Critters? Cuisine? Casinos? Pick Your Perfect Isle

Antigua 's boast of having a different beach for every day of the year is true only because it includes some pretty so-so beaches, but there is no question the island has a lot of beaches, many of them quite good. Anguilla has miles of brilliant beaches that tend to remain uncrowded. Other primary contenders in the race for best wide, white beaches: the Grenadines and two of the British Virgin Islands, Virgin Gorda and Anegada.

Budget

Finding a budget airfare is the first challenge in planning an affordable Caribbean vacation, and the most likely places to look for relatively low airfares are Puerto Rico, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas-- although the latter can be expensive once you arrive. You might find that a package deal is the most economical way to go. The Dominican Republic is the king of budget package deals, but because of airfare, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas are among the most likely sources for a low-cost package.

If you can snag a good airfare, remember that most islands have a wide array of lodging choices and prices. St. Barts, for example, is generally one of the most upscale islands, and rooms of more than $500 a night are common. Yet you can, with some planning, snare a room in a simple guesthouse for as little as $80 a night. On the other hand, Jamaica is a relatively poor island and relatively cheap package tours abound, but it also has a number of upscale resorts that can provide a personal maid, cook and nanny.

If you have your heart set on a particular island, search first for an airfare. If you find one that fits your budget, then search for lodgings, being aware that you might have to make some concessions if you insist on being on a generally high-priced island.

Dollar for dollar, though, you're most likely to find the biggest selection of budget properties -- and get the nicest room or resort for your money -- on the following islands, in addition to those mentioned above: Bonaire, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Vincent (but not the Grenadines!) and, to a lesser degree, St. Croix and St. John.

History and Culture

England, France, Spain and other European powers waged bloody battles over many of the islands starting in the 1500s. The commanding forts, noble burial grounds and other monuments resulting from these struggles are evident throughout the region. Cuba, first settled by Spanish explorers in the 16th century, has by far the most impressive collection of historical structures. But since that island is inaccessible to most American tourists, your next best bet is Puerto Rico.

One of the most storied and accessible remnants of Spanish settlement in the region is in Old San Juan. Its centerpiece, El Morro, is the largest and most impressive fortification in the region. In the surrounding streets, a cluster of museums and other structures dating to the Spanish settlement have earned this area distinction as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Also poignant are the monuments left by Spanish explorers in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, including the New World's first university, hospital and cathedral.

In Antigua, Nelson's Dockyard National Park in English Harbor offers a well-preserved illustration of the early presence of British explorers. The Georgian-style base, used by the British Navy in the 18th and 19th centuries, has been fully restored. For monuments to French settlement, Martinique is best.

Remnants of the slave trade from the 16th to 19th centuries are also scattered among the islands, and Curacao is the best place to get a full-tilt overview. The comprehensive Museum Kura Hulanda, in the capital city of Willemstad, features a detailed chronology of the slave market on this small Dutch enclave and elsewhere in the region. The massive plantation houses on Barbados and Jamaica, and the white stone slave houses in Bonaire, also are stark reminders of that era.

Night Life

The party spirit rules the Caribbean. If locals on most any outpost have a bottle of rum and a drum, they can make a Tuesday night in August seem like New Year's Eve. But the two islands that never fail to deliver all-out revelry are Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. The major Jamaican resorts regularly stage extravagant shows that often spill out to indoor and outdoor bars. Negril and Montego Bay, the island's top tourist towns, feature weekly beach parties, especially in season. But there is no more lively after-hours scene in the region than the multiple dance floors, concert venues and bars at the Renaissance Jaragua Hotel and Casino in Santo Domingo, the D.R.'s capital. Many of the hotels in Puerto Plata and Punta Cana offer Vegas-style entertainment, too.

Puerto Rico -- particularly San Juan -- has something for every style of partier. Gamblers flock to the Condado neighborhood, home to a cluster of casinos. Well-dressed crowds linger all night at the floor shows, piano bars and, naturally, rows of slot machines and gambling tables. Bodegas, cabaret shows and New York-style dance clubs are scattered throughout the city and across the island.

For bar hoppers, two standout areas on the party map are the St. James neighborhood in Port of Spain, Trinidad, and St. Lawrence Gap in Barbados. Both feature rows of pubs and music and dance venues. In both locales, clubs offer a range of music styles and tropical cocktail specials. Port of Spain has a concentration of clubs specializing in soca and calypso. No serious reveler in the Caribbean misses the Trinidad Carnival, a raucous up-all-night (and day) dance and music celebration, complete with a colorful parade, held every winter.

Aruba, with 10 major casinos, is one of the biggest gambling scenes in the region. Most of the gaming venues also stage cabaret and comedy shows and live music acts. St. Maarten/St. Martin also has a party and gambling scene, but the casinos, concentrated in hotels on the Dutch side, are smaller, and the bars are more upscale.

Nature

Every island by nature has natural attractions: No matter where you go, you'll find lots of watersports and most likely good hiking. But if you're mainly seeking nature activities that don't involve water, choose wisely.

Puerto Rico, one of the Caribbean's largest islands, has lakes, rivers, a rain forest and wide-open spaces with an array of activities. Hikers and mountain bikers head to El Yunque, a national forest, and regular bikers traverse the parts of oceanside Road 466 that remain free of development. Horseback riding is popular, and there are a number of ranches from which to choose. A bioluminescent bay lights up at night in Bahia Mosquito in Vieques, a Puerto Rican island that until recently was a U.S. military base. The island also has a huge underground river system that makes for great spelunking.

Jamaica is similar to Puerto Rico in that it's relatively large and its natural attractions are easily accessible. The lush Blue Mountains, famous for coffee growing, attract hikers and birders in equal measure, although guided tours are recommended over going it on your own. Six hundred steps lead to the top of Dunn's River Falls, which are best visited when the cruise ships aren't in town or have left for the day. Rivers, rain forest, mountains and plains allow a variety of ways to enjoy nature. River rafting, canopy tours and horseback riding are among the soft adventures offered.

Bird-watchers will be thrilled by the more than 400 species in Trinidad and Tobago. Again, the islands are large by Caribbean standards, and among the land features are pristine rain forests, lowlands, savannahs and swamps.

Four small islands have less variety but some distinctive features. St. Eustatius is a tiny island with only 2,700 residents, and one of the major attractions is hiking to an extinct volcano now filled with a rain forest. Dominica doesn't have much in the way of great beaches, but it has one, Champagne Beach, where steam vents from an offshore volcano create bubbly water -- hence the beach's name. The island also has done a great job protecting its rain forest. Among its other natural attractions: waterfalls and geothermal springs.

Saba has no beaches, but if that doesn't bother you, you'll find a lovely, lightly touristed island with mountains and a variety of flora and fauna. The island's capital is in the crater of an extinct volcano, and you walk 400 steps from the town to the sea.

Guadeloupe is famed for biking, plus the island is crisscrossed with hiking trails, rivers and waterfalls. It also offers canyoning, a sport that involves sliding down rivers that flow through canyons. Nature lovers should also check out St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Bonaire. For those who enjoy viewing nature by car, Barbados is a great place for driving through hilly terrain and through sugar cane fields.

Montserrat has long been a quiet, lush, mountainous island, but it became even quieter after a 1995 volcanic eruption. Nature enthusiasts will find lots to explore and a rare place to observe the effects of a relatively recent major eruption.

Fully two-thirds of St. John is national parkland. Need we say more?

-- Cindy Loose and Gary Lee

Find links to Web sites and phone contracts for the tourism bureaus of Caribbean islands at http://www.doitcaribbean.com. For information on Bermuda: 800-237-6832 (800-BERMUDA), http://www.bermudatourism.com. For the Bahamas: http://www.bahamas.com.