Beaten by the Atlantic on one side and caressed by the Caribbean on the other, the four volcanic islands that comprise the French West Indies boast some of the Caribbean's most varied scenery between their coasts. Extending almost 650km across the Eastern Caribbean, the islands of Guadeloupe, Martinique, St Barthélemy (St Barts) and French St Martin , are a heady blend of long sandy beaches, humid rainforests, craggy mountain peaks, dazzling turquoise waters and dramatic limestone coasts.

 

The larger islands are crowned by dormant volcanoes , including the Eastern Caribbean's highest summit, Guadeloupe's La Soufrière , and its most devastating, Martinique's Mont-Pelée . The thundering waterfalls that course their flanks feed dense interior rainforests before flowing out to sea, where gorgeous beaches in hues ranging from white to gold and midnight black drop off to a brilliant technicolour world of fish and coral that delight divers and snorkellers alike. The smallest island, St Barts, lacks the lush greenery common to its southern siblings, but amply compensates with spectacular and often secluded beaches, and an unparalleled ambience of exclusivity.

Despite their setting amidst predominantly English islands, the French West Indies have remained remarkably, even obstinately, French, especially so St Barts, a veritable Mediterranean holdout cast away on the Caribbean Sea. In contrast, Guadeloupe and Martinique have merged the hallmarks of French culture - vices like wine, sweets, coffee and cigarettes abound - with the best Creole traditions - spicy food, atmospheric architecture and languid attitudes. The two meet head-on most noticeably in the major cities, like Guadeloupe's Pointe-à-Pitre and Martinique's Fort-de-France , where Caribbean marketplaces join smoke-filled cafés, narrow streets jammed with honking cars, and fading wood colonial houses.