Title: The Best Caribbean Islands to Visit
Headings: 
Caribbean Geography 101
Where Is the Caribbean?
Eastern Caribbean Islands
Western Caribbean Islands
Southern Caribbean Islands
The Greater Antilles
The Lesser Antilles
The Netherlands Antilles
The Windward Islands
The Leeward Islands
The French West Indies
The British West Indies
Mexican Caribbean
British Virgin Islands
U.S. Virgin Islands
The Bahamas Islands

Content: Some Latin American countries also have coastlines on the Caribbean Sea. The islands are often grouped into different categories and subcategories like the Greater and the Lesser Antilles, which divide the archipelago's largest islands from some of the smaller ones, and the Windward Islands, which describes the long tail of the archipelago that stretches south toward Latin America. However, these geographical groupings do not even begin to describe the political classifications that divide the British, French, and Dutch West Indies or the Central American destinations that also border the Caribbean Sea. Politics and geography have played a role in naming and sorting the many islands into groups, which is helpful to have an understanding of when you're perusing cruise itineraries or planning an island-hopping adventure. With so many overlapping designations, we've sorted it all out for you as simply as possible. Sasha Weleber / Getty Images
Where Is the Caribbean? The Caribbean is generally known as the region of warm waters south of Florida and east of Central America, but technically the Caribbean Sea begins south of the Greater Antilles and extends to the coasts of Central and South America, with the Windward Islands making up its eastern border. The water north of the Caribbean countries Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic is technically known as the Florida Strait, which separates the Gulf of Mexico from the Atlantic Ocean. Any country with a coast on the Caribbean Sea can be considered a Caribbean country, but not all of them are islands, including Mexico, Belize, and Colombia. Some island nations that are commonly believed to be a part of the Caribbean, like the Bahamas and Bermuda, are technically in the Atlantic Ocean, and Guyana, which is neither an island nor located on the Caribbean Sea, is considered a part of the Caribbean because it still has a deep cultural connection to the region.