Short answer: spend a day at Nelson’s Dockyard in English Harbour, the only continuously working Georgian-era dockyard in the world.
Go up to Shirley Heights on a Sunday for the sunset party, see the blowholes at Devil’s Bridge, and walk the windmills at Betty’s Hope.
Then take the ferry to Barbuda, about 90 minutes each way, for its huge colony of magnificent frigatebirds.
I rewrote this page in October 2026.
The old version said enslaved Africans were “flown in” to the plantations, and promised “monkeys” on the ferry ride to Barbuda.
Its photos had also stopped loading, so this version goes without them.
1. Nelson’s Dockyard, English Harbour
This is the one place I wouldn’t skip.
Nelson’s Dockyard was built in the early 18th century, abandoned by the Royal Navy in 1889, and named for Horatio Nelson, who lived there from 1784 to 1787.
Restoration started in 1951, and it reopened to the public in 1961.
Today it’s part of the Antigua Naval Dockyard and Related Archaeological Sites, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
And it isn’t a roped-off ruin.
The original buildings now hold two hotels and a museum, plus shops and restaurants around a big marina.
My tip: leave time for one of the hiking trails that lead out from the site.
So when should you go?
If you’re there in late April or early May, check the dates for Antigua Sailing Week.
It’s been running since 1967 and draws about 100 yachts, 1,500 participants and 5,000 spectators a year.
In 2019 it ran from April 27 to May 3.
2. Shirley Heights on a Sunday
The Shirley Heights Lookout bar looks down over both English Harbour and Falmouth Harbour, dotted with yachts, and faces due west for the sunset.
Footprint’s guide calls the Sunday party the biggest event on Antigua.
It lists a steelpan band from 4 to 7 p.m., then a reggae band from 7 to 10.
Honestly, it’s touristy.
Buses bring guests in from resorts all over the island, and Footprint says it’s “very loud, very busy, very infectious.”
I’d still go (I’d just take a taxi up).
Don’t plan on a quiet sunset.
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On the Atlantic coast east of Willikies, near Indian Town Point, there’s a natural rock arch.
Around it, blowholes shoot up water and spray.
The waves here are pushed by the trade winds, with no land between this coast and Europe, so I’d watch the water here, not swim in it.
My tip: wear shoes with grip.
It became a national park in 2008.
Want a swim nearby?
Long Cove is a popular local spot, sheltered by an offshore reef that works as a natural breakwater.
4. Betty’s Hope
Betty’s Hope was the first large-scale sugar plantation on Antigua, set up in 1650 and owned by the Codrington family from 1674 until 1944.
It ran on enslaved labor for centuries.
Christopher Codrington named it after his daughter.
The government began restoring it in 1990.
You’ll see the twin windmills, the cistern complex and the boiling house, where sixteen copper hoppers boiled cane juice into sugar, plus the ruins of the great house and of the still house, where rum was made.
It’s a sobering stop, and I think it’s the most important one on this list.
5. The beaches
Antigua is said to have 365 beaches, one for every day of the year.
You won’t get to all of them.
I’d pick by coast: the Atlantic side around Devil’s Bridge is wild, and Long Cove shows what a reef does to calm things down.
If you’ve booked a cruise, St. John’s is the town to know: the main city, with more than 22,000 people and a deep harbor that can take large cruise ships.
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6. A day on Barbuda
Barbuda sits about 30 miles north of Antigua.
Sea Bridge Ferries (it ran as Barbuda Express from 2004) crosses in about 90 minutes each way, with one-way adult fares from US$65.
Check the timetable when you book; it changes.
Here’s the line I’d use to sell you on it.
The reason to go is Codrington Lagoon, the largest saltwater lagoon in the Eastern Caribbean and home to a huge colony of magnificent frigatebirds.
The island is flat, with white and pink sand beaches.
Barbuda’s had a hard decade.
In September 2017 Hurricane Irma destroyed more than 90 percent of its buildings and the whole population was evacuated to Antigua.
Most residents were back by February 2019, and the population is now higher than before the storm.
My advice: go, spend your money there, and be kind about the rough edges.
And if you’re on a short layover-style stop on Antigua, skip it; Barbuda deserves a full day.
Comparing islands?
See is Antigua better than the Bahamas, and the rest of our Antigua, Barbuda and Anguilla hub.
Related read: The Caribbean Travel Guide — Instant PDF + Kindle download. Secure checkout by Stripe
