What Language is Spoken in My Caribbean Destination?

If you're visiting the Caribbean and you speak English, you're in luck: English is the first or second language in most Caribbean destinations and is the unofficial "language of tourism" as well. Having said that, however, you'll often find that your travels will be more richly rewarding if you can speak with the locals in their native language. In the Caribbean, that's usually determined by which colonial power -- England, France, Spain, or Holland -- held sway over the island first or longest:

English: Anguilla, Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Barbados, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Montserrat, St. Lucia, Turks and Caicos, U.S. Virgin Islands, Florida Keys

Spanish: Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Central America, South America

French: Haiti, Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Barts, St. Martin

Dutch: St. Maarten, Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, Saba, St. Eustatius (English and Papiamento, a local patois, also widely spoken)

More Information on Caribbean Travel Destinations