Antigua is situated in the Eastern Caribbean, west of St. Kitts and Nevis and north of the French West Indies. Antigua is governed together with Barbuda it's smaller sister island which lies to the north. The Island has a single airport on the north coast. Barbuda also has it's own airport and is just a 15 minute plane journey from Antigua.
Antigua was under British rule until the 1980's, when Antigua and Barbuba became an independant state. Under British colonial rule it was used to produce sugar and the chimneys of old sugar mills can be seen throughout the island. One of the old sugar plantations, Betty's hope has been renovated as a visitor attraction.
It has year round sunshine, beautiful white sand beaches and unspoilt coral reefs making it a diver's paradise. One of the best bays for the beach and good snorkelling is the Long Bay in the northeast, near Devil's Bridge. The island is great for water sports, such as sailing, fishing, kayaking and windsurfing. It has a sailing week in April and a couple of regattas at other times of the year. Land activities include riding, golf, hiking, tennis and biking.
The capital town of Antigua is St. Johns on the North Western side of the island, where most of the island's inhabitants live. The city houses the small National museum which tells the tale of the island's history and has free entry. Also free to enter in the city is St. John's Cathedral and Fort James whch stands at the end of Fort bay. Some parts of the city still have some the old colonial buildings, such as Long Street and Redcliffe Bay. It also has some good restaurants serving authentic West Indian cuisine.
Some of the popular resort destinations are Runaway Bay, Dickenson Bay, Long Bay, Jolly Harbour, English Harbour, Falmouth Harbour and Five Islands.
The island has a large Carnival which is held from late July till the first Tuesday in August for ten days. A visitor attraction worth a visit is Nelson's Dockyard which is a fully restored Georgian dockyard, the only one in the world.
Airports - Antiguart (ANU), Barbuda (BBQ)
Currency - East Caribbean Dollar
Language - English
Time Zone - GMT -4
Flight Time - Approx. 8 to 10 hours
Average temperature and days of rain
