The 365 Beaches of Antigua

Antigua is famous for its beaches, boasting, by proud local claim, 365 of them, one for every day of the year. Its deeply indented coastline is fringed with an extraordinary variety of dazzling white and pink-tinged sands lapped by calm, clear turquoise water and cooled by gentle trade winds. From the lively, resort-lined Dickenson Bay in the north to the beloved crescent of Half Moon Bay, the exclusive Jumby Bay, the pink sands of Pink Sand Beach and the dramatic surf of the Atlantic coast, there is a beach for every mood, from bustling and sociable to utterly secluded, making Antigua a quintessential Caribbean beach paradise.

History

The island's own name, Waladli, comes from its Indigenous inhabitants and means roughly "our own"; Wadadli, the Creole form, is still used. Arawak settlers who came by canoe from what is now Venezuela brought farming, including the Antiguan black pineapple, and in 1493 Columbus passed and named the island Santa María de la Antigua. English colonists from St Kitts settled in 1632, and Antigua soon became a profitable sugar colony worked by enslaved Africans; it became independent, together with Barbuda, on 1 November 1981 (Wikipedia, Antigua).

What you'll find

• Half Moon Bay - the beloved crescent of pink-tinged sand.
• Dickenson Bay - the lively northern beach and resorts.
• The secluded coves - the countless quiet, hidden beaches.
• The turquoise water - the calm, clear swimming and snorkelling.

When to go

December to April, the dry season, for the sunniest, driest weather and calmest seas, the peak season; the summer is hotter and wetter with a hurricane risk from June to November. With so many beaches facing different directions, there is almost always a sheltered, calm one whatever the wind, and all Antiguan beaches are public by law.

Good to know

The famous claim of 365 beaches is a cheerful approximation rather than a precise count, and some of the finest beaches are fronted by resorts, though all are legally public; Antigua is an established, sometimes pricey destination rather than an undiscovered one. For a genuinely superb and varied Caribbean coastline, though, with an abundance of beautiful white and pink-sand beaches for every taste, calm turquoise water and reliable sunshine, Antigua's beaches are world-class and idyllic.

Nearby

The capital St. John's, Nelson's Dockyard and Barbuda are within reach.