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Antigua sits in the centre of the Leeward Islands, a 281 square kilometre limestone and volcanic island with 365 named beaches and approximately 95,000 residents. A 40m motor yacht working Antigua in February runs $135,000 to $175,000 per week before APA. Falmouth Harbour and English Harbour on the south coast hold the densest cluster of full-service superyacht infrastructure in the Caribbean basin, including Falmouth Harbour Marina (100m+ Med-moor at the north and east piers), Antigua Yacht Club Marina (30m to 70m on the south side), the Antigua Slipway, and the Catamaran Marina. The V.C. Bird International Airport (ANU) on the north coast absorbs commercial lift from JFK, Newark, Atlanta, Miami, Charlotte, London on British Airways and Virgin, Frankfurt on Condor, and the regional cluster from SXM, Barbados, and Trinidad.
The point of Antigua on a Caribbean charter week is the south coast marina cluster, the protected anchorages around the 365-beach coastline, and the historic infrastructure at Nelson's Dockyard. The annual Antigua Charter Yacht Show in early December (founded 1962, the oldest charter yacht show globally) anchors the Caribbean charter sales calendar with 75 to 100 yachts on display across Falmouth and English Harbour over 5 days. Nelson's Dockyard at English Harbour (the only working Georgian-era dockyard still in commercial use globally, restored and reopened 1961 as a heritage site, designated UNESCO World Heritage 2016) holds the Admiral's Inn, the Pillars Restaurant, the Copper and Lumber Store, and the Boom restaurant. The Shirley Heights lookout above the harbor delivers the Sunday afternoon steel band session that absorbs the working southern Caribbean charter calendar.
The on-shore product runs the south coast resort base (Hermitage Bay on the west, Curtain Bluff on the south central, the Carlisle Bay on the south, the Galley Bay on the west, the Hodges Bay on the north), the east coast resort cluster (the Jumby Bay Island, the Hammock Cove on the east, the Verandah Resort), and the Falmouth-English Harbour dining cluster (Catherine's Cafe, Pillars at the Admiral's Inn, the Boom, the Cloggy's Cafe, Casino Bay at Galley Bay). The Jumby Bay (a privately-owned offshore island 4 nautical miles north of Antigua with the Oetker Collection Jumby Bay Island resort and the surrounding private residences) absorbs the cleanest single beach club product on Antigua.
When to charter Antigua
Early December (Charter Yacht Show window). The Antigua Charter Yacht Show runs in the first week of December (typical dates Dec 4 to 9). Falmouth and English Harbour at capacity with the working charter inventory on display. Booking impossible during the Show itself; the days immediately before and after deliver the strongest charter inventory selection at the cleanest peak rates.
December 15 to January 5. Christmas and New Year peak. Water 26 degrees Celsius. Trade winds 15 to 22 knots from the east. Falmouth and English Harbour at peak utilisation. Resort calendar at peak. Rates at peak; book 9 to 12 months out.
January. Shoulder through January 15 (rates 10 to 15 percent below peak), returns to peak from January 20. Water 26 degrees. The cleanest January Antigua window for charter inventory selection with the Christmas density dropping.
February. Peak. Water 26 to 27 degrees. The strongest non-NYE Antigua charter window. The Wadadli Day national calendar in early February absorbs the on-shore product without significantly affecting charter logistics.
March. Peak through Easter. Water 26 to 27 degrees. The Falmouth and English Harbour calendar runs at full strength.
April. Peak through Easter, peak again from mid-April for the Antigua Classics Regatta and Antigua Sailing Week. The Antigua Classics (the mid-April week absorbing 50 to 70 classic yachts at English Harbour, founded 1988) and Antigua Sailing Week (the last week of April, the major Caribbean sailing regatta since 1968, absorbing 100+ racing yachts across Falmouth and English Harbour) anchor the southern Caribbean charter season-end calendar. Rates at peak across the April regatta window; book 9 to 12 months out.
May. Shoulder. Rates 20 to 30 percent below peak. Water 28 degrees. The charter fleet begins the Mediterranean repositioning crossing from late April.
June to November. Hurricane season. Most crewed inventory closes. The Antigua and Barbuda independence day in early November and the Carnival in early August absorb the local calendar.
The Antigua cruising zones
Falmouth Harbour. The working superyacht base. Falmouth Harbour Marina holds the 100m+ Med-moor inventory at the north pier with the largest charter and brokerage yachts in the Caribbean concentrating here December through April. The Antigua Yacht Club Marina at the south end of Falmouth holds 30m to 70m slip inventory. The harbor offers protected south-coast anchoring in 5 to 12 metres on holding sand. The on-shore product at Falmouth runs Catherine's Cafe at the Yacht Club, the Cloggy's Cafe, the Trappas restaurant, and the Skullduggery Cafe.
English Harbour and Nelson's Dockyard. The historic harbor 0.5 nautical miles east of Falmouth across the Shirley Heights ridge. Nelson's Dockyard holds 25m to 60m yachts at Med-moor along the historic stone quay (the original 18th-century dockyard wall, in commercial use continuously since 1745). The Admiral's Inn, the Pillars Restaurant, the Copper and Lumber Store, and the Boom restaurant hold the on-shore product. The Shirley Heights Sunday steel band session (16:00 to 20:00, every Sunday year-round) delivers the canonical Antigua charter evening.
Jumby Bay. The privately-owned offshore island 4 nautical miles north of the Hodges Bay coast. The Oetker Collection Jumby Bay Island resort absorbs the working beach club product with the day-pass and resort-guest access controlled. Anchor in 8 to 12 metres at the west bay; the tender access is to the Jumby Bay jetty. The Jumby Bay private residence cluster includes Robin Leach's former Antigua estate and a working high-net-worth villa cluster.
Long Bay and Half Moon Bay. The east coast. Half Moon Bay holds the 1 kilometre crescent beach and the working east-coast daytime anchor in 5 to 10 metres at the bay. Long Bay at the northeast corner of Antigua holds the standing protected snorkel and swim anchor at the Long Bay Resort.
Green Island. The east coast offshore islet 1 nautical mile off the Mamora Bay coast. Anchor in 4 to 10 metres at the protected south anchor with the cleanest east-coast offshore stop and the working snorkel calendar at the reef.
Dickenson Bay. The northwest coast. The 2 kilometre arc holds the Sandals Antigua and the working north-coast resort cluster. Anchor in 5 to 10 metres off the south end of the bay. Best at the morning before the trade winds kick the surf in.
Carlisle Bay. The south central coast. The Carlisle Bay resort sits at the bay with the 1.5 kilometre south-coast beach. Anchor in 6 to 12 metres at the bay; the lee on the south coast holds in trade-wind conditions.
Five Islands and Hawksbill Bay. The west coast 2 nautical miles north of Galley Bay. The four-bay cluster at Hawksbill and the offshore Five Islands absorb the working west-coast lunch and swim anchor.
Barbuda. The Antigua and Barbuda sister island 30 nautical miles north of Antigua. The 8 kilometre pink-sand Princess Diana Beach on the west coast, the Frigate Bird sanctuary at Codrington Lagoon, and the Barbuda Belle resort hold the working Barbuda product. The Barbuda anchor at the Coco Point holds the canonical pink-sand swim. Hurricane Irma (September 2017) damaged Barbuda's infrastructure heavily; the resort base has now substantially rebuilt with the Robert De Niro and James Packer Nobu Barbuda project (the proposed luxury resort at Palmetto Point) under construction, and the Barbuda Belle and the Cocoa Point Lodge operational.
A standard 7-day Antigua and Barbuda charter
| Day | Anchorage | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Sat | Falmouth Harbour board (ANU arrival) | Boarding afternoon at Falmouth Harbour Marina, evening at the Pillars or Boom in Nelson's Dockyard, overnight Falmouth |
| Sun | Shirley Heights and Carlisle Bay | Carlisle Bay morning swim, west coast cruise to Hawksbill, return via Shirley Heights Sunday steel band session, overnight Falmouth |
| Mon | Run north to Jumby Bay | Cruise north 12 nautical miles to Jumby Bay anchor, beach lunch at the resort, afternoon Hodges Bay, overnight Jumby Bay or Dickenson Bay |
| Tue | Cross to Barbuda | Cross north 30 nautical miles to Princess Diana Beach, Frigate Bird sanctuary excursion, overnight at the Coco Point anchor |
| Wed | Barbuda day | Princess Diana Beach morning, Barbuda Belle lunch, sail south at evening to Long Bay or back to Jumby Bay, overnight Long Bay |
| Thu | Green Island and east coast | Green Island morning snorkel, Half Moon Bay lunch, run west to English Harbour, overnight English Harbour at Nelson's Dockyard |
| Fri | Nelson's Dockyard day | Admiral's Inn morning walk, Pillars lunch, evening at the Shirley Heights lookout (Thursday session if not Sunday), overnight Falmouth |
| Sat | Falmouth disembark | Disembarkation morning, ANU outbound lift |
This is the canonical Antigua and Barbuda week. The 30 nautical mile cross to Barbuda absorbs as a 1.5 to 2 hour run on a 40m motor yacht and the on-island product fills 1 to 2 days of the week. The structure works on 30m to 100m motor yachts.
Antigua yacht size guidance
25m to 40m. The clean fit. Antigua Yacht Club Marina primary inventory at Falmouth, Nelson's Dockyard slip inventory at English Harbour, full anchor inventory at Jumby Bay, Carlisle Bay, Half Moon Bay, and Barbuda.
40m to 60m. Full Falmouth Harbour Marina inventory, Nelson's Dockyard at the largest slip positions, full anchor inventory at the offshore islands and Barbuda. Antigua is the Caribbean charter market's strongest 40m to 60m base.
60m to 80m. Falmouth Harbour Marina north pier primary inventory, full anchor inventory at Jumby Bay and Barbuda. The Antigua Charter Yacht Show inventory concentrates in this band.
80m and above. Falmouth Harbour Marina north pier and outer Med-moor inventory absorbs 80m to 120m yachts cleanly. The deepest Med-moor positions at Falmouth handle 140m+ in the Show window. Most Caribbean 80m+ charters run from Falmouth as the southern base.
Antigua charter cost math
| Line item | Range (40m motor yacht, February peak) |
|---|---|
| Weekly rate | $135K to $175K |
| APA (28% to 32%) | $38K to $56K |
| Falmouth Harbour Marina (per night, 40m) | $0.8K to $1.5K |
| Falmouth Harbour Marina (per night, 80m) | $2.5K to $5K |
| Nelson's Dockyard Med-moor (per night, 40m) | $0.6K to $1.2K |
| Antigua port and harbor fees | $0.3K to $0.6K per clearance |
| Restaurant ashore at Pillars or Boom (per visit) | $0.4K to $1.2K |
| Jumby Bay day-pass (per person, when available) | $0.3K to $0.6K |
| Gratuity (10% to 15%) | $13.5K to $26K |
| Full check | $190K to $290K |
Antigua charter clients clear local customs and immigration on arrival; the standing $1,000 cruising permit applies to private yachts and is included in the commercial charter clearance. APA on Antigua runs 28 to 32 percent at peak with the higher band reflecting the dock and shore costs at the Show and regatta windows.
What we passed on
We pass on Antigua as a charter week without Barbuda. The Antigua-only week absorbs 4 to 5 days of strong product before the structure repeats; the 30 nautical mile north cross to Barbuda delivers the canonical pink-sand and frigate-bird product and turns the structure into a working 7-day rotation. If sea conditions or guest schedule prevent the Barbuda cross, weight the week toward the BVI or to Antigua paired with Guadeloupe to the south.
We pass on the standalone English Harbour overnight for a 60m+ yacht. Nelson's Dockyard accepts to 60m at the longest stone-quay positions but the working 60m+ overnight runs at Falmouth Harbour Marina with the tender access to English Harbour absorbing the heritage product. The English Harbour Med-moor at 60m+ runs as a daytime stop rather than an overnight.
We pass on Antigua during Sailing Week as a non-sailing charter window. The last week of April absorbs 100+ racing yachts across Falmouth and English Harbour with the on-shore calendar running at festival density; the working non-sailing charter at this window faces marina capacity constraints and the restaurant scene running at queue density. The clean non-sailing alternative is the second half of January, all of February, or the first three weeks of March.
We pass on Sandals Antigua at Dickenson Bay as a charter daytime stop. The all-inclusive resort waterfront runs at functional density with the day-pass access controlled and the working charter day finding better product at Jumby Bay, Carlisle Bay, or Hawksbill.
Multi-region pairings
The Antigua-Barbuda 7-day charter is the canonical structure. The Antigua-Guadeloupe 10-day southern run extends the structure south to the French collectivity with the 45 nautical mile cross and the on-island product at Pointe-a-Pitre, Les Saintes, and Marie-Galante.
The St Barths-Antigua 10 to 14 day southern run pairs the two strongest Caribbean superyacht bases. Board at SBH or SXM, run 4 days northern Leewards (St Martin, Anguilla, St Barths), cross 60 nautical miles south overnight via St Kitts and Nevis, 2 days Nevis, 4 days Antigua and Barbuda, disembark Antigua. The structure works on 50m+ motor yachts and on sailing yachts.
The Antigua-Guadeloupe-Dominica-Martinique-St Lucia 14-day southern run delivers the canonical down-island sailing-charter rotation. Board at Antigua at the start of the Caribbean season (December) or run the rotation in reverse in April. The structure works on sailing yachts cleanly and on 40m+ motor yachts with extended-range fuel planning. We cover St Lucia on the St Lucia page.
The cross-pillar question (villa or charter)
The Antigua villa inventory at Jumby Bay, the Mill Reef Club, the Galley Bay Heights, and the St James's Club Mamora Bay runs $8K to $150K per week with the high end at the Jumby Bay private residences. For clients prioritising Antigua as the destination and the resort and beach calendar as the working product, the villa is the cleaner answer. The charter is the cleaner answer for the Antigua-Barbuda rotation, for the Charter Yacht Show window, and for the Sailing Week and Classics Regatta calendar.
The rest of the trip
VillasForKings covers the Jumby Bay private residences, the Mill Reef Club estates, the Galley Bay Heights, the St James's Club Mamora Bay villas, and the Falmouth ridge homes. HotelsForKings covers the Jumby Bay Island, Hermitage Bay, Curtain Bluff, Carlisle Bay, Galley Bay Resort, Hammock Cove, and Cocobay. RestaurantsForKings covers the Pillars at the Admiral's Inn, the Boom at English Harbour, Catherine's Cafe at Falmouth, the Cloggy's Cafe, and the Sheer Rocks at Cocobay. BarsForKings covers the Shirley Heights Sunday session, the Skullduggery Cafe, the Trappas evening bar, and the Yacht Club Marina sundowner deck.
FAQ
What size yacht works best at Antigua? 40m to 80m motor yacht. Falmouth Harbour Marina accepts the full size range with the north pier handling 100m+ Med-moor. Antigua is the strongest Caribbean charter base for the 50m to 80m size band given the Falmouth and English Harbour combination.
When is Antigua at its best? Mid-January through mid-March. Water 26 to 27 degrees, full Falmouth and English Harbour marina inventory, the cleanest non-regatta charter calendar, and the working Caribbean charter calendar at peak.
Should I charter Antigua during the Antigua Charter Yacht Show? The Show window itself (first week of December, typically Dec 4 to 9) makes charter at Antigua effectively impossible given the on-display fleet density and the marina capacity. The days immediately before and after the Show deliver the strongest charter inventory selection at the cleanest peak rates.
How does Antigua compare with St Barths? Different products. St Barths delivers the on-shore social calendar and the harbor product at peak Caribbean rates; Antigua delivers the working superyacht infrastructure, the protected anchor inventory across the 365-beach coastline, and the heritage product at Nelson's Dockyard. Many Caribbean season-long charters run both with St Barths NYE and Antigua February-March.
Is Antigua a sailing or motor yacht base? Both. The Antigua Sailing Week and Antigua Classics Regatta in mid-to-late April anchor the Caribbean sailing-charter calendar. Most Antigua charter weeks December through March run motor yachts given the Falmouth Harbour Marina inventory; the April regatta windows run heavily toward sailing yachts.