I have a deep love for the Caribbean, and make it a point to visit at least once a year one way or another. The turquoise water, the white sand, the fruity drinks! I love it all. It is truly my happy place. When we were planning our honeymoon, we knew we wouldn’t be able to take off a lot of time, so traveling overseas or halfway around the world wasn’t an option. I wanted to spend the time relaxing with my husband, not spending half of it getting to and from the destination. Luckily, the lush islands I love are just a couple hours away by plane.
We got married in October, which is towards the end of hurricane season, but I knew it was still a possibility, and I wanted to try to avoid the chance that we would have to cancel or scramble to find an alternative if the Atlantic sent a storm our way. With this in mind, I tried to find an island that was far enough south that it was out of the hurricane danger zone. Antigua and Aruba both looked like they were in a pretty good spot, but we ended up settling on Antigua because we thought that out of the two, Antigua seemed like a more authentic experience while Aruba was a little more commercial these days. Aruba still seems like a paradise, but that trip will just have to wait for another time.
Even with my research, Hurricane Irma still barreled through the area a couple weeks before our trip (one of only a few category 4’s to ever hit the island!) and ripped apart the neighboring island of Barbuda that we were planning on visiting. Thankfully, the main island wasn’t too damaged. We did circumnavigate the island one day and saw some resorts that had pretty significant damage, but overall I was incredibly surprised at how well the island faired. My hometown was flattened by Harvey a couple months prior, so I was definitely hurricane weary. When we got to our resort, you would never even know anything had happened.
Let’s start there, with the arrival. We landed at the small airport and jumped in a taxi van. They have multiple in line ready to take passengers to the various resorts whenever a plane gets in, so you are most likely going to share one with others headed to the same resort as you. We stayed at the Pineapple Beach Club Resort for the week we were there because I thoroughly enjoy all-inclusive options so we don’t have to worry about food, drinks, and a variety of activities.
On the ride over, the driver was telling us that the resort was really nice, and that Sandals was actually going to by it, but they couldn’t make the entire cove a private beach so they passed on it (which really was just the last 50 yards or so that was public beach, and still very tranquil and uncrowded). When we pulled up, we were escorted to the main clubhouse where they immediately began the pampering. They handed us cool towels and fruity drinks while we completed our check in, and then loaded us into a golf cart and dropped us off at our front porch for the week. The suite was perfect, had a great balcony with a picturesque view of the water, and a bucket of champagne chilling for us. After an early flight, it was exactly what I wanted to walk into.
The resort had several restaurants to choose from for dinner options, and we made sure to sample the, all. Our favorite was by far the Pineapple Grill. It had the best food, and a very intimate atmosphere (perfect for honeymooners).
The outhouse isn’t open for dinner, but you definitely need to make the short hike up the hill to eat there for lunch one day. The view from the top is stunning! It is a simple little set up, basically just covered wooden tables, and a couple of guys manning an old charcoal grill, and a cooler full of beer, but that’s all you really need for a breezy lunch.
The resort had free activities during the day, and entertainment every night. They really made sure that you had plenty of options to fill your day if you wanted more than to just lounge on the beach. They had free equipment for snorkeling, kayaking, and the little Hobie cat sail boats (you did have to take a short lesson with one of the employees if you wanted to take it out on your own, but that is included as well). The scheduled daily hikes, games, and events that you could also join in on. In the evening, they have little parties, karaoke, and dancing that goes pretty late into the night to keep you occupied.
The resort really has so much to offer that we didn’t really leave for the majority of the time we were there. The resort concierge does help you book day trips and excursions though, so we did spend a couple of days away from The Pineapple. The first trip was an all day affair. We were shuttled to a neighbor beach where we jumped on a catamaran and spent the day circumnavigating the island.
They took us out to a reef you could only get to by boat to snorkel. They feed the fish at the reef which brings them in, so there is a lot more life at the off shore reef than the one you can access from the beach at the resort. The reef is more vibrant and the water is clearer. I didn’t want to leave, but we had more to see. They took us to a private cove where they fed us some Caribbean bbq and we snorkeled around some more. Spending a whole day on the water is just the perfect day in my book.
The second day we booked a trip away from out little beach wow headed out for a “stingray encounter”. I was a little skeptical, thinking it may be a little touristy, but I couldn’t have been more wrong! We jumped on a boat right off the resort beach and took a quick ride to a nearby sandbar that you never would have spotted if you didn’t know where it was. We toed off the boat and jumped in the water. There were no nets, walls, it wasn’t over crowded. I was impressed.
The stingrays in the area have been doing this for so long that they simply know that “boats mean squid”. They show up when the boats do and leave when they are full. These guys are huge, super friendly, and beautiful to watch underwater. It really was an amazing experience and a highlight of our week. Of course, when we left, they swept us off to another part of the island for a lunch and rum punch.
All in all, Antigua was a gorgeous place to visit. Everyone we encountered was so sweet and hospitable, and went out of their way to make us feel welcome. Even with the recent damage from Irma, the island was still pristine and we got to do everything we wanted to (except stay longer). The food was pretty good and we felt safe the entire time we were there. The result made everything so worry-free, and even the cab rides and flights to get down there were easy to arrange. I have a special place in my heart for Roatan, but Antigua is pretty high on my list now too.
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