Yacht Charter St. John's

Yacht Charter in St. Johns, Antigua

St. Johns is the capital of Antigua and Barbuda — a modest but charming city of colourful wooden houses, neoclassical public buildings, and a working harbour that is one of the most important in the eastern Caribbean. Set on the island's northwestern coast in a large natural harbour, St. Johns serves as the commercial, administrative, and cultural heart of a nation that has built much of its economy on tourism and yacht charter. The city's Heritage Quay and Redcliffe Quay, both duty-free shopping areas on the waterfront, serve the constant stream of cruise passengers that arrive throughout the Caribbean season, but away from the quays the city has an authentic, unhurried Caribbean character that is easy to appreciate.

Heritage Quay and Redcliffe Quay

Heritage Quay, the newer of the two waterfront shopping areas, has duty-free boutiques, a casino, and fast-food restaurants serving the cruise passenger market. Redcliffe Quay, the older and more architecturally interesting area, is housed in a series of restored warehouses and merchants' buildings from the 18th century, when St. Johns was one of the most important trading ports in the eastern Caribbean and a significant centre of the Atlantic slave trade. Today the restored buildings house boutiques, restaurants, and art galleries, and the courtyards between them have a pleasant, shaded atmosphere that is a welcome contrast to the heat of the open streets.

St. Johns Cathedral and the Market

The Cathedral of St. Johns, the island's Anglican cathedral, is one of the most distinctive buildings in the Caribbean — a baroque twin-towered structure of stone and pitch-pine interior that has been rebuilt several times after earthquake damage. The enclosed interior, with its pitch-pine ceiling and the white marble figures of St. John the Divine and St. John the Baptist at the southern gate (salvaged from a ship bound for South America), is one of the most beautiful religious interiors in the region. The public market, held every Saturday morning in the market building near the harbour, is one of the finest in the Leeward Islands, with an abundance of tropical produce and local crafts.

Beaches and Day Sailing

St. Johns is accessible by dinghy or water taxi to several of the finest beaches on Antigua's northwestern coast — Dickinson Bay, a long, calm, reef-protected beach with several beach bars and watersport operators; Runaway Bay, slightly quieter and more suited to families; and Fort James beach, below the 18th-century English fort of the same name, which has a small beach bar and excellent views over the harbour entrance. Day sails from St. Johns can reach Cades Reef on the south coast — Antigua's finest snorkelling and diving site — or the popular anchorage of Falmouth Harbour, where the sailing community of English Harbour is based.