Literally hundreds of soft beaches line the shores of these sister islands in the Caribbean. Some have sprouted bustling resorts and watersports centres, while others are deserted, but just about all of them are picture-postcard perfect.
What's more, despite centuries of British rule, West Indian culture on the islands is not only alive, but robust. Expect reggae, rum and carnival alongside barbecues and cricket.
Today an independent nation, Antigua and Barbuda offers just about everything you could hope for from a tropical island paradise. Antigua's capital, St John's, attracts day-trippers from the beach resorts in nearby Dickenson Bay and Deep Bay with its shopping, dining, nightlife and cobbled streets. To the south, English Harbour is crammed with historical sites, the centrepiece of which is Nelson's Dockyard (after Admiral Horatio Nelson who established it). Stone towers - the sugar mills of colonial days - dot the island's rolling expanse, which today often serve as bars, restaurants and shops.
Barbuda, around 40km to the north, was once the grocery aisle for its sibling, having been planted with crops to feed slaves on Antigua's sugar plantations. Today, it is gorgeously unspoiled, sparsely populated and little visited, leaving its pink and white sand beaches, bird sanctuary, shipwrecks and reefs for the enjoyment of the select few.
If that still isn't secluded enough for your tastes, you could always set sail southwest for the rocky islet of Redonda. Tiny, outlined by sheer cliffs, and treacherous to land on, it's also totally uninhabited.
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