Escaping to Paradise after Lockdown
October 2020
Clutching our negative Covid PCR tests in our hands my husband and I arrived at Gatwick airport in October 2020, more excited than normal about our forthcoming holiday to Antigua.
Having not travelled internationally for 8 months, this truly felt quite special.
It is, in fact, a long time since we have holidayed in the Caribbean as previous experiences had been very disappointing. In St Lucia we endured appalling service and we found Barbados to be overpriced and pretentious.
First impressions of Antigua were extremely positive – it was sunny and scenically very attractive.
We were met by a delightfully friendly taxi driver who provided a really interesting commentary about the island, its history and the best places to visit on the hour long trip to our hotel.
We were staying at the Cocobay Resort, a lovely collection of colourful cottages set into a hillside with a stunning beach. The view was to die for.
“I think we have arrived in heaven,” I murmured to my husband as I relaxed with a glass of champagne on my hammock.
But Antigua is about much more than just lounging in the sun.
We set off exploring and encountered the very friendly Stephanie on the beach who encouraged us to do lots of island exploration. So we booked a diving trip, an adventurous circumnavigation of the island by speedboat and a private sunset cruise on a 40 ft sailing yacht.
I have never really thought of Antigua as a good diving destination, but we enjoyed a couple of very good dives in balmy water with super visibility.
This is a truly stunning island with mountains, rainforest and a beach for each day of the year.
So impressed had we been with Michael, our taxi driver, that we hired him for a day to show us round.
There is so much naval history to learn about. I strongly recommend a visit to English Harbour, home to the restored Nelson’s Dockyard which Admiral Horatio Nelson made his base in the 1780s. Shirley Heights, a former military lookout, has panoramic views.
The resort was all inclusive and I was a little nervous that this would mean poor quality food or service or both. I need not have worried. The service was excellent, the food delicious and varied, and the wine flowed.
Seeing the island both from land and sea provided very different perspectives. The Caribbean side is very calm and tranquil whilst the Atlantic side is choppy and very rough. Visiting the Atlantic side was definitely worth doing but we were very relieved that we had chosen to stay on the Caribbean side.
It is a quiet and very British island with a lot of history. The sea is the most incredible turquoise colour and so warm and inviting. The people are friendly and welcoming and, rightly, proud of their history and their famous cricketer son, Viv Richards.
There is something for everyone on Antigua and this is definitely an island we will be going back to.