Antigua snapshots, introduction, tourist attractions, and photographs

Antigua is located between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east-southeast of Puerto Rico. The island and its sister islands Barbuda and Redonda have total land area about 442 square kilometers, about 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC.

Antigua has 68,320 (2004 estimate) population, including black, British, Portuguese, Lebanese, Syrian ethnic groups. English is the official language in Antigua.

The islands of Antigua and Barbuda became an independent state within the British Commonwealth of Nations in 1981. Today, tourism is the dominant activity in the economy accounting directly or indirectly for more than half of GDP of this islands nation. It uses East Caribbean Dollar as its currency.

With tropical marine climate with little seasonal temperature variation, Antigua is a beautiful and pleasant tropical island with more than 360 beaches along its about 100 kilometers coastline.

Besides hundreds of pristine silky white sand beaches and pleasant weather, Antigua offers visitors many museums and historical attractions, such as English Harbour which served as headquarters of the British Navy for 200 years. St. John, the capital of Antigua, is a beautiful city with a shopping and entertainment complex - Heritage Quay. This shopping complex has 35 shops with a lot of duty-free items including perfumes, jewelry, china and crystal.

There are many beachfront resorts with landscaped gardens, swimming pools and water sports, tennis courts, health clubs, beach volleyball, restaurants and bars, nightly entertainment, Cyber rooms and library, shops and electronic casinos, and other modern facilities.

Antigua, the Caribbean island with a British flavour, is an ideal paradise for scuba diving, snorkeling, windsurfing, sailing, and other water sports, and will give you an unforgettable vacation.