Rock Dive & Nature Resort (rooms from $475). It’s right next to the dormant volcano that dominates the skyline, known as the Quill. Hike up it for something few other Caribbean islands can offer: a descent into the crater.

Getting there: Take a Winair flight from SXM in St. Maarten to EUX, a 20-minute jaunt that runs throughout the day.

Bored with the slick but soulless Bahamas? Enjoy old school Caribbean in Bequia

Like Canouan and Mustique, this is one of the Grenadines, but beers-and-barefoot Bequia (say it BECK-way) couldn’t be more different than its polished sister islands.

Bring a crew and stay at one of the brand new villas at the Bequia Beach Hotel offshoot, Grenadine Hills — the latest, Rock Villa, opens soon with its own ocean-fed saltwater swimming pool (rooms from $326).

Hang out for the day on the golden sands of Princess Margaret Beach — she made a trip there once when staying on Mustique — and try the Gibbon’s Rum Punch at Jack’s Beach Bar there.

Next, stroll over to the almost-as-gorgeous Lower Bay Beach. Amble round the small main town, Port Elizabeth, or take a trip to the Grenadine Sea Salt factory nearby. It’s run by two expat New Yorkers, Jerry and Elizabeth, who sell their own blends.

Getting there: Connect via Bequia Air direct from Barbados or St. Lucia to BQU or hop the 1-hour ferry from Kingston, the country’s capital in St. Vincent.

Had it with hiking in St. Lucia? Make a trip to Montserrat

This island was almost wiped off the map in the late 1990s after a devastating volcanic eruption made most of it uninhabitable; by 2019, it was the least visited country in the region with barely 4,000 tourists a year.

Now, it’s bouncing back, as a spot for outdoorsy tourists: Hikes through the lush tropical canopy here are particularly rewarding for birdwatchers, while its coast is rimmed with unsullied black sand beaches. Head to the charming bar on Isles Bay Beach at sunset.

Stay at Olveston House B&B, the onetime home of Beatles producer George Martin who used to have a studio here (call for rates: +1 664-491-3663). Even better, come in March for the Caribbean’s most boisterous St. Patty’s day — many Montserratians trace their heritage directly back to the Emerald Isle (and have Irish surnames, to boot) so it’s a national holiday here that’s celebrated with gusto.

Getting there: It’s a 20-minute flight from Antigua’s ANU to MNI on Montserrat
Airways.

Keen to swap out another stroll around Barbados? Try Dominica, the eco-island