Sailing Around Antigua with Yacht Getaways.

Last summer we spent a week sailing the coast of Croatia with Yacht Getaways and it was a the highlight of our summer. This year, we were invited back to sail around the island of Antigua with Yacht Getaways, and we couldn’t hop on a plane fast enough. 

Yacht Getaways is seriously the perfect escape. The Yacht Getaways crew takes care of all of your needs, so all you have to do is lay on the boat and relax. It’s such a peaceful and easy vacation, because you don’t have to do any planning. Once you book your spot, all you have to do is show up. Your skipper and host on board take care of all the planning and technicalities, so you get to wake up in the morning to a delicious breakfast all prepared for you, lay out your towel on the front of the boat, enjoy the breeze in your hair, and lay in the sun as you glide through the sea. It’s the epitome of being carefree. 

A typical day onboard with Yacht Getaways looks something like this: wake up and eat breakfast while the boat is either docked in a harbor or anchored at sea, sail for an hour or so to a secluded and beautiful beach or swim spot, have lunch onboard before setting sail again to another beach or harbor where you can go into town, eat dinner, and watch the sunset. Sleep. And Repeat. It’s basically what my dream life would be like if I had zero responsibilities, haha. 

Something that we really love about Yacht Getaways is how well the Skipper and Host cater to the desires of the guests. So while you do not have to do any planning or make any decisions, the Skipper and Host will make sure the trip is completely the way you want it to be. This time, all of the guests on board were a bit more laid back and didn’t want to go out on the island as much at night, so our Skipper and Host were very attentive of this and we ended up anchoring out at sea for quite a few nights instead of docking at a harbor. That was actually one of the things that Ryan and I enjoyed most about this trip. It’s such a unique and beautiful experience being all alone out in the middle of the sea, under a blanket of stars, just being rocked to sleep by the ocean waves. 

Antigua is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I think the only other place we’ve ever seen water so blue and clear is Bora Bora. Like I’m not kidding. There were so many different shade of blue too. It was absolutely magical. And, luckily, we were able to circumnavigate the entire island! It was amazing! One of our favorite parts about sailing around an island is that you’re able to see it from a completely different view. It’s a much different experience than if you were driving around the entire island. We loved being able to hop off the boat and snorkel at all of the different reefs and ship wrecks around the island.

There are also quite a few beaches on Antigua that are really only accessible by boat, so it was amazing to be able to just pull up and swim in to those secluded beaches. All of the beaches have the softest white sand and the water is this perfect combination of crystal clear and perfectly blue. It was my favorite and so perfectly relaxing, which was just what we needed. Our favorite beach was Rendezvous Beach, which you can do a 45 minute hike to, or if you’re sailing with Yacht Getaways, you can dive off the boat and swim right into the beach. A much better option if you ask me. We also loved Halfmoon Bay. 

Antigua is such a colorful and laid back island. Everyone on the island basically knows each other, so it has a super friendly and casual vibe to it. Even some of the fanciest resorts on the island describe themselves as barefoot luxury. All of the houses on the island are different shades of pink and mint green, and it really just creates such a happy and upbeat vibe. 

There are so many beautiful spots and activities on the island and one of our favorite things we did was swim with the sting rays at Stingray City Antigua! Stingray City is basically a spot where a bunch of stingrays come. It’s out in the middle of the ocean, and the stingrays are totally free to roam and explore, so you’re not seeing them in a cage or roped off area. They’re completely in their natural habitat, so it’s an even more amazing experience. The stingrays were surprisingly heavy and really strong. We got to spend about an hour in the water with them, and they’re kind of just like little water puppies. That swim up to you and glide over your hands or arm and then keep swimming. The guides showed us how to hold them and how to feed them. Their mouths are basically like giant vacuum cleaners and they just suck up the food right out of your hand. If you let them suck for too long though, you’ll get a stingray hickey, which they call a “love bite.” Stingrays really are such beautiful creatures though, so it was amazing to get to spend so much time with them in their natural habitat.  

Devil’s Bridge is another spot that we visited that has a lot of history to it and really made us realize how powerful the ocean is.

Apart from the stingrays, we saw a Manta Ray jumping out of the water as we were sailing! It was like something out of a National Geographic film. Seriously so magical! We also saw so many sea turtles swimming out in the ocean! Sea Turtles are at the top of my favorite sea animals list, so I loved seeing their little heads bob up and down in the water and then seeing them dive deep into the ocean as we sailed by! There are also snorkel masks and fins on the boat, so at most of our swim spots, there were incredible reefs, and we saw some of the most colorful fish and the biggest schools of fish I’ve ever seen! It almost felt like a safari for sea animals, haha. We loved looking out and seeing a fin pop up or a turtle head and pointing and watching as it swam by. Part of what’s so incredible about spending so much time at sea is getting to really experience this whole other world and life. The ocean is full of such amazing creatures, and both Ryan and I love getting a tiny glimpse at what life is like under water. 

We absolutely loved our experience with Yacht Getaways and Antigua was unlike any island we’ve ever been to before. It’s bursting with natural beauty and the water color is seriously a dream. Did I say that already? Sailing around the Caribbean is definitely an experience that should be on everyone’s bucket list! 

If you’re looking for the perfect summer escape, be sure to check out Yacht Getaways routes. We’re hoping to check off their Greece and Italy routes next. 

And in case you’re still not sold on Antigua, check out these 20 Photos to Inspire You to Visit Antigua!

Shop Sam’s Antigua Look:

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