Top trips: the best excursions in the Caribbean

Been there before? Try walking along the sea bed with a diving helmet (no scuba experience required) on a sea-trek tour on Pigeon Island (£75pp, seaadventuresstlucia.com) or lose all dignity at Rodney Bay’s Splash inflatable water park (from £20pp for two hours to £70pp for a day pass that includes lunch and two drinks, stluciawaterpark.rezgo.com).

Antigua
See Nelson’s Dockyard
An island tour might seem a mundane choice, but for first-timers it’s a great way to get an overview of Antigua’s heritage, history and humdinger beaches. Cruise ships dock in the centre of St John’s near the duty-free Heritage Quay shopping centre, where it’s easy to source a tour guide from the enthusiastic gaggle of taxi drivers. Don’t worry, they know their stuff. Routes vary, but make sure that you cover the highlights: Nelson’s Dockyard, the world’s only operational Georgian dockyard, where handsome restored buildings house restaurants and boutiques; Shirley Heights for gorgeous views over English Harbour and the venue for buzzing Sunday evening barbecues to a soundtrack of lilting steel bands; and Fig Tree Drive, a five-mile scenic route that weaves through the hills of Antigua’s lush heart. You can cover all these in four-hour taxi trips costing about £19pp.

It would be a pity not to sample one of Antigua’s 365 beaches, though, so add on a couple of hours for chilling on the powdery sands of Turners Beach for about £23pp. Try Evanson Ellis of St John’s Taxi Association (email stjohnstaxi@hotmail.com).

Been there before? For a really dramatic mini-adventure, take a 50-minute helicopter flight over the eruption-ravaged landscape of the nearby island of Montserrat. Its smoking Soufrière Hills volcano has reduced the former capital, Plymouth, to an ash-covered modern-day Pompeii (Caribbean Helicopters for £210pp, flychl.com). Or take a speedboat tour that blasts along Antigua’s west coast and past some of its most renowned beaches. The 150-minute thrill ride ends with a swim and a rum punch (£61pp, thrillertoursantigua.com).

Dunn’s River Falls in Jamaica

GETTY IMAGES

Jamaica
Dunn’s River Falls and Noël Coward’s house
If you do only one thing, climb Dunn’s River Falls: unique, beautiful and exhilarating fun. They’re very near Ocho Rios, where many ships dock, but those mooring in Montego Bay or Falmouth will have to brace themselves for a 90-minute taxi ride along the dual carriageway that some Jamaican drivers treat like a racetrack. The falls are not only aesthetically pleasing, tumbling 600ft on to the beach, but are easy to climb, with wide terraces and clear, deep pools. Nimble-footed guides lead groups on the 40-minute ascent to an inevitable craft market. Some tours combine this with an excursion to the shops and lunch in nearby Ocho Rios (£98 for six and a half hours, cruisingexcursions.com).

More of Jamaica’s authentic, natural side can be enjoyed by floating along the Martha Brae River on long bamboo rafts (£60pp, islandroutes.com). Round off your day at one of the grandest Great Houses, the most notorious of these colonial piles being Rose Hall near Montego Bay, where tours uncover mysterious tales of murder and skulduggery (£15, rosehall.com).

Been there before? Take a taxi to Noël Coward’s charming former home, Firefly, near Ocho Rios (entry charge £8pp). It’s a 1960s-style time capsule where the awe-inspiring setting, tranquil ambience and sublime views of the Blue Mountains steal the limelight. Alternatively, tap into Jamaica’s reggae scene on a six-hour pilgrimage tracing the life of its most famous son, Bob Marley, aboard a colourful Zion bus to his childhood home and final resting place (£87pp, chukka.com)

Barbados
Go caving and meet monkeys
You wouldn’t think that descending into pitch-black, damp caverns 150ft underground is a worthwhile way to explore Barbados, but Harrison’s Cave is a unique draw — a subterranean network of milky toned limestone caverns stretching for three miles and housing an impressive array of stalactites and stalagmites, explored on an underground tram. Combine this with a visit to the Barbados Wildlife Reserve on a half-day tour to meet the island’s famous green monkeys (£65, rcrtours.com). And keep an eye out for the nearby magnificent ruins of Farley Hill, all that remains of a majestic plantation house ravaged by fire. For the best views take a five-hour island tour (£27, scenicbarbadostours.net) that strikes out to the rugged east coast and boulder-strewn stretch of Bathsheba, best seen from Cherry Tree Hill on the edge of the Scotland region, and finish with chill time in Carlisle Bay, where there’s a chance to swim with turtles.

Been there before? Head north past the swanky hotels on Barbados’s glitzy Platinum Coast to Speightstown for an absorbing window into the island’s roots. It was previously known as “Little Bristol” due to its slave-trading links with its English counterpart, and this torrid chapter is documented in the Arlington House Museum, a restored 18th-century house where exhibits include a price list of slaves that is horrifying to read (£9.50pp, barbadosnationaltrust.org).

Nassau, Bahamas

GETTY IMAGES

Bahamas
See swimming pigs or take a foodie tour
OK, so it’s not strictly the Caribbean since Nassau and its sister isles sit in the Atlantic, but the Bahamas is one of the most popular stop-offs on Caribbean cruise itineraries, and its clear waters are perfect for all manner of aquatic adventures. Proficient divers can experience the ultimate thrill of swimming with sharks at two dive sites on a six-hour excursion (£194pp, cruisingexcursions.com). No experience is needed, though, to pilot your own mini-submarine over the coral reefs on a three-hour adventure (£105pp, stuartcove.com, participants must be over 12 years old).

Rose Island, a small undeveloped retreat that’s a 25-minute boat ride from Nassau, is home to domesticated pigs that have made it their home and swim out to arriving boats in expectation of tasty titbits. Paddling porkers Babe, Wilbur and Pumbaa tend to hog the limelight with visitors, although peacocks and lizards also strut the sands (£91pp for a day trip, including lunch, with sandytoesbahamas.com). Sophisticates looking for more rarefied surroundings should take the ten-minute taxi ride to lively Paradise Island, home to resorts and hotels that include the exclusive Four Seasons property, the Ocean Club (fourseasons.com). Be sure to order a martini on the elegant terrace — scenes from the Bond film Casino Royale were shot here.

Been there before? Get your teeth into Nassau’s distinctive flavours on a foodie tour of the historic downtown that gives visitors a taste of Bahamian classics. Conch fritters and rum cake are among the treats served during this three-hour epicurean exploration (£53pp, trubahamianfoodtours.com). Stops include the Graycliff chocolate factory, set in the landmark Graycliff Hotel where, if you are tempted, you can order from the extensive wine list (with more than 250,000 bottles) or sit back and savour one of the property’s handcrafted cigars (graycliff.com).

See swimming pigs in the Bahamas

ALAMY

Grand Cayman
Swim with stingrays or take a heli tour
The main attractions of this British territory lie in the surrounding seas that are home to some of the best dive sites on the planet. Shallow reefs full of colourful marine life, dramatic seawalls plunging hundreds of feet and numerous shipwrecks add frissons of excitement to dive trips. Even the snorkelling is wonderful, especially off Seven Mile Beach, with its stretch of dazzling white sand (actually only five and a half miles, but who’s counting?). The Lobster Pot Dive Centre, a ten-minute walk from the cruise dock, offers special packages for cruise passengers (£88pp for a 150-minute introductory course, lobsterpotdivecenter.com). Top of the pecking order for watery encounters has to be the island’s famous Stingray City, a shallow sandbar where tame stingrays congregate in the waist-deep water as tourists (some more apprehensive than others) feed them squid (£34pp for a three-hour trip, captainmarvins.com).

Been there before? Take to the skies in an exhilarating helicopter tour that beautifully showcases the surrounding seas so clearly you can spot bright-red starfish on the reefs and stingrays swooping like Vulcan bombers over the sandy seabed. You may even get to buzz your cruise ship moored below (a 20-minute ride costs from £111pp, caymanislandshelicopters.com). Or go underground to explore one of the island’s newest draws, Crystal Caves, a subterranean complex of underground caverns, full of stalactites, stalagmites and a lake (£31, caymancrystalcaves.com).

Pilot a mini-submarine in the Bahamas

STUART COVE’S DIVE BAHAMAS

St Kitts
Take the sugar train and climb a volcano
Trundling slowly across the lush slopes of tiny volcanic St Kitts in a toytown-like train is an ideal way to admire views from all angles while having a history lesson. The Scenic Railway formerly worked the sugar plantations that covered this island, producing the “white gold” that made St Kitts the wealthiest English colony in the West Indies. Now tourism is the top earner, so it’s no wonder locals wave such friendly greetings as you rattle past their houses on a three-hour journey that also includes a sightseeing bus ride (from £132pp, uk.viator.com).

Another colonial reminder lies in the well-preserved Brimstone Hill Fortress, given Unesco world heritage status to reflect the ingenuity of its design and the blood, sweat and tears of the slaves forced to build it. It sits a breathless 800ft up, giving excellent views of surrounding islands. After exploring the 40-acre site, don’t miss the chance for some Kittitian-style limin’ — that’s relaxing to you and me — on the sands of South Friars Beach as part of a five-hour island tour (£69pp, cruisingexcursions.com).

Been there before? The rainforested slopes of Mount Liamuiga (nearly 4,000ft), which dominates the island, are only for the fit since guided hikes take up to six hours. But the reward is stupendous views from the summit, cooling off in waterfalls en route, and spotting hummingbirds, monkeys and other tropical fauna (£57pp, stkittsislandparadisetours.com). Or take one of the ferries on the 45-minute hop across to St Kitts’s quieter sister isle, Nevis (£7.50pp), that leave from Port Zante, where the cruise ships dock.

St Martin
Tour by motorbike or zip line
Larger ships inevitably pull into the laid-back Dutch side of this two-nation island and the port of Philipsburg, noted for its shops and 14 casinos. The tempting sweep of its white-sand beach is the place for water sports galore. But you shouldn’t miss the French St Martin, a short drive away, for champagne and croissants, fabulous gourmet restaurants and shops selling Parisian designers. Some tours even warn of nudity during a beach stop (ooh là là) at the glorious stretch of sand at Orient Bay (£37pp for a half-day tour, islandroutes.com).

Exploring the island by motorbike gives a wild thrill, and three-wheel Can-Am Spyders are hailed as the world’s safest motorcycles, easy to drive and automatic (you’ll need a standard driving licence to rent one). Bikes can be rented by the hour, from £61 for 60 minutes to £92 for four hours or £115 from 9am-4pm (sxmspyderrental.com).

Been there before? Whizz down the Flying Dutchman, billed as the world’s steepest zip line, where riders hit 56mph as they descend 1,050ft from the island’s highest point at Sentry Hill, reached via a chairlift, within the new Rainforest Adventures Rockland Estate park. Its clutch of thrill rides also includes the chance to float down a river on giant inner tubes (£108 for three descents, uk.viator.com).