Antigua & Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda is known as one of the most romantic islands in the West Indies. Home to lush green mountains and turquoise blue waters, this island is not just for couples. My first girls trip in a long time was with one of my best friends to Antigua. Although there were many couples on the island, we still had a wonderful time. Anyone can enjoy all the island has to offer. For gorgeous sunsets, tropical scenery, and the best rum punch around, look no further than Antigua and Barbuda!
The Island
Antigua and Barbuda is a nation made up of two islands. Antigua is the larger, more populated island. While Barbuda, accessible by ferry from Antigua, is much smaller. The population of Barbuda is just over 1,600. Whereas the population of Antigua is around 80,000. We spent our time visiting Antigua only, but we have heard much talk of Barbuda and it’s highly-rated beaches.
The island of Antigua is known for its sailing and incredible beaches. Visitors will find other water activities, hiking, sunbathing and more here. The island of Antigua is home to 365 beaches. One beach for every day of the year. Add that to your bucket list!
The island is in between two major bodies of water. It borders the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The North and East coasts of the island faces the Atlantic side. Here, you will find larger waves and the deep blue sea. Ideal for sailing and fishing, this is where you will find the famous English Harbour. English sailors used this cove as a home base during the 18th century. Home to Nelson’s Dockyard, a UNESCO world heritage site and marina that these sailors occupied. Visit here for immaculate sailboats, other vessels, and world-renowned sailing competitions.
Famous 5 star resort Jumby Bay is located on Long Island off the Northeast coast. This inlet still has turquoise blue waters and is sheltered by the strong currents. However, the Caribbean side of the island is known for its calm, turquoise waters. This is perfect for water sports and more relaxed sailing excursions. Many tourists find themselves on the west coast of the island to experience a luxurious Caribbean vacation. Find popular hotels here such as Curtain Bluff, Hermitage Bay, Sandals, Galley Bay, and Cocos Hotel Antigua.
Famous Beaches
With 365 beaches to choose from, it’s hard to decide which ones to visit. Especially if you’re visiting for a short period of time. Jumby Bay is one of the most highly rated beaches and resort to stay at. It is located on Long Island and is only accessible by ferry. The resort is exclusive to celebrities and visitors willing to spend a pretty penny. It is otherwise only visible by boat. Half Moon bay is on the eastern part of the island and was about an hour drive from our resort. Due to time restrictions, we only saw this beach from our circumnavigation boat tour. Some of the locals claimed it to be the best beach on the island (#regrets).
Rendezvous Bay is quiet and can also be accessed by the boat tour. Jolly Harbour, Dickinson Bay, and Galley Bay beaches are found along the west coast of the island. Here, you will find many popular resorts, shops, and restaurants. We loved that our resort had a private beach available. It was nice to escape the crowds. I recommend visiting some of the popular ones, but find a nice quiet beach to relax as well.
Half Moon Bay
Dickinson Bay
Rendezvous Bay
Galley Bay
Jumby Bay
Jolly Harbour
The Excursions
Adventure Antigua Circumnavigation
We only left our resort for one excursion. After much research, we decided to book Adventure Antigua – the extreme circumnavigation. We read great reviews about it and wanted a small group boat tour of the island. Originally, we wanted to book a sail boat excursion through Catch the Cat. However, it was fully booked up during our short stay. We only did one excursion outside of our resort. We were not disappointed with our boat tour!
The tour is an all day excursion. They picked us up from Jolly Harbor Marina and from there took us around the entire island. We were the first stop so unfortunately we had to pick up the other group members before beginning the main activities. However, we were getting a tour throughout the morning, so it didn’t really bother us. The guys were incredible. So much fun and has so much knowledge of the island. We learned about the history of the island as well as what the locals had to say about the different regions.
We were the first stop so unfortunately we had to pick up the other group members before beginning the main activities. However, we were getting on tour throughout the morning, so it didn’t really bother us. The guys were incredible. They were a lot of fun and were very knowledgable about the island. We learned about the history of Antigua as well as input from the locals on different regions.
The Guides
The guides were hilarious and kept the group entertained the entire time. Our captain, Toby, was phenomenal and handled the waves like a champ. We felt safe the whole time even in some rough waters. There were two guides on the boat, but we mostly hung out with Charles. His energy was contagious!
The main highlights of the tour was swimming with stingrays and snorkeling by the English harbor. We were supposed to stop at Rendezvous Bay Beach, but unfortunately due to the tide, there was a lot of seaweed and was not worth visiting. We rode by many of the famous beaches, including Half Moon Bay. The guides showed us many celebrity homes, including Giorgio Armani’s. We also got to see Jumby Bay by boat. It was a nice all-inclusive tour of the entire island. Our favorite part was pulling up to Green Island and enjoying a BBQ lunch served by our tour guides. It was such a nice way to enjoy the local island food along with some pretty incredible views.
At the end of the day we pulled up to an island only accessible by boat. Here, we got to enjoy endless flowing rum punch with the rest of the group. We have nothing but amazing things to say about adventure tour. I would recommend this to anybody! We loved that it was a small group (less than 12 people on the boat). It was extremely personable and exciting. Another positive note was considering our short time in Antigua, we really felt like we got to see the whole island without getting off of the boat. Even though the water was choppy on the Atlantic side, the up-and-down motion was ok for everyone. Only one person felt seasick during a short period of time. However, if you get seasick easily, I would recommend taking some meds before the tour. Other than that, we had an incredible day.
Even though the tour was much longer than we expected, we were able to fit so many activities that we wanted to do on our trip. The boat even dropped us off in St. John’s instead of Jolly Harbour, so we could do some shopping. Shout out to Toby for giving us the number of a cab driver to make sure that us girls got back to our resort safely!
The Accommodation
Cocos Hotel Antigua
Cocos Hotel Antigua is commonly known for its romantic vibes and a honeymoon paradise. However, it is technically an adults-only resort, so we booked our romantic girls trip there! 🙂 That being said, we were the only non-couple staying on the premises, but we still had an amazing time. We arrived on a Wednesday and the resort was fairly quiet. However, come Friday, many more guests checked in and the atmosphere was much more lively. The hotel is all-inclusive, oceanfront on a cliffside, and brags panoramic sunset views. Coming from the west coast of Florida, we can truly say that the sunsets from Cocos’ sunset beach were very impressive. Probably one of the best sunsets that I’ve ever seen. And as a sunset lover, that’s saying something!
From the moment we arrived to Cocos Hotel, the staff were extremely welcoming and warm. We were offered the island’s famous Rum Punch on arrival. It’s safe to say, this was our drink of choice through out the entire trip. I’m not sure why, but their’s was the BEST on the island!
The Resort
The resort grounds surpassed expectations. The landscape itself screamed vacation. Palm trees and bright flora everywhere you walked. It was gorgeous. At night, you could hear the ocean and the sounds of the palm leaves swaying in the wind. The villas were scattered along the cliffside with ocean views. This was a pro/con because it was a little bit of a hike to get to your villa and especially to access sunset beach. We enjoyed the exercise, but it could be a challenge for elderly or disabled guests. That being said, the staff have golf carts, so I’m sure they would be willing to escort those in need. The climb was certainly worth the views!
The resort has one large waterfront restaurant, two beaches, a spa, and a yoga/pilates pavilion. There are bars on both beaches, equipped with towels, fresh ice water, and obviously booze! It is a small resort, but we appreciated the quaint atmosphere. I believe that more low key, all-inclusive offer a more personal and unique experience. The service, food, and overall vibe tend to be better.
The Villas
Our favorite part of the resort was the villa by far. We did not stay in the plunge pool cottage, but we still enjoyed our amazing ocean and sunset views. The sunset villa was simple, yet contained everything we needed for our stay. The views from the balcony were magnificent, the outdoor double rain shower was relaxing, and the stocked mini fridge a plus. The level of privacy was perfect for us. However, you could still see a couple of the guest balconies from our room (tip for honeymooners). The only downside was that the AC did not have many controlled options and the comforter was not warm enough. Still, better than no AC at all.
The staff were easily accessible whenever we needed extra towels or a mini bar restock. The room had US outlet adapters, but not USB ports. The resort provided bug spray for your body and for the room, along with a bed mesh curtain in case you wanted to sleep with the doors open. The insects at night were bad, so we were thankful that they stocked us up with sprays. Overall, the villa was wonderful. Make sure to stay in an ocean view room for the best views. See all cottage options here.
The Food
I have nothing but positive things to say about the food. There was not one dish that we did not enjoy thoroughly. Everything was super fresh and exquisitely displayed. We honestly felt like we were at a 5 star restaurant. The staff even encouraged us to order multiple dishes. I think we had at least 2 dishes during each meal! The breakfast juices and smoothies were refreshing and the seafood plates were delightful. Be sure to try the coconut smoothie and local seafood dishes.
The views from the restaurant topped off the delicious meals. Each day seemed to get better and better. There’s nothing like enjoying a delicious meal with open ocean views and the breeze in your hair. Total island feels. Not to mention, the staff who made each dining experience a blast!
The Beaches
There are two beaches located on the premises. The first is connected to Jolly Harbour Beach. It is technically privately owned by Cocos, but was easily accessible to outsiders. This beach is a little bit busier and upbeat. Our favorite beach was sunset beach. Located on the opposite side of the resort, this beach is more difficult to access and completely private. It is shared with CocoBay resort only. The beach is quiet and offers the best sunset views. We visited this beach every day. You have the opportunity to rent out boats and other excursions here. Jet ski rentals can be found on Jolly Harbour beach. Both beaches have lounge chairs, towels, and a bar.
Jolly Beach 
Sunset Beach
The Spa
The best part of every trip…the spa 😌 Coco’s spa and yoga pavilion had one of the best views I’ve seen from a spa hotel (second to Six Senses Laamu, of course). Panoramic ocean views from each point of the facility. It was tiny, but had everything you needed for a treatment. There was no community area with a sauna, pool, etc. However, it had more of a peaceful, private vibe. They offered us an irresistible deal when arrived. I was grateful that I didn’t book in advanced, because we would’ve paid double. They offered buy one get one treatments. Amazing! We both got a deep tissue massage.
Unfortunately, the special seemed to affect the quality. One masseuse was excellent, while the other we questioned if she was even a therapist at all. We still appreciated the relaxing time and stress relief. Not to mention, our huge discount. Due to the lack of experience of the one ”therapist,” I knocked my rating down to 3 out of 5 stars. Beautiful location, but I’d rather pay more for a better experience.
The Entertainment
We were very surprised at how much entertainment the resort offered. Our last two nights, there was a live band and a fire dancer. It really brought the resort crowd to life, as during the day it was pretty quiet. Our favorite night was the live cover band. They sang popular songs and local island jams too. The best part was when they sang their national anthem and everyone was jumping up and down with pillows in their hands. It was such a unique experience that brought everyone together.
The Service
We made many friends during our time at Cocos Hotel. The staff were so friendly. You could tell they enjoyed being a part of the Cocos team. They truly made our stay extra special. Shout out to the staff who made a huge impact on our time in Antigua: Shane, Steven, Antoinette, Ava-Gay, Nicholette, Ayana, and Alexis. Thanks for making our stay extra special!
The Transportation
Antigua is a relatively small island, but lacks highways and modernized road systems. The bumpy dirt roads can make driving through slightly challenging. From the airport, it took us about 45 minutes to get to our hotel by taxi. You have the option of getting around by taxi, bus, or renting a car. We used taxis for the little amount of traveling we did outside of the resort. Expect to spend about $30 to get to Cocos from the airport and $20 to get to St. John’s. If you are spending more than a few days and want to explore other regions of the island, I would suggest renting a car. You will need to pay $25 fee for an Antigua drivers license, which will be organized by the rental company on arrival.
The Currency
The island’s form of currency is the Caribbean dollar, but US dollars are widely accepted. We found it helpful having cash on hand at all times. Especially when staying at an all-inclusive hotel. We liked to tip certain staff members from time to time, as well as our tour guides. Remember that taxis only accept cash. The closest atm to Cocos Hotel was at the local supermarket in Jolly Harbour. We couldn’t even get change for our $20 bills from our resort. Things to keep in mind..
Other Food
Staying at an all-inclusive, we ate mostly in the resort. One night we decided to venture and try some local, fresh seafood. A cute little place on the water called OJ’s was recommended by some locals. When we first arrived on a weekday, it was dead, but we enjoyed having the place to ourselves. Later on a few more guests arrived and livened the place up. If you go, you MUST order the red snapper. When I say this is the best fish we’ve ever had, I am not joking. You get a full fish, bones and all! A ton of rice, beans, and veggies. It is a ton of food for a affordable price. Their drinks were also delicious. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and highly recommend checking this place out!
Antigua and Barbuda are gorgeous islands full of activities and leisure. Add this island to the top of your Caribbean island bucket list! Whether you are looking for a romantic vacation or just time with your friends, Antigua has it all! Check out our full highlight video here.
