Travel

Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda are two islands in the beautiful Caribbean that form a single country, just southeast of Puerto Rico. The expansive, winding coastline offers today's trekkers a tremendous wealth of secluded, powdery soft beaches. The beautiful coral reefs attract snorkelers and scuba divers from all over the world. And the fascinating little island of Barbuda -- once a scavenger's paradise because so many ships wrecked on its reefs -- is now home to one of the region's most significant bird sanctuaries.

Antigua is the largest of the English-speaking Leeward Islands and is about 14 miles long and 11 miles wide, encompassing 108 square miles. Its highest point is Boggy Peak (1319 ft.), located in the southwestern corner of the island. Barbuda, a flat coral island with an area of only 68 square miles, lies approximately 30 miles due north. The nation also includes the tiny (0.6 square mile) uninhabited island of Redonda, now a nature preserve. Its capital is St. John's, located on Antigua.

Temperatures generally range from the mid-seventies in the winter to the mid-eighties in the summer. Annual rainfall averages only 45 inches, making it the sunniest of the Eastern Caribbean Islands, and the northeast trade winds are nearly constant, flagging only in September. There is low humidity here year-round.

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