THE CARIBBEAN SERIES, DAY 1
BELFAST – LONDON – ANTIGUA
Back to counting countries. As a concept, the Caribbean might in theory lend itself well to island hopping more than anywhere else I know. But cruises aside, it really doesn’t work. It only took me a few minutes on sky scanner to find that out, after countless hours doing up an itinerary only to realise at the final destination the next flights just do not work.
IT FELT ALIEN WALKING INTO A NEW COUNTRY AGAIN
Add that to the Covid/PCR requirements and you really need one of the most efficient and regimented itineraries for it to work. And as every country changes their entry requirements on the daily you also need to have a plan B all the way to plan Z. Fingers crossed!! 😬
WHERE IS ANTIGUA?
Antigua
THE START OF THE CARIBBEAN SERIES
I hate to sound pessimistic but the key is being realistic, and getting turned away from a country, especially those in the Caribbean who are most protective against Covid is a very strong possibility. Anyway, on with the trip, I’m itinerary-ed out.
DAILY INFO….
- HOTEL – Dickenson Bay Oasis, Antigua Village 6.5/10, £125
- RESTO – Salt Plage
- ATTRACTIONS – Dickenson Beach
- FOOD – Coconut Prawns
GREAT START
From Heathrow to Antigua the flight was a dream, a full row to myself – one of the few benefits of booking your flight the day before, but never depend on this as long hauls are usually fully booked. Another risk is knowing it’s the hurricane season which could really mean anything but with 2 weeks to kill and no visas required it really ended up as the only option.
Back to counting countries
DAILY TRAVEL STATS….
- Steps – 10,800
- Number of flights – 2
- Flight itinerary – Aer Lingus & Virgin
- Miles covered – 4,572.9
ARRIVING INTO ANTIGUA
It’s a complete lottery this time of year but I was stoked to see a mix of blue skies and clouds as we landed. I can take the odd splash of rain here, just as long as I also got a few hours of sunshine each day!
Back to counting countries
DICKENSON BAY OASIS / ANTIGUA RESORT
“Sorry, I don’t know where that hotel is.” After arriving at my hotel I was sent swiftly on my way….It turns out the hotel has recently changed its name and no one told the security guard. So after checking out a few of the hotels in the area I arrived back to his confusion. But everyone in Antigua is incredibly friendly, which helped a lot when I got locked out of my apartment in my boxers. What didn’t help was fairly long walk back to reception.
RELATED READ: PETRA, AN INCREDIBLE WONDER
QUICK EVENING
Dickenson Bay seemed to be a great starting point and without any time to venture to another beach, it was certainly no compromise, Dickenson Bay Beach was up there with the very best. Not only had it the whitest of sands and bluest water but I pretty much had the beach to myself 🥵
After a quick bite at Salt Plage for some extortionately priced coconut prawns ($30 for battered prawns, no sides) it was off before a day of driving tomorrow.
ABOUT THE COUNTRY
- LANGUAGE – English
- HELLO – Hello
- HOW TO CHEERS – Cheers
- POPULAR BEVERAGE – Rum Punch
- POPULAR SPORT – Cricket
- STAPLE DIET – Fungee and Pepperpot
SUMMED UP….
- HIGHLIGHT – A great first beach
- LOWLIGHT – $200 for a PCR test
- MVP – Virgin Atlantic check in lady
FINAL THOUGHTS
It’s good to be back!
NEXT UP
Sir Vivan Richards and a stubbed toe…can’t wait 😬!! Click to read.
SAFE TRAVELS, DS x
145/229
This is episode 1 of The Caribbean Series, click to explore more in this series.
To watch the video of my trip, head to my highlights on my Instagram.
