8 dream beaches of the Caribbean

By Bob Friel

This collection of eight idyllic strands clearly shows why the Caribbean is the world’s greatest beach destination. Many wonderful stretches of coast lie adjacent to the region’s resorts, but the beaches featured here are stripped down to their essence: sand and sea, usually with a sprinkling of palms to complete the fantasy.

It’s no coincidence that each is close to a coral reef — the main source of the dazzling white sand that sprinkles ashore as a sugar-soft treat for your toes. And the warm sea that bathes these shorelines is so clear that the blazing Caribbean sun hits the ocean floor nearly full strength, bouncing back to color the undersides of passing clouds with the same luminous turquoises, blues and greens that the water displays. You can’t drive to any of these spots, and you often have them to yourself. Best of all, if you haven’t seen them yet, there’s still time: Nearly all are protected as national parks so they’ll remain just as beautiful for generations to come.

MOPION

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Mopion, a dollop of sand surrounded by a transparent sea, is quite literally a poster child for the Caribbean. It has appeared on dozens of magazine covers — including this one. Photographers lucky enough to visit St. Vincent and the Grenadines for a shoot find their shutter fingers involuntarily shaking when they see this superlative sandbar that looks almost too perfect, as if it were created for a Corona commercial. Without even a single palm tree, the only speck of shade on Mopion is from a thatch umbrella. The nearby private-island resort Petit St. Vincent sets up fantasy beach picnics here for its guests, while yachties and those staying on Mayreau or Union Island use Mopion as a snorkeling and tanning excursion.

Where To Stay Nearby: The private-island Petit St. Vincent Resort (800-654-9326; www.psvresort.com) features 22 cottages.

The Saltwhistle Bay Club (784-458-8444; www.saltwhistlebay.com) on Mayreau offers 10 suites, a restaurant, a bar and a boutique.

PETIT TABAC
In Pirates of the Caribbean, loopy but lovable Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) relates the horrors of being marooned on a tiny deserted island. Later, he’s dumped on the same spot, this time with the luscious Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), who soon discovers that Sparrow’s first visit involved nothing more horrible than sitting on a perfect beach and drinking rum — much like a modern Caribbean vacation. To film this scene, the director picked Petit Tabac, a slash of soft, deep sand crowned by a shock of green palms that is one of St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ shining jewels within the Tobago Cays National Marine Park.

Where To Stay Nearby: The private-island Petit St. Vincent Resort (800-654-9326; www.psvresort.com) features 22 cottages.

The Saltwhistle Bay Club (784-458-8444; www.saltwhistlebay.com) on Mayreau offers 10 suites, a restaurant, a bar and a boutique.

SANDY SPIT
Get out your crayons and draw the classic uninhabited island. Start with a patch of stubby sea grapes punctuated by palms of various heights. Completely surround the mottled green trees with a ring of sand; you’re going to need a light touch to add just the slightest hint of pink. On the island’s west side, gradually fade sky blue into cobalt to represent the gentle slope of the sea bottom as it falls into a deep channel. On the east, extend a broad turquoise lagoon out to a thick band of reef. If you’re good at detail work, fill the lagoon with sea turtles and tropical fish. If you’re not artistic at all, simply drop anchor in the BVI to see Sandy Spit in living color.

Bob Friel / CT&L Sandy Spit

Where To Stay Nearby: The Fort Burt Hotel (284-494 -2587) on Tortola has 19 rooms and suites, and ocean-view dining.

The 154-unit Long Bay Beach Resort & Villas (800-943-4699; www.longbay.com) features two restaurants, three bars and two pools.

Tortola’s Prospect Reef Resort (800-356-8937; www.prospectreef.com) is a 137-room property with two pools, three restaurants and a spa.

The Sandcastle (284-495-9888; www.sandcastle-bvi.com) on Jost Van Dyke has four beachside and two garden-view rooms.

SANDY ISLAND
Storms and currents constantly work on Sandy Island. One year the winds and waves will topple palms and scoop away sand; the next year — or even the next week — visitors will find a new stretch of beach, or that the lagoon has changed shape. What doesn’t change is the basic combination of a long sweep of sand that embraces an excellent snorkeling reef. With the green hills of Carriacou just across the channel as a backdrop, day-trippers wade into the warm water and fin over fish-filled shallows. Off the far end of the beach, away from the cluster of trees where picnickers set up their blankets, a few kicks will carry snorkelers over a deep drop-off where they can watch for big rays and passing pelagic fish.

Where To Stay Nearby: The Caribbee Inn (473-443 7380; www.caribbeeinn.com) is a 10- room hotel with a French-Caribbean restaurant.

FRANSIQUI ISLAND
Aside from Gran Roque, which has some towering cliffs, the collection of islands 100 miles off the coast of Venezuela called Los Roques — The Rocks — is anything but rocky. The 40-some uninhabited cays are all either low-lying lengths of shimmering white sand protected by coral reefs or dense tangles of mangrove forest

bordering extensive bonefish flats. Gran Roque hosts the only permanent residents of the archipelago, which has been protected as a national park since 1972. The other islands, like Fransiqui, a five-minute boat ride from Gran Roque, are dream

destinations for day-tripping windsurfers, fly fishermen and beach aficionados.

Where To Stay Nearby: Macanao Lodge (011-58-212-979-2796; www.macanaolodge.com) is an all-inclusive eight-room hotel with a communal terrace and TV-viewing room.

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