Antigua and Barbuda Driving Advice and Car Hire Info
Driving In Antigua and Barbuda
Driving in Antigua is on the left side of the road. You’ll need a local driving permit which costs $20 and is valid for 3 months. The car rental company should be able to help you arrange this, so check with them when making your reservation. Speed limits in Antigua are 20 mph in built up areas and 40 mph on other roads. There are no speed cameras but police do sometimes use roadside speed guns.
Antigua is a small island, 14 miles long by 11 miles wide so most places can be reached by car in less than 45 minutes. Main roads are Valley Road which heads South from St.Johns, past Jolly Harbour and down the West Coast, and Fig Tree Drive which begins at the end of Valley Road and heads to the centre of the island.
The main roads in Antigua are in generally reasonable condition, but smaller roads may not be so good and will often have slow moving vehicles, wandering donkeys and a few pot holes. The 40 mph speed limit sounds low but in my experience most people tend to drive slower than that anyway, particularly around towns and villages. Most attractions and beaches are usually adequately signposted and driving style is generally laid back and courteous, even in St Johns. When driving on minor roads in the countryside, I found that locals would often stop alongside me at junctions to ask if I was lost or needed assistance. It’s therefore hard to get really lost on the island!
The small island of Barbuda is still recovering from the devastating Hurricane Irma in 2017. It has one main road, Route 1 which runs from the South of the island, through the only town, Codrington to Two Foot bay on the east coast. Roads are paved but narrow and may still be in a state of disrepair in certain places.
Although I try and keep the information in the site updated as much as possible, in a rapidly moving world, situations can change daily. Therefore please use the site as an approximate guide, and in conjunction with other resources in order to form your view on driving conditions, roads, safety etc.
Antigua and Barbuda Car Rental –
Hertz, Alamo, Avis, Dollar and Thrifty have outlets here. Also usually features on Car rental broker sites and Web discount sites such as Expedia.
There are numerous local car rental companies in Antigua and Barbuda, who may have lower rates than the big multinational companies.Local companies include –
https://www.petestaxiandrentals.com/
If you are a local car rental company who would like to feature on DriverAbroad.com please check details on our Partnering page or contact us on ADriverAbroad@Outlook.com.
*Inclusion of local car rental companies on DriverAbroad.com doesn’t constitute a recommendation of their services. You should carry out your own research on review sites etc before making a reservation
Antigua and Barbuda Self Driving Rules-
Minimum Age 25. A local driving permit needs to be purchased from the rental office at a charge of 20USD
