Live destination map

◆ Country guide · Caribbean

Antigua and Barbuda, two islands that travel nothing alike

One country, two islands, and almost no overlap between them. Antigua is a ring of bays with a Georgian naval dockyard on the south coast. Barbuda is a low limestone shelf an hour away by boat, with a lagoon full of frigatebirds and very little else.

93,772

People

1981

Independence

Parishes

Region

Best months

Dec · Apr · May

Ideal length

7–10 days

Budget / day

$130–320

Language

English

Getting around

Rental car, taxis & minibuses

When to visit Antigua and Barbuda

Two seasons, and the hurricane months decide which half of the year you want.

Full month guide →

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Best: April, May and December, dry weather either side of the price peak Peak: January to March, the most reliable weather and the highest rates Good: June to August and November, hotter and cheaper, with storm risk to insure Wettest: September and October, the height of the hurricane season

Quick answer · where to go in Antigua and Barbuda

Land at V.C. Bird International and pick a coast. The north has the capital and the Dickenson Bay resorts. The south is why many people come: English Harbour and Falmouth Harbour, the working Georgian dockyard and the view from Shirley Heights. The west around Jolly Harbour suits families. The east is windward, with Devil’s Bridge and the kitesurfing. Barbuda is its own leg, 62 kilometres north and still rebuilding after Hurricane Irma in 2017. A week covers Antigua and a day on Barbuda.

Jump toMap Fun fact Stereotypes Famous faces Food FAQ

1 Antigua and Barbuda city guide

The country layer comes first here. Island guides follow it.

St. John's

North America · 10 picks

Fun fact

One number worth knowing

The Antigua Naval Dockyard is the only continuously working Georgian dockyard left in the world. The Royal Navy built it in English Harbour, a hurricane hole. Nelson was based there from 1784 to 1787, the Navy left in 1889, and yachts still tie up at the same stone quays. UNESCO listed it in 2016.

Stereotypes, sorted out

The lines you have heard about the beaches, what is actually true, and how to behave once you land.

"There are 365 beaches, one for every day of the year."

The realityNobody has published the count or the method, and by any usable definition of swimmable sand the total is far lower. It is a slogan. The density is real. The island is 280 square kilometres, cut into so many bays that you can swim somewhere new every day of a fortnight within half an hour's drive.

"Antigua is a resort island and nothing else."

The realityThe resorts cluster on two coasts, but the island's international fame is a naval dockyard. English Harbour has worked since the eighteenth century and UNESCO inscribed it in 2016. Add Betty’s Hope, the cathedral and market in St. John’s and the Viv Richards ground, and a week never books a lounger.

"Antigua and Barbuda travel as one place."

The realityThey share a passport and little else. Antigua is hilly, developed and full of bays. Barbuda is flat limestone, one village and a lagoon, about ninety minutes away by ferry or less by light aircraft. Plan Barbuda as its own leg, not an excursion fitted around a hotel booking.

"Barbuda has been closed since Hurricane Irma."

The realityIrma hit Barbuda in September 2017, everyone was evacuated and the lagoon's sandbar broke in two places. It never closed. People moved back, ferries and flights run, and the frigatebirds recovered from roughly 300 to more than 5,000. Rebuilding is uneven, so confirm your bed directly.

365 beachesA dockyard built for touristsA cruise-ship islandBarbuda is just a beachDead in summerEveryone speaks English

How to get it right

Beachwear stays at the beach. Cover up for St. John’s, a shop, a bus or a restaurant, and dress properly for church. It is taken as basic manners.
Greet before you ask. A good morning or good afternoon comes before the question, in a shop, at a taxi stand and on the phone, and skipping it reads as rude in a way it does not at home.
Every beach in Antigua is public to the high-water mark, including the ones a resort has built up to. Access is a right, not a favour, and it is worth knowing before someone tells you otherwise.
Taxis are unmetered and run on government-set zone fares. Agree the price and the currency before the door closes, because a quote in EC dollars and a quote in US dollars are very different numbers.
Sunday still shapes the week. Church runs long, a lot of business closes, and the Shirley Heights sunset gathering is the one place the whole island seems to be at once.
Photograph people only after asking. Codrington in particular has been photographed a great deal since 2017, most of it without permission, and it is remembered.

Famous Antiguan faces

The names behind Antiguan cricket, calypso, soca, writing and politics. Pick a field.

Claudette Peters

Soca and soul singer, the most awarded woman in Antiguan music.

Sir Vere Cornwall Bird

Trade unionist and the first Prime Minister at independence on 1 November 1981.

Sir Vivian Richards

Born in St. John’s in 1952. West Indies captain and a Wisden Cricketer of the Century.

Jamaica Kincaid

Writer born in St. John’s in 1949. A Small Place is the sharpest book on tourism here.

Sir Curtly Ambrose

Fast bowler from Swetes whose spells set the benchmark for hostile accuracy.

Sir Andy Roberts

The first Antiguan Test cricketer, who opened the bowling for the 1970s West Indies.

Sir Richie Richardson

Took the West Indies captaincy from Viv Richards in 1991 and led 24 Tests to 1995.

Daniel Bailey

Sprinter, born in 1986, and the country’s standard-bearer in the 100 metres.

King Short Shirt

Sir MacLean Emanuel, the most decorated calypsonian, with fifteen national monarch titles.

King Obstinate

Sir Paul Richards, Short Shirt’s calypso rival, at the witty, needling end of the form.

Burning Flames

Formed in St. John’s in 1984, the band that took Antiguan soca beyond the Caribbean.

Tim Hector

Founded the Outlet newspaper, whose Fan the Flame column opposed the Bird governments.

Sir Lester Bird

Second Prime Minister, from 1994 to 2004, and a champion track athlete before politics.

Heather Doram

Artist and designer of the national dress, the reference point for Antiguan visual art.

Must-try Antiguan food

Cornmeal, salted meat, coconut and a pineapple worth crossing the island for. Pick a category.

Wadadli

The national lager, launched in 1993 and named with the Arawak word for Antigua.

Fungee and pepperpot

The national dish. Cornmeal and okra fungee with a thick stew of salted meat and greens.

Ducana

Sweet potato and coconut dumpling, spiced and boiled in banana leaf. Eaten with saltfish.

Saltfish

Salt cod stewed with onion, tomato and pepper. Ducana’s partner, and breakfast here.

Goat water

Dark, spiced goat stew with dumplings, eaten early in the day. Best at a local counter.

Conch fritters

Chopped conch in batter, deep fried, with pepper sauce. The easiest first order.

Spiny lobster

Barbuda’s best-known catch, closed from 1 May to 30 June. Question it on a menu then.

Grilled snapper

Whole fish over charcoal with lime and scotch bonnet sauce. Best value at a beach shack.

Johnny cakes

Fried dough, crisp outside and soft inside, sold from bakery windows and roadside stalls.

Seasoned rice

Rice cooked with pigeon peas, coconut milk, thyme and meat. The side beside everything.

Antiguan Black pineapple

The national fruit, grown around Cades Bay, small and very sweet. Buy it at the roadside.

Tamarind balls

Tamarind pulp rolled with sugar and pepper. Sour, sweet and salty, sold at every market.

English Harbour rum

Distilled and aged on the island. The aged ones carry oak, dried fruit and vanilla.

Cavalier rum

The lighter, fruitier rum from the same distillery, and the base of most rum punch.

Know before you go

The essentials for planning an Antigua and Barbuda trip.

Currency

East Caribbean dollar (XCD)

The EC dollar has been pegged at EC$2.70 to the US dollar since 1976. US dollars are taken almost everywhere, with change in EC, so confirm the currency of any price. Minibuses and Barbuda take cash.

Language

English, with Antiguan Creole alongside it

English is official and no phrasebook is needed. Antiguan Creole, with its own grammar, is spoken at home, on the bus and among friends, and is rarely addressed to visitors.

Power

230V, sockets type A and B

The sockets are North American flat-pin, but the supply is 230V. Dual-voltage chargers are fine. A single-voltage US appliance needs a converter as well as a plug adapter.

Emergency

911 for police, fire and ambulance

999 also works. Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre outside St. John’s is the main hospital. Barbuda has only a clinic, so an emergency there means a transfer to Antigua. Insure for medical evacuation.

Visa

Visa-free for most Western passports, up to six months

Americans, Canadians, EU and Commonwealth citizens enter visa-free, normally for six months, British citizens for 90 days. Bring six months' passport validity and an onward ticket.

Getting around

Rental car, taxis and minibuses

Driving is on the left, and every visiting driver needs a temporary local permit from a rental agency or police station. Taxis use zone fares, so agree the price and currency first.

Tipping

10% service charge is usually already on the bill

Most restaurants add 10% automatically, in which case nothing further is expected. Where it is not added, 10 to 15% is normal. Taxi drivers are usually tipped around 10% of the fare.

Time zone

UTC-4 (Atlantic Standard Time), no daylight saving

The offset does not move, so the country is four hours behind UTC all year. That puts it an hour ahead of New York in winter and level with it through the northern summer.

Tap water

Mostly desalinated, and treated as safe

Antigua's supply is mostly desalinated seawater topped up from cisterns, and treated as drinkable. Many people drink filtered or bottled for taste. On Barbuda, ask where you stay.

Hurricane season

1 June to 30 November

The risk peaks in September and October, also the wettest weeks. Named storms reach the islands every few years. Book refundable in that window and read what your insurance covers.

Independence

1 November 1981

Antigua and Barbuda left British rule as one state under Sir Vere Cornwall Bird. Independence Day opens a week of national events, so early November is lively and the capital busy.

Antigua and Barbuda travel FAQ

Do you need a visa for Antigua and Barbuda?+

Most visitors do not. Citizens of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Australia and most Commonwealth countries enter without a visa for a stay of up to six months, and British citizens are normally admitted for 90 days. You need a passport with at least six months of validity, a confirmed onward or return ticket, and an address you are staying at, all of which the airline is more likely to check than the border. Check your own nationality against the immigration department’s current list before you book anything unusual.

How do you get to Barbuda, and is it worth a night?+

Two ways. The Barbuda Express ferry runs from St. John’s most days and takes about ninety minutes, and a light aircraft covers the same 62 kilometres in a fraction of the time. A day trip works and is what most people do: the lagoon, the frigatebird colony and the beach fit into it. A night is what turns Barbuda from an excursion into the reason you came, because the island empties completely once the day boat has gone. Book accommodation directly and confirm it is open, since rebuilding after Hurricane Irma is uneven.

When is the best time to go?+

December to April is dry, breezy and reliable, and it is priced accordingly, with January to March the most expensive stretch of the year. April and May are the value months: still dry, noticeably cheaper, and April carries the sailing regattas at Falmouth and English Harbour. The hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November, with the real risk concentrated in September and October, which are also the wettest months and when some hotels close. Late July into August is Carnival, which is hot, humid and the best week in the Antiguan year if that is what you came for.

Do you need to rent a car?+

Not if you are staying on one coast, and yes if you want the island. Taxis are unmetered and run on government-set zone fares, which is fine for a transfer and expensive as a daily habit. The minibuses are cheap and real public transport, but they run to no timetable and leave when the driver decides they are full. A rental car makes the south coast, the east coast and Betty’s Hope a single day. Note that you drive on the left, and that a foreign licence is not enough on its own: every driver has to buy a temporary local permit, which the rental desk issues.

What is there to do besides the beach?+

The Antigua Naval Dockyard at English Harbour is a working Georgian dockyard and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with Shirley Heights above it looking down on two harbours at once. Betty’s Hope, near Pares, is a restored sugar estate and the clearest account of what the island ran on for two centuries. St. John’s has the market, the cathedral and the museum. Sailing is the other half of the country: Antigua Sailing Week at the end of April is one of the biggest regattas in the Caribbean, and the charter fleet is in Falmouth all winter. And Codrington Lagoon on Barbuda is a boat ride into the largest frigatebird colony outside the Galápagos.

Planning an Antiguan trip?

One fully-researched destination (ranked, mapped and paired with video) in your inbox every Thursday.