Barbuda

Barbuda is a small, picturesque island which is about a 90 minute boat ride from Antigua. You can get there by plane but we decided the Barbuda Express, which turned out to be much more fun!
We arrived at the Barbuda Express as they were preparing the boat ready for the trip. The staff were doing all the hard work stocking up on provisions and getting the boat ship shape. Then about 5 minutes before departure, Greg, the skipper arrives like a rock star about to perform at a gig. An American with a showbiz tan and sunglasses his timing is impeccable.
He pushed the controls and the boat swings into action. The crossing takes around 90-100 minutes and you are accompanied all the way by friendly talk and the best of Bob Marley.
About an hour into the crossing someone shouts "whale!!". Just of the port bow we see the tell tale spout and fin rising out of the water. Greg, slows the engines and turns the boat towards the whale in a way that Captain Ahab would have been proud. Greg tells me that you can see dolphins all year round and whales between February and April.
After the excitement subsides we continue on to Barbuda and arrive to see an island no more than around 60 km square with just 1500 inhabitants.
Believe it or not we were taken in a taxi driven by the cousin of England footballer Emile Heskey whose mother was born in Barbuda. The taxi driver explained that with only 1500 residents everyone knew everyone on the island. I didn't know whether that was a good or a bad thing!
We decided to hire quad bikes for our tour of the island. Our safety briefing consisted of "wear this helmet and have fun!". We took what looked like a hand drawn map and made our way across the island. To prevent us getting lost we decided to stick to the coast and thought that if we headed in the same direction the whole time we were bound to end up back at the Barbuda Express at some point!
Barbuda's main export is fine grain sand and we could see why. The beaches we encountered were breathtaking. The sand caressed our feet and we could see for miles without seeing a single soul. So much so that even the most shy could skinny dip if they wanted!
Our swimming made us hungry and we stopped at Uncle Roddy's cafe for a beer and lobster (Barbuda's second largest export).
If you are looking for an afternoon of complete peace and quiet on deserted beaches of fine white sand then Barbuda has to be one of the best places on the planet.