Imagine an archipelago of 351 coral islands, scattered in seas so shallow that you could almost wade between them, virtually unpopulated and fringed with more than 1,000 untouched beaches. Add turtle colonies, lobsters so cheap you can eat them for breakfast, and world-class sport fishing, then subtract mass tourism, high-rise hotels and neon lights, and the result is Los Roques, a national park just a 35-minute flight from Caracas that may well be the Caribbean’s best-kept secret.

Getting there: what passes for a tourism industry on this determinedly lazy archipelago is based on the island of Gran Roque. Typical of the tiny hotels here is La Cigala, which proudly offers no plasma screens, no WiFi, no air conditioning and no spa. The price is £1,746 with Sunvil (020 8758 4774, www.sunvil.co.uk ).

La Cigala Note: We do have wifi and air conditioning.