WHICH WHITE-SAND BEACH IS FOR ME?

From little-known idylls to surfers' havens and beaches for the rum cocktail crowds, Geoffrey Dean recommends his top ten waterfront retreats.

1. Bathsheba Beach, Barbados This is the antithesis of your archetypal Caribbean beach but no less notable. For a start, it lies on the Atlantic seaboard on Barbados’s east coast, 14 miles from Bridgetown. Huge breakers that roll in make it a mecca for surfers in the region. A section of it called the Soup Bowl, which derives its name from its surfy foam, is the site of many local and international surfi ng competitions held throughout the year.

Unfrequented by the vast majority of tourists to the island, this long beach, with its wide white sand and rugged coastline, is very popular with Bajans, who like to weekend in the vicinity. Swimming is dangerous because of rip tides and undertows but the Bathsheba Pools, which are carved out of an inshore coral reef, are a relaxing place to sit or wallow in a few feet of water with drink in hand. Smokey’s Shop, right on the beach, sells snacks and drinks while the Round House Inn Restaurant offers more substantial fare.

 

2. Englishman’s Bay, Tobago Known as ‘Tobago’s Jewel’, this gains selection not just because of its soft white sands and swaying palm trees but also due to its remote beauty and tranquillity. With no large hotels nearby, and just a few small ones in the area where the beach is located – between Parlatuvier and Castara – you may find that parrots from the adjoining rainforest are your only company. Sometimes a small food cart selling snacks and drinks will appear.

The beach is a classic crescent shape, protected at each end by two thickly forested headlands that descend from Main Ridge. Crystal-clear, turquoise waters beckon you to enter them and offer magnifi cent swimming and snorkelling. The fact that you will often have Englishman’s Bay to yourself helps to make it such a special beach.