Antigua - a memo to a tourist
Antigua has a fairly low crime rate, but the number of robberies of personal belongings is quite high. In particular, you need to be wary of pickpockets, who often trade in ports, airports and public places. Do not carry documents, large sums of money and valuables with you. For this purpose, hotels have safes. Do not take out your wallet in crowded places or leave things in the front seat of the car during stops. You should not visit isolated areas alone, and besides this, walk along the coast after dark.
It is not forbidden to sunbathe and swim topless, but this is not very popular.
Only a number of hotels on the beaches that they own provide this opportunity. On public beaches, nudists are allocated separate, actually isolated, zones. Often they are located on the outskirts of the beaches.
Many beaches are well maintained and are constantly cleaned, but garbage is not collected on the coast. Most beaches do not have litter bins. For this reason, you should collect all your garbage in a special container in a hotel or in a nearby village. In some areas, sea currents wash garbage ashore, so you should not swim there.
It is undesirable to take photographs of residents of Antigua unless they have given their consent.
It is not allowed to kill fish using harpoon guns! Fishing in the sea is allowed only from the board of a vessel that has a local registration.
A tip of 10 percent is automatically added to the bill by most hotels and a number of restaurants. In addition, a government tax is charged on the cost of services, ranging from 7 to 8.5 percent. For this reason, it is best to always ask in advance what is already added to the indicated cost, and what will be added later.
Some restaurants set their service prices in East Caribbean dollars, others in US dollars, and most in both. In establishments with a low level of service, customers leave tips at their discretion. Tips in taxis reach 10 percent, but most often customers also leave them at their discretion. Porters at the airport must leave from 0.5 to 1 dollar per piece of luggage, hotel staff - 8.5 percent of the bill, doormen and maids - about 1 dollar.
From December to April, it is advisable to reserve a table in the restaurant in advance. Here you can bargain a little and ask to add certain ingredients to a certain dish. Chefs often go to meet customers in this matter.