The purpose of a honeymoon is to revel in your newlywed bliss and recover from the stress of planning a wedding. Worrying about things like crime, medical access, and hurricane risk shouldn’t be on the agenda. But as the U.S. adds travel warnings for several Caribbean destinations, for many couples, it is.
Enter the “Peace-of-Mind Score,” a term coined by Honeymoon Always in their 2026 Safest Caribbean Honeymoon Islands Index. It’s a score that measures how secure, calm, and low-stress a destination actually feels, taking into account factors like medical access, crowd pressure, crime, hurricane risk, and honeymoon infrastructure.
“Most Caribbean honeymoons are wonderful and trouble-free. But when couples are investing in a once-in-a-lifetime trip, small differences in safety signals, crowd levels, and medical access matter. This index is designed to help couples relax, not overthink,” said Dan Bagby, co-founder of Honeymoon Always, in a release shared with Travel + Leisure.
And at the top of the Peace-of-Mind list is Barbados, an island in the eastern Caribbean that stood out for its honeymoon infrastructure (think plenty of luxury, all-inclusive hotels and romantic on-island experiences), low crime rates, and favorable hurricane and disruption risk. Honeymoon Always called out Barbados for “creating a consistently low-stress environment for couples,” which is everything when planning a honeymoon.
Following Barbados was Grenada at No. 2 and the British Virgin Islands at No. 3. Both islands outperformed more popular honeymoon destinations thanks to fewer crowds and lower crime rates. Right behind the British Virgin Islands (with just a 0.02 overall score difference) was Antigua and Barbuda, which boasts a solid honeymoon infrastructure and favorable crime rates. Jamaica, at No. 5, had one of the best honeymoon infrastructures, but was hindered by poor medical access and high crime.
Data for the Honeymoon Always study was sourced from World Bank Group’s crime indicators, health-capacity indicators, and tourism and population indicators, and supplemented by regional or territory-level tourism and population data.
The top 10 honeymoon destinations in the Caribbean are ranked below, rated by their overall Peace-of-Mind score, which takes into account: honeymoon infrastructure, crime, medical access, tourism density/crowd pressure, hurricane and disruption risk, and hotspot proximity.
1. Barbados
Peace-of-Mind Score: 7.87
2. Grenada
Peace-of-Mind Score: 7.48
3. British Virgin Islands
Peace-of-Mind Score: 7.05
4. Antigua and Barbuda
Peace-of-Mind Score: 7.03
5. Jamaica
Peace-of-Mind Score: 6.87
6. Puerto Rico
Peace-of-Mind Score: 6.82
7. Saint Lucia
Peace-of-Mind Score: 6.71
8. Martinique
Peace-of-Mind Score: 6.65
9. Dominican Republic
Peace-of-Mind Score: 6.52
10. Guadeloupe
Peace-of-Mind Score: 6.5
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