I am bouncing about in the tiniest aeroplane I’ve ever flown in when the 11-mile arc of white sand now known as Princess Diana Beach comes into view. The 15-minute flight from Antigua, which moments ago felt like an eternity, is plainly now a ticket to paradise.
Tiny Barbuda, which was left decimated by Hurricane Irma in 2017, had just two weeks earlier opened its brand new airport. It is now – depending on who you ask – reopening for business or on a fast track to becoming an exclusive billionaires’ enclave.
The new airport, which has been designed to accommodate multiple private jets, was described at its ribbon-cutting ceremony by Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority chief executive Colin C James as a “game changer for Barbuda, as we look to attracting the luxury traveller and private jet owners from around the world to Barbuda”.
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Despite the grand plans, the population of around 1,600, who have mostly returned to Barbuda and are slowly rebuilding their homes and businesses, are determined to protect the island’s extraordinary environment.
This includes the 16-mile Codrington Lagoon national park, my first stop where I hop into a small boat for the short trip out over the shallow blue lagoon to the tiny Man of War Island to see the largest colony of frigate birds in the western hemisphere. Other marine life includes the endangered hawksbill and leatherback turtles.
The frigate birds travel between the Caribbean and Galapagos islands, arriving in time for the mating season when the red pouches on the males’ throats inflate to attract a female.
It is a spectacular sight, and its careful protection as a delicate ecosystem with a minimum of human involvement means that our next stop at the aptly-named Pink Sand Beach, just over the sandbar from the lagoon, is a genuine catch-your-breath moment.
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The beach, with its seasonal shade of pink from crushed shells edged by the clearest turquoise waters, is both safe and deserted – there is not another soul to be seen in either direction. I bathe in the warm waters until our guide, Pat, gives me a gentle hurry-up. If you think this is beautiful, wait until you see Princess Diana Beach, he tells me.
I drag myself away with the promise of a lobster burger en route – we stop at The Sage Table, a well-known favourite with locals and tourists alike for a brioche bun loaded with the delicacy – and on to the beach commonly considered the most beautiful across Antigua and Barbuda.
A map of Princess Diana beach
Pat is not wrong. The sand is so white it’s impossible to venture out of the car without sunglasses. The water is a blue so clean and clear you can look past schools of tiny vividly-coloured fish to the sand below. It is an extraordinary sight, and it is once again completely deserted as far as the eye can see in either direction.
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After plunging straight in, I decide to stroll towards the far point, and within minutes come across huge, luxury homes being built, infinity pools already completed and full. My advice, if you want to see this beach in its current tranquil, otherworldly state, is to visit as soon as you can.
The day trip to Barbuda is an exciting addition to activities on offer to visitors to Antigua, long known as a classic ‘fly and flop’ destination for sun-starved Brits.
My base on Antigua is the Blue Waters resort, set within a private bay on the island’s northwestern coast. There’s no need to leave at all if days spent wandering among 17 acres of tropical gardens dropping down to three powder-soft sand beaches sounds like enough of a holiday.
The hotel’s bars and restaurants offer everything from French cuisine by the light of flaming torches to casual beachside lunches, while days are spent swimming, snorkelling and paddle-boarding. The spa, with its dramatic clifftop location and pool, is practically a destination in its own right.
But there is much to explore across the island, including Bay Gardens Antigua – a Caribbean-style “mall” with shops packed with local craft and produce, a chocolate factory, a cafe and a venue that hosts yoga sessions, all set under cooling palms and mahogany trees. It’s an elegant and relaxing alternative to souvenir-shopping at the airport, and supports local people who are often on hand to talk to customers.
After an hour browsing with a coffee, it’s time to switch to something a little stronger, and a class in making the perfect rum punch at Quin Farara in downtown Antigua. Firstly, we have to taste a line-up of local rums before selecting which would be best in our personalised punch, which is put together with just the right amount of ice and a pour determined by counting to three – as quickly or slowly as you like. It may be the strength of the drink, but I genuinely feel as though I’ve come away with a valuable life skill.
After a rum-induced quiet afternoon back at the resort, the decision is made to venture further afield for dinner, to Papa Zouk for ‘fish n’ rum’. The tiny restaurant doesn’t bother with a menu – owner Bert will let you know the catch that has come in fresh that day, but a number of Antiguans had recommended the snapper. It arrived whole, with a delicious but top-secret coating, and washed down with a glass of the rum punch, with the warning: “Watch out, it’s dangerous.” If ever there was a reason to leave the comfort of the resort, this was it.
There is one last day, and I spend it recovering from the night before in true ‘flop’ fashion. But the holiday to this long-loved destination has provided breathtaking sights and extraordinary experiences across the two islands that make it well worth a re-visit, and venturing beyond the resort.
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