Antigua the Largest of the British Leeward Islands

Antigua is located in the middle of the Leeward Islands in the Eastern Caribbean, roughly 17 degrees north of the equator. To the south are the islands of Montserrat and Guadaloupe, and to the north and west are Nevis, St. Kitts, St. Barts, and St. Martin.

Antigua, the largest of the British Leeward Islands, is about 14 miles long and 11 miles wide, encompassing 108 square miles. Its highest point is Boggy Peak is located in the south western 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 uninhabited island of Redonda, now a nature preserve. The current population for the nation is approximately 68,000 and its capital is St. John's on Antigua.

The largest of the British Leeward Islands Antigua has warm, steady winds, a complex coastline of safe harbours and a protective, nearly unbroken wall of coral reef. Caribbean holidays in Antigua offer a range of pastimes. Sailing, yachting, snorkelling and scuba diving and just plain enjoying yourself are key elements of a Caribbean holiday in Antigua.

Other exciting activates include boating, cricket, tennis, windsurfing, hiking and bird watching, golfing, fishing and hunting, horseback riding and more all part of the wonderfully relaxed pace of a Caribbean holiday. With all of this its no wonder Antigua is one of the Caribbeans premier destinations for holidays.

Antigua enjoys an average of eight and a half hours of sunlight every day. 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. Low humidity year round.

The islands of Antigua and Barbuda became an independent state within the British Commonwealth of Nations in 1981. More than 3,000 refugees fleeing a volcanic eruption on nearby Montserrat have settled in Antigua and Barbuda since 1995.
It is divide into 6 parishes; Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mary, Saint Paul, Saint Peter and Saint Philip.

In 1784 the legendary Admiral Horatio Nelson sailed to Antigua and established Great Britains most important Caribbean base. Little did he know that over 200 years later the same unique characteristics that attracted the Royal Navy would transform Antigua into one of the Caribbeans most sought after destinations.