Antigua

If you love beaches then Antigua is your dream destination. With 365 different beaches, there's one for every day of the year. Antigua's gentle plains and low rolling hills are dotted with old mills that used to service the sugar plantations. The scenery changes quite suddenly as you travel around. The roads will lead you through mango and pineapple groves and on into a tropical, semi-parched landscape before plunging you into lush rainforest.
Discovered first by Christopher Columbus in 1493, Antigua was colonised by the British in 1632. You can see why the colonists felt at home. The hills are almost rolling like good ole' English countryside - in fact if it was not for the weather you could be in Cornwall - well, almost! English Harbour, frequented by Nelson and other famous (and infamous!) seafolk, takes you right back in time to the colonial days of the Caribbean.
The capital St John's offers a good selection of duty-free shopping in its quaint streets and along the harbour front. Roads in Antigua are not well sign-posted, to say the least, so driving a hire-car can be something of an adventure. An easier option is to take a catamaran cruise and discover the many beautiful and secluded beaches for which Antigua is famed. There are a number of good private restaurants worth trying - many off the beaten track.
With beaches aplenty, lots to see and do and a spirited approach to daily life, Antigua's hard to beat if you are looking for the quintessential Caribbean holiday. .