Where to travel next — for golf, beaches or city fun — for different budgets
by Elaine Glusac, AARP, February 9, 2022
"If you’re planning a vacation right now, you have plenty to consider — including varying health restrictions and safety concerns as COVID-19 infection rates go up and down around the world. Then there’s your budget: Do you need to save money or are you able to splurge? We have some ideas for either scenario, and for different interests. Just be sure to check local COVID-19 restrictions and, when considering international travel, keep current on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest country-specific travel advisories for your destination.
If You're Considering.....A beach getaway abroad....
Splurge: Anguilla
In this tiny, sleepy British overseas territory, you can settle into a beautiful resort for a big dose of pampering or a low-key beachfront villa, then spend your days relaxing on a gorgeous beach (the island has 33, many of them isolated). Come nighttime, enjoy one of the Caribbean’s best live-music scenes.
Where to stay: Luxury choices abound. One option is the new, 300-acre Aurora Anguilla Resort & Golf Club, with 178 whitewashed suites, a hydroponic farm supplying produce to five restaurants, and the island’s only golf course (rooms start at $999). Or try a spacious one- or two-bedroom villa-style apartment with a kitchen at the cozy, 24-unit Carimar Beach Club on mile-long Meads Bay, a lovely beach locals favor (units from $275).
Fun activity: Take part in a sea turtle night patrol to safeguard nesting turtles through the National Anguilla Trust ($50).
Dining tip: Blanchards Restaurant (a two-minute walk from the Carimar Beach Club) set the island’s culinary standards high when it opened in 1994, blending Caribbean and global flavors in such dishes as grilled Anguilla crayfish and red curry mussels. For more casual fare right next door, Blanchards Beach Shack serves up soups, salads, sandwiches and burgers to eat at beachfront picnic tables."