A week in Antigua gives you enough time to dip into the island’s highlights without feeling like you’re rushing from place to place. You’ll get calm turquoise beaches, dramatic cliffs, local eats, and a few “I can’t believe this is real life” moments. Here’s how I’d spend 7 days in paradise, my perfect Antigua one week itinerary.
If you’re visiting by cruise, don’t miss my Things to Do in Antigua Cruise Stop guide—it’s perfect for day-trippers.
Ease in on one of Antigua’s most famous beaches. Dickenson Bay is wide, sandy, and calm—perfect for a post-flight reset.
Getting there: 15 minutes from V.C. Bird International Airport, north of St. John’s.
Parking: Public access point just north of Sandals with a small free lot (limited), or street parking.
Do: Swim, paddleboard, or just collapse on the sand.
Eat nearby: Ana’s on the Beach (stylish Caribbean dining) or Chippy Antigua (fish & chips, casual and quick).
Start strong with my favorite beach, then hop to one of the island’s most dramatic landmarks.
Long Bay Beach:
25 minutes from St. John’s. Look for the bright mural on the left when you turn in—yes, I stopped for a photo.
Free dirt lot steps from the sand.
Calm, clear water and rentable chairs.
Eat: Mama Pasta, right on the beach, serving seafood and pasta.
Devil’s Bridge:
5-minute drive from Long Bay.
Free parking lot right at the site.
Rugged limestone arch with waves pounding underneath. DO NOT walk on the arch (waves are unpredictable).
Plan 20–30 minutes for photos and exploring.
You’ll also want to bookmark my Best Beaches in Antigua for quick access to the island’s prettiest shores.
A massive, crescent-shaped bay with two personalities: one wild, one calm.
Half Moon Bay:
40 minutes from St. John’s. Free paved lot by the entrance.
One side is surf-worthy, the other is calm for snorkeling.
Walk the rocky edge to find golden clay—smear it on, bake in the sun, rinse off, and voilà: free spa day.
Eat: Beach Bum Bar & Café. Service is on “Caribbean time,” but the food’s solid. Burger + sweet potato fries = yes. Brad’s chicken wrap = gone in 60 seconds.
For restaurant ideas, head over to my Best Lunch in Antigua list—it’s full of casual local favorites.
Valley Road is beach-hopping central. Three stops, one easy drive.
Darkwood Beach: Sea on one side, lagoon on the other. Park roadside or in small gravel lots. Grab a snack at Darkwood Beach Bar or splurge at nearby Sheer Rocks (tapas with sunset views).
Ffryes Beach: Swing set in the sand = required photo stop. Park along Valley Road or next to Dennis Cocktail Bar (also your lunch option—grilled lobster here is the move).
Turner’s Beach: Wide, calm, and with a clear view of Montserrat. Free parking lot right across the road. Stop at Turner’s Beach Bar & Restaurant for fresh snapper or conch fritters.
This day blends beaches with a little adventure.
Galleon Beach: About 30 minutes from St. John’s. Park near the beach entrance or Shirley Heights trailhead. Calm, clear water perfect for snorkeling (turtles hang out here).
Pillars of Hercules: Walk to the far end of Galleon, follow the rocky trail (wear real shoes), and within minutes the cliff face turns into those iconic limestone columns.
English Harbour: Explore Nelson’s Dockyard, Antigua’s historic naval base.
Eat: Catherine’s Café (French-Caribbean chic right on the sand) or Cloggy’s (Mediterranean with marina views).
Time for a little shopping, a little culture, and one of the best sunset spots.
Downtown St. John’s: Walk Heritage Quay for duty-free shops, Redcliffe Quay for local crafts, and the public market for fruit and spices. Park in one of the paid lots near the cruise port.
Jolly Harbour: About 20 minutes away. Park in the marina plaza lot. Stroll the waterfront, grab a coffee, and do some yacht-spotting. This is where we found Antigua’s elusive black pineapple (sweetest in the world).
Eat: Al Porto (wood-fired pizza on the water) or Miracles of the Caribbean (hearty local fare). Stay for sunset—it’s ridiculously pretty here.
End your week with Antigua’s most iconic view.
Shirley Heights Lookout: 25 minutes from St. John’s. Parking lot right at the lookout. During the day, it’s peaceful with sweeping views over English Harbour. On Sunday evenings, it turns into a party with live steel drum bands, barbecue, and dancing.
Eat: Stay for the BBQ—jerk chicken and ribs with that view is the perfect send-off.
Seven days in Antigua gives you the best of both worlds—lazy mornings, adventurous afternoons, and evenings that end with sunsets (or steel drums). You’ll leave sun-kissed, full, and probably plotting your return for days 8 through 365.
Yes, it’s only July. Start planning anyway. Fall books faster than people expect, and a few of these destinations are worth getting ahead of. Here are five places worth putting on your radar right now.
Ireland: Cooler temps, moody skies, dramatic coastline fall was made for it. Tourist crowds drop, the green stays, and the whole country feels a little more like itself.
Great Smoky Mountains, TN/NC: Fall foliage in the Smokies is the real thing. The color peaks mid-October and the views from the ridgelines are hard to argue with. It’s also one of the most visited national parks in the country, so going on a weekday makes a real difference.
New York City: Fall is NYC at its best comfortable temps, the energy of the city shifting into a new season, and every neighborhood doing something worth showing up for. It’s also just a great walking city when it’s not brutally hot.
Japan: Fall foliage season is as good as spring cherry blossoms and somehow less talked about. The colors are dramatic, the temples and gardens are stunning, and it’s worth planning around peak dates by region.
Mystic, Connecticut: Small, walkable, genuinely charming Mystic in fall feels like exactly what a New England autumn is supposed to look like. Easy to pair with a broader New England road trip if you want to extend it.
Full guides linked in bio 🍂
There are two kinds of travelers: people who plan a trip and then figure out where to eat, and people who book a restaurant and then build the rest of the itinerary around it.I am the second kind. I will not apologize for this.
The reservation gets locked in first. The hotel search happens within the same 24 hours. The flights get compared around the restaurant’s hours of operation. The rest of the trip exists to fill the days before and after the table I actually came for.
If this sounds unhinged, I completely understand. It has also resulted in some of the best meals of my life, so I’m going to keep doing it.
Drop a 🍽️ if you plan your trips around food too.
Let’s talk about when to actually book that Dubai trip you’ve been pinning for two years. I get asked this constantly, so here’s the honest breakdown: October through April is your window. Anything outside that and you’re basically touring in a sauna!
October and November give you warm days and cooler nights, which is basically the sweet spot for wandering around without melting. December through February is peak season: gorgeous weather. March and April are the quiet insider pick, right before summer heat shows up and ruins everyone’s plans.
Saving this for later? That’s what it’s here for. Full breakdown linked in bio.
If you’re chasing energy, beaches, nightlife, and nonstop luxury, Dubai takes the crown. If you’re craving culture, iconic architecture, and meaningful landmarks at a slower pace, Abu Dhabi shines.🤍
My advice? Base yourself in Dubai and do Abu Dhabi as a day trip! The perfect balance of excitement and culture in the UAE.
Want the full breakdown? Check out my Dubai and Abu Dhabi guide for tips, itineraries, and must-sees!
I do not like seafood. 🐟 So when I booked a tasting menu at a restaurant built around aquarium walls at Atlantis The Palm, I was nervous.
Ossiano sits underwater fish gliding past the whole meal, moody lighting, the kind of room that makes you lower your voice without meaning to. It’s not cheap, and it’s not trying to be. You’re paying for the entire experience.
Here’s the honest part: they have a vegetarian tasting menu, and I assumed it would be an afterthought. It ended up in my top five meals of all time. Course after course, the same care and precision as the seafood-forward menu everyone comes for. They even swapped in a steak for the main and it still felt cohesive with everything around it.
By course four you’re full. They bring out three more breads anyway. I ate all of it. No regrets.
Small detail that stuck with me my dress was black, so they swapped my napkin from white to black without me asking. That’s the kind of thing that tells you everything about a place.
Full breakdown of the menu, the vegetarian option, and what to expect linked in bio.
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