This fabled sea, covering more than a million square miles and 7,000 islands with diverse languages, cultures, and ecosystems, has become probably the planet's premier vacation playground. Here it's all about its regional issues and allures. And yes, the (Plus) means we're including the Bahamas and Bermuda along with the Caribbean coasts of Colombia, Costa Rica, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guayana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Suriname, and Panama.

For other individual island forums, check out Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Saba, Statia (St. Eustatius), St. Barth, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Maarten/Martin, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

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5 highlights of Dutch Sint Maarten

Dave Senior Taking up 40 percent of the island of St. Martin and with a population of around 58,000, this territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands packs a whole lot of fun, flavor, and personality into a petite package. Whereas French St. Martin leans elegant and relaxed, the multicultural, largely English-speaking Dutch side offers its share of quiet corners, but also a livelier menu of casinos, nightlife, beach bars, waterfront dining – along some of the most photographed aircraft landings…

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Started by Helen Brown
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Chilling on Tortola and Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands

  Victor Block My husband Victor and I are travel writers. Which means when we get to a destination, we explore every aspect, constantly seeking out stories. Until we got to Tortola, capital of the British Virgin Islands, with a population around 15,000. That didn’t happen. And it was almost like — dare I say the word? — a vacation. But let’s back up a bit. We are a lot older than our last trip here 30 years ago when my husband had the temerity to actually hazard driving. To put the roads in…

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Started by Tripatini
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Rum and much more in Barbados

  Victor Block Most travelers know that most Caribbean islands are soaked in rum, but Barbados goes the rest one better because here, locals say, is where rum was discovered. In capital Bridgetown one early-17th-century day, the story goes, a tavern owner was searching for an empty shipping barrel when he inadvertently stumbled across one filled with a concoction worth selling -- a barrel of sugar cane fermented over time. Well, Mr. Rumball -- the tavern owner -- knew a good thing when he…

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Started by Tripatini
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  • Wendy Capra September 29, 2009 at 5:53am
    Hey, thanks to both, those are great answers and certainly food for thought. Here's the thing: I want to get away from my rainy hometown and go somewhere tropical and I have 2 weeks off coming up, but I'm not the kind to lie on a beach for 2 weeks either............. so maybe I need to find an island with lots to do culture-wise. I mean I'd love to go to Paris or back to my good ol' Italy, but I need sun and warm weather and culture and great food......... What's unusual about Montserrat, anyway?
  • Tony King September 28, 2009 at 7:41pm
    Wendy, I agree 100% with Cheryl, but I think we're missing the yacht charter possibilities in the islands. It's possible to visit St. Thomas, St. John and the British Virgin Islands on a sailing or motor yacht, fully crewed with a chef and including all meals at a very reasonable price. You'd have to fly into St. Thomas though to pick it up.
  • Cheryl Andrews September 28, 2009 at 5:37pm
    Wendy--it all depends on what you like. Casinos and shopping? Bahamas, St. Maarten. No casinos and shopping? St. Thomas. Great beaches? Turks + Caicos. Great music? Trinidad and Jamaica. Hiking? Tobago and Nevis. A quiet, sophisticated getaway? Nevis. Something truly unusual, and good for a budget? Montserrat. This year, though, there are great deals everywhere!
  • Wendy Capra September 28, 2009 at 3:33am
    One of my favorite parts of the world!!! There are so many islands to choose from though............... let's say I'm on a budget and have to pick just one, can we do an informal kind of poll and figure out which is the best all-around island? like is there an "ideal" carribbean island? i know it's kind of a dumb question, but i'ts hard to pick !!
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