Arriving at Antigua V.C. Bird International Airport in Antigua puts regional highlights within easy reach. Antigua is a small, sunny Caribbean island that locals say has a beach for every day of the year, and the claim does not feel far off. Roads are short and winding, so nothing is much more than forty-five minutes away, and life moves at a friendly, unhurried island pace.

Favorite experiences on Antigua: - Explore Nelson's Dockyard, a restored Georgian naval base in English Harbour - Catch the Sunday sunset party at Shirley Heights with steel pans and barbecue - Wander the markets and painted buildings of St John's - Swim at Half Moon Bay, Dickenson Bay, or Darkwood Beach - Watch the ocean crash through the natural arch at Devil's Bridge - Snorkel with rays at Stingray City - Drive Fig Tree Drive through the rainforest and banana groves - See the windmill ruins at Betty's Hope sugar plantation - Try fungee and pepperpot, the national dish, and taste sweet Antigua black pineapple

Because Antigua is an island, day trips mean boats and short flights rather than highways. Barbuda, its quiet sister island, is about ninety minutes away by ferry or a quick hop by small plane, with pink-tinged sand and a huge frigatebird colony in Codrington Lagoon. Closer to shore, catamaran trips circle the island and stop at uninhabited cays. Plan around Antigua Sailing Week in late April or Carnival in late July and early August, when the island moves to calypso and soca and every village seems to be celebrating.