Caribbean · The Leeward Islands
Seventeen miles of pink sand, fifteen hundred people and one Nobu
Barbuda is Antigua’s flat, empty sister an hour north: the longest pink-sand beach in the Caribbean, a frigate bird colony in the lagoon, and Nobu on Princess Diana Beach. A day and a night on our Leewards routes, and the stop people remember.
Where
Leeward Islands, 30 nm north of Antigua
Fly to
Antigua (ANU), then the yacht; three hours by sea
Best months
December to April
Give it
One night, with lunch at Nobu
Known for
Princess Diana Beach, Nobu, the frigate birds
Ashore
One village, Codrington. Almost nothing else, by design
Why go
Barbuda, honestly
Barbuda is as low as Anguilla and emptier. The whole west coast is one beach, pink from crushed shell, with the Codrington Lagoon behind it and the Atlantic reef on the far side. Fifteen hundred people live here, almost all in the one village, and the island has fought hard to stay that way.
The reason yachts come now is Nobu. Robert De Niro’s Nobu Barbuda sits on Princess Diana Beach at the south-west corner with a handful of bungalows and nothing around it, and a yacht anchors straight off the restaurant. Lunch there, then the beach, is the day.
The other reason is the lagoon: the largest frigate bird colony in the western hemisphere, thousands of birds nesting in the mangroves, reached by a local boatman in the late afternoon. Then the sun goes down over a beach with nobody on it.
Where we anchor
The anchorages, in the order we use them
- Princess Diana Beach, off NobuAnchorageThe south-west corner. Anchor off the restaurant, tender in for lunch, swim back.
- Low BayAnchorageThe middle of the long west beach, with the lagoon entrance behind. The frigate bird boat leaves from here.
- Spanish PointDay stop, settled weatherThe south-east corner and the reef. Snorkelling when the Atlantic is calm, which it often is not.
- Cocoa PointAnchorageThe sheltered southern tip, the usual overnight when the swell is up on the west coast.
Ashore
Barbuda off the boat
Not a directory. If it is here, we have sat at the table or stood at the bar.
Eat
One serious table, and it is one of the best in the Caribbean.
- Nobu BarbudaNobu’s beach restaurant on Princess Diana Beach. Book with the charter; it is a tender ride from the anchorage.
- Uncle Roddy’sLobster and conch on the beach at Coral Group Bay, the local answer to Nobu and a fraction of the price.
Drink and dance
Sunset on deck. Barbuda does not do nightlife.
- The Nobu bar at sunsetSake on the sand as the sun goes down over the water.
- The beach, after darkA fire on the sand and the crew’s bar. The darkest skies in the Leewards.
Do
The lagoon, the beach and the reef.
- The frigate bird sanctuaryA local boatman takes you across the lagoon in the late afternoon, when thousands of birds come in to roost.
- Walk the pink sandSeventeen miles of it. You will not see another footprint.
- Snorkel the reefThe Atlantic reef at Spanish Point and the Palaster Reef, when the sea is calm.
Where it sits
Barbuda on the chart
Barbuda is thirty miles north of Antigua, so it is a day trip and a night on any week that starts or ends in English Harbour, and the third night of our ten-night Leewards route.
Drag to move. Double-click or ctrl-scroll to zoom.Zoom with the buttons, then drag to move.
When
When to be in Barbuda
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
- December to April: the season, and when Nobu is open.
- January to March: the frigate birds nesting, the males with their red throats inflated.
- April: the Antigua Classics and Sailing Week fill the island next door; Barbuda stays empty.
- May to November: Nobu closes for part of the summer, and the hurricane season runs from July.
Itineraries
Itineraries that call at Barbuda
Full plans, day by day, with the boat each one runs on. Send one to the people coming with you; we reshape it around your yacht and dates.
The Leeward Islands in ten nights
Antigua7 stopsSt Maarten
Antigua to St Maarten, downwind the whole way: lunch at Nobu on Barbuda, Nevis and St Kitts, a weekend in St Barths and Anguilla's beaches to finish.
Open
The Leeward and Windward Islands in 14 nights
St Barths13 stopsGrenada
St Maarten to Grenada, all the way down: St Barths, Nevis and St Kitts, Barbuda and Antigua, the French islands, Dominica, the Pitons and the Grenadines.
OpenYachts
Yachts in the Caribbean now
Every one of these anchors off Nobu for lunch.
CORAL OCEAN
Lürssen · 73m · 1994, refit 2026
12 guests | 6 cabins | 28 crew
€650k – 790k
REVE BLEU
Lagoon · 21m · 2023
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
US$55k – 72k
Sheergold
Amels · 42m · 1987, refit 2025
10 guests | 4 cabins | 8 crew
€135k – 139k
SOUTH
Heesen · 55m · 2012
12 guests | 6 cabins | 13 crew
US$320k – 350k
ARAOK
Fountaine Pajot · 18m · 2018, refit 2024
6 guests | 3 cabins | 3 crew
€25k – 29k
KEFI
Christensen · 46m · 2005, refit 2026
12 guests | 6 cabins | 9 crew
US$175k – 195k
Q
Alloy Yachts · 52m · 2008, refit 2024
12 guests | 5 cabins | 9 crew
€255k
SEA AXIS
Heesen · 38m · 1988, refit 2026
12 guests | 5 cabins | 7 crew
US$105k – 135k
NORTHERN STAR
Hinckley · 23m · 1993, refit 2022
6 guests | 3 cabins | 3 crew
US$52k – 60k
LE PONANT
Société Française de Construction Navale (SFCN) · 84m · 1990, refit 2022
32 guests | 16 cabins | 34 crew
€540k
CHRISTINA O
Canadian Vickers · 99m · 1943, refit 2022
34 guests | 17 cabins | 40 crew
€700k – 740k
YKNOT NOW
YYachts · 23m · 2020
6 guests | 3 cabins | 2 crew
€24k – 34k
Louder
Horizon · 27m · 2020, refit 2026
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
US$85k – 95k
ST DAVID
Benetti · 60m · 2008, refit 2025
12 guests | 6 cabins | 15 crew
€340k – 360k
MISS CHRISTINE
Trinity Yachts · 48m · 2006, refit 2024
11 guests | 5 cabins | 8 crew
US$165k – 190k
BELLA
Feadship · 45m · 2008, refit 2014
12 guests | 6 cabins | 9 crew
€245k – 255k
SPIRIT OF THE C'S
Perini Navi · 64m · 2003, refit 2023
12 guests | 5 cabins | 13 crew
€210k – 230k
REVERIE
Feadship · 50m · 2000, refit 2025
12 guests | 6 cabins | 12 crew
US$255k – 295k
NO BAD IDEAS
Trinity Yachts · 49m · 2000, refit 2024
12 guests | 6 cabins | 9 crew
US$225k – 250k
SEASCAPE V
Benetti · 44m · 2005, refit 2024
10 guests | 5 cabins | 9 crew
US$153k – 180k
SHADES OF GREY
Sunreef Yachts · 24m · 2024
9 guests | 4 cabins | 5 crew
€70k – 100k
NO SURRENDER
Custom Line · 37m · 2022
11 guests | 5 cabins | 7 crew
US$140k – 155k
BLACKSHEEP
Palmer Johnson · 38m · 2009, refit 2023
8 guests | 4 cabins | 6 crew
US$85k – 95k
SCOTT FREE
Abeking & Rasmussen · 60m · 2009, refit 2022
12 guests | 6 cabins | 16 crew
€420k – 450k
PARSIFAL III
Perini Navi · 54m · 2005, refit 2024
12 guests | 5 cabins | 9 crew
€245k
YOLO
Sunreef Yachts · 22m · 2022
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
€59k – 70k
The Peddler
Custom Line · 26m · 2019
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
US$69k – 74k
NEVER ENOUGH
Feadship · 43m · 1992, refit 2019
10 guests | 5 cabins | 7 crew
US$110k – 127k
HUNTRESS
Lurssen · 76m · 2009, refit 2024
12 guests | 6 cabins | 22 crew
US$695k – 775k
Chakra
Devonport · 86m · 1998, refit 2025
24 guests | 19 cabins | 30 crew
€495k
HOUBARA
Sunreef Yachts · 24m · 2012, refit 2026
7 guests | 3 cabins | 3 crew
€34k – 45k
NO SHORTCUTS
Westport · 34m · 2006, refit 2022
8 guests | 4 cabins | 6 crew
US$65k – 75k
ELVIS MAGIC
Oyster Marine · 20m · 2003, refit 2025
6 guests | 3 cabins | 2 crew
US$175k – 288k
ESCAPE
Hatteras · 35m · 1995, refit 2023
9 guests | 4 cabins | 5 crew
US$55k – 65k
Avanti
Privilege · 22m · 2005, refit 2025
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
US$51k – 55k
PAPER MOON
Benetti · 44m · 2026
10 guests | 6 cabins | 9 crew
US$240k – 260k
UNBRIDLED
Crescent · 35m · 1995, refit 2024
8 guests | 4 cabins | 5 crew
US$65k – 75k
FRENCH WEST
Lagoon · 24m · 2020
8 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
US$55k – 72k
WHISPER
Holland Jachtbouw · 35m · 2003, refit 2019
6 guests | 3 cabins | 5 crew
Price on request
QARA
Horizon · 25m · 2001, refit 2023
6 guests | 3 cabins | 3 crew
US$37k – 42k
LUCKY LADY
Oceanco · 63m · 2002, refit 2025
10 guests | 5 cabins | 15 crew
€310k – 355k
SOVEREIGN
Burger · 30m · 1966, refit 2020
8 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
US$48k – 50k
LOOMA
Fountaine Pajot · 20m · 2023
8 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
US$48k – 65k
FRIENDSHIP
Oceanco · 53m · 2000, refit 2022
12 guests | 6 cabins | 12 crew
€245k – 265k
NAMASTE
Benetti · 37m · 2013, refit 2023
10 guests | 5 cabins | 7 crew
US$105k – 135k
CROSSED SABRE
Burger · 44m · 2006, refit 2021
12 guests | 7 cabins | 11 crew
US$175k – 195k
BEACHFRONT
Hargrave · 33m · 2006, refit 2022
10 guests | 5 cabins | 5 crew
US$65k – 90k
Lady Joy
Christensen · 48m · 2007, refit 2025
12 guests | 6 cabins | 11 crew
US$199k – 225k
48 yachts in rotation. The order changes with every visit so no boat is always last.
Questions we get asked
Barbuda, answered
Common questions
How do we get to Barbuda?
By yacht from Antigua, three hours north, which is how our Leewards routes do it. Barbuda also has a small airstrip and a helicopter pad at Nobu for anyone joining or leaving mid-charter.
Can we have lunch at Nobu from the yacht?
Yes. The yacht anchors off Princess Diana Beach and the tender runs you to the restaurant. We book it with the charter, as tables are few.
How long should we spend in Barbuda?
A day and a night. Lunch at Nobu, the frigate birds in the late afternoon, sunset on the beach, and on to Nevis or back to Antigua in the morning.
Is Barbuda good for children?
Very. Flat water on the west coast, miles of empty sand, the birds, and nothing to bump into.
Want Barbuda in your week?
Tell us the dates and who is coming. We will say which nights to give it, which berth to hold, and whether the week you want is still open.