I'm taking the bus from the terminal building at Antigua to the twin-prop plane standing on the tarmac. We pull up and I get out with my luggage to board, but the door's closed. The bus driver is right behind, turns his key in the door, pulls down the steps, and leads us on board. He's the pilot, and the guy who I thought was helping with the luggage, is his first officer. Welcome to the Caribbean.
I'm on my way to the British Virgin Islands, BVI for short, East of Puerto Rico, part of an archipelago which also includes the US and Spanish Virgin Islands.
It's a British Overseas Territory and consists of the main islands of Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada, and Jost Van Dyke, plus 50 other smaller islands and cays.
Many of these are private and offer exclusive up-market luxury. It's no accident that Richard Branson owns a couple of them, including the famously expensive Necker Island, perhaps drawn by the Virgin name.
After an hour's flight we land on Beef Island, connected to Tortola, where the BVI's main airport is located. My taxi driver switches to skipper, when he gets to his boat and helms me to Guana, a private island where I'm staying.
Getting there
Fly: Virgin Atlantic and British Airways fly direct from Gatwick to Antigua. There's a fast connection with VI Airlink to Tortola.
Package: ITC Luxury Travel offers inclusive packages to the British Virgin Islands staying at Guana Island, Biras Creek and Peter Island and includes the VI Airlink Charter flight from Antigua. Tel: 01244 355 550
More info: www.bvitourism.co.uk
There's one boutique property with just 15 rooms and three chalets, and its seven pristine white sand beaches are exclusively for guests - passing yachtsmen definitely not welcome.
Javier, the chef, is from Barcelona and he sources many of his ingredients from the island's gardens, and the food is excellent.
To work up an appetite there's a 12-mile network of trails through the jungle, passing the remains of the house of the Quaker family who settled and farmed here in the 18th century.
I'd love to linger here, but there are other islands to explore and I'm soon back at Beef Island, catching the high speed ferry to Virgin Gorda.
It's an hour's journey to the quirkily named Bitter End, an anchorage in North Sound, dotted with visiting yachts. A 10-minute smaller boat ride takes me to Biras Creek Resort, situated on a narrow strip of land with the Atlantic on one side and the Caribbean on the other. It's larger than my previous accommodation, spread out over 130 acres, but there are still only 31 suites. Thoughtfully, they supply a bike to get around. Virgin Gorda is lizard shaped, about eight square miles and the one island road clings to the sides of forested hills. There's an extinct volcanic peak in the centre, home to Gorda Peak National Park, and in the gentler South West is the sleepy capital, Spanish Town. The big attraction here is a natural phenomenon known as the Baths - a cluster of huge boulders over which you're encouraged to clamber, slipping and sliding to Devil's Bay beyond.
Back at Biras, I settle into an easy routine of swimming and snorkelling, watching the pelicans dive into the waves at sunset. On my last night, I call the boatman to take me to Saba Rock on the other side of North Sound, which is just big enough to house a restaurant. It's only a 10 minute ride but I really do begin to feel like a Caribbean yachtsman as I meander past luxury vessels, all lit up like Christmas.
Of course, the bar is packed with their captains and crew, all knocking back the rum, and I allow myself to indulge in the fantasy that I could be one of them.
Next day I'm on the sea again and off to Tortola, the largest island, around 12 miles long and three miles wide. Road Town, the capital is here and, although tiny, it seems like a vast metropolis after what I've been used to.
This is the only place where mass tourism encroaches on the islands as cruise ships dock here. Yet the impact is hardly noticeable. I make my escape to Peter Island Resort and Spa, the largest private island in the BVI, just across the water.
There's just one resort here and only 300 of the island's 1,800 acres have been developed, in the interests of preserving nature.
I have an ocean view room and the pick of five beaches, but I take the easy option of leaping out of bed and taking my early morning dip in the sea below my terrace.
There's excellent snorkelling here and a boat will take you further afield to explore the coral reefs.
Water sports on offer include kayaks, windsurfers, sailboats and paddleboards but I opt for cooking lessons with the chef and of course some of their famous spa treatments.
I'm so relaxed that I forget that I'm in the Caribbean and almost miss my plane - they've brought the schedule forward by two hours without telling me, and it's a last-minute dash.
I could think of worse places to be marooned.
