Cardiff Hall Public Beach

Runaway Bay (16km west of St Ann’s) has a modicum of hotels and tourist facilities, though the place is far from sophisticated. Divers, however, find much to celebrate. This one-street village stretches along the A1 for 3km, merging with Salem to the east. Several small beaches are supposedly public, although most are the backyards for a few all-inclusive resorts. If you’re hankering for a dip in the big blue, head to the white-sand Cardiff Hall Public Beach, opposite the gas station. There is also a somewhat twee fisherman’s beach in Salem, east of Runaway Bay, where the occasional sound-system party is staged on the weekend.