Inland the island still has areas of wild rain forest. A dearth of signposts means you can get lost (albeit briefly) when exploring the interior. The wilder and windier east of the island is pounded by Atlantic breakers, whilst the gentler west coast is caressed by turquoise seas on shimmering white sand bounded by a cocoa-coloured ribbon of softly lapping waves.
Host to swarms of Cruise ships, the crowds from these are usually confined to the immediate area of the docks in the capital, St.Johns, or else they are taken in convoys to either Nelson`s Dockyard or Devil`s Bridge, both to the east of the island. If you want to avoid the day-trippers and visit either of these places, pick a day when these Cruise ships don`t tie-up (usually on Saturdays and perhaps one or more of the other days of the week - enquire).
On Saturdays, visit the Market in downtown St.Johns. Selling mainly fruit and veg, and fish, here you will meet some of the friendly Antiguans who come from all over the island to sell their wares and earn an income to last them the rest of the week. There are some real characters here and if you decide to buy some of the great variety of fruit on sale, you will be greeted by some of the nicest and friendliest folk on earth.
Like all Caribbean destinations, avoid if you can visiting during the hurricane season (mid-June to beginning of November). Their dry season is January to March, but even then you can experience a torrential downpour, but quickly over. This is a beautiful green island and you don`t green without rain!
We stayed at the Rex Resort, Halcyon Cove on Dickenson Bay in the north west. A lovely location and I couldn`t fault it! Handy for St.John`s and the Airport (but not too near!), the beach there is to die for! (see photo above)
Click on the screen below to watch a slide show of the photos we took in Antigua:- |
