Antigua to St Maarten · 10 nights · English Harbour, Antigua to Simpson Bay, St Maarten
The Leeward Islands in ten nights: Antigua to St Maarten
Barbuda, Nevis, St Kitts, a weekend in St Barths and Anguilla, downwind the whole way
Best months
December - April
How long
11 Days / 10 Nights
Start and finish
English Harbour, Antigua to Simpson Bay, St Maarten
Planned by
The Ahoy Club charter team
Day by day
1Antigua, southern Leewards · Board · Board at Nelson's Dockyard
The yacht is alongside in English Harbour, the Georgian dockyard Nelson commanded. Board after lunch, settle in, and walk the quay before dinner: the Admiral's Inn or Catherine's Café across the water at Pigeon Point. The first night is in the harbour, so nobody is finding their sea legs in the dark.
- Nelson's Dockyard, a UNESCO site, from your own deck
- Sundowners at Shirley Heights if it is a Sunday
- Dinner ashore, early night
2Antigua, southern Leewards · 3 to 12 nm · under 1 h · A beach for every day of the year
Antigua claims 365 beaches and the west coast has the calm ones. A short run round to Carlisle Bay or up to Jolly Harbour, the toys in the water by ten, and the first long lunch on deck. Beach cricket is compulsory for Australians.
- Toys in, first swim of the trip
- Beach cricket on an empty strand
- Quiet night at anchor off the west coast
3Barbuda, southern Leewards · 30 nm · 3 h · Lunch at Nobu, the pink sand, the frigate birds
Three hours north to an island with 1,500 people and seventeen miles of pink sand. Anchor off Princess Diana Beach and tender in for lunch at Nobu, the only restaurant of its kind on a beach this empty. In the afternoon the crew run you across the lagoon to the frigate bird colony, thousands of them nesting in the mangroves. Sunset from the bow, nothing on the horizon.
- Lunch at Nobu Barbuda on Princess Diana Beach
- The frigate bird sanctuary by tender
- Pink sand and nobody on it
4Nevis, southern Leewards · 52 nm · 5 h · The long day, then a plantation dinner
The one proper passage of the trip, five hours west with the wind behind, so it is a sea day: breakfast under way, the slide off the stern at the mid-point stop, lunch on the move. Nevis Peak comes up out of the haze in the afternoon. Anchor off Pinney's Beach and go ashore for dinner at one of the old sugar plantation houses in the hills, Montpelier or the Hermitage.
- A sea day with the slide and the toys
- Nevis Peak from the water
- Dinner at a plantation house
5St Kitts, southern Leewards · 7 nm · 45 min · ATVs in the hills, a marina night
Across the Narrows in under an hour. The morning is Ellie's favourite: a guided ATV tour up through the cane fields and rainforest with Mount Liamuiga over your shoulder, and down to the coast. Back on board for lunch, then into Christophe Harbour's marina for the night, with the Pavilion for dinner and a proper night's sleep alongside.
- Guided ATV tour round the island
- Christophe Harbour marina
- Dinner at the Pavilion
6St Barths, northern Leewards · 46 nm · 4.5 h · Arrive by lunch, the quiet side first
Leave early and St Barths is on the bow by lunch. Start on the quiet side: the north-west corner where there is no road and no building, just a crescent of sand, turtles under the boat and the hills behind. Swim, paddle to the beach, and save the town for tomorrow.
- Arrive St Barths by lunch
- An afternoon on the quiet side of the island
- Turtles under the boat
7St Barths, northern Leewards · 2 nm · 15 min · Gustavia, Nao, the first night out
Round to Gustavia, the red-roofed harbour town with the boutiques and the boats rafted along the quay. Lunch at Nao, Ellie's favourite beach club, or La Guérite on the harbourfront, then the shops, then a swim at Shell Beach a few minutes from the tender dock. Dinner in town, Bonito on the hill or Le Ti for the show, and the night goes where it goes.
- Lunch at Nao or La Guérite
- Gustavia's boutiques and harbour
- Dinner at Bonito or Le Ti St Barth
8St Barths, northern Leewards · Stay · Beach clubs, the DJ night
The second St Barths day is the one to land on a Saturday. Nikki Beach or Shellona for a lunch that becomes an afternoon, Gouverneur or Saline by tender if anyone wants an empty beach instead, and dinner at Bagatelle or La Guérite with the DJ playing until the small hours. Party group? We check the DJ dates before we fix the week.
- Nikki Beach or Shellona for the long lunch
- Saline or Gouverneur for the quiet
- The DJ night in Gustavia
9Anguilla, northern Leewards · 23 nm · 2.5 h · The beach picnic, then Elvis' at sunset
Two and a half hours north-west to the flattest, calmest island in the chain and the best beaches in it. This is the day for the crew's beach picnic: a table on the sand at Rendezvous Bay or Sandy Island, the kitchen set up under umbrellas, lunch cooked in front of you. Then sunset drinks at Elvis' shack, a piña colada, locals, music, hammocks and the sun going down behind the bay.
- The crew's beach picnic on the sand
- Sunset at Elvis' Beach Bar, Rendezvous Bay
- The best beaches in the Leewards
10St Maarten, northern Leewards · 5 nm · 30 min · Grand Case for the last dinner
Half an hour across the channel to Grand Case on the French side, a single street of restaurants on the water. A last swim at Tintamarre if the day is calm, a lolo lunch of grilled lobster on the beach, and dinner at one of the Grand Case tables for the farewell.
- Tintamarre for a last swim
- Grilled lobster at a Grand Case lolo
- The farewell dinner on the French side
11St Maarten, northern Leewards · 5 nm · 30 min · Disembark
Round to Simpson Bay after breakfast. The airport is ten minutes from the dock, with direct flights to the US east coast and Europe.
- Breakfast on the move
- Ten minutes from dock to airport
