The Little Antilles (map)
Location: The Little Antilles are an archipelago with more than twenty islands extending from north to south, through 2,400 kilometers an arc going from the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico at the north, to the ABC Islands on the south, in front of the northern Venezuelan coast.

Language: Languages most used are English, French, Dutch, Spanish and several dialects from patois.

Timetable: All islands, except Trinidad & Tobago, are ruled by the Atlantic Time Zone, meaning they are one hour earlier than the Eastern Standard Time, and four hours forward than the Greenwich Mean Time. Trinidad & Tobago are ruled by the Eastern Time Zone.

Currency: There are six official currencies in the islands: Barbados dollar (DSB $), in Barbados Easter Caribbean dollar (EC$): Dominica, Granada, Montserrat, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda: French Franc (FF): Martinique, Guadeloupe, St-Martin, St-Barthélémy, Saba y St. Eustatius; Netherlands Antilles Florin also called guilder (NAf): Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, &
St. Martin; US. dollar (US$): US Virgin Islands & British Virgin Islands; Trinidad & Tobago dollar (TT$): Trinidad & Tobago.

Electricity: Electric supply varies from one island to another: 110-120 volts/60 cycles:
US Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, Aruba, St-Martin (Netherlands zone), Trinidad & Tobago.

110-130 volts/50 cycles: Anguilla, Bonaire, Barbados and Curacao.

220-230 volts/60 cycles: St. Kitts & Nevis, Montserrat, Antigua & Barbuda.

2220-240 volts/50 cycles: Bonaire Curacao, Dominica, Granada, St-Barthélémy, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Martin (French zone), Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Lucia and St. Vincent & the Grenadines.

Weather
The main characteristic of Caribbean weather is  temperature, having little changes from one season to another. The proximity of these islands to the equatorial zone prevents seasonal temperature changes going beyond 6°C. Other great advantage is the fresh air breeze coming with the East Winds. The annual media temperature is around 27°C. On winter, the high tourist season, the lowest night temperature is 16°; meanwhile during the day thermometers can reach 32°C.
Rain variations from one island to another go from the annual
50 mm in Curacao to the 190 mm in Granada. Usually rains are more frequent in October and November, even June is the rainiest month in Trinidad & Tobago. Between July and October come the hurricane “season”. The “dry season” that coincides with the arrival of massive tourists, starts in December and usually ends in April or May.

Hurricanes
Hurricanes are one of the most devastating phenomena affecting these islands.
On 1989, hurricane Hugo devastated the Leeward Islands. On September 1995, Luis punished Antigua, St. Martin and some neighboring islands. Marilyn caused floods in Antigua and important damages in the US Virgin Islands.

The “Hurricane season” goes from the first days of June to the first days of November, when the islands celebrate the “Hurricane Liberation Day”. However, they usually come between July and October, for around 8 or 10 days.

In the summer, disturbances are usually frequent at the tropic zone. Then depressions and tropical storms carrying winds up to 117 km/h are originated. When a zone is in danger of being affected, within 24 hours, by whirlwinds over 119 km/h and waterspouts, red alert is declared, preventing the risk of a hurricane.

If red alert is declared, you must evacuate your home or hotel. Pick up things you think will be useful at the refuge or store up supplies in case you decide to stay at home.

Commercial Time Tables
The after-dinner nap is usual in these islands, and all around the region most of the shops close their doors for a couple of hours in the afternoon, at the hottest time of the day. Having this in mind, commercial schedules are as follows: stores open early, generally at 8:00 o’clock and never after 9:00 o’clock. Most of them close just after noon, although you can find some closed at 13:00 hours. They reopen two hours later, usually at 14:00 hours, and remain open until 18:00 hours, although, in some islands they close at 16:00. Saturdays, most of the stores open in the morning and others in the afternoon. They usually are closed on Sundays.
In Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, stores do not close at noon.

Official holidays
Christmas and New Year’s Eve are official holidays throughout the region. However, each island has its own official holiday calendar. Look in the individual section of each island to know more about their holidays.

CARNIVAL
Carnival is celebrated on different dates, depending of the island. These dates can be divided in three groups:

In Trinidad & Tobago, Dominica, St. Thomas, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, St. Lucia, Martinique, Guadeloupe, St. Martin (French region) and St-Barthélémy carnival is linked with the days previous to Lent. There are three holidays ending on Ash Wednesday. The only exception is St. Thomas that celebrates its carnival after Holy Week.

In St. Vincent, Anguilla, St. John, Barbados, Granada, the British Virgin Islands, Antigua, Saba and St. Eustatius carnival is celebrated in June, July or the first days of August. In these islands, carnival is linked with the first Monday of August, a national holiday celebrating the end of the zafra (crop) and the abolition of slavery at British colonies, which took place around this date in 1834.

In St. Kitts, Montserrat and St. Croix (US Virgin Islands) carnival is celebrated at the end of December and the first days of January, coinciding with Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

In St. Maarten (Dutch region) carnival is celebrated at the end of April, coinciding with the celebration of the Queen’s birthday, the 30^{th of April.}