Grand Turk Island

Grand Turk is a quiet, flat island in the Turks and Caicos chain, with a cruise centre that includes a pool, a beach, and duty-free shops right next to the pier. The main settlement, Cockburn Town, is a short ride away: a handful of streets lined with pastel colonial buildings from the salt-trading era. The Turks & Caicos National Museum there covers the island's history, including John Glenn's 1962 splashdown nearby. The coral wall just offshore drops steeply, making the snorkelling and diving here some of the best in the Caribbean. Between January and April, humpback whales migrate through the nearby Turks Island Passage, and you can sometimes spot them from shore. Governor's Beach, south of the cruise centre, has calm water and good sand. Try conch fritters or grilled fish at one of the small beachside places. The island is tiny and easy to cover by taxi or golf cart.