Known for their powdery sands, unique history, and stunning nature and wildlife, a Caribbean holiday is many people’s idea of paradise on Earth. However, despite common opinion, a trip here doesn’t have to break the bank.
Aside from searching for the cheapest flights, taking advantage of package deals, and making the most of free activities, travelling to the Caribbean during the off-season can help you keep costs down.
However, when planning a cheap Caribbean adventure, it’s also important to choose your destination wisely. The region is made up of hundreds of islands, and some are tougher on the wallet than others.
With this in mind, we’ve put together a list of seven of the best Caribbean islands to visit if you’re on a budget – to help you experience a slice of paradise for less. If you’d like to browse Caribbean travel deals, you can do so on our website.
1. Jamaica
Known for its tranquil beaches and coves, lush landscapes, gushing waterfalls, and reggae soundtrack, Jamaica is a dream holiday destination for many. Plus, with flights to Kingston and Montego Bay starting from £300 return, it’s one of the best Caribbean islands to visit if you’re on a budget.
In stylish Montego Bay, you’ll find a huge choice of bars, restaurants, duty-free shopping, and golf. While about an hour and a half from Montego Bay, on the northwest coast, is Negril. This is one of the most laid-back and family-friendly places on the island and is home to the stunning Seven Mile Beach where you can stay in characterful cottages and guesthouses.
The other main gateway to the island is the colourful capital, Kingston, which offers a more authentic experience of Jamaican life. Guesthouses can cost less than £20 per night – and you can hike or camp in the Blue Mountains, go for a picnic in the oasis of Emancipation Park, and visit the Institute of Jamaica to learn about the country’s history.
Kingston is also worth visiting for the laid-back Rastafarian culture and Bob Marley Museum – which isn’t cheap at £20 a ticket, but is well worth the money!
When it comes to food, Jamaica’s thriving street food scene will keep you well fed on a budget. You can enjoy combinations of tasty Jamaican favourites, such as rice and peas, curry goat, and jerk pork, chicken, and fish – all for less than £10. Public transport is incredibly cheap too, with a single bus trip costing less than £1.
2. Curaçao
The delightful Dutch-owned island of Curaçao is one of the Caribbean’s hidden gems, with lush coasts, colourful cities, incredible hiking, and lots of wildlife. Flights cost around £460 return, and you can get the cheapest accommodation between May and November.
If you love swimming and snorkelling, Curaçao has plenty of breathtaking beaches that slope down to azure seas, with good facilities and some tropical beach clubs. A couple of the best beaches are Grote Knip and Daaibooi.
When you’ve had your fill of lounging under the palm trees, why not soak up some history and culture in the colourful capital, Willemstad? Its cobbled streets are lined with pretty pastel-coloured houses from Dutch colonial times – and visitors can take a free walking tour.
While eating in a restaurant can be more costly, you can sample local dishes such as pumpkin pancakes and fried plantains in the markets for around £1 each.
Curaçao offers some great wildlife experiences, from flamingo spotting in the Sint Willibrordus region to swimming with turtles at Playa Grandi. You can also tour an aloe farm on the eastern side of the island – Curaçao produces some of the best quality aloe in the world.
Alternatively, you can take a trip to see the wonderful wild orchids at Christoffel National Park, where you can hike up the mountain for magnificent views. From here, you can also visit the adjoining Shete Boka National Park to explore craggy coastal grottos and mysterious sea caves.
3. Barbados
This small, sophisticated island offers the perfect cheap Caribbean escape, with glorious beaches, sparkling turquoise seas, buzzing nightlife, and a scenic capital.
An independent British Commonwealth nation, you can easily visit ‘Little England’ on a budget. The cheapest holiday deals can be found in the low season (with flights from around £370 return) and, as Barbados is outside the Caribbean hurricane belt, you’ll also be safe from storms.
Accommodation-wise, the trick is to steer clear of Speightstown and the glamorous resort areas on the west coast (nicknamed the Platinum Coast). Instead, head to the laid-back south coast, where you can find better-value shops, bars, restaurants, and hotels. Airbnb also has plenty of cosy apartments, beachside bungalows, and secluded hillside hideouts for less than £50 per night.
Oistins – an active fishing village on the south coast – is famous for its reasonably-priced, open-air fish fry at the weekends, which features music and dancing. There are also shacks and rum shops dotted across the island, serving local favourites like BBQ pigtails, cou cou (made from cornmeal and okra), and deep-fried fish cakes.
Barbados has 60 miles of coastline and all the beaches are public, making it a wonderful choice for a beach-hopping break. And, if you feel like exploring, getting around by bus is cheap and easy.
It’s also worth visiting the UNESCO-listed capital Bridgetown to see its well-preserved colonial architecture. There are plenty of museums and churches to explore here too – and the Parliament Buildings are the oldest in the Western Hemisphere.
On the west coast, at Carlisle Bay, Paynes Bay, and Lone Star, nature lovers can swim and snorkel with turtles. If you head to Carlisle Bay early, you can also sit and watch the unique sight of racehorses having a morning swim!
4. Dominican Republic
With beautiful beaches, forested mountains and waterfalls, and plenty of wildlife-watching opportunities, the Dominican Republic is a great choice for a budget Caribbean holiday.
The island has seven international airports, with flights from the UK to the touristy, north coast region of Punta Cana for around £300 return. If you want to head to Puerto Plata (also on the north coast), prices start at around £550 return. As for accommodation, in the low season, it’s possible to find all-inclusive 14-night deals for reasonable prices.
Punta Cana is known for its jaw-droppingly beautiful beaches, while Puerta Plata has better road conditions and lots of history. This includes the oldest amber fossils in the world and the largest collection of preserved 19th-century Victorian-style houses in the Caribbean.
On the south coast, the Spanish colonial capital, Santo Domingo, is also worth exploring. Flights are typically around £430 return, while basic hotels can cost less than £20 per night. Here, you can people-watch in the central square, admire the government buildings’ impressive architecture, play chess with the locals, and enjoy the city’s open-air Sunday night salsa.
The Dominican Republic also offers many free or low-cost chances to dig deeper into nature. You can hike in the forested mountains around Jarabacoa (around two hours away from Santo Domingo by car), explore waterfalls and national parks, and snorkel, zipline, and cave swim.
To get around, you can take a guagua (minivan) one way for less than £1. And, when you’re hungry, there’s plenty of low-cost local food to tuck into, such as tostadas (flat, toasted, and filled tortillas), which cost around £2 at street food stalls.
5. Cuba
Charming and unique, Cuba is both the largest island in the Caribbean and one of the cheapest to visit, with flights starting from £450 return. Packed with history and intrigue, this is the land of Che Guevara and Fidel Castro – and it’s just as famous for its politics as it is for its cigars.
At the top of most people’s wish list is visiting the atmospheric capital, Havana. Here, you can watch 1950s American cars drive along the waterfront, admire colourful pastel houses, and sip cheap and delicious mojitos or daiquiris in tiny bars playing live salsa music.
To experience a slice of Cuban life in Havana, you could consider a homestay (casa particular), which can be booked online through Airbnb for as little as £20 per night. And, you can buy affordable and tasty three-course meals at paladares (privately-owned restaurants) – featuring local foods such as lechon (roast pork) and ropa vieja (pulled pork with rice, black beans, and fried plantain).
In low season, good deals can also be found on stays in all-inclusive resorts. Check out Varadero – two hours east of Havana – where you’ll find plenty of hotels to choose from.
Tours and activities in Cuba are reasonably priced too, with everything from scuba diving and cycling to cave exploration and hiking on offer. There are also opportunities to see Havana’s professional baseball team in action and enjoy cheap orchestral performances in refurbished theatres.
And then there’s the artwork, most of which can be enjoyed for free. Fusterlandia is a neighbourhood in Havana covered in mosaic artwork – it’s a masterpiece of fantastical colours and well worth a visit.
6. Puerto Rico
Whether you’re looking for jagged mountain peaks, diverse forests, golden beaches, or ancient culture, Puerto Rico has it all. While it’s often considered expensive, you can get flights from around £320 return during low season. Plus, there’s a good range of affordable accommodation options, and package deals may help you get even more value out of your trip!
The cheapest airport to fly into is San Juan – Puerto Rico’s capital city. Here, you can spend hours wandering along the cobbled streets and soaking in the sights. This is a city marked by vibrant Spanish colonial buildings, bold street art, and the impressive fortress, El Morro, which overlooks the ocean.
If you like animals, you can visit the free Save-A-Gato cat sanctuary, or if you’re looking for something more active, you can take a bus to some of the best surf spots in the Caribbean at Playa La Ocho. Then, when night falls, why not enjoy salsa lessons at bars like Piso Viejo?
Food in Puerto Rico isn’t dirt cheap, but you can get a meal at an inexpensive restaurant for around £15 per person. Meanwhile, to save money on accommodation, you could consider staying in one of San Juan’s many hostels, which start at around £20 per night. Or, you can find cheerful paradores (family-owned hotels), off-the-beaten-track inns, and guesthouses just outside the capital.
Puerto Rico is also a place to get active while admiring breathtaking landscapes. Public transport between towns and cities isn’t well-developed here – so it’s worth saving your pennies to splash out on a few tours. These range from unmissable guided hikes in the El Yunque rainforest to caving and boat trips spotting seabirds and turtles offshore.
7. Trinidad and Tobago
This pair of islands near Venezuela is perfect for nature lovers and a safe bet for a budget holiday. You can fly here for around £380 return, and there’s a good selection of mid-range and budget accommodation.
Tobago is perhaps the more picturesque and offers the most affordable guesthouses and lodges. This is especially true away from the main tourist areas.
There are plenty of free and cheap wildlife experiences here, from spotting striking birds to island-hopping between pretty coves and hidden bays. Look out for the stunning Scarlet Ibis at Caroni Swamp in Trinidad and the tiny, iridescent hummingbird at the Tobago Forest Reserve. You can also see leatherback turtles nesting and laying eggs on Trinidad’s Turtle Beach, and, depending on the season, the emergence of hatchlings near Grande Riviere, on Tobago’s north coast.
Meanwhile, culture seekers can explore the capital, Port of Spain, which is famous for inventing the steel pan in the 1930s. However, if you’re on a budget, try to avoid visiting in February, as prices shoot up because of a spectacular annual carnival.
The cheapest and easiest way to get around the islands is to use maxi-taxis (public minibuses). You can also get a meal in a local restaurant for around £10 – or street food for as little as £1. Feast on popular doubles (flatbread wrapped around curried chickpeas) and buss-up-shut (crab or pigtail served with roti ripped like a ‘busted up shirt’).
The local ingredient, dasheen, has a root that turns blue when cooked, inspiring the Blue Food Festival in Tobago each October. Blue ice cream or chips, anyone?
Final thoughts…
You might have thought that a holiday in the Caribbean was beyond your budget, but we hope these ideas have made it feel more accessible.
Whether you want to hang out on some of the region’s best beaches, go on nature hikes, or explore colonial history, there’s plenty to be enjoyed on a budget.
By staying in small hotels or guesthouses, eating local food, and using public transport, you’ll not only save pennies but experience the culture of the Caribbean. And, if you’re willing to travel in the low season, you can pick up flight deals. However, June to November is also hurricane season, so it’s worth checking whether your destination will likely be affected before booking.
For more affordable travel ideas, check out our articles; 12 of the cheapest countries to visit in 2024 and 13 ways to reduce holiday costs.
Looking to book your next getaway?
Are you planning a Caribbean holiday? Do you have any tips on having an affordable Caribbean break? We’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments below.