ALL INCLUSIVE RESORTS IN ANTIGUA

Antigua is an independent nation, but many of its traditions are still British. The highlights of Antigua are definitely the beaches. All of the major resorts are on fantastic beaches, making this a sun-worshipper's paradise. St. John's, the capital, is a charming city, with cobblestone sidewalks and wooden houses. It's perfect for a day trip of shopping if you want a day away from the beach. .

p>Antigua's tourist office boasts that the island has 365 beaches, 'one for each day of the year'. It has great reefs and wrecks for diving and snorkelling. On neighbouring Barbuda you can track the island's fabled frigate birds and visit the Caribbean's largest rookery.

Barbuda is a quiet, single-village island that has less than 2% of the nation's population and gets very few independent visitors, mainly ardent bird watchers and a few yachties enjoying its clear waters and tranquil beaches. Antigua is a touch more happening, but the pace is still deliciously slow.

Facts for the Traveler

Visas: Visitors from the USA, Canada and the UK may enter the country for stays of less than six months with either a valid passport or a birth certificate with a raised seal and a photo ID. Most other visitors, including citizens of Australia, New Zealand and western European countries, must have passports but do not need visas. Officially all visitors need a round-trip or onward ticket.
Health risks: sunburn, diarrhoea, intestinal worms
Time Zone: GMT/UTC -4
Dialling Code: 268
Electricity: 230V ,60Hz
Weights & measures: Imperial

When to Go

Antigua and Barbuda are best visited during the cool and dry winter months (mid-December to mid-April), the peak tourist season. In January and February, the coolest months, the average daily high temperature is 81°F (27°C).

The islands get even hotter in the summer. In July and August, the warmest months, the average daily high is 86°F (30°C). It's less dry in the autumn (September to November), during the rainy season, though Antigua's fairly dry year-round.

Events

Antigua's Sailing Week is a major week-long yachting event that begins on the last Sunday in April, attracting about 150 boats. In addition to a series of five races, there are rum parties and a formal ball, with most activities taking place at Nelson's Dockyard and Falmouth Harbour. In June, Barbuda has a celebration of its own called Caribara.

Carnival, Antigua's big annual festival, is held from the end of July and culminates in a parade on the first Tuesday in August. Most Carnival activity takes place in St John's. Calypso music, steel bands, masqueraders, floats and street 'jump-ups' are all part of the celebrations. If you have enough energy by the last day to be up and dancing in the streets at 4am you can jump up during J'Overt, the climax of Carnival. The other major musical event is the annual Antiguan Jazz Festival, which takes place in October.

Money & Costs

Currency: Eastern Caribbean Dollar

Meals

• Budget: US$5-10
• Mid-range: US$10-20
• High: US$20-70
• Deluxe: US$70+


Lodging

• Budget: US$15-50
• Mid-range: US$50-200
• High: US$200-350
• Deluxe: US$350+

Travelling in comfort on Antigua can easily mean spending several hundred US dollars a day. A moderate budget will hover around US$100. A minimal budget might be around US$30-50 a day, but this won't leave anything for shopping, transport and activities.

US dollars are commonly used. However, unless rates are posted in US dollars (as is the norm with accommodations), it usually works out better to pay in EC dollars. MasterCard, Visa and American Express are widely accepted. Credit card charges are made in US dollars, so businesses that quote prices in EC dollars must convert the bill to a US dollar total. Whenever you intend to pay by credit card, it's a good idea to ask the exchange rate first to avoid overcharging.

A 10% service charge is added to most restaurant bills, in which case no further tipping is necessary.

St John's

St John's is Antigua's capital and commercial centre, and home to over a third of the country's population. It's also the island's tourist centre, but most of the city remains unaffected by international influence, remaining solidly West Indian in flavour.

St John's tourist activity is confined to the harbourfront complexes of Heritage Quay, a favourite with cruise ship passengers, and the more rustic Redcliffe Quay, where shops, restaurants and galleries inhabit restored stone buildings and wooden huts.

English Harbour

Once a naval base and now Antigua's most popular tourist attraction, English Harbour has the richest collection of historic sites on the island. You could easily spend the better part of a day roaming around the sites, which include restored buildings, hilltop forts and museums.

Don your gaiters and garden gloves for the 10-minute walk among cacti to Fort Berkeley, overlooking the harbour's western entrance. Other attractions include the governor's Georgian-style rural residence and Sandy Heights, which has scattered 18th-century fort ruins and excellent views.

Fort James

The small Fort James was first built in 1675, but most of the present structure dates from 1739. It still has a few of its original 36 cannons, a powder magazine and a fair portion of its walls intact.

Museum of Antigua & Barbuda

This community-run museum in St John's has an eclectic collection of displays on island history. There's a touchable section with stone pestles and conch-shell tools, a reconstructed Arawak house, and modest displays on natural history, the colonial era and the struggle for emancipation.

St John's Anglican Cathedral

This twin-spired cathedral, the town's dominant landmark, dates from 1847 and was built after the original 1681 church was devastated by an earthquake. The unusual interior is encased in pitch pine to buffer the building from damage by natural disasters.

Off the Beaten Track

Deep Bay

Deep Bay, west of St John's, is a pleasant little bay with a sandy beach and protected waters. There's a fair amount of resort activity, but it's a large strand and a nice swimming spot complete with the coral-encrusted wreck of the Andes in the middle of the bay, peeking above the water.

Nearly 100 years have passed since this barque caught fire and went down, complete with a load of pitch from Trinidad. The waters around the wreck are shallow enough to be snorkelled but divers tend to bypass it because ooze still kicks up pretty easily from the bottom.

Dickenson Bay

Dickenson Bay, Antigua's main mid-range resort area, is fronted by a lovely white-sand beach with turquoise waters and good swimming conditions. All of Dickenson Bay's action is centred on the beach, where there are water sports booths, open-air restaurants and half a dozen hotels and condominiums.

While it's more touristy than Runaway Bay, Dickenson Bay it's still hardly what you would consider over-touristed. Its pace and space combined with the reggae music, vendors selling T-shirts and jewellry, and women braiding hair can create a good fun scene.

Falmouth Harbour

Falmouth Harbour is a large, protected, horseshoe-shaped bay, divided into two main centres of activity: the north side of the harbour, where the small village of Falmouth is located, and the more visitor-oriented east side of the harbour, which has most of the restaurants.

The east side of Falmouth Harbour is within easy walking distance of Nelson's Dockyard. On the main road in Falmouth's centre is Antigua's first church, St Paul's Anglican Church. As one of the island's oldest buildings, dating to 1676, the church once doubled as Antigua's courthouse.

Runaway Bay

Runaway Bay is a quiet area with an attractive white-sand beach, calm waters and a handful of small, reasonably priced hotels. South of Runaway Beach Club is decidedly less populated and although the area can seem quite sleepy, the adjacent Dickenson Bay can provide some action.

A channel dug a few years back for a marina project (which was halted after hitting rock) cuts off shoreline access between Runaway and Dickenson bays, but it's just a short walk along the road between the two areas.

Activities

Most of Antigua's many beaches, with their white or light golden sands, are protected by coral reefs, and all are officially public. Prime spots include the adjacent Dickenson and Runaway beaches on the eastern coast, Deep Bay and Hawksbill Beach to the west of St John's, and Darkwood Beach to the south of Jolly Harbour. On the eastern coast, Half Moon Bay is a top contender. In the English Harbour area, Galleon Beach and secluded Pigeon Beach are good sites. The far ends of some public beaches, including the northern end of Dickenson, are favored by topless bathers; nude bathing is also practiced along a section of Hawksbill Beach.

Antigua has some excellent diving, with coral canyons, wall drops and sea caves. Marine life includes turtles, sharks, barracuda and reef fish. Antigua's sheltered western coast is good for inexperienced windsurfers, while the exposed eastern coast has onshore winds good for slalom and wave-slalom sailing. The other major watersport is game fishing - there are plenty of marlin, tuna and wahoo.

The historical society, which operates the Museum of Antigua & Barbuda, sponsors a monthly cultural or environmental theme hike. Walks average about 90 minutes in duration and typically include visits to old estates or interesting landscapes.

Small, low-key Barbuda is a good place for travelers craving quiet, uncrowded spaces. There's excellent bird watching at Codrington Lagoon, home to a large colony of frigate birds. The island also offers places to snorkel, relax and bake in the sun.

History

The islands' first permanent residents are thought to have been migrating Arawaks, who established agricultural communities on both Antigua and Barbuda about 2000 years ago. Around 1200 AD, the Arawaks were forced out by raiding Caribs, who used the islands as bases for their forays but apparently didn't settle them.

Columbus sighted Antigua in 1493 and named it after a church in Seville, Spain. The British colonised Antigua in 1632, establishing a settlement at Parham on the eastern side of the island. The settlers started planting indigo and tobacco, but a glut in the market for these crops soon undermined prices.

In 1674, Sir Christopher Codrington arrived on Antigua and established the first sugar plantation. By the end of the century, a plantation economy had developed, slaves were imported and the central valleys were deforested and replanted with sugar cane. To feed the slaves, Codrington leased the neighbouring island of Barbuda from the British Crown and planted it with food crops.

As Antigua prospered, the British built fortifications around the island, turning it into one of their most secure bases in the Caribbean. The military couldn't secure the economy, however, and in the early 1800s the sugar market began to bottom out. With the abolition of slavery in 1834, the plantations fell apart. Antigua's former plantations were consolidated under the control of a handful of landowners rather than parcelled out to former slaves, as happened on other Caribbean islands. Consequently the lot of most local people only worsened. Many former slaves moved off the plantations and into shanty towns, while others crowded onto properties held by the church.

A military-related construction boom during WWII and the postwar development of tourism helped spur economic growth, although the shanty towns still present along the outskirts of St John's show that the prosperity has yet to trickle down to the bottom rungs of the population. In 1967, after more than 300 years of colonial rule, Antigua achieved a measure of self-government as an Associated State of the United Kingdom; the country achieved full independence in 1981.

In early September 1995, Hurricane Luis hit Antigua and Barbuda with winds in excess of 125mph (210kmh). All the hotels on Barbuda were damaged and half of the homes were destroyed. On Antigua, nearly 75% of the homes received significant damage and many public buildings, including schools and the hospital, were rendered unsafe. The recovery was a slow one, but most homes were subsequently rebuilt, and the majority of hotels and guesthouses reopened.

In 1997, Prime Minister Lester Bird announced that a group of ecologically sensitive islands just off Antigua's northeastern coast, previously proposed for national park status, were being turned over to Malaysian developers. The Guiana Island Development Project deal, calling for a 1000-room hotel, an 18-hole golf course and a world-class casino, sparked widespread criticism by environmentalists, minority members in parliament, and the press. The issue came to a head when a local resident shot the PM's brother.

More recently, Antigua played host to about 3000 residents of Montserrat who were evacuated from the island when the Soufriere Hills volcano exploded. The reception placed considerable strain on the nation, which has been experiencing cashflow problems. Antigua was named on an OECD list of 35 tax havens, from which it has since managed to be removed.

In 2004, Prime Minister Lester Bird was defeated in elections, ending 24 years of the Bird family's father-and-son domination of the political scene. The United Progressive Party, under Baldwin Spencer, took government. New attorney-general Justin Simon announced in August of that year that the government would be seeking to repeal the Guiana Island Development Project.

Culture

Away from the resorts, Antigua retains a traditional West Indian character, manifest in the gingerbread architecture found around the capital, the popularity of steel band, calypso and reggae music, and in festivities such as Carnival. English traditions also play an important role, notably in the popularity of Anglicanism and cricket. Several Antiguan cricketers are considered among the best of all time.

English is the official language, but most islanders speak a local patois. Antigua has a venerable literary tradition, dating back to colonial memoirs, and continuing with the works of world-renowned author Jamaica Kincaid.

While generally friendly to outsiders, Antiguans are jealous of those who come from independent nations. The country's first prime minister was a trade unionist who led the fight for Antiguan autonomy. Among the British Caribbean islands, Antigua is one of the few that elects its own head of state.

Barbuda shares the West Indian culture of its larger neighbor, but its isolation has given it some peculiar traits. Most of its 1100 people share half a dozen surnames and can trace their lineage to a small group of slaves brought to the island in the late 1600s. Breeding experiments on the slaves produced a population of inordinately tall people.

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Environment

As a consequence of colonial-era deforestation, most of Antigua's vegetation is dry-land scrub. The area supports the fourth-largest mangrove system in the Lesser Antilles.

The island's marshes and salt ponds attract stilts, egrets, ducks and pelicans, while hummingbirds hang about the gardens. Guiana Island, off the northeastern coast of Antigua, has one of the country's last remaining tracts of forest and is the sole habitat for the tropical mockingbird. Guiana also supports Antigua's largest colony of nesting seabirds, including tropicbirds, roseate terns, brown noddies and endangered whistling ducks. Barbuda's Codrington Lagoon has the largest frigate-bird colony in the Lesser Antilles. One of the world's rarest snakes, the Antiguan racer, is found on nearby Great Bird Island.

Lying near the northeastern corner of the Caribbean, Antigua is about 480km (300mi) east of Puerto Rico. Barbuda, its sister island, is 40km (25mi) north of Antigua. Antigua is a shapeless blob, 280 sq km (108 sq mi) in area, its shore indented with many bays. The southwestern corner is the hilliest part of the island, rising to 400m (1320ft) at Boggy Peak, Antigua's highest point. The rest of the island is mostly undulating plains and scrubland. Barbuda is a low-lying coral island, 161 sq km (62 sq mi) in area; its highest point is a mere 45m (145ft). The west side of the island encompasses the expansive Codrington Lagoon. The country's boundaries also include Redonda, an uninhabited rocky islet, less than 1.5 sq km (1 sq mi) in size, lying 40km (25mi) southwest of Antigua.

Getting There & Away

Travellers from the USA have the easiest access to Antigua. American and Continental offer direct daily flights to the island during the peak tourist season (mid-December to mid-April), though services are less frequent in the off-season. Weekly direct flights are available on Air Canada, British Airways and Air France. You can make direct or connecting flights to Antigua from over two dozen Caribbean islands on LIAT, the major inter-island carrier. All flights to Barbuda connect at VC Bird Airport in Antigua. There's a 35.00 airport departure tax.

Cruise ships dock at St John's and yachts at English Harbour, Falmouth Harbour, Jolly Harbour, St John's Harbour and Parham Sound. Yachters heading to Barbuda must clear customs at Antigua and obtain a cruising permit there.

Getting Around

Antigua's VC Bird International Airport, about 6km (4mi) east of St John's, is the main airport on the island. There are daily 20-minute flights between the airport and Codrington Airport in Barbuda. There is no airport bus service from Bird Airport, but taxis are available. Taxi fares are regulated by the government, but confirm the fare with the driver in advance.

Buses from St John's to Falmouth and English Harbour are plentiful, cheap, and take about 30 minutes. Many sport colourful names like 'Could Be Dangerous' - these might get you from one side of the island to the other faster than you'd like. There's no bus service to Dickenson Bay or other resort areas on the northern part of the island, and there are very few buses anywhere on Sunday.

There are more than a dozen car rental agencies on Antigua, most of them with representatives at the airport. To drive, you need to buy a temporary 90-day license, which is usually obtainable from rental agents and from the Inland Revenue Department in St John's. Simply show your home license and pay a small fee. Driving is on the left side. Motorcycles and scooters can be rented in Jolly Harbour, and bicycles are for rent in Jolly Harbour and Hodges Bay.

The tiny Barbuda has neither public transportation nor an established taxi service, but you might be able to arrange to hire someone to drive you around. Vehicle rental is another option, although the individuals who rent out vehicles change from time to time and tracking them down can be tricky.

There's no scheduled passenger boat service to Barbuda, but if you want to try your luck hitching with a private yacht, check around at the marinas, local tour agencies and hotels on Antigua. Day junkets are available to Barbuda from Antigua; check with local tour agencies and hotels for schedules and prices. Be aware that Barbuda has a reputation for tours that fail to materialise, so confirm all reservations.

Content courtesy of Lonely Planet Publications