Anguilla

In my opinion Anguilla has the finest sea and sand in the Caribbean – I’d say the ‘Caribbean’s best beaches’, but the lack of palms undermines the archetype.  But hey, the sand and sea are truly spectacular – the sand is so sumptuous that just walking can become aerobic exercise... and the beach bars are second to none.

Generally Anguilla is extremely low key (there’s not much action beyond the beach bars, unlike St Barts, for example), and this despite a sophisticated clientele with money to spend. They come for the island’s extremely smart hotels and the stylish villas and ‘super-villas’. The island has a justified reputation for its restaurants. The top handful are excellent, but there is depth to the food in Anguilla and chefs from both the island and outside are doing interesting things.

The Anguillians themselves are cool – ever independent minded and unimpressed by worldly fame and glamour, and the atmosphere is xx.

Anguilla is pretty expensive, certainly it’s pretty hard to have an inexpensive trip there.

And finally, key on a site like this, Anguilla’s beach bars are superb, have good variety. There are day trips to offshore islands, locations ideal for a lingering sophisticated lunch and of course some that befit the Caribbean, rustic, low key and with a cracking view of the sunset.