The party beaches, the snorkeling retreats, the family-friendly coves, the island beaches, the jungle beaches, the exclusive, chic parasol-lined beaches. The beach is calling. And we’re listening to it.
We do a lot of traveling, and we book a lot of incredible beach vacations. And in our coffee break, we’re usually chatting about traveling, too: all those sunsets, cocktails, and that absolute relaxation.
To make your beach vacation utterly incredible and heaving with wonderful experiences, check out our top 10 or call us at Kutcher Travels for a chat, and we’ll tailor a top 3 to suit you perfectly … all you have to do is choose your own perfect beach vacation.
When you think of Sandals, you may picture couples relaxing on the beach. You may think of the tranquility tub for two, the king four post bed or even the swim-up bar. I bet if you closed your eyes right now, you could almost feel the peacefulness of spending time with the love of your life in a true paradise setting.
I know I was thinking about and picturing all those things as I boarded my first ever international flight to Antigua. I wish I could tell you that I only had happy, relaxing thoughts going through my head, however I also was faced with the realization that I’m flying to an island that I’ve never been before during a worldwide pandemic. Sandals claimed to be following several safety protocols, but what if this wasn’t true? What if we got there to find a bunch of strangers without masks, not social distancing and bumping into each other while coughing in your face? Will there be enough hand sanitizer around? What about hand washing stations? Well, as a travel agency owner, I felt it was my responsibility to go on this trip and see firsthand exactly how safe Sandals Grande Antigua was so I could report back to my clients.
I’ll start with my experience at the airport when we landed in Antigua. From the time we arrived through the time we got in a vehicle to take us to the resort, we had sanitized our hands six times. There were hand sanitizer machines at every section you had to pass through in the airport from security to immigration to customs to baggage claim. Then when a porter helped us with our suitcases, he wiped them down with sanitizer both when grabbing our luggage and when dropping it off with our driver to take us to the resort.
After checking into the resort, we were escorted to our room where we had to break the seal before entering the room. The room itself was very clean (and included more hand sanitizer). There was a checklist of everything they had done to make sure the room was cleaned properly with both a Suites Cleaning Touch Points and Bathroom Cleaning Touch Points guides left in the room showing what exactly was sanitized, how and how often.
Walking around the resort, you passed by Sandals employees and guests wearing masks. The fitness center had individually wrapped towels for guests to use while working out. The tables at restaurants were spaced out and even benches by the multiple fire pits were spread out far enough that people could socialize and keep a safe distance from each other.
Sandals Grande Antigua also made it very easy to stay compliant with the new CDC guidelines requiring a negative COVID test result within 72 hours of your international flight into the United States. When you arrive and advise them of your checkout date, they will call you the following morning to schedule a day and time for you to receive your complimentary COVID test from their onsite medical staff. When you arrive for your test, they have you complete a simple form and then you sit down, and the nurse gives you a nasal swab test. The results can be picked up on site the following morning between 9:30am-noon. They give you a document that you can take with you to the airport that follows CDC guidelines so you can re-enter the United States without any issue. Overall, I was very impressed with how safe I felt visiting there and would recommend how Sandals Grande Antigua was able to offer a very romantic and fun honeymoon destination while keeping with the safety guidelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is probably a pity that every citizen of each state cannot visit all the others, to see the differences, to learn what we have in common, and come back with a richer, fuller understanding of America – in all its beauty, in all its dignity, in all its strength, in support of moral principles. – Dwight D. Eisenhower
Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life – and travel – leaves marks on you. Most of the time, those marks – on your body or on your heart – are beautiful. Often, though, they hurt. – Anthony Bourdain
To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, To gain all while you give, To roam the roads of lands remote: To travel is to live. – Hans Christian Andersen
Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.- Ralph Waldo Emerson
