Los Roques

Los Roques needs 3 days: touring its more than 40 white-sand cays surrounded by turquoise lagoons by boat, with Cayo de Agua and Crasquí among the most photographed, is itself the plan. December-April is best, in the dry season with calmer seas. It's expensive, with access only by small plane from Caracas and limited lodging in guesthouses in the village of Gran Roque. It's been a National Park since 1972 and one of the best-preserved coral archipelagos in the Caribbean, with no hotel chains or mass construction, keeping its waters among the clearest in the region.