Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Antigua-Trip Report

Just got back from Antigua, where we spent 4 nights at the Catamaran Hotel, located near Falmouth Harbor. The hotel was good, nothing fancy but worked for our needs and budget. We were out of the room for most of the day. The beach at the hotel is okay, nothing great. I would not go to that hotel for the beach. The people who worked there were very nice, although the main reception closes early so there is no phone access after about 5 or 6 . They have someone there to let you in for a late arrival though.
We arrived late on Wed. night and had rented a car. The roads are not well marked in Antigua so arriving after dark and having not been there before made for an interesting drive to find the hotel. The roads are very dark and not in great condition on most parts of the island, so it was a big game of "frogger" to us (people, goats, potholes, cars, etc). We were glad we had a car though because we did a lot of exploring in a short amount of time. By the time we got to the hotel, everything in the area was closed so we did not get to eat any dinner. We could have driven into English Harbour and probably found a place but by that time we were just relieved to have made it to the hotel and we were tired from a long day of traveling.
Woke up on Thurs. and drove Fig Tree Drive to Turner's Beach. The drive is very pretty and definitely worth taking, although probably a bit better on the weekend when more fruit stands are out. We only saw one I think during the drive and did not stop. Next time I would go on a weekend when supposedly more are out selling. Saw some really spectacular views towards the end of the drive as we approached Turner's Beach, which is after Carlisle Bay Hotel. Also, saw a bunch of kids who tried to get us to stop the car but we did not. Good thing..One of the kids apparently had a knife in his hand, and some tire fixing stuff :) I guess we could have been in for an interesting experience but we kept driving. Having said that, I must say how friendly everyone on the island was to us. So helpful everywhere we went. Pointing out a parking spot in St. Johns, two separate people stopping their cars after passing us to make sure we knew where we were going, etc. So, seeing those kids was more of a funny experience to us, and nothing to change our minds about the people on the island.
Turner's Beach, and the nearby beaches on that side (Darkwood is another) are very nice. White sand, blue water...We rented chairs at Turner's and spent a few hours there. Taxis definitely bring people from cruise ships there but it was not super crowded (only one boat there that day). We decided to head into town for lunch and went to Hemmingway's. Was very good (I had the jerk chicken sandwhich and it was delicious). After that, we went to the market to get some snacks and things for the room (Again, with help from locals giving us directions). For dinner that night we went to Home. Very nice service and good food (not fantastic, although the people next to us kept raving how delicious it was so maybe we just didn't order the right things). They could work a little on the presentation of the food.
The next day, we walked around Nelson's Dockyard/English Harbour in the morning. Really nice area to just walk around and look at the sailboats and go into a few stores. The Cooper and Lumber Store hotel looked really nice. I was curious to see the rooms b/c the public areas were really nice. Lot of restaurants in that area too.
From there, we drove out to Devil's Bridge and Long Bay through Willoughby Bay. I will say that this side of the island is absolutely beautiful..It would be disappointing to go to Antigua and not visit that side. Just lots of open spaces and really well kept areas with stunning views again. Devil's Bridge is very cool and should be visited. Long Bay beach was very crowded but very nice water there. Saw a lot of people snorkeling there. We ate lunch at Long Bay. Again, very nice people at the hotel. The only disappointment there was that the owner told us we still had to pay the full price to rent beach chairs even though we ate lunch and there were a lot of open chairs. We decied to leave rather than spend the money b/c the beach was crowded and we drove to Half Moon Bay. Really beautiful and not crowded. We spent a few hours there and enjoyed it a lot. Again, the drive back to the hotel was stunning. We drove up to the Lookout at Shirely Heights to see sunset. The view from there is amazing and not to be missed (unfortunately we were not there on a Sunday for the party). But, they have a bar up there and we had a drink and watched the sunset. For dinner that night we went to Coconut Grove at Siboney Beach hotel. As a lot of people on this board have said, it is a true Caribbean dining experience. My food there was delicious (coconut shrimp for app. and Wahoo for meal). I enjoyed the food there more than at Home.
If we had more nights there, I would have loved to have driven out to Chez Pascal, but by the third night we decided to stay close to our hotel for New Year's Eve. Also, we did not plan that well before we left because of the holidays and by the time we called Harmony Hall for a lunch reservation they were all booked. Was disappointing but gives us something to look forward to next time.
On Saturday, we decided to spend the day at the Inn at English Harbour. We ate lunch at their beach restaurant, which allowed us to use the pool and beach chairs for the afternoon. Not the nicest beach (not as white, soft sand as the others and not as blue b/c it is near the Harbour) but people there were again very nice. Also, it was close to our hotel, which after a few days of doing lots of driving was a nice change. For dinner that night we went to the restaurant at Admiral's Inn in Nelson's Dockyard. They had music there, which was fun and that was one of the reasons why we chose that restaurant. The food was good, but again not great. Probably better restaurants in the area such as Le Cap Horn and others. I thought Nelson's Dockyard area would be much more crowded in that area for NYE but it was fairly empty.
The next day we planned on getting to the airport early and going to Stickey Wicket. The cricket grounds near the airport are beautifully kept and we really wanted to check out all the stuff inside the Stickey Wicket. We were so disappointed when we got there and it was closed! I guess b/c it was New Year's Day it was not open. Something for next time.
We ate Big Bananas in the airport instead, which was very good, especially for airport food.
So, overall, we really enjoyed Antigua and would definitely go back. The beaches are beautiful (I'm a sucker for blue water and soft white sand!), and the people were so friendly. Both of those things really make a vacation. Next time we will plan a little bit better and get to do some of the things we missed, including scuba diving, Harmony Hall, Chez Pascal, Betty's Hope. By the time we tried to book scuba diving it was all booked and there did not seem to be a lot of dive operators in the area we were staying. Supposedly the conditions that time of year are very good for diving but unfortunately I cannot report on that. Luckily, we are headed to Tortola this weekend and will dive there.
Hope this report helps. One last piece of advice if you are driving on Antigua. Keep your eye out for reference markers such as gas stations since the signs are not good. This really helped, especially at night when it was dark.