Antigua. Met off the long range jet and taken on to the yacht, the villa or the next island.
V. C. Bird International takes long range jets direct from London and New York. We plan the car, the tender or the connecting flight to the smaller islands around your landing, and Falmouth and English Harbour are thirty five to fifty minutes away by road.
The airport
V. C. Bird at a glance
- CodesANU / TAPAV. C. Bird International Airport, on the north eastern side of Antigua, about eight kilometres from St John's.
- RunwayOne, 07/25, about 3,000 metresLong enough for heavy and ultra long range jets arriving direct from London or New York, and for the VIP airliners that occasionally come in.
- Private arrivalsGeneral aviation facilities on the fieldSeveral handling agents operate here. Which one you use is your operator's arrangement, and it decides where your passengers come out.
- RoleThe Leeward Islands hubRegional aircraft fan out from Antigua to Barbuda, Montserrat, Nevis, Anguilla and beyond. Most trips to the smaller islands change here.
The change of aircraft is where the planning effort belongs. A regional turboprop has a small hold and a firm weight limit, and a party that filled a heavy jet from London will not simply transfer across. Count the bags before the trip, not at the apron.
Journey times
From the airport by road
| To | Typical | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| St John's | 10 to 15 minutes | Slower when cruise ships are alongside at Heritage Quay |
| Dickenson Bay and Hodges Bay | 10 to 20 minutes | The closest of the resort coasts to the runway |
| Jumby Bay | About 5 minutes to the dock, then a short boat | The island is reached by its own launch. Tell us the sailing time and we will time the car to it |
| Jolly Harbour | 25 to 35 minutes | Across the island to the west coast |
| Falmouth Harbour | 35 to 50 minutes | The main superyacht anchorage. Longer during the sailing weeks |
| English Harbour and Nelson's Dockyard | 35 to 50 minutes | The road climbs and winds over the ridge; it is slower than the map suggests |
| Half Moon Bay and the east | 40 to 55 minutes | Rural roads, and worth a vehicle with some ground clearance |
Realistic ranges. Antigua's roads are narrow, hilly and patchy in places, and the drive south to Falmouth takes longer than the twenty five kilometres implies.
Why clients come
The harbours on the south coast
Falmouth and English Harbour are the reason most private travellers land at Antigua. Between them they hold the largest concentration of very large yachts in the eastern Caribbean, and the Georgian dockyard at the head of English Harbour is one of the few places in the world where a superyacht ties up against eighteenth century stone. The season builds from December and peaks between February and early May. See Falmouth and English Harbour, Antigua and yacht charter.
Three weeks in particular fill the island: the charter yacht show in early December, when the boats and the charter trade gather; the long offshore race in February; and the sailing regatta at the end of April and beginning of May, which is the busiest week of the Antiguan year for berths, villas and cars alike. We describe transport to these weeks and nothing more; we have no connection to any of them. If your trip falls in one, plan it early.
Our own cars and our own chauffeurs are in London and Manchester, and a trusted global network covers everywhere else. In Antigua, cars are arranged through operators we know. Antigua drives on the left, which will feel familiar to British visitors, and the roads reward a driver who knows where the surface is good and where it is not. For a yacht arrival we coordinate with the captain or the purser directly, so the car and the tender agree on a time and a dock rather than converging on a guess.
Planning it well
What we settle before an Antigua arrival
Six things that keep the last hour of a long journey calm.
- The onward leg first: which island, which aircraft or boat, and what it will actually carry. Everything else is fitted around that
- The berth, the marina and the person to call if you are joining a yacht. Falmouth and English Harbour are separate harbours with separate access
- Luggage counted honestly, including dive kit, golf bags and anything oversized
- Whether the arrival is late in the day, because some regional connections and some docks are daylight operations
- The vehicle matched to the road, not to the brochure. The east of the island in particular is not saloon country
- For December, February and the turn of April into May, a decision made months rather than weeks ahead
Onward
Around a Caribbean trip
The wider region
Request a proposal
Tell us the whole trip
Dates, where you are flying from, how many of you, how much luggage, and where you are going after Antigua. Tell us the yacht and the harbour if there is one. We will set out the aircraft, the handling, the cars on the island and the onward leg as one plan, with the honest timings for the week you are travelling. Nothing is booked or charged online.
Prefer to talk? +44 2030 048300 or WhatsApp, at any hour.
Questions people ask
About Antigua arrivals
How long is the drive to English Harbour?
Thirty five to fifty minutes. It is about twenty five kilometres but the road climbs and winds, and the sailing weeks add to it.
Which aircraft can land at Antigua?
The runway is about 3,000 metres, so heavy and ultra long range jets arrive direct from Europe and North America. See ultra long range jets and private jet charter.
How do we reach Jumby Bay?
By the island's own launch from a dock a few minutes from the airport. We time the car to the sailing rather than to the landing, so tell us which boat you are on.
Can we connect to the smaller islands?
Yes. Antigua is the regional hub for the Leewards and light aircraft go on from here. The limits are luggage, weight and, on some routes, daylight, so we plan that leg first.
Are these your own cars?
Our own fleet and our own chauffeurs are in London and Manchester, and a trusted global network covers everywhere else. In Antigua cars are arranged through operators we know.
Can you arrange the yacht as well?
Yes. See yacht charter and Falmouth and English Harbour.
One contact, wherever you are