Colourful Dutch colonial façades beside turquoise water in Willemstad, Curaçao

Sailing the Caribbean

From island to island along the Antillean Arc

Curaçao and the Lesser Antilles · Route 01

A sea journey from La Guaira through Grenada, Martinique, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Curaçao, with stays in Caracas and Aruba.

The Caribbean arc is sailed, not driven. Each dawn the ship moors off a different island, and the day is just long enough to walk a harbour, cross a market and return on board before sunset.

Container port and cranes on a mainland bay at dawn — Leaving the mainland for the AntillesDocumenttemporary image

Willemstad is the port of call that best sums up the journey: Dutch façades painted in impossible colours above water that shifts from turquoise to deep blue as the hours pass.

Cruise ship deck at dawn approaching a Caribbean island — Each dawn, a different islandPersonal presencetemporary image

Sunrise seen from the ship’s deck with islands on the horizon — Sailing between the islandsLandscapetemporary image

Visual chronicle

Palm tree leaning over a white-sand beach and turquoise water in Aruba — Aruba and its constant windLandscapetemporary image

Colourful stilt houses beside the jetty of an Antillean island — A jetty in the Lesser AntillesLandscapetemporary image

Stone colonial fortress facing the sea with a lawned esplanade — Colonial fortification above the channelLandscapetemporary image

Cobbled alley between blue, yellow and red houses in Old San Juan — Puerto Rico: Old San JuanPersonal presencetemporary image

Covered Caribbean market with fruit and vegetable stalls — Morning market before setting sailLandscapetemporary image

Sailing boats anchored in turquoise water among the islets of the Grenadines — The Grenadines: an anchorage among isletsPersonal presencetemporary image

The ship’s wake on the open sea at sunset beneath a blazing sky — The final wake of the Caribbean arcLandscapetemporary image

Cartography

Map of the Caribbean route linking Caracas, Aruba, Curaçao, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Martinique and Saint VincentOriginal map retains Spanish labels

Next expedition

Central Europe

From London to Venice · Route 02-A

Read the journey