Playing in the surf at Half Moon Bay National Park.
TINY Antigua, 14 miles long and 11 miles wide, is one of those famously paradisiacal islands that actually lives up to the hype. Pristine beaches (there are 365 of them, if you can believe the tourist brochures) fleck the coastline, and everywhere you look there is yet another exhilarating view of sea, cliff or tropical landscape. An array of über-luxurious resorts have cashed in on the lush surroundings, and provide their well-heeled guests with so many hedonistic diversions that many never emerge to see what lies beyond the resort gates. Which is a shame, because if you drive from, say, English Harbour in the south to Dickenson Bay in the northwest, you’ll find another, more intimate, Antigua: small towns bustling with activity, a local cricket game in full swing, inland roads lined with “fig” (banana) trees, and everywhere, the stone remnants of windmills, a legacy of the island’s colonial role as one of the Caribbean’s most prolific sugar producers, when Antigua, a British outpost, was an island of slaves.
Friday
4:30 p.m.
1) ESCAPE THE DOCK
It may claim to be the only remaining Georgian dockyard in the world, but it doesn’t take long for the tourist shops, museums and nautical buildings in Nelson’s Dockyard to feel Disneyesque. So find the path behind the Copper and Lumber Store Hotel that leads up to the ruins of 18th-century Fort Berkeley. A 15-minute hike will deliver a view of wide-open sea and precipitous coastline — a bracing introduction to the island’s past and present. Below, in English Harbour, British trade ships once sought safety from storms; today, it’s a favored pit stop for the Caribbean yachting community, which, during the much-anticipated Sailing Week (this year from April 25 to May 1), turns the town of English Harbour into party central.
7 p.m.
2) JOIN THE CROWD
Sure, you could have a quiet dinner at the Copper and Lumber Store Hotel’s restaurant, where the colonial/nautical atmosphere is laid on perhaps a bit too thick. But why resist the funky restaurants and bars on nearby Dockyard Drive, with their musical offerings — reggae, jazz, soca — pouring out into the street as tourists, locals and crews from all those mega-yachts in the harbor prowl from one establishment to the next. A favorite spot is Trappas Restaurant (Dockyard Drive, 268-562-3534), with an eclectic menu that includes pumpkin soup for 24 East Caribbean dollars (about $9 at 2.7 local dollars to the U.S. dollar) and seared yellow fin tuna with wasabi and ginger for 48 dollars.
11 p.m.
3) CUSTOM RUM
End the night at the open-air Abracadabra (Dockyard Drive, 268-460-2701; www.theabracadabra.com), where local bands or D.J.’s provide the soundtrack and skilled bartenders concoct custom rum punches. When the scene gets too noisy, retreat to the chill-out garden in the back.
Saturday
9 a.m.
4) LOFTY VIEWS
More climbing, more stunning views, more military ruins — yes, you’ve done this already, but the hikes around Shirley Heights, just east of English Harbour, offer the island’s most exhilarating — and comprehensive — panorama of the sheltered bays and rocky coast of southern Antigua. Grab a snack at the Lookout (268-728-0636), with a patio high above the harbor. If you stick around on Sunday nights, attend the reggae party, a weekly tradition.
11 a.m.
5) TESTING THE WATERS
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more gorgeous combination of white sand and thrashing surf than Half Moon Bay, on the eastern edge of the island. The beach, more than half a mile long and curved around a blue bay, has been sublimely isolated since Hurricane Luis destroyed the sprawling Half Moon Bay Resort in 1995. These days, there’s not a beach chair in sight, so you’ll have to sprawl on the pillowy sand while you appreciate the wisdom of those who decided to turn this priceless piece of real estate into a national park.
1 p.m.
6) WORTH THE DRIVE
Navigate the challenging roads for an unhurried lunch on the breezy terrace of the extremely out-of-the-way Harmony Hall (Brown’s Bay, near Freetown, 268-460-4120; www.harmonyhallantigua.com), a lovely hotel and restaurant in a restored plantation house overlooking Nonsuch Bay. Standout dishes include steamed lobster in court bouillon (120 dollars) and pappardelle with lobster and cherry tomatoes (48 dollars). Afterward, peruse the gallery, where you can buy prints by local artists. Added bonus: Lunch guests may use the inn’s motorboat to swim and snorkel at uninhabited Green Island.
3:30 p.m.
7) BETTY’S HOPE
On a bare windy hill in the center of the island, the ruins of the plantation known as Betty’s Hope (about 10 miles east of St. John’s, off Collins Road, 268-462-1469; www.antiguamuseums.org/BettysHopeHome.htm; entry, 5 dollars) are a reminder that Antigua was once, in effect, a huge colonial sugar mill, which ran on slave and wind power. The importance of sugar in the British colonial economy helps explain the existence of all those military ruins you were clambering over back in Shirley Heights. Today, Betty’s Hope — named for a daughter of the owners — is a lonely place, strewn with tamarind and acacia trees, and the occasional herd of goats chewing grass near the restored windmill. A small, but very good museum documents the brutal role of slavery on Antigua.
6 p.m.
8) NORTHWEST SHORE
Take a predinner stroll along the beach lining Dickenson Bay, where many of Antigua’s resorts and restaurants are clustered. The Beach (268-480-6940; www.bigbanana-antigua.com/beach.htm), an airy bar and restaurant that specializes in Caribbean fare with an Asian twist, is a friendly place to grab a drink and watch guests from the nearby Sandals resort struggle with their windsurf boards.
9 p.m.
9) WHERE EVERYONE GOES
The Caribbean laps so close to the open-air Coconut Grove restaurant on Dickenson Bay (268-462-1538, www.coconutgroveantigua.net) that it’s not unusual for the water to occasionally wash right into the dining room. Guests take it in stride. Tables are moved back. Candles are relit. Coconut Grove draws a loyal local crowd — as well as a steady stream of guests from the Siboney Beach Club, which it is a part of — thanks to its easy, elegant vibe and the chef Jean-Francois Bellenger’s amazing talents with traditional Caribbean ingredients. Favorites include seared red snapper in a saffron curry sauce and coconut shrimp in a thick, crisp batter served with a rich coconut sauce. Dinner runs about 60 dollars a person. After dinner, head to the bar, a favorite watering hole for the expat community; conversations continue well past midnight.
Sunday
10:00 a.m.
10) ZIPPING THROUGH
Like so many cruise ports, the St. John’s harbor area offers a monotonous lineup of characterless duty-free shops selling jewelry and perfume, and stands hawking “local” souvenirs imported from India and elsewhere. Ignore the guidebooks that implore you to go to these places and head straight to St. John’s Cathedral between Newgate and Long streets (268-462-0820), a 19th-century, twin-towered Anglican church with a cavernous dark pine interior; its stony bulk in relation to the modest town surrounding is remarkable. Sunday morning services are at 6:15 a.m., 8 a.m. and 11 a.m.
Noon
11) YES YOU CAN
Last November, shortly after Barack Obama was elected president, Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer of Antigua and Barbuda announced to the world that Antigua would rename its highest point, the 1,300-foot Boggy Peak, Mount Obama. The naming ceremony won’t be held until Aug. 4, when President Obama turns 48. However, you’re already here. So end your visit on a historic note, and tackle the trails, which will earn you views of Montserrat and Guadeloupe.
THE BASICS
Delta, Continental and American are among the airlines that fly between Antigua and New York-area airports; fares start at around $400 for travel early next month, according to a recent online search. Taxis are easy to find in places like St. John’s and English Harbour, but you’re much better off renting a car at V. C. Bird International Airport on the northern coast so you can explore the entire island.
Siboney Beach Club (Dickenson Bay; 268-462-0806; www.siboneybeachclub.com) in a dense, tropical garden setting right on the water, is a locally owned inn connected to one of the island’s best restaurants, Coconut Grove. The bright, air-conditioned guest rooms include a separate living room area, a small kitchen and a patio or, if you’re on the second floor, a balcony that is literally in the treetops. There is a small, quiet pool deep within the gardens. Rates start at $190 for a double during high season.
Harmony Hall (Brown’s Bay, near Freetown; 268-460-4120; www.harmonyhallantigua.com), in a restored plantation house overlooking the sea, is a serene, luxurious little inn, far off the beaten path. Six very private rooms with high ceilings are divided between two stone villas. Amenities include a private dock with boat access to nearby snorkeling areas; Caribbean/Italian cuisine; one of Antigua’s best art galleries; and a swimming pool. Rates start at $200 for a double.
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