Pointe-à-Pitre – Santo Domingo · 28 December 2027 – 5 January 2028

Two famous volcanic cones are indisputably the emblem of St. Lucia and have been designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Gros and Petit Piton tower over the southern, windward side of the island and, in Soufrière, seem close enough to touch. The volcanoes have in fact long been extinct, but the sulphur springs demonstrate the power of the earth's core and still bubble up. In the Botanical Gardens, natural abundance is combined with artistic arrangements to create a colorful tropical paradise. Some people claim that Josephine, who later became Napoleon's wife, used to bathe in the little pool in the garden.

The 'Paris of the Islands,' the 'Pearl of the Antilles,' or the 'Venice of the Tropics' – Saint-Pierre in the northwest of the French dream island Martinique has always inspired romantic comparisons. Founded in 1635, the city at the foot of the volcanic mountain Pelée flourished due to sugar and slave trade, becoming the economic and cultural center of the island. Prosperity continued until 1902 when Pelée erupted, destroying Saint-Pierre and burying 30,000 people under lava, embers, and ash. Today, the coastal town is officially classified as a 'City of Art and History': In addition to the ruins of the theater and the old church, the intricate buildings of the Chamber of Commerce and the cathedral are worth a visit.

Climbing the rigging, untying ropes, setting sails – today is all about sailing. Time to lean back and relax in the deck chair and watch the passionate crew hoisting the sails by hand.

With an area of 100 square miles and a population of only around 53,000, the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis is one of the twelve smallest recognized states in the world. Located to the southeast, Nevis is the smaller and quieter of the two leeward islands – and a true Caribbean dream. Lush green rainforests stretch along the slopes of its extinct volcano, flowing into long sandy beaches that shimmer seductively in various shades of yellow, black and red toward the ocean. Charlestown itself is quite manageable, and offers two museums as cultural alternatives to splashing around in the warm Caribbean waters.

Explorers once used to cross swords in the Sir Francis Drake Channel. Nowadays the sea around the British Virgin Islands is one of the world's best sailing areas. Heavenly bays, gorgeous beaches, idyllic anchoring spots, smart yacht clubs and charming little beach bars make the island a popular haunt for sailors. On Virgin Gorda, once called "The Fat Virgin" by Columbus due to its shape, you can find "The Baths", one of nature's most beautiful oddities, in the National Park. Ground to a sphere and polished to a shine, the huge granite formations on the beach and in the water create a multi-branched labyrinth of giant boulders.

The Sir Francis Drake Channel, where swords once crossed, is now one of the most beautiful sailing spots. Jost van Dyke, the smallest of the main islands in the British Virgin Islands, is a mountainous volcanic object of beauty with fewer than 300 inhabitants. One of them, Foxy, has been mixing his cocktails since 1968 and the bar of the same name enjoys a legendary reputation as perhaps the most famous beach bar in the Lesser Antilles. The island's past is less reputable – it was named by a Dutch pirate. The island gives its most beautiful treasures to all who visit – fine sand, green palm trees, colorful beach bars and the luminous blue of the sea.

On this island, which is part of Hispaniola, Columbus founded the first Spanish colony in America. Santo Domingo, the present capital of the Dominican Republic, is the first and oldest European-founded city in the New World. Old in the New World still means relatively young – it corresponds to Renaissance visions of the ideal and was the model for many cities in Latin America. A visit to the historic old city is like a journey through time. The splendid stone buildings are testament to the era of the colonial conquests and have been smartened up as World Heritage Sites under the protection of UNESCO.