Travelling with children
Calm, clear seas, shelving beaches, no serious health risks and a welcoming attitude make Antigua an ideal destination for babies, toddlers and children. Most hotels welcome families and give substantial discounts for children – those under 12 often stay free in their parents' room – but it's worth checking in advance whether they put any restrictions on kids, especially if you're heading for an all-inclusive; Sandals, for example, only accepts couples.
You may also want to check on babysitting/childminding facilities. The most child-friendly places like Sunsail Club Colonna have wonderful daytime crèches and clubs that kids of all ages can be dropped in and out of and feature a range of activities including sailing. One or two others like Long Bay Hotel have games rooms and sports equipment like sailboats and kayaks that will keep older children entertained for hours in a safe environment.
Festivals and events
The main events in Antigua are the summertime Carnival and April's Sailing Week, but there are various other events to distract you from the beach, including international cricket, tennis and warri (a board game) tournaments. The local and overseas tourist boards have full details of all the activities.
Annual events
January
Official start of West Indian cricket season; tel 462 9090, www.windiescricket.com.
February
Valentine's Day Regatta Jolly Harbour; tel 461 6324. A two-day event consisting of four yacht classes and seven short races.
March–April
Test cricket; tel 462 9090, www.cricinfo.com and www.windiescricket.com.
April
Classic Yacht Regatta; tel 460 1799, www.antiguaclassics.com.
Sailing Week; tel 462 8872, www.sailingweek.com.
May
Pro-Am Tennis Classic At the Curtain Bluff Hotel; tel 462 8400, www.curtainbluff.com/sports.html.
July/August
Carnival; tel 462 4707, www.antiguacarnival.com.
September
Bridge Championship; tel 462 1459. Regional championship open to both locals and visitors.
October
National Warri Championship; tel 462 6317. National competition for this ancient game that aficionados rank alongside chess, bridge and backgammon.
November
Antiguan Craft Fair At Harmony Hall; tel 460 4120, www.harmonyhall.com/gallery.htm. A great opportunity to view local and regional arts and crafts.
December
Nicholson's Annual Charter Yacht Show; tel 460 1530, www.nicholsonyachts.com/yachtshow. The world's oldest charter yacht show sees boats from all over the world converge on English Harbour and Falmouth – from sloops and cutters to schooners and catamarans, plus big power craft.
* * *
Public holidays
New Year's Day
Jan 1
Good Friday
Fri before Easter Sunday
Easter Monday
day after Easter Sunday
Labour Day
first Mon in May
Whit Monday
end of May (varies)
Caricom Day
July 5
Carnival
first Mon and Tues in Aug
United Nations Day
first Mon in Oct
Independence Day
Nov 1
Christmas Day
Dec 25
Boxing Day
Dec 26
* * *
Directory
Unless otherwise stated, all services listed are in St John's.
Airlines
American Airlines, tel 462 0950; British Airways, tel 462 0876; BWIA, T480 2942; Carib Aviation, tel 462 3147; Caribbean Star, tel 480 2591; LIAT, tel 480 5600; Virgin, tel 560 2079.
Airport departure tax
For international flights the departure tax is presently US$20 (EC$50), payable at the airport when you leave.
Ambulance
Emergency tel 911 or 999, otherwise tel 462 0251.
American Express
Corner of Long St and Thames St; tel 462 4788, Mon–Thurs 8.30am–4.30pm, Fri 8.30am–5pm.
Banks
St John's: Antigua Commercial Bank, St Mary's St at Thames St (Mon–Thurs 8am–2pm, Fri 8am–5pm); Bank of Antigua, Thames St at High St (Mon–Thurs 8am–3pm, Fri 8am–4pm, Sat 8am–1pm); Barclays, cnr of High and Market streets (Mon–Thurs 8am–2pm, Fri 8am–4pm); ABIB, Woods Centre (Mon–Thurs 9am–3pm, Fri 9am–4pm, Sat 9am–1pm). Nelson's Dockyard: Bank of Antigua (just inside entrance of dockyard; Mon–Thurs 8am–3pm, Fri 8am–4pm, Sat 8am–1pm).
Dentists
Antigua Barbuda Dental Group, Newgate St, tel 460 3368; Dr Maxwell Francis, Cross St at Newgate St, tel 462 0058; Dr SenGupta, Woods Centre, tel 462 9312.
Electric current
The island standard is 110 volts with two-pin sockets, though a few of the older hotels still use 220 volts. Take adapters for essential items; some upmarket hotels and guesthouses have them, but you shouldn't count on it.
Embassies
Canadian warden, St John's, tel 462 1210; British High Commission, 11 Old Parham Road, St John's, tel 462 0008; US Consular Office, Pigeon Point, English Harbour, tel 463 6531. There is no Australian, Irish, or New Zealand embassy or commission in Antigua.
Film and photography equipment
Island Photo, at the corner of Redcliffe and Market streets, sells film and does one-hour photo development; Benjie's, on Heritage Quay, offers the same service and has various camera accessories at duty-free prices.
Fire department
tel 462 0044.
Hospitals
St John's has the 225-bed public Holberton Hospital (tel 462 0251) as well as the brand-new Mount St John's Medical Centre; both are on Queen Elizabeth Highway. Smaller health centres and clinics are distributed around the island.
Internet access
There is an Internet café beside the customs office in Nelson's Dockyard and another just outside the dockyard (beside the supermarket next to The Last Lemming); access is also available at Parcel Post, Redcliffe Quay, St John's. Expect to pay EC$6 for 15 minutes.
Laundry
Jolly Harbour: Burton's, tel 462 7754; Nelson's Dockyard: near the dockyard café, no phone, daily 8am–4pm; St John's: Burton's, Independence Drive, tel 462 4268.
Pharmacies
Full service pharmacies in St John's: Benjies, Redcliffe St at Market St, tel 462 0733 (Mon–Thurs 8am–8pm, Fri 8am–6pm, Sat 7am–9pm, Sun 9am–1pm), and Woods, Woods Centre, tel 462 9287 (Mon–Sat 9am–10pm, Sun 11am–6pm). Jolly Harbour: Sysco (Mon–Sat 9am–5.30pm, Sun 11am–4pm).
Police
The main police station is on Newgate St; tel 462 0045. For emergencies call 462 0125 or 999 or 911.
Post office
English Harbour: Mon–Fri 8.30am–4pm; St John's: Long St Mon–Fri 8.15am–4pm; Woods Centre Mon–Thurs 8.30am–4pm, Fri 8.30am–5pm.
Supermarkets
English Harbour: Malones, near Abracadabra, daily 8am–5pm; Falmouth: C.E. Bailey, opposite Harbour View Apartments, daily 9am–6pm; Falmouth Harbour: Yacht Club Marina, daily 8am–6pm; Jolly Harbour: Epicurean, daily 8am–8pm; St John's: Epicurean, Woods Centre, daily 8am–9pm.
Taxis
West Bus Station Taxis, tel 462 5190; Antigua Reliable, tel 460 5353.
Travel agents
English Harbour: Nicholson's, on the approach to Nelson's Dockyard, tel 562 2065 (Mon–Sat 9am–4pm); St John's: Bryson's, Long St at Thames St, tel 480 1230 (Mon–Fri 8am–4pm, Sat 8am–noon).
Small print
A Rough Guide to Rough Guides
Rough Guide Credits
Help us update
The authors
Acknowledgements
A Rough Guide to Rough Guides
Antigua DIRECTIONS is published by Rough Guides. The first Rough Guide to Greece, published in 1982, was a student scheme that became a publishing phenomenon. The immediate success of the book – with num
erous reprints and a Thomas Cook prize shortlisting – spawned a series that rapidly covered dozens of destinations. Rough Guides had a ready market among low-budget backpackers, but soon also acquired a much broader and older readership that relished Rough Guides' wit and inquisitiveness as much as their enthusiastic, critical approach. Everyone wants value for money, but not at any price. Rough Guides soon began supplementing the "rougher" information about hostels and low-budget listings with the kind of detail on restaurants and quality hotels that independent-minded visitors on any budget might expect, whether on business in New York or trekking in Thailand. These days the guides offer recommendations from shoestring to luxury and a large number of destinations around the globe, including almost every country in the Americas and Europe, more than half of Africa and most of Asia and Australasia. Rough Guides now publish:
Travel guides to more than 200 worldwide destinations
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Visit www.roughguides.com to see our latest publications.
Rough Guide credits
Text editor: Hunter Slaton
Layout: Dan May & Andy Hilliard
Photography: Ian Cumming
Cartography: Rajesh Chhibber, Animesh Pathak, Jai Prakash Mishra, Katie Lloyd-Jones, Miles Irving
Picture editor: Mark Thomas
Proofreader: David Price
Production: Julia Bovis
Design: Henry Iles
Cover art direction: Louise Boulton
Help us update
We've gone to a lot of effort to ensure that the first edition of Antigua DIRECTIONS is accurate and up-to-date. However, things change – places get "discovered", opening hours are notoriously fickle, restaurants and rooms raise prices or lower standards. If you feel we've got it wrong or left something out, we'd like to know, and if you can remember the address, the price, the time, the phone number, so much the better.
We'll credit all contributions, and send a copy of the next edition (or any other DIRECTIONS guide or Rough Guide if you prefer) for the best letters. Everyone who writes to us and isn't already a subscriber will receive a copy of our full-colour thrice-yearly newsletter. Please mark letters: "Antigua DIRECTIONS Update" and send to: Rough Guides, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, or Rough Guides, 4th Floor, 345 Hudson St, New York, NY 10014. Or send an email to [email protected]
Have your questions answered and tell others about your trip at www.roughguides.atinfopop.com
The authors
Adam Vaitilingam is the author of many books on the Caribbean. He lives in Devon.
Romesh Vaitilingam is a writer and media consultant. An occasional travel writer, he more typically writes books and articles on economics, public policy and investment, including The Financial Times Guide to Using the Financial Pages, now in its fourth edition.
Acknowledgements
Romesh would like to thank Annemarie, Cara, Marco and super-nanny Claire Moore.
The editor would like to thank Romesh, Ian Cumming, Dan May, Andy Hilliard, Katie Lloyd-Jones, Miles Irving, the Delhi cartography team, Mark Thomas, Louise Boulton, David Price, and Andrew Rosenberg.
Antigua Directions Page 12