Great Bird Island

Great Bird Island is a small uninhabited islet, about 20 acres, lying a couple of miles off the north-east tip of Antigua in the reef-sheltered waters of the North Sound. It is one of a scatter of offshore islets protected as part of the wider north-east marine management area, and it is reached only by boat. With no buildings, roads, or vendors, it is the kind of bare, wind-scrubbed Caribbean island most visitors imagine but rarely find.

The island is best known for its seabirds. Red-billed tropicbirds nest in burrows along its low cliffs, wheeling out over the water on long white tail streamers, and brown pelicans and laughing gulls work the surrounding shallows. Just as important is what lives on the neighbouring islets: the critically endangered Antiguan racer, a small, harmless snake found nowhere else on Earth, survives on a handful of these offshore rocks after being saved from near-extinction. The racer is not normally on Great Bird Island itself, but the islet sits at the centre of that recovery story.

A short, steep trail leads up from the beach to the island's highest point, a low cliff that drops straight into the Atlantic. From the top you look out over the whole island chain, the reef, and back toward the green hills of mainland Antigua near Long Bay. The climb takes only 10 to 15 minutes but rewards you with the best view in the North Sound.

Most people come on a day sail or powerboat trip that pairs the hike with snorkelling over the fringing reef and a swim off the soft beach. Bring water, sun protection, and reef-safe sunscreen, and take all litter back with you: this is a fragile sanctuary with no facilities. Trips usually leave from the north-east coast and can be combined with the nearby Stingray City sandbar.