Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia is the Caribbean's most visually arresting island — a claim it earns within the first 20 minutes of descent into Hewanorra, when the Pitons appear through the aircraft window like something painted rather than grown. The twin volcanic spires rise 2,438 and 2,619 feet from the sea near the town of Soufrière on the island's southwest coast, and they command the landscape with an authority that no other Caribbean landmark approaches. UNESCO made them a World Heritage Site in 2004. Every honeymoon photographer in the Caribbean has used them as a backdrop. They still don't look real.

Soufrière is the centre of Saint Lucia's geological drama. The drive-in volcano — technically a sulphuric field of bubbling mud and steam vents rather than a cone, but marketed brilliantly as the world's only drive-in volcano — sits a few minutes from town. Diamond Falls and Botanical Gardens are immediately adjacent: a thermal waterfall that runs in shades of orange and yellow from the mineral-rich springs, with a private bathing pool fed by the same waters. The mud baths nearby are primordial and absurdly relaxing.

Jade Mountain Resort, above the Pitons, is the architectural peak of Caribbean resort design — each suite has only three walls, the fourth open to an unobstructed view of both Pitons and the sea between them. There is an infinity pool in every room. The dining room, the Jade Club, operates without a menu — the kitchen feeds you based on what arrived that morning. No property in the Caribbean makes a stronger case for spending your entire holiday in a room.

The island has two airports. Hewanorra (UVF) in the south serves international flights and is closest to Soufrière and the Pitons — the most scenic approach but a 90-minute drive from Rodney Bay in the north. George F.L. Charles Airport (SLU) in Castries serves regional inter-Caribbean hops and is far closer to Rodney Bay and Cap Estate's northern resort strip. The helicopter transfer between airports costs approximately USD $150 per person and is one of the Caribbean's great 15-minute experiences — the island from the air, Pitons to bays to volcanic flanks.

Rodney Bay in the north is Saint Lucia's social hub — a marina town with the island's best concentration of restaurants, beach bars, and nightlife. The Friday Street Party at Gros Islet draws locals and visitors together in a weekly open-air street party that runs from early evening until late; it is the most authentic social experience on the island and costs almost nothing. Anse Chastanet's reef, just north of Soufrière, is one of the best snorkel sites in the Eastern Caribbean — wall coral, sea turtles, and virtually no current.