Deal of the day! Huge savings PLUS a free night PLUS air credit at luxe Caribbean resorts!

Elite Island's resorts are some of my all-time favorite all-inclusive properties, so I'm very excited about the new specials they've just announced! Book a trip to one of their resorts before January 10th for travel anytime before December 20th, 2013 and receive up to 45% off rack rates, plus your 7th night absolutely free!

But as legendary informercial host Billy Mays would say, BUT WAIT!! THERE'S MORE!! If you book your trip with me during the same time period as this promotion, I will also throw in a $50 per person airfare credit as a holiday bonus. Since most of Elite Island's resorts are all-inclusive, you likely won't need to use the savings for extra umbrella drinks, but it could be very well-spent on a massage at one of the lovely spas!

My top picks:
 *Palm Island - the Grenadines (full review coming soon)
A gorgeous private island resort, perfect for honeymooners, small groups, and anyone who loves the beach! Accommodations range from garden view rooms to beachfront bungalows to a 3-bedroom villa (which comes complete with it's own golf cart!). Food and service are excellent, and the beach and water are beyond stunning. The view of the mountain on neighboring Union Island is reminiscent of what you'd see from one of Bora Bora's motu resorts, and Palm Island's location is perfect for island-hopping to other Grenadine islands and the spectacular Tobago Cays (where parts of "Pirates of the Caribbean" were filmed). PI is adult-only (16 years and over) between January 3 and April 18. Under-16s are allowed other times of year, but I generally do not recommend this property for families with young children.

 

 

*Galley Bay- Antigua (full review here!)
One of Antigua's premier properties, Galley Bay is another fabulous option for romantics of all ages (as long as that age is older than 16!). Offering a variety of beach-front accommodations, private cottages with plunge pools, a gorgeous beach, and easy access to all of Antigua's attractions, it's hard to find a better tropical vacation spot!

Elite Island also offers properties on Barbados, Tortola (British Virgin Islands), Anguilla, and St. Lucia, as well as 2 additional properties on Antigua. You can't really go wrong with any of them, so stop just dreaming of that beach vacation, and contact me at Caroline@easyescapestravel.com to make it a reality!

Nude-a on Barbuda

Ok, so there's not really any nudity in this post...though there are plenty of virgin beaches!

While on Antigua recently, my husband and I decided to do a spur-of-the-moment day trip over to Barbuda, Antigua's smaller, quieter, and much-less-developed sister island. Getting here was fairly easy; a taxi from the resort to the dock, then a ferry (about an hour and a half ride in each direction) to Barbuda! The blue boats in Antigua's harbour mimicked the color of the water...

Galley Bay-dreamin'

For the second half of our trip to Antigua, my husband and I chose to stay in a Premium Beachfront Suite at Galley Bay (another adult-only property, but much more luxe than our previous hotel on the island). I also loved the look of the Gauguin Cottages with their own private plunge pools, but they were sold out for our dates. But with the sand and ocean right outside of back door of our beachfront suite, you can't go too wrong!

Sailed off to Antigua, it took her 3 days on the boat...

(Note: please excuse the odd formatting on this one...after trying to fix it for the past hour, I finally had to give up!)

Ok, so we actually went via plane, and it took more like 4 hours than 3 days, but I could not resist this line from one of my very favorite Jimmy Buffett songs! For our 7th wedding anniversary this April, my husband and I spent a week on the Caribbean island of Antigua, a sandy paradise dusted with more than a touch of British influence.

We spent 3 nights at Cocobay Resort and 4 at Galley Bay, two fairly different properties, but each of which has its own special qualities. We enjoyed our time at both resorts, though Galley Bay is far and away more luxurious overall and the only one of the two I would recommend to almost anyone without hesitation.

Check-in at Cocobay was a bit slow, but the front desk service was very friendly, and when we mentioned that it was out anniversary, they arranged for a complimentary bottle of champagne on ice to be sent to our room. We stayed in Loblolly Cay, one of the resort's Seafront Cottages. Most of the cottages are detached units, but Loblolly does share a high bamboo fence with another unit. However, we still thought it was the best location on property, and would have been our first choice if we'd had every cottage to choose from!