Give the capital a morning: the market on Market Street, the national museum in the old courthouse, the cathedral on the hill and lunch on Redcliffe Quay. Swim at Fort James or Dickenson Bay in the afternoon. Spend a full day at Nelson's Dockyard and stay on a Sunday for the Shirley Heights party, then save a day for Betty's Hope and Devil's Bridge.
St. John's is a small harbour capital and the island's hub. The old town climbs from the cruise piers to a twin-towered cathedral, the beaches start ten minutes out, and the Georgian dockyard at English Harbour sits across the island on the south coast.
The only Georgian naval dockyard still working anywhere, and a UNESCO site since 2016. Its stone storehouses now hold hotels, bars and yacht crews. Start at the Dockyard Museum in the old Admiral's House, then walk the quay.
The view over English and Falmouth harbours is the island's postcard. On Sundays the old battery turns into a party: steel band from late afternoon, a reggae set after dark, barbecue and rum punch. Arrive before sunset.
The twin white towers over the capital, finished in 1848 after earthquakes flattened two earlier churches. A stone shell protects a pitch-pine interior. Restoration has run for years, so check whether the nave is open.
The national museum fills the 1750 courthouse, thought to be the oldest building in town. It covers the islands from their first settlers to independence in 1981. Small, and the best hour of context on Antigua.
The old harbour warehouses, where enslaved Africans were held and sold until emancipation in 1834, restored in the 1980s as shops and restaurants. Shaded courtyards make it the calmest corner of town on a cruise day.
The fort at the harbour mouth, begun in 1706, with its powder magazine, walls and cannon still in place. The beach below it is the closest swim to town and a local weekend favourite.
The island's main resort beach, a long curve of pale sand and calm water about 15 minutes north of town, lined with hotels and beach restaurants.
The produce market at the south end of town, piled with black pineapples, ground provisions and hot peppers. Friday and Saturday mornings are the busiest and the best.
Antigua's first large sugar estate, founded in 1650 and held by the Codrington family for 270 years. One windmill was restored and turned again in 1998, and the open-air museum is frank about the enslaved labour behind it.
A limestone arch on the Atlantic coast, where swells burst up through blowholes in the rock. It has been a national park since 2008. Watch from the ledge; swimming and walking on the arch are unsafe.
Creole and seafood plates on the verandah of a 19th-century wooden house.
Bistro cooking in a restored chattel house, five minutes from the airport.
A Georgian house above English Harbour, linked to Prince William Henry, later William IV.
The grid between the cathedral and the quays: market, museum and cruise piers.
A North Sound islet, last refuge of the Antiguan racer snake, reached by tour boat.
Wave-cut limestone columns at the mouth of English Harbour, reached over the rocks from Galleon Beach.
A 600-mile offshore race around eleven islands, starting off English Harbour.
Wooden schooners and tall ships race out of Nelson's Dockyard.
The island's big regatta, in late April, with racing by day and parties ashore.
Set menus at fixed prices across the island, part of the May culinary month.
Barbuda's Whitsun festival in Codrington, with a horse race and J'ouvert.
Emancipation carnival from late July to the first Tuesday in August, with J'ouvert and the parade of bands.
A public holiday on 1 November, marking independence in 1981.
Early December: superyachts berth at Nelson's Dockyard and Falmouth for the trade.
The island's airport, about 8 km northeast of St. John's. Taxis charge government-set zone fares, so agree the price and currency first.
Private minibuses leave when full. The West Bus Station on Market Street serves the south and west; the East Bus Station serves the north and east.
Taxis are unmetered. Drivers keep left, and every visitor needs a temporary local permit, sold by rental desks and police stations.
The national dish: cornmeal and okra with a stew of meat and greens.
Sweet potato and coconut dumpling, boiled in a leaf.
Salted cod sautéed with onion, pepper and tomato, eaten with ducana.
Boiled eggplant, spinach and okra mashed together.
A clove-scented goat stew for celebrations.
A small, very sweet pineapple whose skin stays green when ripe.
The island sauce, first cooked on a coal pot in 1960.
The Antigua Distillery's flagship, made on Rat Island in the harbour.
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Antigua and Barbuda