Hubby and I have decided on Montserrat for our next trip. It was a close call with Belize. Montserrat is rated the safest place in the Caribbean (besides the threat of the volcano erupting). We will be booking within the next month. We will be going over Christmas and New Years this year. The way the calendar falls, we will be able to stretch it to 2 full weeks. But no vacation again until 2014. Oh well.

We will stay 2 nights in Antigua to catch a flight to Montserrat on Monday. There are no direct flights to Montserrat, since the volcano blew up in '97, so we have to catch an island hopper.

Looking at these places for the short stay in Antigua.

http://www.amaryllishotel.com/index.html

http://conniescomfortsuites.com/index.html

In Monsterrat, we are looking at this place. It offers car rental which would be great!

http://www.bunkumbeachguesthouse.com/

or this one. But I am a little apprehensive because it is foreign owned and I don't want to run into trouble like we did at Search Me Heart, with the owners not being there or not liking Americans. I could always say I'm Canadian, eh?

http://www.essencemontserrat.com/

Our flight coming home would leave Antigua on Saturday so we'd go back to Antigua on Thursday or Friday, probably to the same guesthouse since it's tough to find accommodations under $100 a night.

There are a lot of affordable options in Montserrat. Antigua seems a lot more costly. I thought about pampering ourselves and booking an AI in Antigua. Maybe I can get a deal somewhere like sky auction?

What are your thoughts? Has anyone been to either island?

Good for you!!! I've never been nor know much about-buts its peaked my interest for sure..When i have time i'll look at the places a little more closely..

Belize-will always be there for you in the future..

I've never been to either Antigua or Monserratt. That Essence place looks great, either the guestroom or the apartment! But it's the other one that has the car rental, right?

Now that i had to chance to look it over...They're both lovely..I think the bunkhum with the car rental would be the one..its seems to have a nice location..The Essence is really nice too.. Either way it looks like beautiful and unique place to visit.

The Emerald Isle
I have not been to Monserrat but my friends ex is from there.
I always found it fascinating that they celebrate St Patrick’s Day.

http://www.irishcentral.com/travel/Montserrat-is-the-other-Emerald-Isle-this-St-Patricks-Day-114854234.html

I found it so sad when the cruise ships were docked watching the volcano erupt.
Some people found it entertaining to watch peoples lives and homes being destroyed.
I love everywhere that I have visited in the Caribbean.
Mostly Eastern Caribbean.
Sorry that you have to wait so long for your next holiday.

Antigua has been on my short list for a long time. I'll be wanting to hear how you like it.

oh gosh...Im having so much fun! Have I over done it? Few more....

OK...Im done! x x Love Everytime x x

crap- even the loser in that choice is a winner in my book...........

You are very welcome JeannieB after your epic trip report and splendid photos, its the least I can do.

I have never once felt threatend or uncomfortable in Antigua. We threw caution to the wind from day 1, hit the road with a hire car and never looked back. We have been everywhere and left no stone unturned and never any problem. We have literally stumbled across some of the nicest people.

Yes there are vendors on the beaches, mostly Jolly Beach, but they are quite tame compared to Jamaicans. We have never been approached by anyone out and about in the streets. We have got lost and asked for directions, no problem. Spent a day in ER when my son fell sick with a virus, then it was a nightmare trying to find the prescription he needed. We found a friendly pharmascist who telephoned around every chemist until he found someone with the correct medicine in stock. Another guy was digging a hole in the sand on the shore to put his beers in. We were looking at him wondering what the heck he was doing. He saw us and laughed, came over for a chat and explained he was wanting to keep his beers cool and shared them with DH and I. Another time we were walking late at night along a busy road, there was a crowd as everyone was leaving the drag racing and a guy pointed out to me to "hold the kid on the outside of the road". He was quite right, just coming from Greece I had lost my bearings while holding hands with my then very small daughter. I really appreciated him for taking the time on that. Another time we had a burst tyre. Hah!! Thickie Tourists couldnt find the spanner to change the wheel. I asked a Rasta guy who was working on his own car in his driveway if he could help. He helped and found the spanner!!!...LOL!! He helped change the tyre too and didnt want anything except for maybe to get back to his work. Very friendly people, they want to sit down and talk all day with you. Market and St Johns are very safe, feel free to mingle. Ive been told there is a recluse rasta community and if you stumble on to their pitch, they can get a bit shirty, but we never found them

You will notice in the photos, that it looks empty of tourists. Well it is. Most people seem to stay couped up in the AI's and only do organised trips. You know the drill ~ dont believe the hype!

Bolans is a place to avoid. Its a small town just before Jolly Beach, there are some bad boys around there, not the place to go at night, even locals are v careful and Amu always has someone walk him home bc he has had some shit at night, which really p's me off to think about it bc he deserves so much respect. Err with caution anywhere late at night. Having said that, we have chilled on the beach late/ish but not alone and we have driven home late/ish.

Our first visit was our honeymoon so we stayed somewhere a bit isolated and of course we went to bed early. When we returned some years later, our kids were v small, so we werent raving. If like us you are looking for long beautiful daytime excursions and early nights you will enjoy Antigua and never run into trouble.

Now Im going to tell you a sad story, not to deter you, just so you know, weigh it up but dont freak out. There was a shooting a few years back, an English Honeymoon couple in their room were murdered and robbed. BUT this was an isolated incident. The murderers were quickly caught, avoided the death sentence and are now doing life in prison. Honestly, bc it was such a one off and it happend 3 to 4 years ago without further violence or anything close thank God, it would not put me off returning. Oh and these 2 nasty pieces of work were from Bolans.....

We have stayed at Dickinson Bay and Jolly Beach. Dickinson Bay is lovely but maybe too quiet for you. I would recommend Jolly Beach to you bc it does have everything you need and very pretty but alas there are no small guesthouses that I know of. We stayed in selfcatering villas on an AI resort. We could use the pool and access the beach and got to wear a swanky gold wristband Im going to go out on a limb and guess you would like the following link, which I have heard very good things about.
http://www.theanchoragerooms.com/

I will post more photos later ...hehe...be careful what you wish for, but now my teenager is nagging me for my PC!!....Cheeky!

The view from the hill is at Shirley Heights. They used to have live reggae every Sunday afternoon into the evening - called "Sunday School". Not sure if they still do that. Nelson's Dockyard is just down the hill a ways - very interesting historical place to visit for an afternoon and then maybe take in the party up on Shirley Heights.
We spent 5 weeks in Antigua back in 93. We were on a really tight budget so did not get out that much in the evenings, although we were there for Carnival, which was over the top! The beaches are beautiful but not within walking distance unless you are able to afford to stay in one of the ***** hotels. Buses do run the length of the island, however, so you can visit the beaches that way, or hire a driver. The full circle navigation of the island is a must-do - try to hire a private driver and take the whole day- it's well worth the $$. There is a casino right at the cruise ship dock in town so it gets busy when the ships are in. We took in a night at the casino, which turned out to be quite fun. One of the guys in the casino house band lived in the apt. next door to us and encouraged us to go, otherwise would have probably passed it up. I still have a "souvenir" ashtray from the casino bar, lol (don't use it anymore - gave that addiction up several years ago). I found downtown St. John's to be very dirty - sewage running in the gutters, that sort of thing. It could get pretty nasty when it rained. But that was many years ago and haven't been back since, so I'm sure they've improved on the sewage system since then.
We had Montserrat in our travel plans when we were in Antigua, but the volcano changed our plans and we ended up going to St. Lucia instead. I'd still love to see Montserrat.