Antigua and Barbuda

Visited: November 2017

Duration of visit: 3 days

Capital city: St. John’s

Population: 98.000 (2017)

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

• Beautiful beaches and swimming in Dickenson Bay.
• Swimming with stingrays during Stingray City & Snorkeling Excursion.
• Exploring John’s on a normal day and during the time when cruise ships dock in the harbor.

While the official name is Antigua and Barbuda, the territory actually includes three islands: Antigua, Barbuda and a third island, Redonda, a rugged and uninhabited volcanic rock of just 1.3 square kilometers. The islands were a British colony and gained independence in the year 1981. The British influences can be still seen on the architecture, food and culture of the islands very clearly.

The official language is English, even though locals have their own dialect of English called Patois, which is similar to the Jamaican Creole. Throughout the entire island there are no rivers and no lakes. There are also no snakes, save for the harmless rear-fanged grey-brown Antiguan racer which happens to be one of the rarest snakes in the world, and has only been found on Antigua’s Bird Island.

Antigua and Barbuda was part of my Caribbean Islands Trip in 2017.

Our plane of Caribbean Airline company Liat landed at St. John’s International Airport in mid-morning. I took a minivan to downtown. Everything was so relaxed; the driver was kindly picking up and dropping off the passengers. Colorful painted wooden houses, hardly any traffic, smiley faces. Exactly as I imagined Caribbean islands where people live in harmony with nature, music and go with the flow, without stress or rush.

“Life is a beach; land of sea and sun; the land of 365 beaches,” are some of the slogans for Antigua and especially more remoted Barbuda.

The coral island of Barbuda, which covers only 160 square kilometers, was the first to feel the force of Hurricane Irma in September 2017. On the night of 6^th September, it hit Barbuda at about 300 kilometers per hour. Nearly 90% of the structures on the island were damaged or destroyed by the hurricane, which led to a complete evacuation from the island to Antigua. Roads, electrical, communications and water systems were also damaged.

An estimated 50% of the population lost their homes, approximately 90% of properties were damaged and the government evacuated all population before the next hurricane – Jose hit the island in October 2021.

By the time I was visiting Antigua, Bermuda was completely abandoned, without any infrastructure for visitors. It would take a few years before recovering completely … if there are no further hurricanes meanwhile.

The main island of Antigua was saved and it wasn’t hit by any hurricane this year at all. However, there were hardly any visitors, except for the cruise ships passengers, which started to disembark in the main port again. I settled down in a basic guesthouse, walking distance from the center of St. John’s.

The capital city, but rather a town, is a typical Caribbean destination, offering two faces: when cruise ships are in the dock, the place gets filled with thousands of tourists for a few hours, creating intensive trade, conversation, logistic chaos and opportunity to make money for local people. When the hordes are gone, there is hardly any rush and movement. People are relaxed again, no pushing for buying, photographing or shop visiting.

The Anglican cathedral, the Government House and the Botanic Station could be the typical sightseeing attractions, while wandering around and observing colorful wooden buildings could be more rewarding.

I decided to walk to Dickenson Bay, the closest beach to St. John’s. The beachfront is lined with restaurants, beach bars and water sports rentals. Hotels, resorts and upscale guesthouses are a few meters away from clear, blue sea.

Dickenson Bay is the embodiment of a perfect beach, showcasing its white sandy coastline, calm sea, and clear turquoise waters. It is a true paradise on earth.

It is to no surprise that the economy of Antigua and Barbuda is particularly dependent on tourism, which accounts for 80% of GDP. Banking and insurance for offshore companies is also important part of Antigua’s economy. Antigua and Barbuda is statistically the sixth wealthiest country per capita in North America, but this does not reflect the quality of life that locals live on a day to day bases.

Most of the income and profits goes to resort owners, off shore companies and banking sector, while locals survive on basic salaries, tourist tips and informal economy.

Majority of tourism is upscale based on luxury resorts and cruise tourism. On a day when cruise ships arrive and thousands of tourists, mostly from the USA, rush to buy souvenirs, take photos or explore the island on an organized tour, the island transforms completely.

On such a day, it is fun to just watch all intruders and desperate locals who try to monetarize their activities. In a few hours they make more money than for the rest of the week or the whole month. Most of the tours are tourist traps that take you to important historic, cultural or natural sites where crowds of visitors completely flood the local beauty.

One thing not to miss in Antigua (beside enjoying beautiful sand beaches), is definitely Stingray City & Snorkeling Excursion. I read about it before and decided to go there by myself with local transport on a day when no cruise ships would be in town.

The official ad was promising the following: “Your Stingray City Antigua Snorkeling Adventure will be the highlight of your vacation. An experience that will live with you forever. Our Southern Rays are the brightest rays in the Caribbean, very friendly and gentle. Come and enjoy interacting and feeding a Stingray, together with snorkeling amongst magnificent coral reefs and colorful tropical fish.”

I think it is not much to add or take. It was a special, unique experience, where you can really come close to these beautiful animals, touch them, take a selfie, snorkel and feed them. You won’t be there alone, but carefully choosing a day, it is manageable.

When we arrived to the platform in the shallow lagoon and our guides started to throw food in the water, more than ten stingrays came out of nowhere and started to swim around us, touched us, played and cruised in the beautiful clear water.

Standing in the water, you forget that these animals with pancake-like bodies that glide gracefully through the water possess long, barbed tails that may produce venom, which can be fatal to humans.

Apparently there have been zero casualties so far and everything turned out perfect during our tour as well.

It’s not easy to practice sports in a tropical climate with temptation of beaches, cold beer and music at every step. However, the most popular sport in Antigua & Barbuda is cricket, which was made popular by the British.

Antigua has produced some of the greatest names in the cricket world like Sir Vivian Richards, Andy Roberts and Riche Richardson. They have some beautiful cricket courts and cricket is as important as religion.

Antigua and Barbuda was one of the first stops during my Caribbean island hopping in 2017. I couldn’t compare it to other islands yet, when visiting it. At the end of the tour I can confidently claim that the relaxing atmosphere of Antigua is one of the best in the region.

People are really easy going, no pushing or harassing, when they realize that you are not visiting the island by cruise ship.

There is not much to do on the island, beside watersports and relaxing on the beach, sipping a cocktail/beer or partying.  Nevertheless, this is the reason, why I came to Antigua, right?