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Known all over the world for their temperate climate and sandy beaches, the Caribbean islands are a go-to destination for any island sun-seeker.It's not easy picking from the 7,000 islands that dot the Caribbean Sea, however. That's where we come in.
We recently crunched the numbers and came up with a list of the 25 best countries, republics, and territories in the Western Hemisphere archipelago.
We compared the islands using metrics like flying time from New York City, average hotel room cost, the number of attractions, and its beach density index, a score that rewards an island for having a relatively large amount of beachfront based on its size.
Diana Yukari/Business Insider
Refresh your Caribbean geography with the map below:
Diana Yukari/Business Insider
Learn more about each of the islands »
See how we ranked the 25 best Caribbean islands »