Books

Romantic Honeymoon Destination - Anguilla

Until the 1980s, Anguilla's landscape consisted of local fishermen's lobster traps on ravishing snow-white beaches, goats tethered amid the scrub-dotted hills and an occasional wooden shack.


Today, the goats and lobster traps are still there, but the shacks have given way to intimate world-class resorts with cell-phone-toting jet setters patrolling the sand. Agents call flat, dry Anguilla "one big beautiful beach" and "one of the Caribbean's most sophisticated destinations". But they also note that no one comes here to be part of a "scene".

Indeed, the entire island-everyone from dreadlocked Rastafarians to willowy, high-maintenance models-descends on the tiny beach shack bar, Johnno's, for a classic reggae "Jump-Up" (dance) and barbecue on Sundays. Nonetheless, tranquil Anguilla is not the place for people looking for nightlife and excitement; "The pace is slow, and that's Anguilla's biggest selling point."


The most popular activities? Many agents recommend couples go for the glow in whatever manner best suits them-lazing on powder-fine, untracked beaches, snorkeling amid brightly colored coral off a deserted cay, watching brightly painted, wooden fishing boats bring in the day's catch, a trip to the resort spa for a massage, facial, or whatever de-stresses them best. Later, sunset cocktails can be followed by dinner at one of the tiny island's many "surprisingly gourmet" restaurants.

Worth to try: Head off to Scilly Cay, a minuscule islet off the northeast coast reached by "ferry", is renowned for its delectable lobsters; follow lunch dining with sunning and swimming with your fellow diners.

| Anguilla Books |