Long Island
A private island off Antigua’s north-east shore, once a sugar estate, where turtles still come ashore at Pasture Bay and the only way across is a five-minute boat ride.
- Arrival
- V.C. Bird International · ANU
- To the island
- About five minutes by boat from Antigua
- Private jets
- Signature private terminal at ANU
- Best time
- December to July
The city
An estate turned island retreat.
Long Island lies off the tip of the Parham Peninsula, some two and a half kilometres from the Antiguan shore, and its story runs from a royal grant to the Earl of Carlisle in 1627 through two centuries of sugar. In the 1950s the Antigua Sugar Factory used it as a holiday place for its staff; since 1990 it has been Jumby Bay, its name taken from the Creole word for a ghost.
There are no roads to the mainland and no public ferry: guests and the owners of its private homes come over by boat in about five minutes, and the airport is only a few kilometres away. December to July is the drier half of the year; afternoons are near 30 °C and the sea is 26 to 28 °C.
Arriving
From the runway to the jetty.
V.C. Bird International, at Osbourn, is about five kilometres from the island in a straight line, with a runway of just over three kilometres. The crossing itself takes about five minutes by boat.
- San Juan 1 h 00
- Punta Cana 1 h 15
- Miami 3 h 05
- New York 4 h 05
- Zurich 9 h 30 long-range jet
When to go
December to July.
Figures for Antigua, recorded at St John’s. The heat barely shifts, 28 to 31 °C in the afternoon all year, and monthly rain stays under 100 mm from December to July. From August to November the rains build and the storm season peaks.
- 28° J 67 26°
- 28° F 37 26°
- 29° M 40 26°
- 29° A 57 27°
- 30° M 91 27°
- 30° J 70 28°
- 31° J 79 28°
- 31° A 124 28°
- 31° S 140 29°
- 30° O 134 29°
- 30° N 113 28°
- 29° D 88 27°
What to see and do
Days in and around Long Island.
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Landmark
Pasture Bay
The beach where hawksbill turtles haul themselves up the sand to nest.
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Landmark
The Estate House
The old plantation house, its front wing added in the 1920s, now a dining room for the island.
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Landmark
The sugar mill
A rebuilt tower on the site of a mill first raised in 1749 and already a ruin by 1835.
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Wildlife
Great Bird Island
Boats cross to this 20 acre islet of the North East Marine Management Area, the one place the rare Antiguan racer snake lives in the wild.
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Culture
Betty's Hope
Christopher Codrington founded Antigua's first sugar plantation here in 1674; a restored windmill and an interpretation centre tell its story.
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Nature
Devil's Bridge National Park
Atlantic waves have carved a limestone arch and blowholes on this north-eastern point, a national park since 2008.
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Culture
Nelson's Dockyard
Georgian naval buildings dating from 1725, a World Heritage Site since 2016, hold a museum in the 1855 boathouse.
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Racing & sport
Antigua Sailing Week
Each April racing yachts gather in English and Falmouth Harbours for a regatta that held its 57th edition in 2026.
Official site -
Golf
Cedar Valley Golf Club
Ralph Aldridge's par 70 course outside St John's opened with nine holes in 1970 and grew to 18 in 1977.
On the calendar
Dates to plan around.
Dates as published by the organisers. Runways, hotels and slots fill early around these weeks: the sooner we know, the more choice you have.
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4–9 Dec 2026
Yachting
Antigua Charter Yacht Show
Annual show of charter motor yachts, sailing yachts and multihulls for brokers and captains, marking 65 years since yachts first gathered in English Harbour.
Nelson's Dockyard, English Harbour, about 17 km away
In 5 weeks
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22 Feb 2027
Sailing
RORC Caribbean 600
Royal Ocean Racing Club offshore race of about 600 miles starting and finishing in Antigua and rounding 11 Caribbean islands; 18th edition.
Fort Charlotte, English Harbour, about 18 km away
In 4 months
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14–19 Apr 2027
Sailing
Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta
Annual regatta for classic and traditional yachts, racing off Antigua from Nelson's Dockyard in English Harbour.
Nelson's Dockyard, English Harbour, about 17 km away
In 5 months
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21–25 Apr 2027
Sailing
Antigua Sailing Week
Annual keelboat regatta in Antigua, run from the English Harbour and Falmouth Harbour area.
English Harbour, about 17 km away
In 6 months
Where to stay
On the island, and across the water.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
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Jumby Bay Island The island’s own resort, about three hundred acres with three reef-sheltered beaches and eleven villas, meals included, holding two MICHELIN Keys.
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Hermitage Bay Two MICHELIN Keys for thirty cottages, each with a plunge pool, above a single beach on the west coast, and no guests under fourteen.
- Carlisle Bay Suites that all look out to sea from the south coast, with motorboats kept off the beach; one MICHELIN Key.
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Curtain Bluff One MICHELIN Key for an all-inclusive of the 1960s on a point with a beach to either side.
Where to dine
Two tables worth the boat ride.
No MICHELIN Guide covers Antigua. The Estate House is the fine-dining room of Jumby Bay; East, at Carlisle Bay, is listed in Fodor’s Antigua guide.
- The Estate House Signature restaurant, Jumby Bay Island Classic and modern Jumby Bay Island, Long Island
- East Fodor’s Asian $$$$ Carlisle Bay, Old Road, about 20 km
Elsewhere in Antigua and Barbuda
More reasons to come.
Flying to Long Island?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.