International phone calls and other Antigua and Barbuda General Tips

Favorite Thing: There are public phones quite everywhere in Antigua. However, it is not that easy to call home. First, Antigua deviates a little from international standard: Here, you have to dial 011 and then your country code (for example, 01131 for the Netherlands). Most public phones accept credit cards, but no fare is indicated – so a short call may end up in an expensive experience. As coins are not accepted, the only other possibility is to buy a prepaid phone card. The easiest card to get is the one from Cable and Wireless, the company which operates most of the public phones. Cards for the state-run phones or international calling cards are harder to find.

Fondest Memory: If you want to get a phonecard on a Sunday in St. John’s, try out a supermarket called “Shopper’s Paradise”, located at Fort Road, 15-20 walking minutes away from Heritage Quay. I don’t know, if there’s probably a better choice, but that was the only place after a 4-hour odyssey through St. John’s where I got a phonecard.

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Favorite Thing: A day-tour by taxi is a popular way to explore the island and a good choice, if you are arriving on a cruise ship with only little time to see the island. That and the fact that it is a very important income source for the locals are the reasons why I don’t have this tip under tourist traps. However, it is also one of the most expensive ways to get around in Antigua: Most-basic day-tours start from 70 US$, haggling down your driver is possible, but may result in a more “limited” version. Extensive day-tours with more stops may go up to 300 US$.

If you are on the island for more than a single day, rental cars may be a good alternative. I prefer to explore the island via public transport. How to do that? Check out my tip about the bus system in Antigua.


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Favorite Thing: In Antigua, you won’t find a supermarket chain like Wal-Mart or Tesco. All supermarkets I saw had a somewhat archaic interior and surely most of them were family-owned. It’s the kind of shop you’ll also find in the more rural regions of South America. As there are no chains, every supermarket is different, with some even offering warm meals inside. Also, some round up or down to the next 10 (or 25) cents, elminiating the smaller coins. One some, you have to leave your bag at the front desk or cashier, no matter how small it is. Anyway, going shopping in one of these supermarkets is something many tourists miss. But it’s another simple way to get in touch with everyday culture.

Fondest Memory: In St. John’s you’ll find many supermarkets, a couple fo them are located around the market hall. Perhaps the best known and one of the largest is Miami Supermarket (for some reasons, called in the spanish manner “Mi-uh-mee”). Another larger one is found close to the eastern bus station and is run by an asian family. I heard of one supermarket with a larger choice, located a little outside of St. John’s, called Epicurean. However, I was told that that one was quite expensive. But if you are looking for a special imported product, it may be the right cjoice for you.

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Favorite Thing: If you do not want to rely completely on the advice given you by a travel agency (which is the most expensive option), a lot of research is necessary. Internet research is the obvious method, but is focused on high-fare tourists. But what is even worse is the reliability of antiguan websites and e-mail adresses. Many pages weren’t updated for a long time and e-mail adresses do not work. On the other hand, phone calls may just rocket up your bill without bringing you closer to the information you wanted. Nevertheless, I still opt for the internet, but beware that a lot of patience is needed until you get the information you need.

The websites below are a good point to start the search through Antigua’s tourist information websites. The museum site is the best when it comes to get facts about all the sites on the island.

Fondest Memory: I was forced to book a new hotel for a date in the beginning of the high season – and that was “only” two months before departure. E-mailing several hotels found on the web brought only a limited result: From around twelve e-mails sent out two were returned due to an unknown sender, three were replied and the rest disappeared somewhere in the virtual Atlantic Ocean. Research for local sights and activities led to a similar result, with the only difference being in three less replies for a total of zero. Fortunately, Among the three hotels e-mails was an acceptable offer (another was fine too, but that e-mail arrived with a delay of a week…).

For some more info:

http://www.antiguanice.com
http://www.antiguamuseums.org

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Favorite Thing: There are several maps for Antigua and Barbuda, many of them are available for free. The most common one is a pocket map from Skyview (in 2008 it had a canopy tour advertising on the front page). The map is good to get an overview of the island and is sufficient for walks around St. John’s. However, hiking with that map is like trying to sail around Britain with a road atlas. Roads are sometimes not where they are supposed to be and distances may be shorter or larger than they appear on the map. But the worst error on the map is the scale of Barbuda. They just forgot the zeros – for the miles as well as for the kilometers. That made me believe that Barbuda had a size of around 5 square kilometers – which proved to be an error….

Free maps (Skyview and others) are available almost everywhere where tourists are found: Airport, shops, hotels etc.


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Favorite Thing: The tourist information office is not a really well-kept place in Antigua – more a well-kept secret. It was in a cottage in Heritage Quay, now it is hidden in the 1st floor of a small shopping center called “Vendor’s Mall”. You’ll find that at the eastern end of heritage quay. Staff is very friendly and will do the best to answer the questions you have around your stay in Antigua. The office is open during usual opening times, which means it is closed in Sundays and opens somewhen around 9:00 a.m.

Their homepage will answer many FAQs, but keep in mind that also this page is focused on cruise ship tourists and wealthier people. A good example is found among the 25 tips when travelling to Antigua and Barbuda:

13. Best shopping deals are found at Heritage and Redcliffe Quays

“Best” is a good description for “Most expensive” in this case, as these places are among the most touristy ones on the island. Here, you’ll find a high concentration of souvenir shops as well as shops of luxury brands like Gucci. Sounds not like a bargain…

http://www.antigua-barbuda.org/index.htm


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Favorite Thing: The official Currency in Antigua and Barbuda is the East Caribbean Dollar, which is also the official currency of Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines as well as the british overseas territories of Anguilla and Montserrat. It is the successor of the British West Indies Dollar, which it replaced between 1965 and 1983. Since 1976, it is pegged to the US$ at a rate of 1:2,70.
East Caribbean Dollars are quite hard to get outside of the Caribbean and it is recommended to pre-order them at the bank. Even at places where you would expect to get this currency (Heathrow Airport), it is hard to find some EC$ notes.
The US$ is widely accepted too, especially at places frequently visited by tourists. Although pegged, it is possible that the US$ is accepted at a less favourable rate. If a price is not clearly marked as “US” or “EC”, ask before you buy or it may get expensive for you.

Fondest Memory: P.S.: If you want a special souvenir, have a look through your change. Although not an official currency anymore, some old British West Indies Dollar coins are still in circulation. I got two 25 cents coins from 1955 as change, showing all the old designations and young Queen Elizabeth.

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