Our own private beach

Said to be where all the locals go on Sunday evening for sunset, Shirley Heights was supposed to be a fantastic evening with authentic music and great company. Unfortunately, the company was made up of mostly tourists off the cruise ships and the 'authentic music' was a steel band playing music similar to what you'd find at a typical wedding.

That said, the view was breathtaking. From our villa in Jolly Harbour, it was approximately an hour's drive down the western coast and through the center of Antigua to get to the south-eastern coast. From Shirley Heights, you get a priceless view of English Harbour.

The fee to get in (I can't recall exactly but I believe it was $8 USD) was exactly that...the fee to get in. Don't be tricked into believing you get a free drink with that. The barbeque every Sunday starts at approximately 5pm and has typical barbeque fare: burgers, ribs, etc. Everything comes with a side of salad and potato salad (most menu items were around $10-15). In theory, there are picnic tables a plenty to eat on however the rather rude tourists who arrived early sat down to eat and never got up. This made eating quite difficult but we managed. There are two bars at Shirley Heights, one indoors and one outside, both serving the same drinks. I recommend Wadadli or Red Stripe if you want to try some local beers.

The entertainment consisted of a pretty great steel drum band and later in the evening, a reggae band. Like I said earlier though, there was nothing local about the selection of music they played. Most songs could've been requested on a jukebox sadly. We didn't stay for much of the reggae band but it was much of the same.

To get to Shirley Heights, we used a taxi driver recommended by the owner of our villa. It cost $10 USD to get there and another $10 USD per person. Fares, including cabs, are always per person unless there's fewer than 3. I think. It's always best to check ahead of time.