In this article I am going to show you how to take the Antigua to Barbuda Ferry. This is typically a round trip that takes you from Antigua in the morning and brings you back from Barbuda in the afternoon. This is geared towards tourists and travelers who want to visit Barbuda on a day trip. Not many people spend the night here because there aren’t many hotels at all and not that much to do that warrants more than a day.
Step 1: Book the ferry from Antigua to Barbuda online
Go to www.barbudaferry.com and choose the type of booking you want. For people going from Antigua to Barbuda choose the ‘Antigua to Barbuda Round-trip’ option. This will take you to Barbuda and bring you back to Antigua on the same day.
Price:
- Adults: $100 usd
- Children under 2: $20 usd
- Children 3-11: $65 usd
Choose how many people you are booking for, the date and the time the ferry departs Antigua. I recommend choosing 6:30 am, the earliest time, because it will give you more time in Barbuda to explore and do activities.
Press ‘Next’ and agree to all the statements. Press next again and complete the information form. Here you’ll be required to type in your name, phone number and email address.
Finally, put in your payment information and pay. Then you’ll receive a confirmation email saying that your reservation is confirmed. You’ll also get a PDF document you could download. I suggest saving this document on your phone because you might not always have data to pull up your email.
Make sure to check out my article on where to stay in Antigua and Barbuda.
Step 2: Show up at the dock
You need to arrive at the dock to check in 30 minutes before departure time. Departure time is 6:30 am, so show up at 6 am.
Where is the ferry dock?
The Ferry can be boarded at the Ferry Dock in St. John’s Harbour behind Kings Casino, at the bottom of High Street.
When you drive all the way down high street, you’ll see a dead end and some areas to part along the street on the left. If you walk straight ahead from there you’ll see the dock and the ferry. Make sure and walk with your government issued ID so they can verify your identity.
Get in line to speak with the ferry staff at the dock. They will look at your PDF document and give you a couple return chits. Protect those little slips and keep it. You’ll need to present that to board the ferry to come back to Antigua. Online and everywhere else says that the ferry takes 2 hours to reach Barbuda. But, in reality it took three hours.
-Booking fees are Non-Refundable!
-Cancellations 48 hours prior to a trip will be subject to 50% penalty fee.
-Cancellations 24 hours prior to a trip will be subject to 100% penalty fee. No shows will not be refunded.
-In the event the company cancels a trip, Summer Breeze ferry will either rebook passengers or provide them with a full refund, less the booking fees.
Step 3: Boarding the ferry and arriving in Barbuda
When you board the ferry, you have some options regarding where to sit. In my opinion the best place to sit is right behind the captain in the enclosed air-conditioned room. There’s movie and tv playing, windows are tinted and the bathrooms are located in this area as well. After that, you can sit in the general covered area and the outside uncovered area up top. The top area is nice for the views, but the sun can get crazy hot.
The downstairs general area is very hot. I thought that since the doors are open that breeze would be coming through. I was wrong, it was hot as hell and I was dying. I couldn’t wait to arrive in Barbuda.
When you arrive at the dock in Barbuda and exit the ferry, there’s about a dozen taxis and mini buses ready to take all the passengers of the ferry around the island. You’ll see a couple street vendors here and you can get you’re first taste of Barbuda street food. I recommend getting the lobster or conch roti.
Then, when the ferry is ready to depart Barbuda and head to Antigua at 3 pm, make sure you’re there 30 minutes before, just like when boarding in Antigua. The little pink slip they give you when boarding in Antigua, present that to the staff on the ferry.
And that’s how you take the Antigua to Barbuda ferry round trip. You can read my article on my Antigua itinerary to figure out how to plan your trip properly. Before you visit Barbuda, consider my piece on why visiting Barbuda might not be worth it.
