Antigua + Barbuda

Recently honeymooned in Antigua and Barbuda after getting married in October. Stayed at Tamarin Hills on the southwest part of the island on a mountainside suite, truly makes coming back to NY a drag. I mean I love Long Island, but I can’t help but think what’s stopping me from straight up leaving everything to live in a nice little shack on the beach? Probably the mosquitos because that was the biggest negative of the trip. Pretty much had to go inside the second the sun started to set as the mosquitos are practically invisible.
Other than that, we had a chance to tour several trails and British ruins throughout the island as well as hanging with locals in the smaller towns along the coasts. It was nice getting to roam around with virtually no people and very laxed rules. It truly feels like you’re completely free to do as you please.

After a week in Antigua, we took a quick 15-minute flight to Barbuda, a 62-square-mile island just north of the big island. With a population of just 1,800 people, it really felt like we were alone on a private island. After landing on a barren runway, we were escorted by boat to a cottage hotel on a peninsula north of the island. Back in 2017, Barbuda’s locals dealt with a massive hurricane that devastated homes, businesses, and a couple of their main ports. It’s evident that they’re still in the process of rebuilding, as supply barges with materials are costly and far and few between.

Two locals brought us around the island, including to a large cave system and then Princess Diana Beach on the opposite end. Interestingly enough, Robert De Niro was a few hundred feet from Diana Beach in a temporary house he built while his new Nobu luxury resort is being constructed on 300 acres of what was originally the K Club, where Diana would vacation often. De Niro and an Australian developer fought hard to take control and expand the leased land from the original 250 acres the K Club once occupied.
The locals who took us around explained how upset island residents are that their land is being bought up exclusively for De Niro and wealthy elites, with the addition of 17 new luxury restaurants, 15 new cottages, recreational space for a golf course, tennis courts and pools, and even a private airport. Another issue is that the developers are bringing in Filipino workers instead of training and hiring locals to work at the new resort. There have been reports of Filipinos stealing local farm animals and a rise in other crimes.

On an island where everyone knows everyone, it’s sad to hear about the changes happening on what is essentially one of the last few Caribbean islands that’s still relatively uninhabited. It gave me the itch to possibly start a GoFundMe to produce a documentary on the matter.

On an island where everyone knows everyone, it’s sad to hear about the changes happening on what is essentially one of the last few Caribbean islands that is still relatively uninhabited. It gave me the itch to possibly start a GoFundMe to produce a documentary on the matter.

We were the only 2 people on Princess Diana beach which spans over 10 miles, and coincidentally just offshore, was De Niro’s rented superyacht which I confirmed when I flew my drone toward for a closer look. This 400ft monster generates 285,000 tons of emissions each year and costs over 1 million a week to operate.