This second trip segment got us to briefly experience island living for five nights in Antigua and Barbuda.

2026.01.23 – [AG] St John’s ==> St John’s

We had another very good night’s sleep. After waking up, we drove to a large supermarket to buy groceries. Based on our initial impressions, the roads seemed to be in poorer condition than those in St. Kitts, with noticeably heavier traffic. We spent over 45 minutes shopping for food.

Back at our accommodation, Jenny promptly prepared a great breakfast brunch and then started cooking meals for the next two evenings. We left the apartment at 1:30 p.m. and drove for over an hour to cover the 13 km to the ruins of Fort Barrington. Traffic was heavy, and the road was often peppered with potholes.

We used our hiking poles on the short uphill hike to the ruins. Later, we traded them for snorkeling equipment and walked over to the nearby beach. We snorkeled for about an hour, but the water was so murky after the rain over the past few days that we could barely see any underwater scenery.

The drive back to our accommodation was much quicker. Jenny has developed great navigation skills during our drives. After a good shower, we enjoyed dinner, which was already prepared. Jenny finished the evening by doing our first load of laundry in Antigua.

2026.01.24 – [AG] St John’s ==> St John’s

Breakfast took longer than usual, as other guests were preparing their meals at the same time. Later, we drove about an hour to visit Devil’s Bridge, a striking natural rock formation along the coast. After spending some time watching the crashing waves, we continued on to nearby Long Beach, where we snorkeled and enjoyed the water for a few hours. The road conditions were generally much better than what we experienced the previous day. Tired from a full day of excursions, we went to bed shortly after dinner.

2026.01.25 – [AG] St John’s ==> St John’s

We had a slightly earlier start to the morning, as we had planned a full day in the southern part of the island, known as English Harbour. After breakfast, we drove for about an hour along pothole-peppered roads. Our first stop in English Harbour was the car rental office to finalize our payment.

We skipped a visit to Nelson’s Dockyard after learning about the USD 15 entrance fee, and our car rental agent mentioned there wasn’t much to see there. We then drove to the nearby car park at Galleon Beach, where we set out on a 3 km hike via Shirley’s Heights Viewpoint. The 1 km uphill section was quite manageable, but the downhill trail toward the coast required careful footing due to loose stones. The coastal views more than made up for the effort.

After returning to the car, we decided to find a light meal and restock on cold drinking water. A nearby beach restaurant was pricey, catered mainly to resort guests, and was fully occupied, so we opted drive out a few kms. We stumbled on a small family-run roadside restaurant, which we thoroughly enjoyed.

After this pleasant break, we drove back to the beach for a snorkeling outing. We left the English Harbour area at 5 p.m. for the one-hour drive back to our accommodation. Thankfully, Jenny had prepared our dinner before we left this morning. Every beach or snorkeling outing creates a lot of extra work for Jenny, as it involves extensive rinsing and laundry.

2026.01.26 – [AG] St John’s ==> St John’s

On our last full day in Antigua, we chose to stay close to St. John’s. After our final breakfast in the shared kitchen—which was used mostly by us—we drove out to visit the Fort James ruins, located across the bay from Fort Barrington. The site was easily accessed from the car park but proved to be rather uninteresting, offering only a basic view of the sea.

Later, we drove to a paid car park beside the cruise ship port to explore the boutiques and restaurants that often make up the limited view of Antigua for most cruise passengers. During our stroll, we stopped at several ATMs but were unsuccessful in withdrawing any local currency. Earlier this morning, we had noticed that our bank had already refunded the failed ATM withdrawals from St. Kitts.

On the way back to our accommodation, we stopped at our usual grocery store to pick up some takeaway ice cream, which we enjoyed on our outdoor balcony. Throughout the day, we scrambled to secure a rental car from various companies in Dominica, our next destination. Thankfully, the last company to inform us of their lack of availability suggested a few alternative rental services. As a result, we were able to complete a car reservation later that evening that appeared to be firm.

We understand that Dominica’s rugged geography includes roads that are quite steep and winding; therefore, most travelers—ourselves included—opt to rent a SUV.

2026.01.27 – [DM] St John’s ==> Portsmouth

We had a relatively relaxing morning. With all our groceries used up, breakfast consisted of just a few cookies and coffee or tea. At 11:30, we bid farewell to Jerry, our very friendly Chinese host who had been living on the island for the past 30 years, and set off toward the airport. Along the way, we stopped at our usual grocery store to pick up some deli items for a later lunch at the airport, then fueled up the car before arriving.

Just as we parked in the airport’s short-term car park, an agent from the car rental company arrived with a vehicle for another client and promptly drove off with our own car—classic island efficiency. We ate our deli lunch before checking in a full three hours ahead of our 4:30 p.m. flight.

We had originally booked a direct flight from Antigua to Dominica, but the carrier canceled it, forcing us to rebook with another airline via Barbados. Surprisingly, the wait passed quickly. While boarding, we heard an announcement that the 4:15 p.m. flight to Toronto had been delayed until 7:30 p.m., and we felt sorry for the many passengers who had already checked in.

The one-hour InterCaribbean flight to Barbados was uneventful, with refreshments and snacks served along the way. The pilot even pointed out that we were flying over Dominica. Upon deplaning in Barbados, the arrival area was chaotic, with long queues of passengers waiting to clear security. Thankfully, we were fast-tracked due to our connecting flight to Dominica.

By the time we boarded our 6:30 p.m. flight, it was already dark. The smaller, nearly full plane took about an hour to reach Dominica. After landing, we moved quickly through immigration and walked a few blocks to the car rental office. The agent efficiently processed our payment and reviewed the SUV with us.

True to Dominica’s rugged geography, the 35-kilometer night time drive to our accommodation took over an hour and a half. The winding hills demanded constant attention, though the road conditions were surprisingly good. We checked into our “beachfront” cottage, which—much to our chagrin—was not actually beachfront. The complex, made up of 18 cottages, was laid out in two rows, and ours happened to be in the back. A good shower helped us recover from the long day of travel.