Caribbean Island Safety Index 2025: The 10 Safest Caribbean Destinations

Planning a Caribbean escape?

Whether you’re jetting off for a honeymoon, a family getaway, or a solo adventure, safety is always a top concern.

That’s why Always All Inclusive created the Caribbean Island Safety Index 2025, a data-driven ranking of the 10 most popular Caribbean destinations, helping travelers choose wisely based on real safety metrics.

We analysed expert data across four major safety categories, travel advisories, crime & tourist safety, hurricane risk, and healthcare infrastructure and combined them into a clear, easy-to-understand safety score for each island.

Top 10 Safest Caribbean Islands in 2025 (Ranked)

Here’s the full breakdown of the 10 islands ranked from safest to least safe, with scores across each category (10 = best, 0 = worst):

Island	Advisory	Crime	Hurricane Risk	Healthcare	Composite Score
🇦🇼 Aruba	10	9	10	8	9.3
🇧🇧 Barbados	10	8	8	10	9.2
🇬🇩 Grenada	10	9	10	6	9.0
🇨🇼 Curaçao	10	8	9	9	9.0
🇦🇬 Antigua & Barbuda	10	8	6	7	8.1
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico	7	6	4	10	7.6
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	7	7	5	6	7.0
🇱🇨 Saint Lucia	10	3	7	7	6.8
🇧🇸 The Bahamas	7	4	3	9	6.5
🇯🇲 Jamaica	7	2	6	6	5.5

What Is the Caribbean Island Safety Index?

We created this index to answer a simple but important question: Which Caribbean islands are safest for travelers in 2025?

To do this, we scored each destination across four traveler-focused categories:

U.S. State Department travel advisories
Violent crime rates (especially tourist-related)
Hurricane frequency and resilience
Emergency healthcare access

Each island received a 0–10 score per category. We then applied weights based on what travelers care about most:

30% Travel Advisories
30% Crime & Tourist Safety
25% Healthcare Access
15% Hurricane Risk

Note: While U.S. State Department advisories are considered due to their influence on traveler behavior and insurance policies, they don’t always reflect on-the-ground realities.

For example, countries like the UK, Italy, France, Denmark, and even the Maldives currently carry a Level 2 advisory, the same level as Jamaica. These comparisons help provide perspective on the nuance of these alerts.

Why Aruba Tops the List

Aruba earns the #1 spot thanks to a near-perfect safety profile:

No hurricanes in recent history
Extremely low crime (homicide rate ≈ 2/100k)
Strong healthcare system with Dutch standards
U.S. State Dept Level 1 advisory – “Exercise Normal Precautions”

This island is a dream for worry-free travel, even during hurricane season. It’s especially great for families and solo travelers.

Barbados and Grenada: Quiet Confidence in the Eastern Caribbean

Barbados and Grenada rank second and third, respectively, thanks to:

Stable governments and low crime
Minimal hurricane activity
Trusted healthcare systems (Barbados has the best in the region)

Barbados especially shines in medical access, with 3 doctors per 1,000 people and world-class hospital care.

Curaçao and Antigua: Underrated Safe Bets

Curaçao’s modern medical center and low disaster exposure make it a solid #4, while Antigua & Barbuda ranks #5, thanks to strong safety and low tourist crime.

Both destinations have Level 1 travel advisories, making them great for travelers seeking peace of mind.

Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic: Middle of the Pack

While Puerto Rico (#6) offers top-tier U.S.-quality healthcare, it’s more exposed to hurricanes and moderate urban crime.

The Dominican Republic (#7) is improving quickly but still has pockets of risk and lower healthcare capacity.

That said, both are generally safe for tourists, especially within resort zones.

Saint Lucia, The Bahamas, and Jamaica: Beautiful but Be Cautious

These destinations round out the bottom three, not because they’re unsafe overall, but because violent crime and/or hurricane risk are real concerns:

Saint Lucia (#8): Gorgeous, but saw a spike in gang-related violence in 2024
The Bahamas (#9): Paradise Island is safe, but Nassau has crime and hurricane vulnerability
Jamaica (#10): Still a popular spot, but high crime rates and uneven healthcare services make it the least safe in our index

Important Note:
National crime rates don’t always reflect risks to tourists. In fact:

Jamaica has very low rates of violent crime against tourists, especially in resort areas
Saint Lucia’s recent spike in violence is primarily local gang-related
The Bahamas, in contrast, has experienced multiple reported incidents involving tourists, especially in Nassau — including robberies and assaults near beaches

This index considers both general crime trends and known tourist-specific incidents, wherever data is available.

Perspective Check: How Do U.S. Cities Compare?

To put things in perspective, here are homicide rates in select U.S. cities (per 100,000 residents):

St. Louis – 66.1
Baltimore – 55.8
Detroit – 39.8
New Orleans – 39.5
Kansas City – 30.9

Many of these figures are higher than even the most challenged Caribbean islands. It’s a useful reminder that safety is often local and situational, not just national.

Why Only 10 Islands Are Ranked

This index focuses on the 10 most visited and commercially relevant Caribbean destinations. Some high-risk destinations like Haiti, Trinidad & Tobago, and Turks & Caicos were not included due to:

Inconsistent or missing data across scoring categories
Limited resort-based tourism infrastructure
Ongoing political or safety concerns

We may include a future spotlight on these destinations separately.

Key Safety Trends (2019–2025)

✈️ Travel Advisories Are Getting Smarter

The U.S. now issues area-specific warnings rather than broad travel bans. For example:

Avoid public buses in Jamaica
Use caution with jet ski operators in Nassau

📉 Crime Is Shifting

The Dominican Republic and Barbados saw improvements
Saint Lucia experienced a surge in gang-related homicides
Jamaica remains high in overall crime, but tourist areas are generally very secure

Hurricanes Still Shape Perception

Islands like Puerto Rico and The Bahamas are frequently affected, while Aruba, Curaçao, and Barbados remain largely outside the storm zone.

Healthcare Is Top of Mind

Post-pandemic, travelers prioritize access to hospitals, urgent care, and emergency transport, which gives destinations like Barbados, Aruba, and Puerto Rico an edge.

🧭 Expert Travel Tips by Destination

✅ Aruba: Explore freely — low crime and great hospitals
✅ Barbados: Go beyond the resort — it’s safe and easy to navigate
⚠️ Bahamas: Stick to resort zones and avoid downtown Nassau after dark
⚠️ Jamaica: Use hotel transfers, avoid local buses, and don’t walk at night
⚠️ Saint Lucia: Enjoy resorts and excursions, but check local guidance in Castries

Final Word: Safe Travels Start with Smart Choices and Trusted Advisors

Not all Caribbean islands offer the same level of peace of mind, but when you stay at a Sandals Resort and book through Always All Inclusive, you’re already ahead.

This Safety Index shows that many of the region’s safest destinations are also home to Sandals’ award-winning all-inclusive resorts, including:

✅ Barbados – Low crime, top healthcare, and beautiful beaches
✅ Grenada – Peaceful and hurricane-free
✅ Curaçao – Excellent infrastructure, low storm risk
✅ Antigua – Safe, scenic, and laid-back
✅ Saint Lucia – Protected resorts with strong healthcare options
✅ Bahamas – Resort zones with enhanced security
✅ Jamaica – Vibrant culture with VIP-level resort safety

Sandals Resorts go above and beyond with:

Secure, gated properties
24/7 security and on-site support
Trusted airport transfers
On-site medical care and emergency protocols

And with Always All Inclusive, you’ll get:

Expert destination guidance
Priority help before and during travel
Exclusive upgrades, perks, and insider tips

Bottom line: When you combine the right destination with the right resort and the right travel advisor, you can truly relax, knowing every detail, including your safety, is taken care of.

➡️ Ready to plan your stress-free Caribbean escape?
Contact Always All Inclusive and we’ll guide you to the safest, most unforgettable Sandals experience.

📊 Want to Share This?

You’re welcome to share the Caribbean Island Safety Index 2025 table to help others travel smarter.

Please note: If you use or republish any part of our data, rankings, or safety table, you must credit Always All Inclusive and include a link back to this original page as the official source.

We’ll continue updating this index as safety trends evolve, so check back often for the latest insights.

Sources: U.S. Department of State, NOAA, UNODC, InSight Crime, PAHO, WHO, and island-specific government data. All data normalized and scored by the Always All Inclusive research team.