This trip is from the summer of 2016; We stayed at the Sandals Grande Antigua. I wish that I had started blogging about my travels earlier in life, but ya live and ya learn. Antigua is a beautiful island! By all means, this was not a bad trip! However, of all of the Caribbean Islands that I have been to, this was my least favorite. Ps: contrary to popular belief, it is pronounced as “Anti-ga” not “Anti-gua”.
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The normal perks of Sandals were outstanding, as usual! We had a club level room, which means we had more catered-to perks and services! I think the biggest turn off on this entire trip was the merchants trying to sell you stuff on the beach. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for supporting the locals; I always buy some things from local merchants to take home. However, since this beach in particular was very public, it attracted an insane amount of merchants, making the beach overwhelming. We did rent jet skis from one merchant and that was an absolute blast! They also looked after us later on!
Again, I want you to understand, I am not one of those people who usually complain about local merchants on Caribbean beaches. I think that it is one of the unique things about the Caribbean. It was simply the LARGE number of people coming up to you. It was hard to relax. Even though the majority of the merchants kept walking if you told them no thank you, when it happens every five minutes, it makes it hard to relax.
However, with all of that said, it takes A LOT to ruin a vacation for me, especially to the Caribbean. As mentioned in the title, the sunset in Antigua is to die for!
As always, we did an excursion so that we can go out to and see the entire island! We went kayaking in the Mangroves. A mangrove is a shrub-like plant whose roots are dipped down into the shallow water; they help to protect the island from heavy wind and other natural disasters. We were able to see a large variety of sea life in this area! Many different kinds of fish and other sea creatures treat this area like a “nursery” for their young.
Later, we took an open-top Safari Jeep Ride around the island and we stopped at a local sugar cane plantation!. I love emerging myself into the island and truly seeing the culture and life. Everyone sort-of groups the Caribbean into one large pot, when in reality, each island is extremely diverse!
After that, we hopped on a boat and went over to Bird Island. At the top of the mountain, you can see panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
Again, all of the usual aspects of our stay at Sandals was excellent! The food and service is always phenomenal. The island itself was gorgeous! However, I hate to admit, but this is not at the top of my return-to list!
Let me know if you have ever been to Antigua and what your thoughts were!
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XOXO
This is not a sponsored post – All travel expenses were paid for by myself – All opinions are honestly and organically my own.
That looks so pretty! Haven’t been to Antigua but when we were in Dominica Republic we were harasses a lot by the people on the beach. It was annoying.
I don’t know why some seem to do that, I would be much more inclined to buy something from them if they would keep their distance a little more. But most islands I have been to, there aren’t as many people doing it at one time.
I have no idea! It is quite annoying and it drives people away but I guess since they keep getting more people, they don’t care 🤷🏼♀️
Ugh this looks like a dream vacation!
It is a stunning place! Grenada is my top recommendation for an island vacation though! 💕
So beautiful! Definitely has me dreaming of a tropical getaway!
Me too girl! Looking back on these older trips has me dreaming of summer!!
I’ve never been to Antigua, but I’ve heard it is beautiful! Your pictures definitely make it seem like a wonderful place to visit.
xo,
kristie
http://www.kristieincarolina.com