Traveling to Antigua and Barbuda was one of the biggest highlights of my year. One of my biggest priorities recently has been to explore the Caribbean more-and I landed on one of the best islands in the Caribbean as a guest of Traverse Events. If you can visit any of the Caribbean islands, Antigua is as solid as it gets.
The thing is, while many people know that Antigua is a Caribbean island, it doesn’t have much signature fame beyond that. But I discovered many things that make Antigua worthy of this trip.
Why travel to Antigua instead of another Caribbean island?
Many people looking for a Caribbean vacation just want to find a decent flight and Resort, fly and spend the next week drinking Piña Coladas on the beach. If that’s all you want, you’ll be happy in most Caribbean islands. Probably Florida.
But most People want more than that. So why bother traveling to Antigua and Barbuda?
Antigua stands out by being an all-around solid island. It has beautiful beaches, it has great resorts, it has an interesting weekly market, it has excellent views, it has a lot of interesting adventure activities, The travel infrastructure is good enough and the island is big enough to have variety, but small enough to get around in a day.
(Brief geography note: saying Antigua alone refers to its main island, while Barbuda is its smaller sister island. Barbuda was badly damaged by Hurricane Irma in 2017 and was uninhabited for the first time in centuries; people are just beginning to return to Barbuda.)
In addition, there is the factor of lightness. The island revolves around tourism. There are tons of flights from the United States, including flights with several airlines from New York. English is the main language here, part of Antigua’s history as a former British colony. This Britishness is why you pronounce it as an-tea-Gah, not An-tea-gwah like the city in Guatemala.
I didn’t find Antigua to stand out strongly on one element — the way the Cayman Islands stand out for diving or Jamaica for music. And that’s good — sometimes the best Option for everyone is a powerful versatile performer. But there have been two areas where Antigua strikes me: its surprising delicious Pineapple and the fact that I have hardly experienced harassment on the street.
Antigua Black Pineapple: the best Pineapple in the World
Is it bold to claim That Antigua has the best Pineapple in the world? Maybe it is. They are famous for their black Pineapple and I immediately fell in love with them.
Antigua Black Pineapple is a milder pineapple variety with golden fruits and lower acidity than many other Pineapples. Honestly, this is the best Pineapple I’ve ever tried, and I just wish I had easy access to the house!
You will see Pineapples growing on the side of the road in Antigua (!!) but never choose one that grows. Instead, stop at virtually every roadside stall and you’ll find someone selling Pineapples. Otherwise, they direct you to someone who is.
Visit St John’s, Antigua, the Capital of the City
I am not the type of person who will land on a beach and stay there for the duration of a trip. I have to go out and see how people live there, even in places where locals warn them that there is nothing to do.
For me, that meant a trip to St. John’s, the capital Of Antigua and Barbuda, for their Saturday morning market. A few friends and I rented a Taxi to take us from the resort to the center of town.
Like many Caribbean cities, St.John’s is not pleasant to look at and most would consider it a low tourist value. For me, I just enjoy walking around, trying seashell water (more like a decoction of seashells), chatting with locals and understanding the country in the part where they do not cater to tourists. You should definitely go if that’s the kind of thing you’re interested in.
There is a small corner in the city that seems to be aimed at tourists — this is where cruise ships dock. In addition, we were completely surrounded by the locals.
Safari Open Side
Another opportunity to see more of the island was an open Safari. We went around the Island, stopped for some delicious Pineapples, posed in front of a pretty pink church, looked at cool beaches and saw a lot more of the Island than we normally would.
I enjoyed the conversations I had with local Antiguan women. Like most of the Caribbean, Antiguans are open and kind. One woman told me how difficult it is to get a visa to the United States or Canada — not only because it is so difficult to get a visa for an Antiguan passport, but because you have to go as far as Trinidad to apply for a visa! It’s like paying for a second trip, she told me, and most people can’t afford those costs.
Almost no harassment on the street in Antigua (!!!)
My least favorite thing about traveling the Caribbean is the relentless street harassment. While street harassment happens to women all over the world, in the Caribbean it is particularly widespread and insidious.
That is why it was remarkable that I hardly experienced any in Antigua.
ALMOST NOT. I’m 100% serious.
Really, the closest to harassment on the street was a man who started singing “Pretty Woman” to me, Cailin, and Ayngelina when we walked down the street. And it tore us apart.
Please note that this is my anecdotal experience: I am not saying that there is no harassment on the street here, but that I have not experienced one here in a whole week. Their experience can vary greatly. However, this is such a contrast to the rest of the trips to Caribbean destinations, which I considered worthy of note.