All direct flights to Anguilla from the UK & Ireland

Destination summary

The word Anguilla translates as 'eel', which describes both the broad shape of this destination and the altogether slippery definition of what actually constitutes Anguilla. Categorised as a part of the British West Indies, Anguilla comprises the island bearing that name and several smaller isles known, evocatively, as Dog, Seal and Scrub Island.

Recent years have seen the islands rebranded as a blue-chip tourist haven; with some 33 beaches of pristine white sand overlooking the Caribbean Sea, and an average temperature of 27C in December, it's not hard to see why. After dark, the barbeques and dominoes come out, the bands strike up calypso and reggae numbers, and blissed-out, loved-up couples head for the restaurants of Sandy Ground and the inlet Scilly Cay.

The island's capital, The Valley, is striving to hang onto reminders of yesteryear in the face of corporate investment: swanky boutiques now line the avenues, although a Historic District has preserved several buildings of note. Amongst them: the wooden Miss Marjorie Hodge's Homestead, Wardens' Place - home, for several decades, to British agents stationed on the island - and the Old Prison.

Out of doors, marine life proliferates. Dolphin Discovery offers what its brochures claim as 'the experience of a lifetime', swimming and snorkelling with the beloved creatures; though at between $100-199 per person, it had better be the experience of a lifetime. Over at Crocus Bay, you'll find boat tours of the outlying coral reef and the chance to swim amongst tropical fish.

In fact, there's a strong tradition of sailing in these waters, with regular regattas. Let's hope they've learned from the example given at the El Buen Consejo Underwater Archaeological Preserve, the site of a sunken Spanish galleon, left to founder for the ages by drunken captain Don Julian Antonio de Urcullo during the 18th century. Whether you drink in rum punches or simply the scenery, there's plenty here to intoxicate.