Antigua Directions Read online

  Catamaran Hotel

  Falmouth; tel 460 1036, fax 460 1339, www.catamaran-antigua.com.

  Friendly little place on the north side of the harbour in Falmouth, adjacent to a small marina. The beach is not great for swimming, and it's a bit of a hike to the action at the dockyard, but the rooms are comfortable and good value, at US$105/85 in winter/summer.

  Copper and Lumber Store

  Nelson's Dockyard; tel 460 1058, fax 460 1529, www.copperlumberantigua.com.

  Very elegant Georgian hotel in the heart of the dockyard, used from the late eighteenth century as its name suggests, with a dozen superb rooms (US$325/275 in winter/summer), some fabulously furnished with mostly nautically themed antiques. Quiet at night, but a short walk from a handful of good restaurants.

  Falmouth Harbour Beach Apartments

  Falmouth; tel 460 1094, fax 460 1534.

  On the east side of the harbour, by a thin strip of beach, reasonably sized self-catering studio apartments with ceiling fans and ocean-front verandahs. The apartments are nothing spectacular but do offer decent value, at US$150/85 in winter/summer.

  Harbour View Apartments

  Falmouth; tel 460 1762, fax 463 6375, www.antigua-apartments.com.

  Modern block with a small pool and six two-bed self-catering apartments, all overlooking the harbour, by a small and unexceptional beach. Good option for a family on a budget, as rooms sleep up to four and cost just $150/85 a night in winter/summer.

  The Inn at English Harbour

  English Harbour; tel 460 1014, fax 460 1603, www.theinn.ag.

  Attractive old hotel, popular with repeat guests and spread over a large site beside the harbour, next to a pleasant white-sand beach. There are 22 elegant, comfortable rooms in a two-storey building bedecked in bougainvillea; prices start at US$300/155 in winter/summer.

  Ocean Inn

  English Harbour; tel 463 7950, fax 460 1263, www.theoceaninn.com.

  Small, friendly inn perched on a hillside above English Harbour, with six doubles/twins and four cottages starting at US$95 a night in high season. It's some distance from a good beach, but there's a tiny pool and a nice opportunity to vary the pace between the spectacular views and relative peace and quiet of the hotel with what is often a party atmosphere in and around Nelson's Dockyard, just five minutes' walk down the hill.

  Restaurants and bars

  Abracadabra/The Mediterranean Café

  English Harbour; tel 460 1732 or 460 2701, fax 463 8084, www.theabracadabra.com, [email protected]. Daily 10am–3pm and 7–11pm.

  Just outside the dockyard, Abracadabra offers a mostly Southern Italian menu of pastas, grilled meat and fish (EC$30–50), with a cosy atmosphere and live music several nights a week. A little place called the Mediterranean Café sits next to the main restaurant, serving tasty and healthy shakes, smoothies and salads as well as baguettes and sandwiches (EC$10–20) from morning until mid-afternoon.

  The Admiral's Inn

  Nelson's Dockyard; tel 460 1027. Daily 7am–9.30pm.

  Good, unpretentious dining in the old Admiral's Inn building or, more romantically, by the water's edge (take mosquito repellent), with occasional local dishes such as pepperpot stew among the more standard meals of fish, chicken and salads (EC$25–40).

  Alberto's

  Willoughby Bay; tel 460 3007. Tues–Sun dinner only, closed July–Oct.

  Some of the best Italian food on the south coast, hosted by the eponymous longtime proprietor at an out-of-the-way spot. The evening's menu is chalked up on a blackboard; recurring entries include thin slices of breadfruit roasted in a garlic and parsley sauce (EC$25) and pan-fried tuna or wahoo with wasabi and ginger (EC$60). Top desserts, notably sorbets of coconut, lemon and passion fruit, send you happily on your way.

  Cactus

  Main Road, Falmouth Harbour; tel 460 6575, www.cactusclubantigua.com. Mon–Sat 4pm–late.

  Well-positioned restaurant on a big verandah with spectacular views over Falmouth Harbour and the Middle Ground. Inside, there's a lively bar area with two darts boards and three pool tables (tournaments every Monday and Thursday). Food is served in tapas-style portions with nachos at EC$15, fish dishes at EC$20 and grilled steak at EC$25.

  Calabash

  Galleon Beach; tel 460 1452. Daily for lunch and dinner.

  Airy terrace restaurant close to the beautiful Galleon Beach. Good salads at lunch for EC$20–25 and a world food tour for dinner with mains – including Jamaican jerk chicken, grilled Cajun-style mahi mahi, Calabash Indian curry, grilled steak, teriyaki salmon and Caribbean seafood stew – at up to EC$45.

  Caribbean Taste

  Behind Dockyard Drive, English Harbour; tel 562 3049 or 460 1376. Daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

  Authentic Antiguan eats in this small restaurant tucked away among local residences just before the entrance to the dockyard. Servings include large portions of ducana and salt cod, fungi and conch stew, curried goat, jerk chicken and various kinds of rotis, all for around EC$25–35. There are also some delicious and unusual local fruit juices including soursop, guava and passion fruit.

  Catherine's Café

  Antigua Slipway, English Harbour; tel 460 5050. Wed–Mon for lunch and dinner, closed mid-May to mid-July.

  Across from Nelson's Dockyard, great food and wonderful views at this laid-back French café on a shaded terrace by the water's edge. The simple but imaginative menu includes clams, oysters, moules marinières and Sambuca prawns at EC$40–65 as well as some spectacular desserts, such as tarte tatin. You have to take a water taxi from the dockyard to get here or, if you've got a car, you can head in the direction of Shirley Heights and turn down the Antigua Slipway road.

  Dockyard Bakery

  Nelson's Dockyard; tel 460 1474. Daily 8am–5pm.

  Nice place for breakfast or daytime snacks, selling guava danishes, pineapple turnovers and bread pudding (EC$5), all freshly baked in the dockyard's old kitchens.

  The Dry Dock

  Falmouth Harbour; tel 460 3040. Daily for lunch and dinner.

  Good sports bar serving burgers, sandwiches and the like (EC$25–35). The joint regularly screens first-run movies, and there's a small club space called Nitrox in the back for late-night drinking and dancing (small cover charge).

  Famous Mauro's

  Cobbs Cross; tel 460 1318. Daily for lunch and dinner.

  One of the best places for pizza on Antigua, with more than thirty types available daily (EC$15–25), all freshly cooked in the wood-burning oven.

  HQ

  Nelson's Dockyard; tel 562 2563. Daily for lunch and dinner, bar open all day until late, closed Sun evenings.

  Excellent place in the heart of the dockyard, recently taken over by a French family and serving well-prepared seafood, steaks and chicken (EC$30–50). The long verandah at the back of the restaurant has lovely views down towards Fort Barrington, while inside a newly acquired antique French chandelier hangs over a cosy piano bar.

  Jackee's Kwik Stop

  Falmouth Harbour; tel 460 1299. Daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

  One of the best of the local eateries run by the delightful Jackee, this little café sells traditional Antiguan food, with daily specials of ducana and saltfish, pepperpot stew and fungi or souse (EC$25–35).

  The Last Lemming

  Falmouth Harbour; tel 460 6910, fax 460 6911, [email protected]. Daily for lunch and dinner.

  Good food at this frequently crowded harbourside spot, though the service can be dreadfully slow. Pan-fried catch of the day and grilled steaks (EC$25–35) are typical of the daily offerings.

  Le Cap Horn

  Between Falmouth and English Harbour; tel 460 1194, fax 460 1793. Fri–Wed 6.30pm–11pm, closed May–Oct.

  French-Peruvian chef Gustavo prepares specialities from different regions of France using local meats and fish (EC$35–60), while his wife Helene does the desserts in this mellow garden restaurant. There's also an excellent pizzeria with a wood-burning brick oven (pizzas
EC$20–30).

  Life

  English Harbour; tel 562 2353 or 723 3502, [email protected]. Wed–Mon for lunch and dinner, closed Sept.

  Decked out in primary colours, this lively bar and restaurant sits over the water on a pier just outside the dockyard. The dinner menu includes grilled fish and steaks, fish and chips, bangers and mash and various curries for EC$25–30; there's also a good kids menu for EC$15. Aphorisms on "life" are painted up everywhere and there's a chalkboard to add your own insights.

  The Lookout

  Shirley Heights; tel 460 1785, fax 460 3490. Daily 9am–10pm.

  The only place for a refreshment break while you're up on the Heights, with a large patio providing superb views over the harbour and the dockyard. Simple meals such as roast chicken and burgers (EC$25–35) are the order of the day, with the Sunday (and, to a lesser extent, Thursday) barbecues pulling a huge crowd for the reggae and steel bands that play from early afternoon through to the late evening.

  The Mad Mongoose

  Falmouth Harbour; tel 463-7900. Tues–Sun 10am–11pm.

  Just a stone's throw from the water, this often lively bar – which gets absolutely packed when the boats are in – serves snacks and simple meals like sandwiches and burgers (EC$15–25). Also has a games room and satellite TV.

  The Mainbrace

  At The Copper and Lumber Store, Nelson's Dockyard. Daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

  Good breakfasts for around US$8 at this Georgian inn; typical English pub lunches – burgers, chillies, etc – at around US$10; and in the evenings, more formal and more costly dining (entrées such as grilled steak and fish from US$25) in the Copper and Lumber Store's stylishly renovated wardroom.

  Trappas

  Between Falmouth and English Harbour; tel 562 3534. Daily (except Wed) from 6pm.

  A mixture of fairly standard English pub grub and tasty Thai food – shrimp in green curry sauce, mussels in ginger soup, Pad Thai noodles – at this popular bar: EC$20 for all starters, EC$30 for mains and EC$15 for desserts.

  Entertainment and nightlife

  Abracadabra

  English Harbour; tel 460 1732 or 460 2701, fax 463 8084. Nightly 7pm until late. No cover.

  Once dinner is over, the lights dim and Abracadabra (often) becomes a pretty hopping place: DJs spin R&B and 1980s dance music, while occasional live bands – jazz, reggae, rock – get patrons up for some open-air dancing on a small dance floor next to the restaurant.

  The Last Lemming

  Falmouth Harbour; tel 460 6910. Open nightly until late. No cover.

  Lively bar, particularly when the boats are in – it's right under the Antigua Yacht Club, with great views across the harbour. Often open later than anywhere else and featuring the occasional local band.

  Life

  English Harbour; tel 562 2353 or 723 3502, [email protected] Daily except Tues, closed September.

  In the evenings, this bar and restaurant often becomes a vibrant party scene, playing Sixties and Seventies music in counterpoint to the more modern sounds coming from right across the street at Abracadabra. Popular with both the sailing crowd and the locals.

  The Lookout

  Shirley Heights; tel 460 1785, fax 460 3490. Thurs 4–8pm & Sun 4–10pm. No cover.

  On Sunday and Thursday afternoons (Thursdays are less crowded), steel and reggae bands set up on the Heights overlooking English Harbour. There's a bar and barbecue, vendors selling trinkets and T-shirts and a great party atmosphere, though at the peak of the season you'll find little room to move.

  The west coast

  Tourism makes a firm impression on Antigua's west coast, with hotels dotted at regular intervals between the little fishing village of Old Road in the south and the capital, St John's, in the north. Two features dominate the area: a series of lovely beaches, with Darkwood probably the pick of the bunch for swimming, snorkelling and beachcombing, and, in the southwest, a glowering range of hills known as the Shekerley Mountains, offering the chance for a climb and some panoramic views.

  On the edge of the Shekerly range, the lush and thickly wooded Fig Tree Hill is as scenic a spot as you'll find. A variety of good trails can be picked up in this area. Some lead inland, to sites usually overlooked by tourists such as Boggy Peak and Green Castle Hill, while one, the Rendezvous Trail, leads back east to Rendezvous Bay. Meanwhile, due west of St John's, the Five Islands peninsula holds several hotels, some good beaches and the substantial ruins of the eighteenth-century Fort Barrington.

  Fig Tree Drive and Fig Tree Hill

  The main road in the area, Fig Tree Drive, runs west from Swetes through the most densely forested part of the island, Fig Tree Hill. You won't actually see any fig trees – the road is lined with bananas (known locally as figs) and mango trees as it carves its way through mountains and tropical vegetation down to the south coast at Old Road. About halfway along the drive, you can stop at a small roadside shack which calls itself the Cultural Centre, where you can get a drink and some fruit picked straight off the trees from local farms.

  Rendezvous Trail

  From the Cultural Centre shack on Fig Tree Hill, a track leads south to the Wallings Reservoir – the island's first – where you'll find picnic tables set up around the edge of the water. More serious hikers can take the Rendezvous Trail, which starts on your left just before you reach the steps of the reservoir. It crosses the Wallings Woodlands to the nearly always empty beach a two-hour walk away at Rendezvous Bay.

  Even a short stroll repays the effort: the woodlands are the best remaining example of the evergreen secondary forest that covered the island before British settlers arrived, with more than thirty species of shrubs and trees, including giant mahogany trees, and masses of noisy bird life. Bear in mind, though, that while it's pretty hard to get lost, the main path is little used and in places can quickly become overgrown and hard to make out.

  Old Road and Carlisle Bay

  Once an important port and town, Old Road derived its name from nearby Carlisle Bay – a safe anchorage or "road" for the early settlers –but was soon surpassed by the new "roads" of St John's and Falmouth Harbour. Today Old Road is a small and rather impoverished fishing village, though increasingly enlivened by the swanky Curtain Bluff resort – and a superb swath of beach – on the eponymous sandstone bluff, as well as the five-star Carlisle Bay hotel, which opened in late 2003.

  Many locals have recently become passionate supporters of the English football club Liverpool and its star striker Emile Heskey; his father was born and lived in Old Road before moving to England in the 1960s.

  Boggy Peak

  Heading west from Old Road, the road follows the coast past a series of banana groves and pineapple plantations and around Cades Bay, offering delightful views out to sea over Cades Reef. On the right, a kilometre from Old Road, a track leads up into the Shekerley Mountains to Boggy Peak, which, at 400 metres, is the highest point on the island. The panoramic view from the top – in good visibility you can even make out St Kitts, Guadeloupe and Montserrat – is well worth the steep drive or one-hour climb. Unfortunately, the peak is now occupied by a communications station, safely tucked away behind a high-security fence, so you'll need to make arrangements to visit with Cable & Wireless in St John's (tel 462 0840). If you haven't the time or the inclination, the views from outside the perimeter fence are almost as good.

  Turner's, Darkwood and Coco beaches

  Continuing west through the village of Urlings, the road runs alongside a number of excellent beaches. First up is Turner's Beach and Johnson's Point, where the sand shelves down to the sea beside a couple of good beach bars, including Turner's, where you can also rent snorkelling gear.

  The snorkelling is better just north of here at Darkwood Beach, a great spot to stop and take a swim, with a wide stretch of beach running right alongside the main road. Look out for small underwater canyons just offshore, and schools of squid and colourful reef fish. Beachcombers will find this one of the b
est places on the island to look for shells and driftwood. There are a couple of groves of casuarina trees for shade, as well as OJ's, another friendly little beach bar that offers inexpensive local food.

  Lastly, Coco Beach is reached via a turn-off signposted to the Cocobay Resort; follow the track for 500 metres past some old sugar mills for another magnificent stretch of sand, again strewn with driftwood and edged by a turquoise sea.

  Jolly Harbour

  Day passes for Jolly Beach Resort US$50.

  Covering an immense area (much of it reclaimed swampland and salt ponds) north of Coco Beach, the 450-bedroom all-inclusive Jolly Beach Resort sprawls alongside a mile of one of Antigua's best beaches, with clear blue water lapping against the sugary white sand. A day pass for the beach, available from the resort, includes lunch, drinks and use of the watersports equipment. Adjacent, the Jolly Harbour complex has a marina, rental apartments, a golf course, restaurants and a small shopping mall. It's a world apart from the "real" Antigua – like a small piece of America transplanted in the Caribbean.

  Green Castle Hill

  If you haven't climbed Boggy Peak or Monk's Hill (aka Great Fort George), you could consider getting your panoramic view of Antigua from the top of Green Castle Hill. The peak is littered with natural formations of stone pillars and large rocks, which some believe are Stone Age megaliths left by Antigua's oldest inhabitants. The claim is patently absurd – there is no evidence of Antigua's Amerindians having either the technology or the inclination to erect such monuments to their deities – but don't let that put you off visiting. The views are superb, particularly to the north beyond St John's, and besides the odd goat, you won't see a soul around.

  You'll really need a car to get here. Head inland from the main road between Jennings and St John's towards Emanuel; the path to the top (a forty-minute walk) begins by the gates of a small brick factory connected to a large stone quarry.