For British guests, Antigua may be the easiest place in the Caribbean to start a charter. There are direct flights from London, the airport is half an hour from the yachts, and the island’s south coast holds two of the most beautiful harbours in the region, side by side. Add Barbuda, thirty miles to the north and almost empty, and you have a week that can be as sociable or as remote as you like.

Why charter from Antigua

Straight off the plane. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic both fly direct from London, in around nine hours. Most crewed yachts are based at English Harbour or Falmouth Harbour, a short drive from V.C. Bird International Airport, so you can be aboard on the afternoon you land.

A sailor’s island. Antigua has been the centre of Caribbean yachting for decades. The harbours are full of beautiful boats, the crews know each other, and the island’s calendar is built around sailing: the Classic Yacht Regatta and Antigua Sailing Week in April and May, and the Charter Yacht Show each December, when many of the region’s best crewed yachts gather at Nelson’s Dockyard.

Room to roam. Antigua’s coastline is cut into countless bays, with reefs and small islands along the east coast. On a longer charter you can head north to Barbuda, or west and north towards Nevis, St Kitts, St Barths and St Martin.

The places

English Harbour and Nelson’s Dockyard

The Royal Navy’s Caribbean base in the 18th century, and Horatio Nelson’s home port as a young captain. Nelson’s Dockyard is the only working Georgian dockyard in the world and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its restored stone buildings now house hotels, restaurants and chandleries. On Sunday evenings, the climb (or the taxi ride) to Shirley Heights is rewarded with a steel band, a barbecue and one of the great views of the Caribbean as the sun goes down over the two harbours.

Falmouth Harbour

English Harbour’s larger neighbour, and home to many of the superyachts. It’s lively, sheltered and a good place to start or end a charter.

The south and west coasts

Heading west from English Harbour, Carlisle Bay and Morris Bay offer quiet anchorages below the rainforest-covered hills. Further round, Jolly Harbour has a marina and supermarket, and Deep Bay has a wreck, the Andes, lying in shallow water where children can snorkel over it. Hawksbill Bay and the beaches near Five Islands are good lunch stops.

Green Island and Nonsuch Bay

On the east coast, a long reef breaks the Atlantic swell to create Nonsuch Bay, one of the most protected anchorages in the island. Green Island, at its mouth, has a string of small beaches and clear water for swimming and kitesurfing, with the trade winds blowing steadily but the sea flat behind the reef.

Barbuda

Barbuda is Antigua’s quiet sister: flat, sparsely populated and edged by beaches that run for miles, some with sand tinged pink by crushed shells. The Codrington Lagoon is home to one of the largest frigatebird colonies in the Caribbean, and the island is still rebuilding after Hurricane Irma in 2017. Its approaches are shallow and reef-strewn, so this is a passage for an experienced captain in good light, but the reward is a sense of space you won’t find anywhere else in the Leewards.

Yachts at anchor in a sheltered Antiguan bay below green hills in low golden light Evening light over Antigua’s harbours. Photo: Rick Jamison on Unsplash.

A sample week

  1. Day 1: Board at Falmouth Harbour or English Harbour and settle in. Dinner at anchor in Freeman’s Bay.
  2. Day 2: West along the south coast to Carlisle Bay for snorkelling, then on to Jolly Harbour or Deep Bay.
  3. Day 3: Snorkel the Andes wreck in Deep Bay, then a beach afternoon near Five Islands.
  4. Day 4: An early start for Barbuda: lunch on the beach at Low Bay and an evening at anchor with nobody else in sight.
  5. Day 5: A boat trip into Codrington Lagoon to see the frigatebirds, then back to Antigua’s north coast.
  6. Day 6: Round to Nonsuch Bay and Green Island for kitesurfing, paddleboarding and a calm night behind the reef.
  7. Day 7: Back to English Harbour; if it’s a Sunday, Shirley Heights for the sunset.

When to go

The main season runs from December to April, with steady trade winds and dry weather. Many guests time a charter around the Classic Yacht Regatta and Antigua Sailing Week in late April and early May, when the harbours are at their liveliest (and the best yachts book up early). The Charter Yacht Show is held at Nelson’s Dockyard in early December; in 2026 it runs from 4 to 9 December, so some yachts are unavailable that week. The hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November.

Good to know

  • Currency: the Eastern Caribbean dollar, but US dollars are widely accepted.
  • Flights: direct from London with British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, around nine hours. Always check current schedules.
  • Combining islands: from Antigua, St Barths and St Martin are a long day’s sail, and Montserrat, Nevis and St Kitts are within reach. One-way charters are sometimes possible.
  • Barbuda: best visited with a captain who knows the approaches. Moorings and services are limited.

Planning an Antigua charter

Whether you want a sociable week around the regattas or a quiet one at anchor off Barbuda, tell us your dates and we’ll come back with crewed yachts that are free. Flying from the UK? We’ll help you find the simplest route for your dates.

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