Antigua and Barbuda
365 Beaches on one island, historic sites, rare pineapples, a vibrant culture, resorts and hotels for anyone, and wonderful people? Antigua and Barbuda has all of that and more. Antigua and Barbuda is a Caribbean independent country that has two main islands with Antigua being the largest and having the capital city of St. John’s. The island has so much more than just beautiful beaches. It has a UNESCO World Heritage site, many Caribbean Fortresses and much more. It’s a destination where you can relax at beautiful resorts, learn about colonial history and do water activities like snorkeling. We visited Antigua in 2023 and had a wonderful trip. Here is what we did!
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How to get there and Transportation Options:
Being an island nation the ways to get there are by plane or by cruise ship. St. John’s is the only cruise port in the nation and is serviced by many different cruise lines like Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Celebrity and many others. These would be on Eastern Caribbean or Southern Caribbean cruises as Antigua is far to the East along with islands like St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Maarten and others. As for flights Antigua has the new VC Bird International Airport where most US major airlines have a flight or two a day to that includes American, Delta, United, JetBlue and Frontier. The VC Bird International Airport is one of the best airports in the Caribbean as many are quite small and lack jetways. There are long haul services to London on British Airways and Virgin Airways. There are also small Caribbean airlines that fly to other Caribbean nations. Montserrat is a small British Overseas Territory near Antigua and has nearly all its flights to and from VC Bird international Airport. It’s an island where half the island was destroyed by a massive volcano eruption that also destroyed the capital city. Today you can visit but cannot enter the dangerous exclusion zone.
As for public transportation, like in many Caribbean nations privately owned mini busses are what is used. There are two bus stations, and you can ride the buses around the island. They are not on a particular schedule. You can rent a car but as always, I do not recommend it as it’s easier in my opinion to take guided tours to see the sites of the island.
Antigua Island
We visited Antigua which is the main island and is home to the capital of St. John’s. It’s a hilly island full of gorgeous beaches and plenty of resorts. The island has a long history with British colonization, sugar plantations with slavery, a battle with the French, independence and then the rise of tourism. We enjoyed touring the island and seeing its UNESCO Heritage site and relaxing!
Where We Stayed
We stayed at two hotels while in Antigua due to an unfortunate flight issue that I’ll go over later that had nothing to do with Antigua or its people. While the flight cancelation was a pain, we got the opportunity to stay in an amazing hotel. Something good can come from difficulty!
Siboney Beach Club
We stayed at a small boutique resort called the Siboney Beach Club for our first couple of days. It’s on Dickenson Bay Beach that is just north of St. John’s and has multiple hotels and resorts like Sandals on this great beach. We had a nice King Bedroom on the first floor. On the property they have a small restaurant, a pool and a small beach area with a beach attendant. There is another small hotel next door that shares the beach. It is a nice property, with nice rooms on the Island!
The Admiral's Inn
On our last night after a flight cancelation due to weather in New York City we headed to the historic Nelson’s Dockyard (a former British Naval base that Lord Nelson’s was once the commander of. The base is a UNESCO World heritage site, and the hotel is in some of the historic buildings. The airline paid for the night, and we were put up in an amazing room. The hotel is not on a beach but overlooks the harbor. The hotel is on the far south end of the island in the city of English Harbour. The hotel is in a variety of historic buildings dating back to the 1700s. Our building was the boat joiners and boat house built in 1778. Once there were wooden ships assembled, and the staff lived in the attic area above the boat house. Our room was also in the attic, but I guarantee was much better conditions than those that the joiners had. We stayed in a suite with a king bed, beautiful historic wooden decoration and a separate living room with a lot of space with couches and had a view of the Harbour. Each room had a separate air conditioner and was luxurious. The hotel has a great restaurant, and it was nice in the morning strolling through the historic Naval base with no one else there. While the situation of being stranded for possibly many days wasn’t great, the hotel is wonderful. Not being on a beach is not a big deal as there are plenty of others to visit.
Sandals Antigua Grande Resort
While we didn’t stay at Sandals Antigua we walked over to it on the beach. Sandals is an amazing resort brand of the utmost quality and are truly All-Inclusive. We stayed at Sandals, and Beaches around the Caribbean and toured others. Sandals Resorts are Adults Only with Beaches being the family resorts. Sandals is All-Inclusive with multiple restaurant options, many included excursions like snorkeling or diving (if certified), and include airport transportation. It’s a large resort on Dickenson Bay Beach, and those we talked to who were staying there said it was a gorgeous resort and a great place to stay. They recommended we stay at it or another property. When multiple flights were canceled, we saw their staff help each Sandals guest personally get back to the resort and get set up with lodging until they could head home. We love the resorts and the very friendly staff. We look forward to visiting the resort ourselves one day!
Want to see what Sandals has to offer?
Antigua Island Tour
Like I always say no matter where you are in the world and no matter how beautiful the beaches and resorts are, you should head out and learn about the history and culture of where you are at. Antigua is no different and it has plenty to see and do! We took a day tour to see many different places on the Island.
Antigua Island Tour Options (Click Below):
Betty's Hope Plantation
Antigua and Barbuda from the 1600s all the way to the 1980s was a major player in the sugar trade based on the climate for growing Sugar Cane in the country. One of the first sugar plantations was built by Christopher Codrington (the main city in Barbuda is named after him) and was named after his daughter. Betty’s Hope Plantation was built in 1650 and ran for many years. Like in many islands in the Caribbean, enslaved people from Africa were brought to work the plantations in terrible conditions. It caused multiple rebellions over the years until August 1, 1834, when slavery was abolished in the United Kingdom. Today you can visit the ruins of Betty’s Hope and can see the large sugarcane windmills left over from years past. It’s an open-air museum that is worth a visit.
Devil's Bridge National Park
The Devil’s Bridge National Park is located on the far Eastern part of Antigua and is on the powerful Atlantic side where the waves are strong. Over many years the strong waves have formed a long natural bridge over the Atlantic. It’s a very scenic spot but also a deadly and dangerous one. In the past it was a place where enslaved people would escape to jump off the cliff into the water versus staying a slave in brutal conditions. You should not walk across the bridge as it’s slippery and if you fall off it will be very difficult to survive the churning waves. We played it safe and enjoyed the scenic view from afar (perfectly safe and well worth it). There are also blow holes in the area as well. It was a nice and interesting site for us.
Shirley Heights
A historic lookout and Cannon location, Shirley Heights is nearly 500 feet above English and Falmouth Harbors in Antigua. It was a great vantage point and why it was picked to protect two important areas including the Naval Dockyards. Today it’s a must-see area for its sweeping views of the cities and the ocean and for the remains of the historic military location. It’s a short drive from English Harbor on the Southern portion of Antigua.
Nelson’s Dockyard (Royal Navy Dockyard)
Nelson’s Dockyard is a Georgian Era (1700s) British Naval Yard that helped station British ships during the colonial times in the Caribbean. You can think of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” era and when the major nations like the United Kingdom and France were fighting for the islands. It’s named after the famous British Admiral Horatio Nelson who is regarded as one of the best Naval leaders in history. He was killed in the Battle of Trafalgar by a sniper that ended up being one of Britain’s greatest Naval victories that was against the French and Spanish in 1805. He is memorialized on top of Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square in London. He was stationed at the Royal Naval Dockyards in Antigua from 1784-1787. Today it’s a museum, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a hotel and the only remaining working Georgian Era Marina left in the world. There are many of the historic buildings still there that you can tour that discuss the history of the Naval Dockyard, the British Navy, the people of Antigua and Admiral Nelson. There are cannons and Navy equipment, a working bakery and a tree planted by Queen Elizabeth II on her visit. It’s also a scenic area in English Harbour (a natural harbour) surrounded by hills like Shirley Heights. It’s a must-see location on the island and has a great hotel and restaurant. We spent an hour there but could have spent longer.
Dickenson Bay Beach and the 364 other beaches in Antigua
Our resort we stayed in just down from Sandals Antigua was on Dickenson Bay Beach that is a beautiful beach with powder white sand and clear blue water. We enjoyed watching sunsets while walking along the beach and relaxing. There are 364 more beaches to explore that are all different on the island. We were able to see some of them, and they are all gorgeous in their own ways. While in Antigua we absolutely spend some time on the beach like we did and do some snorkeling and other water sports!
Beach Tours (Click Below)
The Antiguan Black Pineapple
Antigua has a hidden gem in a very rare pineapple that only grows in Antigua. It was brought to the island from South America by the Arawak tribe who migrated to Antigua and adapted to the climate on the island. It is a very sweet and has less acid than the normal pineapple. While on the guided tour we stopped at a roadside vendor selling fresh Antiguan Black Pineapples. We got to try it, and it is the best pineapple we have ever tried! The Antiguan Black Pineapple is not usually exported so you have to head to Antigua if you want to try it!
Our unfortunate flight issue
When it was time to head home, we went over to V.C. Bird International Airport and waited for our JetBlue flight back to New York’s JFK International Airport and then back to Houston. There were torrential rain and thunderstorms in New York and our flight continued to be delayed. I was watching a radar app I have, and the plane left the gate but was on the tarmac for hours. They announced it had to turn back to refuel but was still going to depart. I started looking at other ways to get home so I had a plan. A British Airways flight was heading to Aruba and from there we could head home. After around 7 hours of delay, they cancelled the flight and let us know there was no scheduled JetBlue flight for a week.
We headed to check to see if we could make it on the British Airways flight to Aruba, but it too was cancelled due to a maintenance issue. With the last flight out that day and other flights sold out, I headed to plan B and booked a flight on a small Caribbean Airline called InterCaribbean Airlines that headed to Beef Island in the British Virgin Islands and then to San Juan, Puerto Rico. We re-entered Antigua and Barbuda and was given our exit documentation back. JetBlue arranged a hotel for us, but while there an elderly couple was very anxious and wanted to get back to Sandals Antigua. They told us about how great the service was there and encouraged us to stay there one day. We helped them get in touch with a very friendly Sandals employee that got them a shuttle back. We headed to the Admiral’s Inn where the owners treated us with a lot of compassion and got us a nice seat at their restaurant. We worked out all the details and got our flights back to Houston
Where's the Fire?
We checked out of our hotel and headed back to the airport to catch our morning flight to Beef Island in the British Virgin Islands. The flight was good, and we landed on Beef Island with no issues. We thought we were clear to Puerto Rico. Well, right after we landed, they closed the airport down and weren’t really saying why. At first, they had us exit the airport, but I mentioned that we had not cleared passport control. Eventually they let us back into the airport since we were in transit only. The reason for the airport closure I found out was because right after we landed the firefighters went on strike. After a few tense hours they boated in firefighters from another island, and we were on our way to Puerto Rico. In Puerto Rico we encountered a brief citywide power outage, but we made it to Orlando (we nearly had flight issues due to Thunderstorms) and then made it home.
None of these issues had anything to do with Antigua (it was not their fault and we would love to visit again) but it shows that anything can happen in travel and it pays to get travel insurance as all the extra flights (3 additional flights), hotel stays (San Jaun) and food were all paid for by our insurance and we got a bit extra for pain and suffering as it was very stressful.
Conclusion and Tips
Antigua is a beautiful island that has 365 wonderful beaches and a lot of history. There are only a few UNESCO World Heritage sites in the Caribbean, and they have one in Nelson’s Dockyard. Be sure to visit there and see what life was like during colonial times in the Caribbean and learn about Antigua. We really enjoyed staying at the Admiral’s Inn for a night to get an early morning visit to the historic site. We really enjoyed Dickeson Bay Beach and from all we heard and saw the Sandals Antigua is a great place to stay (adults only). There are plenty of other great places to see that we would like to come back and experience like the Museum of Antigua and Barbuda and we would like to head over to Barbuda to see it as well. Seeing the island of Montserrat would be a great addition to a trip as it’s unique with half the island unlivable due to the volcano. It’s a day trip we would like to go on in the future. Antigua is in the Caribbean so be prepared for heat and from June to November be watchful for hurricane season as it is in the hurricane belt.
Antigua and Barbuda is an amazing and unique island nation to visit in the Caribbean. Every island in the Caribbean has its own unique character as none are the same. Antigua and Barbuda has beautiful beaches, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, great resorts and much more. We look forward to visiting again soon!
Presentation with the Tourism Board of Antigua and Barbuda
If you are Interested in this trip:
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Other Antigua Tour Options!
