"Antigua" Antigua Island by Flamegirl

I went to Antigua twice, for 2 weeks in 1996 and a week in 97 (followed by a week in St Lucia) thanks to my parents.

It wasn't what I'd expected from a Caribbean island, being pretty flat and not very jungly, but its flatness meant the beaches gently shelved off into the ocean, creating the lovely turquoise sea colour. The water was also fantastic - it was buoyant enough to just lie and float without having to make any effort! Antigua is said to have 365 beaches, one for every day of the year, and you can see from the photo that it has beautiful powder-white sand!

The people were pretty friendly and there aren't the safety issues in leaving the hotel compound which you face in other caribbean islands.

Our first visit became an adventure when a nearby tropical storm became a small hurricane and passed over us... for a couple of days we had to batten down the hatches, and the glass-like sea was reminiscent of a windy British surf!

Jolly Beach

If you'd like to see more photos of Antigua's beaches check out www.antiguanice.com/antigua_barbuda_beaches.htm

coco crazy

there were guys who made a living by shimmying up the palm trees to collect coconuts for tourists to drink. They carried a large curved knife which they used to chop away the outside of the coconut, and reach the edible inner section (well, I hope they didn't use them for anything else).

Here's me enjoying one!

• Pros:great beaches, friendly people