Dorthy

I just got back. It was very poor and very dry. Try an other Island, there are so many other better Islands. Everything is expencive, the people are not that friendly (over all). There isnt that much natural beauty aside from the water. Oh ya 5 dollars for a half gallon of water at the hotel, you cant drink the tap. If you curiouse go, I still had a great time, but I would not recomend it.

Karen

Altho Antigua was not one of my favorite spots, I found the people no less nor more freindly than any of the other islands. Unfortuantly the entire Caribb is sorely in need of some rain and some islands are experiencing severe water shortages. (not a good thing if Mother Nature tries to correct this as when this happens, she will often send lots of moisture that way in the Fall via storms!) We find that shopping on the economy in local stores or groceries rather than in the gift shoppes and bars of the resorts a much better way to go! Yes, the Caribb is expensive unless you latch on to some of the "deals" or packages or head to Aruba or Cancun where you can get by with a very low budget vacation! Many of the islands tack on a signifigant surcharge of 17 - 18% to your bill which can eat a big hole in your pocket. Unfortuantely Antigua is just one of the many, mainly British ones, that do that!

Jim

Antigua is my favourite island, and I have been to all the Leeward and Windward islands, Trinidad and Tobago, USVI and P.R.. Right now it does look very dry and brown but do we tourists want the sun or do we want rain? I stay at a small beach-front locally owned hotel in a really nice apartment - so I can go out to a supermarket and save big-time on breakfast and lunch and drinks, and then afford to go out to many of the great restaurants on the island; some of which are never in the guide books! <BR>If you see someone who doesn't look friendly, give that person the biggest smile you can muster - that often makes all the difference! Try there again!

CS

The first time I visited Antigua I felt the same way the original poster did. I thought the people were terribly rude and I swore I'd never go back. I happened upon it again on a cruise and am happy to say they changed my first impression and I've been back three more times since. As for the island being dry, just think how much more whining there would be if it would have rained your entire vacation! LOL

adventureantigua.com

Lived in Florida for four years while going to Florida Tech and saw much more severe poverty there than i have ever seen in 28 years in Antigua. Antiguans have small shitty wooden homes with very expensive cars, cable TV and Sony play stations. Don't let the house fool you. Our economy has been better than most independant caribbean islands like Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenada, Trinidad and lets not even speak about DR and Guiana. We have a massive immigrant labour force from the countries that I have just mentioned. We have had no unemployment up to now amoung Antiguans which is why we have so many other immigrants including many Americans, Canadians, Italians, Swiss, Germans and English. <BR>We are also more dry than we have been in 15 years, and its a good thing that we were able to buy the massive multi million dollar desalination plant to give us the totally clean and safe water that we get out of the tap here. I buy bottled water for my guests because they wouldn't dare to drink tqap water, but I pay EC $3.50 per gallon which is about US $1.5. <BR>Hey things are more expensive here but we have no income tax. <BR>I'm not totally surprised you found the people unfriendly here as it didn't sound like you gave them much of a chance. <BR>Eli <BR>Antigua

Gina

I agree with Eli. No matter where you go, there is poverty, and rude people. I think the important part is not to dwell on those parts of your experience but to look for something more. Chances are, you will meet many, many more nice people than rude people. We were in Antigua in March and found it to be wonderful! We only met 6 rude people during the entire week and they were from Buffalo! However, we also met many nice people from Buffalo as well! There's all types out there, you just have to be open to meeting the good ones!!!

Aruba Dave

Returned from our 15th visit to the Caribbean area last weekend. Just so happened it was from Antigua. We stayed at the Jolly Beach Resort. The employees at the Jolly Beach Resort were the nicest people we have ever met at ANY resort or island in the Caribbean. They were friendly, customer-oriented, and very much aware of our need to have a great vacation and were constantly going beyond requirements to ensure that we had a great time. Other folks we met on the island were just as friendly. However, there is poverty on Antigua, plenty of it, visible from taxi windows on or off major roads. The water is safe and delicious to drink. We enjoyed our stay at the JBR so much that we most likely will return there next year.