Getting Around Antigua and Barbuda

Taxi's are plentiful especially in the downtown area. Even if you don't need one; you'll be asked 100 times if you need a Taxi.

Make sure to negotiate the price ahead of time before heading off to your destination.

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St. John's, Antigua is a very popular cruise port in the Caribbean. My wife I took a 12 night Caribbean cruise on the Celebrity Silhouette and St. John's was one of our cruise ports.

I know many people look down on "cruising" but I enjoy it. It's a way to relax on the sea days and get a taste of each island you visit. Many time we have visited an island in port and have decided to return for a full vacation due to what we experienced.

The ship we sailed on was brand new; it first set sail in July 2011. It was spectacular both inside and out. We had an Aft balcony and loved the views we had especially at sea.

We soon discovered that all the locals know exactly when & which cruise ships are arriving. Therefore it is relatively easy to find a local 'taxi driver' who will show you the highlights of his island for a very moderate sum as they turn up in droves at the port to welcome the ships! Sometimes you have to wait a while until they have filled their mini-bus making it more lucrative for them, but if you are fortunate enough, you will get the guide all to yourselves, as we did!

In Antigua, we were soon approached by Sean John - a local minister & family man with his own taxi! He was a lovely friendly man & kept us well informed throughout our trip. He knew the island inside out & took us on a whistle-stop tour cramming in as much of the island in 1 day as is possible! He knew we wanted to spend some time on a nice beach & left us at his recommended choice of beach relaxing while he went off to collect his daughter from school!

Based on trust, he returned to us in good time to ensure we were back to the ship for the specified departure time. We paid him accordingly at the end of the great journey! Thank you Sean John for a lovely day!

I would avoid renting a scooter or motor bike. The roads on Antigua are very poor, to say they are littered with potholes is an understatement they are more like craters.
If you hit one of these on a scooter of motor bike you are going to have an accident, in a car it will probably only result in a puncture.

Also be very wary about visiting remote beaches, there has been a big increase in crime on Antigua and recently a girl from a cruise ship was murdered on a remote beach, so be warned.

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A lot of tourists come to Antigua for the day by cruise ship

In 2010, our ship (Celebrity Mercury) backed in to the dock. Next to us - bow in- was Ocean Village, and on the next pier over was NCL Gem. The photos taken from the helicopter show all three of them. In 2007 when we came on the NCL Pearl, there were three other ships in port with us. One was the Astoria.

According to BBC News, "Antigua and Barbuda is one of the Caribbean's most prosperous nations, thanks to its tourism industry and offshore financial services." Local vendors complain that different cruise ships bring different passengers and different types of spenders. Some days the beach can be full and only a hand full of sales are made. Other days there can be just 50 persons and you make more on that day than the rest of the week.

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We took a taxi from the cruise ship dock to the heliport, but it was part of the excursion. On our first visit in 2007, we saw a list of approved fares for taxi tours and there was also an hourly rate. There were folks hanging around the cruise ship dock waiting to take people on tours. Taxi license plates are yellow with black letters (photos 3, & 5)

A tour to Nelson's Dockyard was $72.00 (US) or $18/person.

Hourly rates for not less than 2 hours are $24.00 U.S./hour
Each additional person over 4 people is – 25% of full fare or U.S. $6.00
Waiting time $5.00 U.S. per ½ hour
N.B. Baggage 1 – 4 pieces free - $2.50 E.C. each additional piece

You can also book a tour like we did from the cruise ship (photo 4) with a tour operator such as:

Scenic Tours Antigua
Tours and Transportation
P.O.Box W1639, St. John's
Phone: 1 (268) 764 3060/720 4020
Email: tours@scenictoursantigua.com
Website: www.scenictoursantigua.com

NOTE: I have not used this tour company and cannot vouch for them. They were listed on the Antigua & Barbuda website

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There is some local bus service; schedules and routes can be obtained through the hotels. You can rent a scooter at the cruise ship docks (photo 5).

You can also rent a car which will cost about US$40-50 per day. A permit to drive in Antigua is required. The rental agency can assist you in getting this temporary license, which costs approximately US$20 and is valid for three months. Don't forget that driving here is on the left side of the road! Rental car license plates are white with red letters.

Here is a listing of rental agencies:

Budget Rent A Car
Tel: 268-462-3009
Tel: 268-462-6702

Capital Car Rentals and Tours
Tel: 268- 462-0863/461-2165

Carters Rent A Car
VC. Bird Int Airport
Tel: 268-463-0675

Dions Rent A Car & Taxi Service
VC Bird Int Airport Coolidge
Tel: 268-462-3466/461-3267

Dollar Rent A Car
Tel: 268-462-0362
Tel: (268)-0123/460-7699
VC. Bird Int Airport
Tel: (268) 462-8802

Hertz Rent A Car
Tel: (268)481-4440
Airport Branch (268)481-4455
Royal Antiguan Branch 268-481-4457
Jolly Harbour (268)2481-4456

Huntley Car Rental
Tel: (268)462-1575

Hyatt Rent-A-Car
English Harbour Branch (268)460-6551
Lunar Park Branch (268)463-2012

Ivor's Car Rental & Taxi Service
Tel: (268)460-1241
Tel: (268)460-3357

Jacob's Rent -A-Car
VC.Bird Int'l Airport
Tel: (268)462-0576

Jeeps R US Rentals
Tel: (268)462-9099

Jonas Rent-A-Car
Tel: (268)462-3760
VC.Bird Int'l Airport Branch (268)462-9296
Jolly Harbour(268)462-9418

Lion's Car Rental
English Harbour Branch (268)460-1400
Tel: (268)463-7100
Airport Road Branch (268)562-2708

National Car Rental
Tel: (268)462-2113

Oakland Rent-A-Car
VC.Bird Int'l Airport Coolidge
Tel: (268)462-3021

Paradise Car Rental
Tel: (268)462-9780

Prince's Rent-A-Car
Tel: (268)462-0766

Rawlins Supreme Car Rental
Tel: (268)461-0110/1878

Stead's Rent-A-Car
Airport Road (268)462-9970

Slane's Supreme Car Rental
Tel: (268)462-8789
Tel: 268)461-6171
Tel: (268)460-5836

Thrifty Car Rental
Airport Road St. John's
Tel: (268)462-9532
VC.Bird Int'l Airport Branch (268)462-8803

Village Car Rental
Tel:268)461-3746

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If you are not doing a cruise trip or are on your own boat, the obvious choice to get to Antigua is the aircraft. VC Bird International Airport, named after the country's first president, is one of the larger airports in the east Caribbean. Unfortunately, it is only large in terms of traffic - the buildings are rather small and not fitted out for the number of passengers it handles. So, the airport building is often overcrowded and especially in the departure lounge it is quite difficult to find seats at certain times. With this comes a long queue for security area - please plan some extra time as you might still stand in this queue while your flight is departing...

Antigua has flights to many airports in the USA. Air Canada connects Antigua with Toronto while British Airways, bmi and Virgin Atlantic have the only scheduled services to Europe (London and Manchester). Beside that , regional services are flown by LIAT, Caribbean Airlines and some smaller carriers. Some seasonal charter flights from other european and US airlines are also available.

Taxis are available until the last flight arrives. A trip from the airport to st. John's may cost you around If you have some time to kill at the airport, check out my tip (Off the beaten path) about the Stanford park.