Peaks or Coves
Saint Lucia is the Caribbean at its most cinematic. The Pitons, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, frame the southwest coast and rainforest climbs the hills behind them. The road from the airport winds through banana plantations and fishing villages. Beaches are smaller coves, many reached by boat and the snorkeling off Anse Chastanet is excellent.
Antigua is gentler and sunnier. Its hills are lower and greener in the southwest, where forested slopes run down to coves between Jolly Harbour and Old Road. Steady trade winds keep the air fresh. Sugar mills dot the countryside and English Harbour preserves a Georgian naval dockyard. The real star is the sand: soft and pale, lapped by calm water along the west and south coasts.
If you picture your honeymoon as a view, choose Saint Lucia. If you picture it as a swim, choose Antigua.
Flights and Transfers
Antigua is slightly easier to reach. V.C. Bird International Airport (ANU) has nonstop flights from several US cities, including Miami, New York and Charlotte and the flight from New York takes about four hours. Most resorts are 30 to 45 minutes from the airport.
Saint Lucia's Hewanorra International (UVF) has nonstops from several US hubs, including Miami, New York, Atlanta and Charlotte, with flying time of roughly four to five hours from the Northeast. The catch is the transfer. Hewanorra is in the south, about an hour from Soufrière and an hour and a half from Rodney Bay, on winding roads. The drive is scenic, but some couples prefer a short helicopter hop.
For a short honeymoon, Antigua's quicker transfer saves time. For a week or longer, the difference matters less.
Seasons Compared
Both islands share the same calendar. The best weather runs from about mid-December through April, with sunshine, low humidity and temperatures generally in the 80s Fahrenheit. This is peak season and the best suites sell out early around Christmas, New Year and Easter.
May and June are often lovely in both, with fewer visitors and lower rates. Saint Lucia's Jazz and Arts Festival is typically held in May. Antigua Sailing Week, typically around late April or early May, brings yachts, races and parties to English Harbour.
June through November is the Atlantic hurricane season in both, with peak risk typically from August through October. Saint Lucia is also wetter in these months, with heavy but short bursts of rain. Antigua is one of the drier islands in the region. In either, book flexible rates and buy travel insurance for late-summer trips.
The Resorts
Saint Lucia's resorts are famous. Jade Mountain is kid-free, with 29 open-wall sanctuaries, most with private infinity pools. Ladera Resort, also kid-free, has about 37 open-wall suites and villas with heated plunge pools on a ridge 1,000 feet above the sea. Anse Chastanet is a relaxed beach resort with a reef and Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Resort, has plunge-pool villas in the valley between the Pitons. In the north, Sandals Grande St. Lucian and Zoëtry Marigot Bay offer all-inclusive stays.
Antigua's best resorts are intimate. Hermitage Bay is a kid-free retreat of about 30 villa suites in a private cove, many with private pools, with an all-inclusive plan featuring Champagne and daily changing menus. Curtain Bluff, open since 1962, sits on a headland between two beaches, with waterskiing, sailing and snorkel trips included in its all-inclusive rates.
Costs and Value
Both islands are firmly in the luxury tier at the top. In Saint Lucia, ultra-luxury open-wall suites and villas in Soufrière often run from the low four figures per night upward in peak season. Upscale boutique and beachfront resorts range from several hundred to around a thousand dollars a night and northern all-inclusives often cost less overall. Zoëtry Marigot Bay starts at roughly $850 a night, all-inclusive.
In Antigua, Hermitage Bay and Curtain Bluff typically start well into four figures per night in peak season, but both are all-inclusive, which covers meals, drinks and, at Curtain Bluff, many water sports. Mid-range resorts often fall in the several-hundred-dollar range.
Figures are approximate and vary by season and room. Antigua's top resorts bundle more into the price. Saint Lucia's room-only boutique hotels mean you pay separately for meals and excursions, which adds up.
Things to Do
Saint Lucia's days are varied. Hike Gros Piton with a guide or take the easier Tet Paul Nature Trail for views of both peaks. Soak in the Sulphur Springs mud baths and swim under Diamond Falls. Tour a cocoa estate, zipline through the rainforest and snorkel the reef off Anse Chastanet. In the north, visit Pigeon Island and Rodney Bay for beaches and restaurants.
Antigua's days revolve around the sea. Snorkel Cades Reef on a private catamaran, anchoring in a quiet cove for lunch. Explore Nelson's Dockyard and English Harbour, then stay for the Sunday sunset party at Shirley Heights, with steel drums and views over the harbor. Take a day trip to Barbuda for its pink-tinged beaches and frigatebird colony. Eat fresh lobster at a beach shack. Zipline in the rainforest hills if you want a break from the sand.
Pace and Atmosphere
Saint Lucia feels adventurous and intimate at once. Its southern resorts are spread across steep hillsides, so you may spend more time in your suite than on a beach, enjoying the view and your plunge pool. Evenings are quiet and romantic. Rodney Bay in the north is livelier, with restaurants and bars and Gros Islet hosts a Friday-night street party.
Antigua feels relaxed and sociable. The resorts sit right on their beaches, so days flow from breakfast to swim to lunch to nap. Sailing culture brings a lively, international crowd to English Harbour, especially during Sailing Week. Shirley Heights on Sunday is the island's big social night.
Couples who want seclusion will be happy on either island. Couples who want a little more social life will find it easier in Antigua.
Two Islands, One Trip
Both are in the eastern Caribbean, so combining them is more realistic than pairing Saint Lucia with a western island. Regional flights connect them, though schedules vary and some routes stop on another island. A ten-night plan could start with five nights in Saint Lucia, split between Soufrière and the north, then fly to Antigua for five nights on the southwest coast.
Start in Saint Lucia while you have energy for hikes, then finish in Antigua with pure beach days and an all-inclusive where the bar is already paid for. Fly home from Antigua's ANU, which is closer to its resorts.
With a week or less, choose one. Saint Lucia rewards a split stay between two resorts. Antigua rewards staying put in a single cove and taking boat trips from there.
