If you're from America, before you go, you gotta take your fast paced life and put it on pause...everything in Anitgua is on Island time. So be prepared for all the service to be s l o w.

Now that you've been warned, enjoy the the island. The most beautiful beaches I have ever seen are here. You must get a rental car! So arrange it before hand, otherwise you'll be screwed over by the airport rental car agents. But another tip, the roads are so underdeveloped. No signs outside of downtown, no lights, many many potholes. It is quite an adventure. You should get a map of the small country and follow the road paths marked. It's kinda like on a treasure hunt. Driving is dangerous but it's the best way to get the most out of the island. Taxis are very expensive.

Anyhow, we got the most out the island by renting the car and following the recommended driving tour in the Antigua visitor magazine. You must visit Devil's Bridge oh and Half Moon Bay.

Food wise, the BEST restaurant on the island is called OJ's. You can get a whole fish with sides for $13 and it is so good. Even the tuna! I believe it was like $6 and it was the best tuna I've ever had in my life. It's near the Rex Blue Heron hotel on the south western part of the island in Johnson's Point.

Don't waste your time at the big resorts. There's so much more to see. My favorite beach has to be Turner's Beach right by the Blue Heron hotel. Half Moon Bay acutally had waves so that was fun (that's on the eastern side).

Try the coconut ice cream. And buy some guinnips from the street people downtown.

The best nightlife is in English Harbor. There's an Italian place that has really good food, but I can't remember the name.

Oh yeah, and don't forget to bring BUG SPRAY! We were eaten alive by the sand bugs/mosquitos.

If you wanna be ripped off, stay near the big resorts (clubs, restaurants, etc).

Take the Adventure Antigua tour. It was phenomenal. Small groups. You go snorkeling, hiking, and get to walk over Hell's Gate. Bring sun block.

This is a great, little secret of the Carribean. In about one week, you can do just about everything on the island.

Apparently there is a law in Antigua that prohibits the wearing of and importing of camouflage type clothing. A member of our party had his brand new camouflage jacket confiscated by a somewhat over enthusiastic customs official. (Someone else on the same flight from New York had his whole suitcase confiscated because it was a camouflage design) On requesting a receipt and some sort of proof of this law the official told us that we were 'insulting the nation of Antigua by attempting to import illegal goods' and would be imprisioned and taken to court the next day if we persisted with our requests. This after queuing for 2 hours to get through immigration/customs. Not the welcome to Antigua that we had come to expect.
Since returning to the UK we have been in touch with the Ministry of Tourism and are let to believe that they are going to look into changing this law because of the world wide fashion trend for such garments. Apparently the law is to do with 'non army personnel' wearing army type clothing. The Ministry of Tourism tried to locate the jacket to return it to us, but it could not be found.
There is no doubt that on this particular trip to Antigua this experience spoilt our holiday - but we will certainly return, its a wonderful place and everyone else extremely friendly - we will just be careful what we wear!!

You rush to the airport, dump the car,dash to the gate and are soon on board the 7 hour flight. In our case, with Virgin, who have made the "travelling at the back of the plane" experience probably better than any other airline. We had much more leg room than on the disgracefully cramped BA flights from Australia.
As you approach Antigua you are struck by the greenness of the island and the the sparkling sea. Passing through Passport control seemed to drag a little but this is when you need to leave London behind and slow the motor down...just go with the flow and your holiday really starts.
This island is about relaxing, taking pleasure from great surroundings, welcoming people who all greet you like you are the first visitor to the island. Delighted to have you there, rather than the jaded welcome you often get as a tourist in many places.
We stayed at Galleon Beach, a group of 1 and 2 bedroom homes nestling on a half-moon beach. The sea was crystal clear and just the right temperature. We had our own little jetty and immediately stripped of to swim with the many tropical fish.
You don't need to go to expensive all-inclusive resorts to enjoy Antiqua. In fact please don't, as you will get so much more from your stay if you are a little bit independent.
The son of the Galleon Beach family popped in and took us to the shop, as we needed to pick up some things and on the drive back we saw some of the sights. He was in no hurry and was delighted to tell us about the island. Honking his horn everytime he saw someone he knew. Shirley Heights overlooking Galleon Beach was a fantastic spot with a superb view and we had Eric Clapton's house and promontory he now owns pointed out as well as some of the fascinating history about Nelson's dockyard and English Harbour.
Galleon Beach has a great beach, snorkelling, tennis etc are all provided,but above all you can relax and just enjoy not being in you normal rat-race. Yachts come and go and you really can just chill-out.
Get a car though and do visit the beaches on the island, there is a fantastic mixture. In one afternoon we did some great snorkelling and then found a fabulous beach with every shade of blue in the sea where there were great waves for body-surfing.

So would I go back.... absolutely. Would it suit you? Well we are a family of four with teenagers who were unusually happy not to be looking for shops and other distractions. There was no TV, no phone, so bring your own music! We went to the fish fry up and Reggae bands at Shirley Heights which can get lively if you need that. We had a great time!

We visited Antigua by cruise ship in May of 2004. It was a wonderful place with some of the best beaches I have ever seen. We spent half of the day touring the island and the other half relaxing on the beach. There are some very cool things to see on the island. Wonderful views on the south side of the island. Nelson's dockyard is a very cool site for history buffs. I have to admit, the thing that this island has going for it is the beaches. Every beach that I saw was wonderful. The sand is perfect, and the water crystal clear. If you visit, you need to spend some time on the beach. Overall, this little island is a great place to spend some time. Whether you're looking for a week of R&R or just there by day on a cruise ship, you'll enjoy this island.

A large part of the reason that we had such a good time on the island was due to the fact that we took a taxi tour of the island. We had an excellent driver that had a very nice, clean automobile. He took us on a complete, in-depth tour of the island and was very courteous. It is my personal advice to you that you should call him whenever you are looking for the complete Antigua experience. His name is Lawrence of Antigua and he can be found by an internet search engines. He was wonderful to us and I'm sure he'll give you the same wonderful service that he gave us.