The Caribbean Oscars...

We've just had the Oscars, so we've desided to award our prizes for the best performance in various aspects of our stay in the Caribbean...

Best Hotel

This was a tough award to decide, because some of our hotels were spacious resorts, and some were jammed into inner-cities, so the comparison is not apples with apples.

• Stonefield Estate in St. Lucia would be a strong contender due to its fabulous view, generous balcony, private plunge pool and outdoor shower, but its facilities are a little rundown, there was no TV, the resturant was too limited and the hot water failed regularly. The outdoor shower here rates an honourable mention.
• La Pagerie, a fine modern establishment in a busy town in Martinique, is let down by its petty regulations, practically no off-street parking and no hot water. Its live entertainment was a real bonus.
• Sugar Ridge in Antigua is a great and modern resort with two impressive pools and restaurants. Our room in a villa of 4 units had a tiny private plunge pool and a nice balcony, but did have (that Caribbean trait,) poor hot water.
• Sugar Mill in Tortola wins the prize for best restaurant, but our room was too quaint, had no TV and only luke-warm water. The balcony was inadequate.
• W at Vieques is a serious contender with a very spacious room in an ultra-modern and very chic resort. W is let down by luke warm water, a rocky beach, a restaurant requiring bookings and Fawlty Towers type performance when you finally got a table.
• Avila in Curacao is another strong contender, a modern resort on a great but we suspect artificially enhanced beach. The shower water was hot! The location was great. Trouble is the resort was just too crowded, and petty regulations were frustrating. Our room had minor faults which were reported but not rectified.

But our prize goes to El Convento in Old San Juan. This old and compact inner-city hotel was just perfect, full of character and interest, with numerous dining choices within and nearby. No view, no beach of course, but we had a great room, with a kitchenette, safe, and high flow hot water! There was a pool and a jacuzzi on the roof. This is a great place to stay.

The centuries old El Convento Hotel in Old San Juan was our selection for the best hotel we stayed at in the Caribbean.

Generally, in our experience, the good Caribbean hotels we stayed at provide WiFi as part of the package (something Australian hotels could adopt) but don't have guest (coin-operated) laundries. Laundromats in town were hard to find too, and were then open only in odd hours. Breakfasts may or may not be included. Tea/coffee making, refrigerators are safes are highly desirable but not universal. None, including El Convento, had a microwave oven in the room. Most but not all had fitness centres, and all have swimming pools. They include free parking, but sometimes there's not ebough spots. Best Rental Car

The award for the best rental car goes to the brand new and bright red Jeep Wrangler we got from Island Rentals on Vieques in Puerto Rico. The roads on Caribbean islands are typically potholed and rough, and this was probably the most suitable vehicle we had for that type of terrain. Honourable mention should go to the Suzuki Grande Vitara we had on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, also a great car for steep and rough roads.

The registration plate on our Vieques rental Jeep shows the iconic fortifications and sentry boxes of Old San Juan.

The least suitable car we rented was a sports-modified Misubishi Lancer from Avis on St. Lucia. This ridiculous car had spoilers and wings totally unsuited to the extraordinarily rough roads that country has to offer, and its protrusions made it doubly difficult to negotiate deep potholes and ridges, and bumps, which proliferated on the roads.

Worst Traffic

It's hard to believe that traffic could ever be a major problem on tiny Caribbean islands, but Martinique excelled itself and it took us 90 minutes to travel 10km to the airport on our departure day. We had observed this traffic situation on previous days, so we avoided it, but could not do so on the last day. A nightmare in a manual-transmission rental. Fortunately, we allowed plenty of time and didn't burn out the clutch, but we had to get up very early!

Longest Petrol Queue

There was no competition for this award - it went to the only open gas station on the island of Vieques. It took us three trips before we could make a successful purchase. The first time, after queueing for 30 minutes, and being second in line, the station abrubtly closed to clear the way for a tanker which had come off the ferry from the "big island" and was going to top up supplies. Over an hour later, we came back to join the queue gain, but we discovered that the station was still closed. Two hours later, we were successful, with only a very short queue.

Gasoline shortages on Vieques are quite common, apparently. The arrival of the tanker was a cause for comment and some celebration amongst the locals.

Steepest Roads

This award is a tie between St. Lucia and Tortola, where terrifyingly steep stretches are quite common, coupled by exceedingly tight and blind hairpin bends. The Caribbean islands that we drove on were variably hilly and mountainous, but these two were the most extreme, and share the prize.

Lookout & bar over Cane Garden Bay in Tortola. The scary downhills from here to the bay, and Apple Bay, helped Tortola share the prize for the steepest roads.

Weirdest Driving Experience

Driving everywhere in the Caribbean required us to quickly adapt between the two sides of the road. However, the weirdest combination was in Tortola where they adopt the British practice of keeping left, but all vehicles are left-hand-drive, imported from the USA. Gives the drivers a very good view of the edges of the road!

Best Beach

Of course, beaches are a combination of things, like the sand, the water, the surf, facilities, even access, and diferent people will weight these factors differently. But on our assessment, our best beach was Turners on Antigua, based on the colour of its water and the colour and fineness of its sand. It has no surf. Also, we could go to Turners before breakfast and be the only people on the beach.

Turner's Beach on Antigua was our favourite location for early morning swims. Later in the day, bars and restaurants opened, lounge chairs were rented, and crowds built up. On cruise ship days, it was best to go elsewhere.

If clear, beautiful water was the main criterion, then a Curacao beach would win the prize, but they just lost out because of the broken coral underfoot. We believe the clear water and the lack of sand are related, and we can well understand why Curacao is such a diving paradise.

Honourable mention goes to Caracas Bay on Vieques. This beach is so nice that we'd drive from one side of the island to the other just for a pre-breakfast swim. It's attractions were clean sand, clear water and a slight surf. Even early in the morning, this popular beach had a few other people on it.

Prettiest Marina

The Caribbean is replete with marinas, but most of those we saw were pretty scruffy places. The one that stood out and gets this award is Sopers Hole on Tortola. The water at Sopers Hole is crystal clear blue, but also the marina buildings themselves are tidy and well maintained, and quite pretty to boot. This was a very busy marina, lots of yachting activity, tourist cruises and shopping/eating possibilities.

View of Sopers Hole in Tortola, winning our prize for the prettiest marina of the many we saw.

Best Attraction

We almost didn't visit Nelson's Dockyard in Antigua, but when we did, we realised it is one of the great attractions of the Caribbean, and wins our award. This Victorian relic used to house the British Navy and is named after Admiral Horatio Nelson who had tenure here. It is now managed as a National Park, and is kept alive by being a working marina as well as a tourist attraction with interpretative signage, restaurants and bars. A stunning place to visit!

Just one of many historic ruins at Nelson's Dockyard. The cobbled ramp is an orginal use to haul goods up out of the water.

A very honourable mention has to go to the Queen Emma Bridge in Willemstad, Curacao. It's a pontoon bridge which is pulled aside to make way for vessels from yachts up to giant cruise ships and super-tankers. The frequent traffic and its location downtown makes the bridge a unique and fascinating tourist attraction.

And another mention goes to the cruise ships we saw everywhere. Our itinerary was intended to avoid cruise ships and their passengers, but it was impossible. Any maybe just as well, because it was truly fascinating to see these gigantic floating blocks of flats being manoeuvered and parked in tiny harbours. On disgorging their cargo, we saw the entire nature of each location change, only to return to its more languid natural self when the ships pulled out.

Cruise ships dominated every destination. Here we see one sailing out past the opened Queen Emma Bridge in Curacao, past another moored at the Mega Pier.

Best Coffee

Coffee is grown in the Caribbean, and they are proud of it, but finding decent espresso and cappucino (to our Aussie taste) was quite difficult. Lots of places offer cappucinos, but they often don't cut the mustard, mostly being too weak or milky. Our award for the best cappucino goes to Cafe Don Ruiz in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Our favourite cafe, with the best cappucino in the Caribbean, was this one in Old San Juan.

Best Food

We were disappointed at how poor the food was in some locations, in particular St. Lucia and (very surprisingly) Martinique, where the French tourists seemed to quite happy to eat uninteresting meals. We have decided to split this award into two categories...

• Best island - Curacao. Avila food was good, but we also easily found nearby restaurants with excellent quality meals. We ate better in Curacao than anywhere else.
• Best meal - Sugar Mill, Tortola. Grilled fresh lobster was a weekly special at the already excellent restaurant at Sugar Mill, and it was exquisite. We even shared this meal with Richard Branson. The special Valentines Day menu at Carmichaels at Sugar Ridge, Antigua was also very good, but not up to the standard of Sugar Mill.

We had our best Caribbean meal at the Sugar Mill (Tortola) restaurant. The gazebo shown here was a great location for quiet relaxation after breakfast, with a cuppa, and views over the sea.

Best Island

All the islands were good in some ways, and added considerably to our knowledge and enjoyment of the diversity of the Caribbean. Basically, they all share the same history - the original inhabitants, Amerindians, were pretty well destroyed by the mostly Spanish invaders of the 15-16th Centuries, who then established plantations and, needing cheap labour, kidnapped Africans and established slave trading. This is the background everywhere, and we were pleased to appreciate this view of the Caribbean.

We were visiting in the here and now, and our objectives were to relax and enjoy the current ambience of the islands. Because of the diversity, it is impossible to select a single winner, but our favourites are:-

• Old San Juan: not strictly an island at all, but a huge surprise and a great delight. Fabulous downtown and fortifications.
• Antigua: great beaches, easy to get around when you work out where you're going.
• Curacao: the clearest, blue-est water, very civilised, easy to get around.

Brushing with fame in the BVIs...

Our arrival at Tortola airport made us feel very unwelcome in the British Virgin Islands, and it's a disgrace that the government permits this to happen. No immigration documents were distributed to passengers on the aircraft, and the crew told us we would receive them on landing. Off the plane, we were shepherded into a gloomy arrivals area and given the forms to complete. The room was too dark to read the fine print on the forms and there was little area to place the forms to write on them. Some passengers sat on the floor. We don't know whether the LIAT staff were complicit in this or not, but we suspect they were justifiably embarrassed about it. Having completed the forms, there was one immigration official to process us, but mercifully he was quick, and the customs people didn't bother us either. This experience will forever poison our otherwise good memories of the BVIs.

It was dark by the time we found our hotel organised driver to take us to the Sugar Mill Hotel, about 45 minutes drive, and about as far from the airport as it's possible to get on Tortola (the biggest of the BVIs). Here we discovered the most amazing thing about the BVIs - they drive on the left as would be expected of a British Commonwealth country, but all the cars are imported from the USA unmodified and are left hand drive. Thus drivers have the weird experience of being near the gutter rather than the centre of the road. When we picked up our rental car, this proved to be an unusual feeling, but an easy one to cope with.

Spectacular sailed cruise ships are not an uncommon sight in Caribbean waters. This one anchored overnight in a harbour on Jost Van Dyke, an island just opposite the Sugar Mill.

Our hotel was the Sugar Mill, an old establishment on the north side of Tortola. There are no prizes for guessing what used to happen here. Ths Sugar Mill's history dates back to 1640, and the restaurant is a building made from cobblestones from the streets of Liverpool stolen, apparently, for ballast on the empty returning sugar and rum ships. Various old artifacts decorate the site. The hotel is located directly on its own tiny beach which looks as though it has been sculpted for the purpose. It's only 40m long, and a light surf rolls in across a shallow reef. It's a pleasant place for a quick swim, but for more serious beach entertainment, you go elsewhere. Our hotel room, a deluxe suite, could be described as quaint, but it was spacious and everything was in good order and condition. The balcony was disappointingly small. The shower only dribbled, but it was the hottest we had encountered in the Caribbean so far. There was no TV in the room, but our clock radio got National Public Radio from Washington DC, which is a very interesting station.

The circular pool at Sugar Mill has been constructed in the pit where oxen powered the treadmill in the old sugar refinery here.

The restaurant building at the Sugar Mill dates back to the 1600's and was constructed from cobblestones stolen from English streets, together with local materials.

Morning view from the shady gazebo at Sugar Mill looking towards Long Bay. We had a cuppa here every morning after breakfast.

Sopers Hole is a major marina on the west end of Tortola. It must be one of the most beautiful marinas in the world. The water is crystal clear and an incredible blue colour. The buildings and shops surrounding the marina were mostly tidy and attractive. Sopers is a major yacht chartering base, and was busy with yachts mooring and provisioning. Day sail operators work from here, or call in during the day to allow their sunburnt customers to refuel and shop, so it was a great place to relax over lunch and do extensive people-watching.

Sopers Hole Marina from high on the Belmont Pond approach road. Reportedly, this cove used to be a pirate's haunt.

Is this the most beautiful water colour ever seen inside a marina? Sopers Hole at Tortola's western end.

Watching the fish in the crystal waters of Sopers Hole marina.

Tourists on Mystique, one of Tortola's day sailing operations.

Road Town is the capital of the BVIs, and the only substantial town, as far as we know. It's where the cruise ships pull in. It's a bustling little place even when there are no cruisers in, but we didn't spend any time here othen than to buy some provisions.

On a brilliant day, these three cruise ships in Road Town Harbour have spewed their contents all over Tortola, providing, hopefully, a significant boost to the nation's economy.

The most pleasant surprise about the Sugar Mill was the quality of its restaurant. We have had some mediocre food in the Caribbean, but the fare here was exceptional, and the menu changed every day. Only one one night did we eat outside the hotel, unusual for us. The food at Sugar Ridge in Antigua was good too, but Sugar Mill set a higher standard. We note that the Conde Nast list of the top 10 Caribbean hotels from November 2011 includes Sugar Mill, and we feel that it was the restaurant which earned it that accolade. At the restaurant one night we met a gentleman who said he was a Professor of Law in Michigan. He was interesting to talk to. He owns a house overlooking Brewers Bay and spends a lot of time here, but usually without his wife, who prefers Hawaii.

Large houses like this one cling to steep hillsides and command spectacular views over Tortola's coast and bays.

But the biggest excitement at the Sugar Mill was a brush with fame. The restaurant had a Friday night special of fresh Anegada lobster and it not only attracted us, but Richard Branson showed up too! Mike recognised him immediately and got to exchange hellos. Branson owns Necker Island in the BVIs, and, consistent with his reputation, he was in the company of glamorous young blondes. His presence at this restaurant confirmed its reputation as one of the best. The grilled whole lobster with crab stuffing and drawn butter was fantastic!

Tortola seemed to have two distinct characters, one when cruise ships have pulled in to Road Town Harbour, and the other when there are none. We were lucky enough to witness both characters several times. When the ships were in, the streets, roads, shops, beaches, restaurants and bars were crowded with thousands of passengers getting around the island in hundreds of taxi trucks looking like Philippino buses, each holding 10-15 passengers. Cane Garden Bay, made famous in Jimmy Buffet's song Manana, seemed to bear the brunt of the cruise ship traffic. This beach, much to Jimmy Buffet's pleasure, is lined with bars and restaurants, all fronting the sand, and became quite overcrowded. Hundreds of beach chairs were rented at $5 a pop. When the cruise ships pulled out, the beach, and indeed all of Tortola, seemed to settle into a kind of languid slumber. Some of the businesses closed, the umbrellas and beach chairs didn't get put out, and everything was much more relaxed, Caribbean style. Life still goes on - the bays were still full of yachts pulled up for the night, and yachties do enjoy a rum or a beer, and a meal, onshore.

Hundreds of packed taxis like this one ferry cruise ship passengers to the sights and beaches of Tortola.

After breakfast each day, we swam and jogged on Cane Garden Bay beach, enjoying the solitude when the cruise ships were absent, being thoroughly entertained when they were in town. The beach is maybe 0.5km long, has fine sand and clear water, and was a very nice place to relax. So were the other northside beaches on Tortola, such as Brewers Bay and Long Bay.

Dusk is approaching and the crowds at Cane Garden Bay have mostly retreated to their cruise ships.

Two sailors use stand up boards to get back to their moored yacht at sunset.

Many yachts moored and anchored at Cane Garden Bay in the late afternoon.

One morning driving to Cane Garden, we gave a lift to a hitch-hiking American family. Later, we recogised them at a restaurant, and chatted. We mentioned that our next stop was Puerto Rico, and the man said he had been there a lot when there was a flourishing garment industry. Now that industry has moved to Central America. We asked how they make their money now? He said, simply, "crime"! We'd better be watchful in Old San Juan.

The Bamba Bar is within walking distance of our hotel and provides a very rustic setting for a sunset drink. How this jury-rigged construction survives a storm, we don't know.

Sooty coloured pelicans abound on these beaches, including the one at Sugar Mill, and it was great and endless entertainment to watch them swooping into the water to catch one of the myriads of tiny fish. They rarely missed - then they seem to rest for a minute or two before getting airborne again for another fishing expedition. Sometimes, they swooped into the water right where you are swimming, but they did seem to avoid large crowds of people. Boobies fished in much the same way, but they were less common than the pelicans.

Pelican skimming the waters over Brewers Bay. When fishing, they fly at a much greater height and dive into the water with a great splash.

Tortola is mountain goat country when it comes to roads. The island is steeply mountainous, and the roads are narrow, twisty and potholed. The hairpin bends are even steeper and more treacherous than on St. Lucia. It's common to toot your horn when approaching a blind hairpin - the first to toot assumes the right to use the entire road around the bend, or so it seems. The views of the bays from the high roads were breathtaking, and each mountainside facing water seemed to have a dense scattering of small and large houses taking advantage of the views and, no doubt, the breezes. The steepness of the driveways up or down to these houses was staggering. The island is small, and distances are short, but each journey seemed to take a long time. As elsewhere on these islands, we found the drivers to be couteous and patient. Our car on Tortola was a little Suzuki Grande Vitara SUV, eminently suitable for these dodgy roads.

Our Suzuki parked at Stoutts Lookout. The owner invited us in for rum and wings at 4pm!

This pickup truck is supposedly part of a handyman business but doesn't seem to have been used for a while!

The departure experience from the BVIs was no better than our arrival. Airline staff were efficient and helpful at checkin, but then, firstly, you have to pay a $20 departure tax. Departure taxes themselves are common, but they are almostly always now included in the cost of the ticket. Here you have to queue up to pay an amount which is unspecified in any signage - it turns out to be $20. Secondly, our queue for the Osama Bin Laden security check was 45 minutes. Despite staff wandering about everywhere, there was only one machine going, and one operator. The terminal is modern and spacious and has every opportunity to do this much better. In the departure lounge, we decided that we would never visit the BVIs again, and never recommend it to anyone, solely for the bureaucracy and inefficiency at the airport at both ends of our otherwise pleasant stay here.

View of Long Bay, Tortola, with glimpse of Great Thatch, from a high point in the North Coast Road.