Turks & Caicos

The Turks and where? That’s the reaction most people have when you mention these tropical isles. Although small in size, they offer a range of experiences. Providenciales gets all the noise and has constant construction along its beautiful main beach. It's an ever-more-popular destination for upscale vacationers looking for low-key fun in the sun. But everywhere else in the Turks and Caicos (population 32,500) makes Providenciales look like Manhattan. On island after island, you'll find very few people, endless blindingly white beaches and no end of good diving and snorkeling offshore. Even the nominal capital, cute little colonial Grand Turk, seems like a characterful backwater on any day cruise ships aren't in port.

If you're looking for your desert-island-paradise, you might find it in the Turks and Caicos.