A Caribbean Villa Holiday, on Antigua, or anywhere else for that matter, doesn't seem on the face of it to that attractive an option. To choose a self catering family holiday, you have to be absolutely certain of the quality of the villa, then how close and convenient it is for restaurants and shops. Then you have to be certain that the kitchen is at least as well equipped as you have at home, or it will be no vacation for the lady of the house, who not only will have to face up to catering in the heat, but also in unfamiliar surroundings, and this won't make her a happy bunny at all, which is perfectly understandable. After this you have to consider the accessibility of beaches, swimming pools, leisure facilities, and the costs involved here, which can unexpectedly add up.



Jolly Harbour Villas at St John's on Antigua could be the perfect answer for your Caribbean Self Catering Villa Holiday. What you are looking at here are duplex two bed roomed villas in a self contained compound surrounding a marina.

There is absolutely everything you could want from restaurants to shops, from casino to golf course, with a pool and kid's club, the last two are free to use.

Jolly Harbour Villas is split into two areas, the North Finger, and the South Finger. Whichever you choose, you will find has its supporters. A Villa on the South Finger is within walking distance of Jolly Beaches beach, and more convenient for restaurants and bars, whereas the North Finger especially the far end is a long way out from the centre of the resort area, but it does have the advantage of being close to a beach that is almost unused, generally being a much quieter area, and quite honestly if you have a buggy to get around in, then distance isn't a problem.

There are a few good bars and restaurants in the resort, amongst which is Coco's which is a short walk down South Beach. You'll get shrimps and lobster at most restaurants for not that much money. Peter's restaurant in the marina served great steaks, There are good restaurants, serving delicious well presented reasonably priced food both inside and outside Jolly Harbour Villas, and this goes a long way towards ensuring that all the family enjoys this particular self catering holiday.

One of the things you have to remember is that each villa is individually owned, and as a consequence are of different standards in terms of fittings and equipment. A bit of reading between the lines may be required, and often you need to be guided by the price tag. Whilst cheap isn't always as good as it seems, it often means older, sometimes expensive isn't either.

Before making your luxury holiday villa selection, you should allow for the hire of a buggy to get you around in Jolly Harbour Villas, and certainly consider a hire 4x4 to explore Antigua itself.

The other piece of advice is to ensure you see some photographs of the villa, and find out what equipment they have. There are a few stories that the luxury holiday villa guests thought they had booked, proved to be not as smart as they looked, so the advice is to book through a reputable holiday company and not an individual. Companies to use include HBK Villa Rentals, ReMax Antigua, Jolly Harbour Realty, or Antiguan Estates.

To summarise, Antigua can provide you with the almost perfect Caribbean Self Catering Villa Family Holiday at Jolly Harbour Villas, just be careful who you rent your villa from.