Amazing Antigua

As soon as I arrived in Anitgua, I felt in the Caribbean way of life immediately - very relaxed and easy going. They had just encountered an unusual amount of rainfall but we had two weeks of glorious sunshine!! I stayed at the Jolly Beach Resort with my family and I feel this hotel represents excellent value for money on an all inclusive basis.

Our chosen hotel had plenty to offer by way of activities and entertainment - we found we could do as little or as much as we wanted. The sea was blue crystal clear and had a long stretch of fine white sandy beach with pedalos and jet skis on offer. There are a friendly bunch of local market traders set up on Jolly Beach selling usual souvenirs, t-shirts, jewellery which you can usually negotiate a reasonable price with them. There are 6 different room types at the Jolly Beach from small Supersaver rooms to the new superb Beachfront Cottages – they were also building a health and beauty spa which I believe is now open.

There are plenty of things to see and do whilst in Antigua. One day, from Jolly Beach we took a catamaran trip all around the island stopping off to snorkel at various places; this was a great way to see all the beautiful beaches on offer - they say there are 365! We also booked a private minibus and local driver who took us all around the island, it was a great way to see everything and our driver was very knowledgable about Antigua and it's history. We first stopped in St Johns which was great for souvenir shopping and duty free, then onto Betty’s Hope - Antigua’s first sugar cane plantation. Further up the coastline, Devil’s Bridge is a natural rock arch produced by the erosion of the sea – watch out here as you may get wet!! We stopped off for lunch at Nelson's Dockyard which is now the only restored working Georgian dockyard in the world. The drive up to Shirley Heights had spectacular views over English Harbour. Many people go here on a Sunday night to party with steel bands and reggae music. Driving back to Jolly Beach we came through the lush rainforests (where you can embark on zip wiring if you want!) with banana plantations - a fantastic day out!

In summary, we all agreed Antigua was a fantastic island and nothing was too much trouble for the staff at Jolly Beach and I hope to visit their beautiful island again very soon.