Beaches

Apparently there are 365 beaches in Antigua & Barbuda, I mean it doesn’t really matter if that number is actually 300 or 400, the point is there are a lot of beaches and certainly enough to try a new one each day for a whole year! Antigua has some of the best beaches in the world! Our favourite activity is discovering hidden and secluded beaches across the island. There are also no private beaches on the island - so every beach is accessible and open to everyone. Some are white sands while others are pink and others brown, so there is enough beach variety that you certainly never have to bring your own sand to the beach! Barbuda is remarkably undeveloped, boasting swathes of pink sand where you can go for hours without seeing a single person. 

Nature Parks

Antigua & Barbuda has several nature parks - Wadadli, Body Ponds, Wallings, Mount Obama, Donkey Sanctuary, Stingray City, Hawksbill Turtle conservation, Bird Sanctuary to mention a few

The Wadadli Animal Nature Park is a must see venue for any nature enthusiast or animal lover. The park has an array of animals from monkeys, rabbits, land turtles, horses, peacocks, parrots, geese, ducks, plus much more. There is also plenty of plant life in  the Park. The circular layout of the park takes you around the entire park in about 40 minutes.

There is also an onsite restaurant for post tour food and drinks.

The Wallings Nature Reserve with its lush surroundings makes for the perfect picnic setting. The Reserve also offers a thrilling hiking experience for the experienced and non-experienced hikers. With easy to follow trails and well-informed guides, the Nature Reserve is great for a family adventure or an educational field trip.

You can explore rugged trails that wind through the rainforest, where you will find a variety of trees such as the silk cotton, hog plum, sand box, the strangler fig tree and many more. Go slowly and gently to listen and watch the birds. If you’re lucky, you’ll see a black whiskered vireo, a West Indian euphonia or a collared pigeon. On the way back, explore the back of the reservoir where you will see interesting water diversion channels and sediment traps. 

Barbuda Frigate Bird Sanctuary

Barbuda is home to the largest Frigate Bird sanctuary in the western hemisphere. Accessible only by boat, the Frigate Bird Sanctuary contains over 170 species of birds in addition to the more than 5,000 Frigate birds that call Barbuda their home. Barbuda’s caves, including Darby Cave, Indian Cave and the Caves at Two Foot Bay are also worth exploring. And, visitors on a hike through Indian Cave will discover ancient Amerindian petroglyphs.

The Jumby Bay Hawksbill Project (JBHP) is a long-term research and conservation program that monitors the hawksbill sea turtle nesting colony on Long Island. The project works to better understand the life history and population dynamics of the critically endangered hawksbill. The hawksbill research is the longest continuous running program in the world. The JBHP has accumulated a wealth of research experience and knowledge about hawksbill population ecology, nesting and reproduction. Since the project’s inception in 1987, close to 450 nesting hawksbills have been individually identified and tagged, and hundreds of thousands of hatchlings have crawled down the sands of Pasture Beach. The JBHP is a member of WIDECAST (the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network), a region-wide scientific network and Partner Organization to the United Nations Caribbean Environment Programme.

Outdoor activities

You can literally do anything - the weather is certainly very accommodating for outdoor activities. There is a range of activities from morning hikes, outdoor gyms, yoga, swimming to more social activities and sports such as golf, tennis, jet skis on the beach, and much more. You can go snorkelling, fishing, kite surfing and many other water based activities. Its paradise - you can literally do anything including Zip lining!

Historic sites, sights and landmarks

Antigua & Barbuda has a rich history which means it also has a lot of beautiful sites and landmarks that you can visit. Nelson's Dockyard, Devil's Bridge, Fort Barrington, Dow's Hill, Fort James, Pillars of Hercules, Musuem of Antigua and much more...

Nelson's Dockyard

A UNESCO protected heritage site, it is part of National Parks which also contains Clarence House and Shirley Heights. Fully restored to its original splendor, the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century buildings of the Dockyard house modern amenities such as shops, hotels, and marina businesses. Outside the dockyard, historic forts dot the landscape of the park accessible by hiking trails which allow visitors to enjoy the park’s scenic and natural beauty.

In the early eighteenth century, the British Royal Navy recognized the strategic importance of English Harbour in protecting ships from hurricanes and in its position at the south of the island for monitoring French naval activity. Throughout the eighteenth century, the dockyard grew in importance, as it was the only harbour in the Eastern Caribbean large enough for safe naval ship repairs. From 1784 through 1787, the British Hero of Trafalgar, Horatio Nelson, served as the captain of the H.M.S Boreas, sent to Antigua to enforce British laws in the colonies. When the restoration of the dockyard began in the 1950’s, it was renamed Nelson’s Dockyard in honour of the years he spent in Antigua.

Today, Nelson’s Dockyard provides many sites and activities for visitors to explore and enjoy. With many glorious boats in the dockyard, the beautiful harbour, the historic sites and the unforgettable views from places such as Shirley Heights. The Dockyard Museum, located in the former Admiral’s House, presents visitors with exhibits regarding the Dockyard’s history and current archaeological research on the island. 

Devils Bridge

For hundreds of thousands of years, the Atlantic’s waves have crashed into the east coast of Antigua creating a natural arch, or bridge. Numerous geysers and blowholes surround the arch as waves continually break against the coastal rocks. 

A quote from "To shoot Hard Labour":

"On the east coast of the island is the famous Devil's Bridge. Devil's Bridge was call so because a lot of slaves from the neighboring estates use to go there and throw themselves overboard. That was an area of mass suicide, so people use to say the Devil have to be there. The waters around Devil's Bridge is always rough and anyone fall over the bridge never come out alive".

For more things to do in Antigua - please visit - Antigua Nice