Our Antigua trip was planned as a two centre break - first week in a smart (and expensive) all-inclusive resort hotel on the North Coast of the island, followed by 8 days "fending for ourselves", self-catering in Bamboo Cottage, down in the "yachtie paradise" of Falmouth/English harbours. We never anticipated that the cottage would beat the resort - but it did - out of sight! When we arrived, as the delightful (Canadian) property owner Joanne was proudly showing us around, we immediately realised how privileged we were to have picked on this place - beautiful, enveloped in a substantial established tropical garden (Joanne's brainchild - many years in the making), with a glorious pool as its centrepiece, right down to the rustic, yet surprisingly comfortable and well equipped cottage. Be sure, if you come, to get Joanne to show you how to fill up the bird feeder on the verandah with sugar water - filled up before breakfast and you will have a cabaret right through to dusk from the hummingbirds and bananaquits (sugar birds). A virtual native, having settled in the area 30 years ago, Joanne, while unobtrusive, is always on hand ready to guide you with the best things to do - restaurants for fine dining (if the budget allows, book SouthPoint for dinner one night, and sit on a floating dock, in spitting distance of a billion dollars or so of super-yachts!), down to pizza or bbq joints, as well as being a mine of information about the local beaches and amenities. One thing though - you will need a car - a basic one will do, or, better still, a small SUV - some of the roads are a bit rough! And another thing, Joanne lives in the house at the other end of the garden - she lives on the upstairs floor and lets out the apartment beneath, so while, in theory, the pool is shared, we certainly didn't see anybody by the pool - and we had most of our days there, languishing in the sun, before setting off to explore the outside world. There's a lot to see - apart from Nelson's Dockyard (don't miss the Seafood Friday BBQ), there's Shirley Heights, The Green Corridor, the gorgeous white sandy beaches and deep blue sea of the West Coast, Jolly Harbour etc etc
Thank you Joanne, for letting us sample your magical bit of the Caribbean - we'll be back!