Antigua & Barbuda

What Antigua boasts are beaches: 365 of them, the tourism folks claim. There's a beach for every activity level: stretches of white sand border turquoise waters teeming with marine life, beaches where you can walk and hardly see another soul, beaches where you can shop for local crafts and buy a burger at beachside grill, and beaches where you can just curl up under a tall coconut palm and sit until the sun sinks into the sea and marks the end of another Caribbean day.

If it's seclusion you're after, consider a visit to Antigua's sister island, Barbuda. Day trips to this uncommercialized island, which is also popular with bird watchers because of its population of frigate birds, are available from several operators. Barbuda lies about 30 miles north of Antigua.

Fast Facts:

Language: English

Currency: Eastern Caribbean (EC) dollar; US dollar widely accepted

Population: 67,000 (Antigua), 1200 (Barbuda)

Recommended for: sailing, beaches

Information: Antigua and Barbuda Tourist Office, www.antigua-barbuda.org

Map courtesy the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and
the Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection