'My husband hadn't been in the sea for 20 years… until we went to Antigua'

Access not all areas

When we venture out of the resort, however, we find that many of Antigua’s attractions are less than perfect for those relying on wheelchairs or with mobility issues. At Antigua Rainforest Zipline Tours, Shyne becomes the designated photographer as there is no way he could manage the steep and rocky terrain from one zipline to the other. And although he braves the rocky terrain of Shirley Heights Lookout, the famous Sunday and Thursday night sunset party, it would be a challenge in a wheelchair.

Also staying at the St James’s Club hotel is Julie Hanning from Kent who is making her eighth visit to the island (and the same hotel), but her first in a wheelchair due to a recent hip operation.

“Normally we’d spend hours wandering around the capital St Johns,” she tells me. “But the roads are a nightmare and you can’t use the pavements because they are raised – you can’t get off the end. The only bit you can actually access in a wheelchair is the square, which is newer and has a ramp.”

She is lucky in her choice of hotel because all areas of the St James’s Club are accessible in a wheelchair (which they can provide on-site) and they have a golf buggy service for people like Shyne who walk with difficulty.

Other hotels are less well adapted. None of the hotels in the popular English Harbour area are accessible for wheelchairs, although you can dine at Pillars, the restaurant of Admiral’s Inn, as they have a ramp to the upper part of their restaurant.

Elsewhere on the island it’s a case of that Antigua can-do attitude. At five-star Carlisle Bay they will lay flooring on the sand so a client can wheel to a lounger and ramps can be put to beachfront suites, but one of the restaurants is a struggle to get to.

A good choice on the island for an adult-only stay would be Sandals Grande Antigua, which is often voted the most romantic resort in the Caribbean. Some of the Mediterranean Club Level Suites are strategically located for easy access for wheelchair users and adapted rooms have wheel-in showers, while beach wheelchairs are available for guests.

Accessible champion

Bernard Warner, president of the Antigua and Barbuda Association of Persons with Disabilities, is petitioning the government to invest in beach wheelchairs, which would be available to all visitors to the islands. 

“We have a fabulous product here: beautiful beaches, friendly people, a safe place, but we need to open it up to tourists with disabilities, if we do anything we should at least get them proper access to the water.”

Warner, who is a right leg amputee, also runs Caribbean Accessible Tours. In his adapted vehicles he takes people with disabilities to all the island’s tourist attractions: Betty’s Hope, Nelson’s Dockyard, Shirley Heights and Devil’s Bridge; however he recognises that none of these sites provide adequate access. 

“There is a need for more attention when it comes to the sites, there is more work that needs to be done in assuring equal opportunity and access. My clients visit, but with limited freedom.”

The main takeaway we get from our holiday in Antigua is that people on the island are not afraid of making access possible by sheer determination and will take people on a case-by-case basis rather than creating blanket rules for their attractions. 

For a special treat we book a helicopter tour of Antigua through Calvin Air, which provides an unforgettable birds-eye view of this Caribbean gem. I ask reservations manager Indi Shenstone whether they have ever had a booking from someone in a wheelchair. “Oh yes,” she replies. “ We just take the helicopter to that grassy patch out front so they don’t have to come through the building, and so long as they have some upper body strength we can get them into the aircraft.” With any special equipment? No. Just the muscle strength of determined young helpers. 

Book it: JTA Travel offers seven-night all-inclusive stay at St James’s Club & Villas Antigua in a Premium Oceanview room (two double beds) from £5444 for a family of four (two adults and two children 11 years or under). Price includes return flights with British Airways from London Gatwick departing 3 June 2024. Resort fee of $24 per room per night and Antigua Tourism Levy of $5 per person per night payable locally; jtatravel.co.uk