Gloryp

We stayed on Antigua in late February, 2004, before embarking on the SEA CLOUD. Hadn't been to the Caribbean for many years.
We live on the west coast, and Hawaii and the south pacific are more direct. Getting to the Caribbean is a pain time-wise, but it's worth it.

We chose Hawksbill Resort, all inclusive. We NEVER choose all inc. b/c we like to eat around. But, the resort is at the end of a road, and we wanted to veg out. I actually loved not having to sign for every drink, lunch, dinner, etc.

Antigua bills itself as having 365 beaches, one for every day of the year. Based upon the 8 that I swam in or strolled along, they have not one but a number of truly terrific swimming beaches-the curvy, sandy "perfect" beach with palm trees at the water's edge.

Hawksbill actually has four separate beaches on the property, which is why we were drawn to the resort. Filled with a lot of friendly UK package tour people, mostly in the 50+ crowd, a few younger.

Each day we'd try different beaches - # 2 and 4 were our favorites. The au naturale beach was great b/c very few people hiked over to it. Beautifuly stretch of sand!

We also stayed at the Admirals Inn in English Harbor when we returned from the SEA CLOUD. A totally different experience right in the midst of Captain Nelson history. The Inn is charming. Although they had lost our reservation, they found us a very nice room anyway. Again, several beautiful beaches nearby either by hiking (Pigeon Point) or via the Inn's skiff over to Galleon Beach Resort beach.

I highly recommend Antigua. We hit St. Barts, Guadaloupe, Dominica, and BVI( Peter Island) on the cruise, but, I'd stay on Antigua for its beaches, its place in naval history, and its friendly residents.

Knowing

Antigua is our second favorite island in the Caribbean. It's a great place to start for people who have never been out of the country before and are a little frightened, as English is the official language.

ejcrowe

I agree that Antigua has a lot to offer in the beach department, and there are a couple at Hawksbill in particular that are especially nice. I agree about the seclusion of the clothing optional one. The next time you get to the island, check out Half Moon and Darkwood--they're both gorgeous and we usually find no more than a handful of folks on them, and occasionally we've had them to ourselves.

caribtraveler

Thanks for sharing Gloryp. I've always read great things about Antigua and its beautiful beaches.
We will head there at some point.

mpmellum

We are heading there in April 2005. We haven't done the all-inclusive plan before. We would like to try some local restaurants like Harnony Hall. Any other recommendations? We are planning on doing some sight seeing by rental car around the island but don't know how long to keep it. We want to try Shirley's Heights on Sunday and have heard the roads can be treacherous. We drove all over St. Lucia with no probs and their roads weren't very good. About how long a drive is it to Shirley's Heights?

screamer

Hi, we were in Antigua in January 2005 and ate out quite a few times.. and the best IMHO was lunch at Harmony Hall (as recommended by Fodorites). Wonderful food, scenery etc and then drove down to Half Moon bay - we were the only people there! Perfect. We also ate out at the Beach and Hemmingways. Both great food and wonderful locations - Hemingways being right in the middle of town and the Beach.. on the beach at Dickenson Bay. (Check out C & C's in St Johns too.. great wine!) Shirley Heights is a must do, even if there are loads of tourists .. its still one of the best ways to spend a Sunday I know. Do go early - about 5 and plan to stay late if you can. The music is superb. This cannot be said for the roads however .. they can be VERY bumpy. Some have large potholes and can be difficult to negotiate - however they were fixing some too.. the main roads are generally ok .. not great.. but ok.
Shirley Heights was about 3/4 of an hour from the north of the island. Depends where you start from!!!
Have a great time.. we did.
Tina

Rich_F

I also enjoyed Antigua with it's many fine beaches. My favorite beach is Ffryers Bay, sometimes called Diftwood Beach. This is a beautiful beach, well hidden, just south of Jolly Harbour and north of Darkwood Beach. Also, Dickensons Bay is a world class beach.

bosoco

Last year I planned a trip to Curtain Bluff after months of research. I was very disappointed in the beach. I thought that all beaches on Antigua were great. Fortunately, I was able to transfer to a better hotel with a better beach.

Seattlehoneymooner

What hotel did you transfer to?