Critters? Cuisine? Casinos? Pick Your Perfect Isle

In addition to being a source for clothing, high-end pottery and glass from local artists plus duty-free luxury goods, Antigua is known for gemstones; it's the largest retailer of Colombian emeralds in the world.

Families

The new rule requiring passports for travel outside the United States has caused many American families to look to U.S. territories for a Caribbean vacation, namely Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, says Kyle McCarthy, editor of Family Travel Forum, an online company that has four family-travel publications.

Puerto Rico offers a number of advantages for families, she adds. "More and more parents want a historic or cultural element in addition to beach, and Old San Juan has fortresses and historic monuments. Kids will be exposed to a foreign language, yet English is common, so that's the best of both worlds." The El Yunque rain forest provides a perfect ecological snapshot. An area on the north shore called Dorado has undergone a lot of development recently, and competition has meant good prices, McCarthy says.

St. John, which is much less developed than St. Thomas or even St. Croix, is McCarthy's second choice for families in the U.S. Virgin Islands because of its combination of good beaches, water sports and historical plantations and gardens.

If passports aren't an issue, McCarthy recommends St. Lucia. "It's very lush, has a small rain forest, a small volcano. The Piton Mountains are good for hiking, and they have great watersports." It is lightly developed and draws European families, so the kids will be exposed to a variety of languages and cultures. The downsides: You'll likely have to take a small plane to get there, and the roads aren't very good.

Kids who are "Pirates of the Caribbean" fans might get a kick out of visiting the Bahamas' Grand Bahama Island, where the last two movies in the franchise were filmed and pieces of the set have become tourist attractions. Also in the Bahamas, if you want a taste of Disney gone educational, the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island will fit the bill. It's big and a bit pricey but filled with activities for kids and teens, including a recently expanded water park.

St. Kitts and Nevis also get high marks for families, due in large measure to such well-preserved natural attractions as a lush rain forest, dormant volcanoes and a friendly, safe atmosphere. Jamaica has a great number of activities kids will enjoy, and some resorts will provide a nanny and/or a kids' club. If you plan on spending most of your time inside a resort, safety is not an issue, but it's not the best of islands for cruising around on your own with children.

Beaches

Beaches are what the Caribbean is all about, and you can find good to great ones on the majority of the islands. It's easier to note the ones without a wealth of good beaches: Saba, Dominica, St. Eustatius and St. Vincent.

But even among the great, there are standouts. Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman is as long as its name indicates; just know that it is lined with hotels. When it comes to mileage, Negril Beach in Jamaica can match the longest one in Grand Cayman.

St. Martin's Baie Orientale gets rave reviews for its long stretch of white sand. Some argue that Eagle Beach in Aruba, with its powdery strand, is the best beach in the Caribbean, although if you visited years ago and loved it because there was little development, you're in for a big surprise.

Half Moon Beach and Grace Bay on the island Providenciales in Turks and Caicos also have been discovered; still, many of the hotels are low-rise, and other islands in the chain have beautiful, nearly deserted beaches.

If you're looking for something unusual, the Baths on Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands has grottoes formed by boulders. Or look for pink sand beaches in Bermuda and on two of the outer islands of the Bahamas, Harbor Island and Eleuthera. St. Barts is known for beaches covered with seashells, a rarity in the Caribbean. If you like to mix it up and enjoy gentle beaches while still catching some waves, Barbados has a calm Caribbean side and crashing surf on the Atlantic side. For pristine little coves, check out St. John.