St. John's

Taxis line the curb at both Heritage Quay and Redcliffe Quay. Antigua's taxis are unmetered but rates are set by the government and posted on a board at the pier — confirm the printed rate before boarding. St. John's to Nelson's Dockyard: USD 31 one way, USD 80 round trip with two-hour wait. To Dickenson Bay: USD 16. To Half Moon Bay: USD 33. To Stingray City (Seaton's): USD 24. USD is preferred; tip 10% is standard. Drivers will quote a full-day island circuit (Dockyard + Shirley Heights + Devil's Bridge) for USD 120–150 per vehicle.

XCD is the official currency, pegged at EC$2.70 to USD 1 by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank. USD is accepted everywhere tourists go — taxis, restaurants, the Heritage Quay arcade, beach bars — usually at the pegged rate, occasionally at EC$2.50 for small cash purchases in the vendor's favor. Cards work at sit-down restaurants, resorts, and the duty-free shops; the public market, beach shacks, and most taxi drivers prefer cash. RBC, Scotiabank, and ACB ATMs on High Street and Market Street dispense XCD against international cards for a fixed EC$5 fee. Small USD bills are the most useful; nobody likes breaking a USD 100.

The standard southern half-day is Nelson's Dockyard (25 minutes by taxi, EC$30/USD 11 entry, allow 90 minutes) plus the five-minute drive up to Shirley Heights for the overlook (free, allow 30 minutes), often with a stop at Pigeon Point Beach or Falmouth Harbour for lunch. Full-day adds Devil's Bridge on the east coast (another 45 minutes). Ship excursions cover the same circuit for USD 80–120 per person; a private taxi for a half-day Dockyard-and-Shirley-Heights loop runs USD 80–100 for the vehicle, USD 120–150 for the full island. Antigua drives on the left; rental cars exist but the inland roads are unsigned and the time savings are zero.

Two adjacent piers right in downtown St. John's. Heritage Quay has the duty-free arcade attached to the gangway; Redcliffe Quay opens onto restored 18th-century warehouses now housing restaurants and boutiques. Gangway to St. John's Cathedral is five minutes on foot, to the public market ten, to the bus station fifteen. Overflow ships on four-ship days berth at Deepwater Harbour a mile north and run a USD 5 shuttle. No tender operations except in rare hurricane-season weather.

Antigua's reefs are mid-tier Caribbean — visibility 18–25m, healthy hard coral, occasional turtles, but the destination dives (Pillars of Hercules, Sunken Rock, Cades Reef) are 30–60 minutes by boat and tough to fit in an eight-hour port day. Indigo Divers and Dive Antigua run two-tank trips from Dickenson Bay; book ahead with pier pickup confirmed. For a port day, snorkeling at Stingray City sandbar or Cades Reef from a snorkel boat (USD 75–95) is the practical choice. Beach snorkeling off Pigeon Point is fine but not destination-grade.

Dickenson Bay (15 minutes north) is the resort strip — Sandals, Siboney, Halcyon. Beach is public but the chair-and-umbrella setups belong to specific bars; Ana's on the Beach and the Beach Restaurant rent loungers for USD 10–15 and credit toward food. Sandals charges USD 100+ for a day pass with food and drinks included if you want all-inclusive. Pigeon Point in Falmouth Harbour pairs well with a Nelson's Dockyard morning — calm, shaded, EC$25 lounger rentals. Half Moon Bay has no facilities to speak of and a long drive; go only if you want the Atlantic-side wilder beach.