Antigua & Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda is a two-island state of low limestone and worn volcanic hills, with no rivers and a dry climate that once made rainwater cisterns essential. Antigua's deep natural harbours made it a British naval base for two centuries, and sugar ran the economy until the industry closed in the 1970s. Barbuda, flatter and thinly settled, holds a large frigatebird colony.

Known for Nelson's Dockyard, 365 beaches, Antigua Sailing Week, frigatebird colony and Antigua Black pineapple.

Highlights

  • Nelson's Dockyard, English Harbour, Saint Paul: A Georgian naval dockyard developed from 1725 in a hurricane-safe harbour and named after Horatio Nelson, who served here in the 1780s. Restored and still working as a marina, it was UNESCO listed in 2016.
  • Codrington Lagoon National Park, Barbuda: A shallow brackish lagoon along Barbuda's west coast holding the Caribbean's largest magnificent frigatebird colony, roughly 2,500 nesting pairs in the mangroves. Access is by small boat from Codrington.
  • Devil's Bridge, Indian Town Point, Saint Philip: A limestone arch on the Atlantic coast, cut by surf over a very long period, with blowholes that fire spray when the swell is up. The surrounding headland became a national park in 2008.
  • Betty's Hope, Saint Peter: The ruins of one of Antigua's earliest large sugar estates, worked from the 1650s and held for generations by the Codrington family and the people they enslaved. One of its twin windmills has been restored to working order.

Places in Antigua & Barbuda

Getting around

Antigua's roads are worked by privately owned minibuses on government-regulated routes, running roughly 5:30am to 6pm between the East and West bus stations in St John's and the villages. Taxis are shared and charge fixed fares posted at the airport and the taxi stands rather than running a meter. The Barbuda Express catamaran crosses to Barbuda in about an hour and a half. Traffic keeps to the left.