Cheap Flights from Antigua and Barbuda. Caribbean Airlines Tickets from $237*

Antigua (pronounced Ant-EE-ga) is famous for its brilliant white-sand beaches (it boasts of having one for every day of the year). Although it is a popular tourist, cruise and yacht destination, and only 14 miles by 11, it manages not to feel crowded the way some tourist destinations can. Near-constant trade winds keep the island cool and humidity low.

Antigua has some excellent hotels, resorts and villas in stunning locations, and some great food, from fine French cuisine to grilled corn by the side of the road.

The capital, St John’s, is in the northwest, and home to duty-free shopping, good entertainment, a charming museum, and an imposing 19th-century cathedral.

In the south – separated from the capital by plains and gently rolling hills dotted with old windmills from the days of sugar production – lies the superb natural shelter of English Harbour, a British naval base during the Napoleonic Wars, guarded by the fortifications on Shirley Heights.

Nelson’s Dockyard is the only surviving Georgian naval dockyard in the world: the museum and other restored buildings recall Britain’s Admiral Horatio Nelson, who was stationed here in the late 18th century.

• A trip to Antigua’s smaller unspoiled sister island, Barbuda, with its miles of pink sand beach, a shallow lagoon that shelters one of the largest frigate-bird colonies in the world, and stunning cave formations.  
• Sailing Week at the end of April. A great party time plus great racing. There are lots of watersports year-round, but this is the biggest event on the calendar.  
• Antigua Carnival in late July/early August, a street party that is smaller and less overwhelming than Trinidad’s but just as much fun.  
• Zip-lining through the rainforest.  
• Swimming with stingrays at Stingray City.  
• The Sunday night party at Shirley Heights, above English Harbour.  
• Scuba diving all around the island, which is ringed by coral reefs.  
• Kite-surfing at Jabbawok beach.  
• Duty-free shopping at Heritage and Redcliffe Quays in St John’s.  
• Local street food: grilled chicken, corn and goat, and fish water (soup); the Antigua Black pineapple is said to be the sweetest in the world. Try the local Wadadli beer and Cavalier or English Harbour rums.