Before traveling to the island of Antigua, I had heard nothing about it. I knew it was a beautifully small island, but other than that I had no idea of what to expect. I had to do some research, so I headed to the internet. The island was smaller than I had thought as it only takes about 45 minutes to drive from one end to the other. I did some online research and found the activities that were most recommended for the island, which were visiting Stingray City and wind/kite surfing. I was very excited about both of these activities and set a goal on doing them.
The popularity of wind surfing on the island is no surprise. From the minute you get off the airplane you can feel the strength of the wind. I thought that maybe it was just extra windy the day that we arrived in Antigua, but the wind continued the entirety of our trip. While it could get distracting at times, it was not a big deal, and it kept the bugs away which is always beneficial.
The weather was beautiful every day that we were there. It rained twice within the week that we were there but it was in the morning for about an hour, and then the sun came out for the rest of the day. The sun is VERY strong there, so I highly recommend sunscreen at all times.
The highlight of the trip for me was when we took a day to tour the island. We befriended a local worker at our hotel that was kind enough to take us to Stingray City one day as well as stop at other landmark places on the island. She was the friendliest woman, as were many of the people I met on the island!
One of the landmarks that we stopped at was a natural bridge called “Devil’s Bridge” This natural bridge was formed by the powerful waves that surround the peninsula that it resides on. The immense power of the water surrounding Devil’s Bridge was astounding, and the strength of the wind was even more so. The view was breathtaking.
Stingray City was an experience I won’t soon forget. I’ve always wanted to swim with stingrays, but I never knew what to expect. We took a boat out to a shallow section of the ocean where stingrays naturally reside, and were given the opportunity to hold and feed the stingrays. I have to admit that the stingrays were a lot larger than I was expecting and I was a little skeptical of being so close to them at first, but I’m so glad that I did it and was able to have the experience of being so close to these amazing creatures.
Another part of the trip that I was really excited for was windsurfing. I had never windsurfed before, but I had heard from multiple people that it was really difficult. I was prepared for the worst, but ended up loving it! My brother and I had a lesson together, and while he fell off of his board multiple times, I didn’t fall once! Our instructor, Vaughn, was awesome and helped me to perfect my stance on the board. It was still really difficult to try to catch the wind in your sail and not let yourself be thrown off the board, but once you get your sail in the right spot, it’s fun to sail across the water.
The island itself was very nice. We stayed at one of the bigger resorts on Antigua called St. James Resort and the people there were extremely friendly. It was an all-inclusive resort, as many of the resorts on the island are, which was really convenient. I really enjoyed the resort and the watersports that were offered there. The watersports were located in a small bay as the resort is located on a peninsula and the side of the island that faces the ocean has rough waters.
Overall, I was very happy with the island and the experiences that it could provide. It was a great place for couples and for families, as there was something for everyone to enjoy. I would recommend Antigua for its water activities and scenery.
tiffanygantz 