Floating near the top of the caribbean’s leeward islands is historic Antigua, discovered and claimed for england by Admiral Horatio Nelson in 1784 and still, as then, protected by a coral-reef wall. Located on the island’s southwest coast of powdery beaches and lush acreage is the all-inclusive Jolly Beach Resort & Spa, a go-to destination for family fun. With 464 oceanfront rooms and five eclectic eating venues featuring Caribbean, Italian and Indian flavors, dwelling and cuisine choices abound. Also included in the price is a roster of land and water activities, from snorkeling, kayaking, windsurfing and sailing to tennis, beach volleyball and beach cricket—with lessons for newbies. Kids and parents can frolic freestyle on the resort’s mile-long private beach and at two on-site pools or join in on the Think Jolly Family Program, which promotes bonding through activities like calypso dance lessons (swaying to steel-drum rhythms), Antiguan arts and crafts, and stargazing. Nearby there’s golf and scuba diving, or you can venture off with your family to swim with stingrays or take a safari tour of the island and rain forests. While the younger set attends the formal Kidz Soirée evening of fine dining (no parents allowed), adults are invited to the romantic parents Date Night (no kids allowed). All this surrounded by the deep blue sea. What are you waiting for?

Essentials
For kids: Jolly Kidz and Teenz Clubs, offering seashell hunts, bonfire marshmallow roasts, a Hawaiian-style luau, cricket lessons and disco nights with a live DJ and steel drums; basketball courts; arts and crafts; pizza and movie night; crab hunting; pool parties. For mom: The Palms Wellness Centre, which hosts a spa, beauty salon and gym; swim-up bar; daily afternoon tea in the courtyard; tennis. Info: All-inclusive from $160 per
person per night, ages 3–11 $59 per night; 866-905-6559, jollybeachresort.com