How to Make the Most of a Layover in Antigua and Barbuda – A 1-Day Itinerary
Hello and welcome to this solo episode, where I share my experiences from visiting Antigua. This episode can provide you with a one-day itinerary if you are dipping into this amazing country. I visited for eight days in 2014 and returned for one day in 2015, and in this episode, I share an action-packed day around the island. Get ready for some beaches, great food, and cricket.
In this episode, James Hammond shares a comprehensive one-day itinerary for Antigua and Barbuda, drawing from his personal experiences. He highlights the unique aspects of the islands, including their rich culture, stunning beaches, and local cuisine. The episode provides practical travel tips, must-visit locations, and insights into the local lifestyle, making it a perfect guide for spontaneous travellers looking to explore Antigua in a day.
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Transcript
you'll find everything from hidden gems to epic fails because travel is not perfect and that is what makes it beautiful. So grab your backpack and let's wing it. New episodes every Monday, wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube too. You can find Winging It and more fantastic travel podcasts from around the world at voyerscape.com. The link is in the show notes. Let's go and explore the world. So some facts for you for Antigua and Barbuda.
There is a different beach for every day of the year to visit and they are all public. So you have 365 beaches, maybe slightly more. And even if they are attached to resort like Sandals, you can go in to the front desk and say you want to have access to the beach. They can't say no and you can wander in and chill at the beach. Facts number two. There are three islands in fact that make up Antigua. That is Antigua, Barbuda and the uninhabited island Redonda Island.
named after the president in:James Hammond (:and of black people in general. fact number seven is the national dish is fungee. And it's kind of similar to like an Italian polenta. It comes together with a cornmeal and with a hearty vegetable mash and sauce. And effectively, it's like a zesty toss up between porridge and pasta and made with salt fish. I think there is a place to find it on the island called Millers by the sea in St. John's, the capital. I think that's a very popular place to try out some traditional homemade fungee.
Okay, a little bit of admin before the itinerary. You will arrive into the VC Bird International Airport and there is an opportunity to book a car here through companies like Budget, Avis or other local companies. We booked our car through Budget. One day hire would cost around 40 US dollars I think and Antigua has the East Caribbean dollar. So it's a US dollar that's about three to one roughly and cards are accepted as well as cash. You get a 30 day tourist visa on arrival.
If you're American, Canadian, from UK or from Europe, make sure you bring a hat and sun cream. You're gonna need it. And English is the national language. That's the basics.
James Hammond (:Let's get on to an itinerary. So imagine you're arriving early doors like we did. You pick up your car and you're ready to go. Now first off, I think you should drive 30 minutes south to English Harbour for breakfast at Catherine's Cafe, a very popular cafe on the island that's been there for years. They serve like a Western brunch style stuff. So get your eggs benedict or coffee, whatever you want. And they have an extensive brunch menu. Then I would take a trek over to Nelson's Dockyard.
to learn about the history of Antigua. I think it's very important for you to get a quick understanding of the history. Obviously that includes the slave trade, et cetera. So get an understanding there. And then the same area, you've got Shirley Heights Lookout Point. So if you go on the trail, it's not too hard, but you get up to a great viewpoint and it has stunning views of the island and the surrounding area. I would say then you might be even hungry after all that. That's probably a few hours, right? So we had lunch at the Antigua and Barbuda Yacht Club.
A bit pretentious, they great food, free parking, chill vibes. I thought it's just nice to hang out there with all the boats. Pretty cool. Then we're gonna make another 30 minute drive to Half Moon Bay. Now Half Moon Bay has been ranked before in the top 10 beaches in the world and it is stunning. You can cool off from the sweat in the shallow turquoise waters. Half Moon Bay is absolutely dreamy. Back to a bit of culture now. So we're gonna drive another 25 minutes back up the island.
to the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium because I think you need to see the cricket stadium there. It's again free parking. There's a statue there to go and see of the man himself. And when I went there, you can literally just rock up and walk around within the grounds. I don't think there's an actual stadium tour, but you can just walk in between the stadiums. You might even be able to go in and almost get to the pitch. When I was there, I think the picture has been watered. But honestly, to get a sense of cricket and how much these guys love it, you have to come here to try and understand.
culture of cricket. I love cricket so one of my dreams is to go and watch a cricket match there. I didn't actually manage to get to do that this time. I went to the few other islands like Barbados and Grenada but this is a must. Okay so a secret favourite of mine is Deep Bay Beach. It's about a 20 minute drive and we're now heading west towards the capital, St John's and a personal favourite of mine is to park up here. You have to go through the hotel which makes your way to the beach but either side there are lookout points so I would
James Hammond (:take a little walk up to the viewpoint to get a look over deep bay. Again, it's not too hard, 20, 30 minutes. And honestly, the water is so clear, it's quiet. The beaches are incredible and it's an absolute must in my book. Next up is gonna be checking out the Capitol set John's. It's about 15 minutes from there. I did find parking when I was driving around on the eight days I was there in the island. I think you just have to wing it really. And I parked the car and explored the Capitol.
You can get some great street food, we're approaching the evening time now, we'll pick a restaurant. I know that Papazook is a very popular local spot. It has over 200 rums to choose from and normally just fish on the menu, but there are sides attached to that, so fries, et cetera. Great vibe, reasonably priced, very popular. I would say try and stay out of the area where the cruise ship is because when people come to Antigua on the cruise, the cruise docks.
they get off the cruise ship and they walk around almost like the duty free bit and never actually go onto the island in my book. So you can walk around that bit, but it's just full of restaurants and shops that kind of sell to tourists. So that is an option if you want to, but by this point you're probably approaching evening. I think Papazoo could be pretty awesome to hang out. I think they do music there and stuff like that during the week as well. At this point, you are probably 10 minutes away from the airport, drive to your hotel and stay the night or take your car back. And for accommodation, I don't really have too many.
recommendations here because I stayed at a really cheap hotel by Deep Bay. I cannot remember what it's called, but there's tons of hotels in the three, four, five star range depends on your budget. But for those backpackers or budget travelers out there, I do have one recommendation called the waterfront. It is the number one hostel to stay at and in Tiga. And even when there's cricket been played, I think that gets booked out pretty quickly. So make sure you plan and book in advance. So to summarize, Antigua is very small.
I had eight days there, as I said, and I think that was a little bit too long. And I was there in the rainy season, so no one was about. I almost felt like I was the only tourist there driving around. I think even someone said to me in St. John's, why are you here? Because the cruise ship was leaving in a minute. I was like, no, I'm not part of the cruise ship. They're like, what? You're just walking around as a tourist? I'm like, yeah. And they couldn't believe it. A lot of the cruise ship tourists stay within that little area by the cruise ship. I would advise booking somewhere around the island.
James Hammond (:getting a car out and checking out all the amazing beaches. And when I said earlier about every beach being public, what happened to me is I knew that, but I wasn't sure. So I tested it out. So I went to Dickinson Bay, which is near St. John's and there is sandals attached to that beach. And I thought, well, they've actually fenced it off. So I tried to park up and walk around, not possible. So I had to walk through to the sandals reception desk and I thought, well, this is the test because I've been told
that every beach is public. I've even been to beaches through hotels where there's been no one there and they said, yeah, just go through, but this place was busy. So I wasn't sure. So I went to the front desk, asked them to go through and they're like, yep, straight through, no problems. And it's the weirdest feeling because I had like a little backpack on me, but sandals is kind of just for the couples. I would get married or on a honeymoon. And the worst thing about it is Dickerson beach is not the best beach because it's right near
the ferry ports and the water is not that nice in my opinion. I hung out there, had a drink but I was kind of in amongst couples enjoying a honeymoon and they had little beach huts along the beach so an interesting vibe but weirdly I didn't mind it because I saw some people for the first time but there you go. So I stayed in Deep Bay you can check out that area that is my favorite area because it's bit quieter and it's not too far from St John's. There are so many more activities to see and do in Antigua but I think that'd be another episode for another time maybe when I...
can research what I did for the eight days and on top of that advise what you can do. For me, you've got to embrace the culture, get stuck into the music and the dancing, eat some great fish, see all the amazing beaches, pick a hotel, get a car out, and if you can go and see the cricket, that'd be pretty incredible as well. And also there's little quirky things like you can go and visit Eric Clapton's house in the of the island. I think he has a rehab center there as well, which you can just visit, I think. Unless you wanna go in it, why not?
So there's other quirky things around the island, but for now, that's it for my one day itinerary for Antigua. Let me know what you think or if I missed something that's completely glaring. But as I said, there's so much more to see and do, but I'll save that for another episode. So I'll see you next time. Thanks for tuning in and let's go to Antigua for a lovely Caribbean holiday. Cheers. Thanks for tuning in to the podcast episode today. If you've been inspired by today's chat and want to book some travel,
James Hammond (:If you head to the show notes, you'll see some affiliate links below which helps support this podcast. You'll find Skyscanner to book your flight. You'll find Booking.com to book that accommodation. Want to stay in a super cool hostel? You'll see Hostel World down there too. You'll find Revolut to get your travel card sorted. Click the GIGSky link to get your eSIM ready for your trip. And more importantly, you'll find Safety Wing Insurance to get that travel insurance for your trip. There are many more to check out, so when you click that link and book your product, a small commission goes towards me.
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