The Caribbean island of Montserrat is one of my very favourite places to travel like a local. It's hard to do anything else; the island has only two hotels and they're only 18 rooms each, so even at a hotel you pretty much feel like you're staying with family.
Private villas are the main form of accommodation, and even though the word "villa" may conjure up visions of a grandiose mansion, many of these charming houses are well within the budget of the ordinary traveller. Here's a snap of Surfsighed, the lovely villa my sisters and I and our husbands rented last year. (Then again, if money is no object, you can rent or buy Paul McCartney's one-time digs.)
The island's tourism bureau is currently running a contest (with no deadline date, oddly) to win four nights in a villa, along with return airfare from Antigua, some restaurant meals and more. There's no cost to enter.
Looking for stuff to do when you get there? Check out "Do the Walk of Life," a series of Montserrat travel tips I wrote for the Ottawa Citizen in 2006 (check details before visiting, as some attractions may have closed in the meantime).
