Plan a 7-day Antigua and Barbuda charter itinerary: English Harbour, Green Island, Barbuda's pink sand, the clearance procedure and a sample week.
A 7-day Antigua and Barbuda charter itinerary circles Antigua from English Harbour and adds a 15-mile hop north to Barbuda. It is the most complete single-country week in the Caribbean: a Georgian naval dockyard that is still a working marina, an east coast of reef-protected bays that most visitors never see, and a sister island with fifteen miles of empty pink sand.
It is also the region's charter capital, which cuts both ways — the infrastructure is excellent and the harbours fill for the shows and regattas. This guide covers how crews sequence the week, and where Guest Trip removes the spreadsheet stage.
The season is December to April on steady easterly trades. Two dates dominate the calendar: the Antigua Charter Yacht Show in Falmouth Harbour in early December — 4 to 9 December in 2026, a trade-only show of around seventy yachts across Falmouth Harbour Marina, Antigua Yacht Club Marina and Nelson's Dockyard — and Antigua Sailing Week at the end of April. Both fill English and Falmouth Harbours completely. Between them the island is busy but manageable, and February is the most settled month.
Antigua's geography is unusually forgiving: the south and east coasts are protected by reef, so there is nearly always a comfortable bay somewhere on the island whatever the wind does. Barbuda is the exception — low, reef-fringed and genuinely exposed, and worth planning properly.
1. Get the clearance sequence right
Antigua runs a formal procedure. Call the Coastguard on VHF channel 16 from six hours out to request entry, fly the yellow quarantine flag, and keep everyone aboard until Port Health clears the vessel. Then it is ED cards for each person, the health declaration, the general declaration and last port clearance to Customs, crew and passenger lists to Immigration, and fees at the Port Authority, which takes US or EC dollars and cards. Advance notification is available online through eSeaClear.
Two details catch people out. Every vessel in Antiguan and Barbudan waters must carry a valid cruising permit, and vessels in English Harbour, Falmouth Harbour or Nelson's Dockyard pay additional National Parks Authority fees on top. And once you have cleared out, you must actually depart within 24 hours — clearing out early to save a morning does not work here. Fee rates are set by the Port Authority and the National Parks Authority and change; confirm the current schedule rather than working from last season's figures.
2. Decide whether Barbuda is in the week
Barbuda is about 15 nautical miles north of Antigua, roughly two hours, and it is the single best day of the week when conditions allow. Eleven miles of pink-tinged sand on the west coast, the Codrington Lagoon frigate bird colony reached by local boat, and almost nobody there. It is also low, surrounded by reef and short on shelter, so it wants settled weather and a daylight approach. Plan it for mid-week with a fallback, not for the last day.
3. Use English Harbour as the anchor of the itinerary
Nelson's Dockyard is a UNESCO World Heritage site and still a working Georgian dockyard, which makes it the rare Caribbean stop that is genuinely interesting ashore. Berth there or in Falmouth for one or two nights, walk Shirley Heights for the sunset — the Sunday evening party is an institution — and use it as the provisioning and crew-change point. Outside show and regatta weeks, berths are obtainable; during them, they are not.
4. Give the east coast its due
Most charter weeks stay on the south and west coasts and miss the best of the island. Green Island and Nonsuch Bay on the east side are reef-protected, quiet, and among the best snorkelling and kiting water in the Leewards. Getting there means a morning against the trades around the southern headlands, which is why so few bother — and why it is worth doing early in the week.
In Guest Trip: custom saved locations with draggable pins let the crew keep the reef passes and anchorages they trust on the east coast, and reuse them across the season.
5. Plan around the reef, not just the wind
Antigua is reef-strewn, and the eastern approaches in particular need good light and a careful eye. Plan reef passages for mid-morning to mid-afternoon with the sun high and behind you, and never on a falling light. This is the one ground in the Leewards where the timing of a passage is about visibility as much as wind.
6. Layer the onboard programme onto the route
Provision in Antigua, which has the best supply in the eastern Caribbean thanks to the charter fleet. Plan the ashore evenings for English Harbour and Shirley Heights, the beach lunches for Barbuda and Green Island, and the spa for the days at anchor on the east coast. The kiting and snorkelling on the east side are the standout watersports of the week.
7. Publish it as a live page
An Antigua week moves for the Barbuda weather window more than anything else. Publish the itinerary as a guest site the crew can edit so the plan on the guests' phones is the current one.
Day 1. Embark English Harbour; Nelson's Dockyard tour, Shirley Heights sunset; dinner ashore. Alongside. Day 2. East around the southern headlands to Green Island and Nonsuch Bay; snorkelling and toys. About 3 hours. Day 3. Second east coast day: reef snorkelling, kiting, quiet night at anchor. Short hops. Day 4. North to Barbuda: passage in settled weather, afternoon on the pink sand. About 2 hours. Day 5. Barbuda: Codrington Lagoon frigate birds by local boat, beach lunch, second night. None. Day 6. Return south to Deep Bay or Jolly Harbour; wreck snorkelling and the west coast sunset. About 3 hours. Day 7. Short passage back to English Harbour; disembarkation brief. About 2 hours
Total steaming is around 80 nautical miles. Where the Barbuda window does not open, the same days work well as a longer east coast stay plus the west coast beaches.
Call the Coastguard on VHF channel 16 from six hours out, fly the yellow quarantine flag and keep everyone aboard until Port Health clears you. Then complete ED cards and the health declaration, present the general declaration and last port clearance to Customs, crew lists to Immigration, and pay fees at the Port Authority. Advance notification is available through eSeaClear.
Yes. Every vessel in Antiguan and Barbudan waters must carry a valid cruising permit, and vessels in English Harbour, Falmouth Harbour or Nelson's Dockyard pay additional National Parks Authority fees. Confirm current rates with the Port Authority, as they change.
About 15 nautical miles, roughly two hours at displacement speed. Barbuda is low and reef-fringed with limited shelter, so plan the passage for settled weather, in daylight, and keep a fallback day in the itinerary.
Early December for the Antigua Charter Yacht Show in Falmouth Harbour — 4 to 9 December in 2026 — and late April for Antigua Sailing Week. Both fill English and Falmouth Harbours entirely, so berths need confirming far in advance.