Antigua’s tourist board advertises 365 beaches, one for every day of the year. The exact count hardly matters: what is true is that a 280-square-kilometre island of modest relief, cut into dozens of coves behind an almost continuous reef, offers an unusual density of sand for the Lesser Antilles. And that forty kilometres north, nearly empty Barbuda keeps seventeen kilometres of pink-tinged beach where you meet no one.
The essentials in four lines
- Canadian passport valid six months beyond your planned departure date. No tourist visa.
- A return or onward ticket and proof of sufficient funds may be requested on arrival.
- About five hours from Montreal to V. C. Bird (ANU), with non-stop service in winter.
- December to April is the dry season. Hurricane season runs from early June to late November.
Arriving and getting around
V. C. Bird International sits in the northeast, twenty minutes from St. John’s and from most of the northwest-coast resorts. The longest transfers, down to English Harbour in the south, run about forty minutes.
Driving is on the left, on decent but sometimes potholed roads. The island crosses in an hour, which makes a car worth renting for two or three days of exploring rather than for the whole week. Taxis work on posted fixed fares; agree on the price before getting in.
Barbuda is reached by a fifteen-minute domestic flight, or by ferry from St. John’s in about an hour and a half. The island was hit hard by the 2017 hurricane and rebuilding continues: check what services are running before planning an overnight stay.
Which beaches, and on which coast
The northwest coast
Dickenson Bay and Runaway Bay hold the action, the water sports and a good share of the large resorts. Pale sand, flat water, restaurants within walking distance. It is the most convenient area for a first visit.
The west coast
Jolly Harbour, Darkwood Beach, Ffryes Beach and Turners Beach run one after another over fifteen kilometres. Fewer hotels, more public beaches, and sunsets facing Montserrat and its volcanic outline.
The south coast
Around Falmouth and English Harbour the bays turn deep and sheltered, filled with sailboats. Pigeon Point and Galleon Beach are minutes from the harbour.
The Atlantic coast
Half Moon Bay traces a perfect crescent worked by the swell, beautiful and athletic. It is also the side that receives sargassum in some years; the western beaches generally stay clear.
Nelson’s Dockyard, and Sunday at Shirley Heights
English Harbour holds the only Georgian naval dockyard in the world still in operation, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The eighteenth-century brick warehouses now serve as restaurants, a hotel and marina offices, but the quays, careening capstans and pillars of the old sail loft are original. An hour or two on foot, between the masts of boats that have moored here forever.
Above it, the old lookout at Shirley Heights commands the bay. On Sunday afternoons a steel pan orchestra and then a reggae band play as the sun drops behind Montserrat, with barbecue and rum. It is the island’s weekly event, attended by residents as much as visitors.
All-inclusive in Antigua
The offering is among the most complete in the Lesser Antilles and covers every format. Large family resorts with water parks on the north coast and at Deep Bay; adults-only properties, several of mid size and good standard, spread along the west and east coasts; and a few discreet addresses of thirty-odd rooms in private bays.
Antigua stands out for the share of upper-tier all-inclusive hotels reserved for couples: it is an established honeymoon destination, which pulls the standard of the restaurants upward. To sort between formats, see our criteria for choosing an all-inclusive hotel.
What it costs
Antigua sits above the Caribbean average without reaching the levels of Turks and Caicos or Bermuda. The currency is the East Caribbean dollar, pegged to the US dollar, which circulates everywhere.
Two periods push prices up: mid-December to early January, and the sailing regatta week in late April, when the island hosts one of the great races on the world calendar and rooms become scarce. Conversely, May, June and late November offer the best value. Our guide on when to travel south from Montreal sets out those cycles.
When to go
Antigua is among the driest islands in the arc, with low relief that holds few clouds. From December to April the air stays around 28 °C, the trade winds blow and rain is rare. From July to October humidity climbs and the cyclone season peaks.
Two events are worth planning dates around: sailing week in late April, and carnival, straddling late July and early August, ten days of calypso, costume and parades through St. John’s.
Entry requirements, health and safety
A Canadian passport must be valid six months beyond the planned departure date. No tourist visa is required, but customs officers may ask for a return ticket and proof of sufficient funds. No vaccine is mandatory, except proof of yellow fever vaccination if arriving from an affected country.
Tap water comes largely from desalination and the island sees restrictions in the dry season: hotels post reminders, and they are worth taking seriously. Care is provided by the hospital in St. John’s, with evacuation to Martinique, Puerto Rico or Florida for serious cases.
For current entry conditions and official recommendations, see the Government of Canada page on Antigua and Barbuda.
Two things found only here
The frigatebird colony in Codrington Lagoon, on Barbuda, is the largest in the western hemisphere: several thousand birds nest in the mangrove, the males inflating their scarlet throat pouches through the mating season from September to April. A small boat brings you within metres.
And the Antigua black pineapple, grown on the southwest coast and reputed the sweetest in the world. It is sold at the roadside, cut on the spot. Together with fungee and pepperpot, the national dish of cornmeal and vegetable stew, it says more about the island than any buffet.
To plan this trip, see also Antigua, how to choose an all-inclusive hotel and the All-inclusive vacations section.
