Antigua and Barbuda · Leeward Islands
Antigua
An old boast of a beach for every day of the year, and a Georgian naval dockyard still busy with yachts.
Antigua is the larger, busier half of Antigua and Barbuda, a low, dry island in the Leeward Islands with white-sand beaches all the way round. Calm, clear coves line the Caribbean side, and wider, wilder bays face the Atlantic. Its historic heart is Nelson's Dockyard in English Harbour. The restored Georgian naval base is still full of yachts, and it makes the island one of the Caribbean's great sailing centres.
Suggested stay
4–8 days
Language
English
Currency
XCD
Timezone
UTC-4
Why you'll love Antigua
The beaches Bay after bay of white sand, from calm swimming coves on the Caribbean side to the broad Atlantic crescent of Half Moon Bay
Nelson's Dockyard An 18th-century Royal Navy base in a hurricane-sheltered harbour, with stone boathouses and officers' quarters restored around a working marina
Sailing Steady trade winds and deep, sheltered anchorages make English and Falmouth Harbours a gathering point for yachts from across the Caribbean
Shirley Heights The old hilltop gun battery looks straight down over both harbours, and on Sundays it fills with steel band, barbecue smoke and sunset crowds
Best time to visit
Dec-Jul
28-31° days
17.119° N, 61.845° W
UTC-4 · America/Antigua
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Weather & when to go to Antigua
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best Dec-Jul
Watch for Jun-Nov cyclones & hurricanes risk
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Antigua
No month is graded one to avoid, but August-November is the hottest, most humid stretch and the heart of the Atlantic hurricane season, when a storm can disrupt flights and some resorts and restaurants close for a few weeks. December-April is the busiest and most expensive period. Antigua is one of the drier islands in the region, so heavy rain is rarely the problem.
Top things to do in Antigua
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Nelson's Dockyard - the Georgian naval yard at English Harbour
history culture arts ⭐ Highly recommendedBuilt from the 1740s as the Royal Navy's base in the Leeward Islands, where a young Horatio Nelson served in the 1780s. The stone boathouse pillars, copper and lumber store and officers' quarters are restored around a working yacht marina, with a small museum. It is the centrepiece of a UNESCO World Heritage site.
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Shirley Heights - the lookout over English Harbour
scenic nightlife music 👍 PopularA restored military lookout and gun battery on the ridge above the dockyard, with the classic view down over English and Falmouth Harbours. On Sunday afternoons it hosts the island's best-known party, with steel band, then reggae, a barbecue and a crowd of locals, sailors and visitors watching the sunset.
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Half Moon Bay - the Atlantic-side crescent
scenic ⭐ Highly recommendedA long, pale crescent on the east coast, protected as part of a national park and usually far quieter than the west-coast resort beaches. A reef across the mouth softens the swell at one end for swimming, while the other end gets more surf. Few facilities, so bring what you need.
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Devil's Bridge - the east coast's sea arch
scenic nature wildlife 👍 PopularA natural limestone arch at the island's eastern tip, carved by Atlantic swells that boom through it and spout from blowholes in the rock shelf. A short, easy stop that pairs well with Half Moon Bay and Betty's Hope. Stay well back from the edge when the sea is up.
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Betty's Hope - the old sugar plantation
historyThe Codrington family's 17th-century estate in the island's interior was the first large sugar plantation on Antigua. One of its stone windmills has been restored with sails, and a small visitor centre tells the story of sugar and the enslaved Africans who worked it.
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Stingray City - wade with southern stingrays
nature wildlife adventure 👍 PopularA boat trip from the east coast to a shallow sandbar inside the reef, where you stand waist-deep among southern stingrays that come in to be fed, then snorkel the coral nearby. Easy and good with children.
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Cades Reef - snorkel the south-west coast
nature wildlifeA long barrier reef off the south-west coast, protected as a marine park, with shallow coral gardens, reef fish and turtles. Snorkel and catamaran trips from the west coast stop here, often combined with a beach lunch.
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Darkwood and Ffryes - the west-coast beaches
scenicThe road south of Jolly Harbour runs past some of the island's best Caribbean-side beaches, including Darkwood, Ffryes and Valley Church, with calm water, soft sand and views out to Montserrat on clear days. Ideal for sunset swims.
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St John's - the capital's cathedral and quays
history culture arts shoppingThe small capital's twin-towered Anglican cathedral sits on the hill above town, and the Museum of Antigua and Barbuda fills the old 18th-century courthouse. Down at the water, Redcliffe Quay's restored warehouses and the market streets give the best sense of everyday island life, busiest when cruise ships are in.
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Fungee and pepperpot - eat the national dish
foodFungee is a cornmeal and okra dish, served with pepperpot, a thick, slow-cooked vegetable and meat stew. Look out too for ducana, a sweet potato dumpling, saltfish, and the small, very sweet Antigua black pineapple.
Best areas to stay in Antigua
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
English Harbour and Falmouth
Sailors and couples $$$Historic yachting harbours on the south coast
Explore hotels in English Harbour and Falmouth →
Dickenson Bay and Runaway Bay
First-time visitors $$Long resort beach on the north-west coast
Explore hotels in Dickenson Bay and Runaway Bay →
Jolly Harbour
Families and self-caterers $$Marina village with villas and apartments
Explore hotels in Jolly Harbour →
St John's
Practical base $Small capital and cruise port
Explore hotels in St John's →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Antigua
Getting to & around Antigua
Getting there
Fly into V.C. Bird International (ANU) on the north-east coast, a short taxi ride from St John's and the north-west beaches
Flight
V.C. Bird International Airport (ANU)
The airport sits north-east of St John's. Taxis wait outside on set government rates, about 15-20 minutes to St John's or Dickenson Bay and 40 minutes or so to English Harbour; many resorts arrange their own transfers.
Cruise
St John's
Cruise ships dock at the piers beside Heritage Quay and Redcliffe Quay in the centre of the capital
Ferry
St John's
The ferry from Barbuda docks in St John's harbour
Getting around
Taxi
The easiest way to get about without a car; fares are set by route, but confirm the price before you set off
TBC
Rental car
Best for exploring the beaches and the east coast; you need a local temporary driving permit, and traffic drives on the left
TBC
Minibus
Local buses run from two terminals in St John's to villages around the island; reliable by day, scarce in the evening and on Sundays
TBC
Walking
Central St John's and the English Harbour area are walkable; elsewhere the roads lack pavements
Free
Day trips from Antigua
Barbuda
Full daySister island
Antigua's flat, thinly populated sister island has long, empty beaches with a pink tinge and a huge frigatebird colony in Codrington Lagoon, visited by boat. Day tours usually combine the two.
Getting there
ferry | flight | tour
About 90 minutes by ferry from St John's, or a short flight
Montserrat
Full dayVolcano island
The British territory to the south-west is dominated by the Soufriere Hills volcano, whose eruptions from 1995 buried the old capital, Plymouth. Tours look over the exclusion zone and visit the volcano observatory.
Getting there
flight | ferry | tour
A short flight from V.C. Bird, or the ferry from St John's when it is running
Great Bird Island and the North Sound
Half dayOffshore islets
Small uninhabited islands off the north-east coast, protected for wildlife, where boat trips stop for snorkelling, a short climb to a lookout and the chance of seeing the Antiguan racer, one of the world's rarest snakes.
Getting there
tour
By boat tour from the north-east coast
Fig Tree Drive and the south-west
Half dayScenic coastal drive
The island's greenest road winds through rainforest-clad hills, past fruit stands and banana groves, between the south coast and the west-coast beaches. Combine it with a swim at Darkwood or a stop at Old Road village.
Getting there
car
About 30-45 minutes by car from Jolly Harbour or English Harbour
A little history of Antigua
Arawak-speaking peoples settled Antigua long before Europeans arrived, and the island was later visited by Kalinago raiders from the south. Columbus sighted it in 1493 and named it after a church in Seville, but the dry, waterless island was left alone until English settlers came over from St Kitts in 1632. From the 1670s the Codrington family and other planters turned almost the whole island over to sugar, worked by enslaved Africans, and the stone windmills that still dot the countryside date from that era.
English Harbour's sheltered water made it the Royal Navy's main base in the eastern Caribbean, and the dockyard built there in the 18th century is now the island's showpiece. Antigua freed all enslaved people outright in 1834, without the apprenticeship period used elsewhere. It became fully independent, together with Barbuda, in 1981.
Columbus sights the island and names it after Santa Maria la Antigua in Seville
English settlers arrive from St Kitts
Christopher Codrington establishes Betty's Hope, beginning the sugar era
A planned uprising of enslaved people is uncovered and harshly suppressed
Horatio Nelson arrives at English Harbour, serving there until 1787
Slavery is abolished, with full freedom granted at once
Antigua becomes an associated state with internal self-government
Antigua and Barbuda becomes independent, with V.C. Bird as first prime minister
The Antigua Naval Dockyard and related sites are inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site
Know before you go
Payment
Cards & cash mixed
English
Everywhere
Wifi
Workable
Power
Type A / B
110/220 V, 60 Hz
Dialing
+1-268
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FAQs about Antigua
▸ When is the best time to visit Antigua?
December-July is the most comfortable stretch, with steady trade winds and plenty of sun. December-April is the busiest and most expensive, so May-July can be the sweet spot. August-November is hotter and more humid and falls in the heart of hurricane season, when some businesses close for a few weeks.
▸ Which side of the island has the best beaches?
The Caribbean (west and north-west) side has the calmest water and the classic swimming beaches, from Dickenson Bay down to Darkwood and Ffryes, with the best sunsets. The Atlantic (east) side is breezier and wilder, with fewer people, and is where you find Half Moon Bay and Long Bay.
▸ Do you need to stay at an all-inclusive?
No. Much of Antigua's accommodation is all-inclusive resorts, and they suit people who want to stay put. But English Harbour, Jolly Harbour and the north-west have plenty of hotels, guesthouses and villas, and eating out is a big part of the island's appeal. Antigua is not a cheap island either way.
▸ Do you need a car in Antigua?
Not if you plan to stay on one beach, as taxis are easy to find. To explore the east coast, Betty's Hope and the south-west beaches, a rental car gives the most freedom; you will need a temporary local driving permit, usually arranged through the rental company, and should expect potholes and driving on the left.
▸ Antigua or Barbuda?
Antigua has the airport, the resorts, the restaurants, the dockyard and most of the beaches you will read about. Barbuda is flat, very quiet and undeveloped, with fewer places to stay, and is mainly visited for its long beaches and frigatebird colony. Most visitors base themselves on Antigua and see Barbuda on a day trip.