Antigua is a great place to sample the Caribbean since it has a very short transfer time and is quick to fly to. It is a popular place to get married in and you will find the resorts able to quickly help you organize things. It is popular with people not wanting a noisy holiday as the nightlife is mostly not night clubs however you can find this quite easily if you do want to party till 4am. There is no main strip of bars anywhere though there are some great spots to hit with the locals like putters and peppers n Lime. The beaches are excellent and numerous rumored to be over 365 if you include neighboring Barbuda.
It has a decent record for not having too many hurricanes and you can avoid them if you travel after November and before June. Despite a risk many people do take their kids in August from the UK and have a great time – there maybe the odd cloud or patch of rain that quickly clears and refreshes you.
It has some good value resorts if you go all inclusive and good vacation rentals if you are a bigger family this can work out better value.
Antigua is easy to drive around for the Brits as they also drive on the left and speeds are generally slow so you just need to watch out for pot holes. Navigating around the capital St Johns is less easy as most of the directions are washed out leaving big green empty boards ! Still if you keep going in the same general direction you will have an adventure and get where you want to.
As a real tip target the west part of the island if you want to be closer to most things, in reality however nothing is far here and you can traverse the island in a little over an hour.
Car Rental in Antigua Tip
So get out and explore in your car or jeep is our advice. Trust in a local Antigua car rental company for better service rates and get the car you need. The big multinationals offer same prices with low service levels (get stranded for a puncture!) and you don’t always get the car you booked.
Finally some things to do in Antigua..
After getting to the beach and spending some time in the resorts we recommend the following activities
Walk around the capital St Johns (a photographers dream)
Do Carnival in August
Hire a Jet-Ski (at about a pound per minute)
Enjoy the fishing tournaments
Get sailing tuition.
Go shore fishing for tilapia in the brackish waters and lagoons
Snorkel and Pet Stingrays
Visit the shooting range and shoot big guns !
Take a boat out or get a charter to do the work – just get on the water..
Go scuba diving, snorkeling
Deep sea fishing.
Calvin Crane became an expert on Antigua when he travelled and blogged about it in Best Antigua.
