Diving is excellent on the coral reefs around Antigua and Barbuda, with most of the good sites - places like Sunken Rock and Cape Shirley - on the south side of the larger island and many of them very close to shore, rarely more than a fifteen-minute boat ride away. Expect to see a wealth of fabulously colourful reef fish, including parrot fish, angelfish, wrasse and barracuda, as well as the occasional harmless nurse shark and, if you're lucky, dolphins and turtles. The reefs for the most part are still in pristine, unspoiled condition, and, though there is no wall diving and most dives are fairly shallow, there are some good cliffs and canyons, and a handful of wrecks.

Antigua has plenty of reputable dive operators scattered conveniently around the island, so you should always be able to find a boat going out from near where you're staying. Rates are pretty uniform: reckon on around US$50 for a single-tank dive, US$70 for a two-tank dive and US$60 for a night dive. Beginners can get a feel for diving by taking a half-day resort course for around US$80-100. Full open-water certification ranges from US$300 to US$500. Call around for the best deal.

Serious divers should consider a package deal , either involving a simple package with three or five two-tank dives (roughly US$180-200 and US$265-300 respectively) or a deal that includes accommodation and diving. Prices for these can be pretty good value, particularly outside the winter season, and it's worth contacting the dive operators direct to find out the latest offers.

Barbuda's diving is at least as good as Antigua's, with countless wrecks dotted around the nearby reefs, but, sadly, there is no established dive outfit on the island. At the time of writing, the Palmetto Beach Hotel was planning to offer diving for guests but not (yet) for visitors, so if you're interested it's worth asking some of the Antiguan dive operators for the latest information.

Snorkelling around the islands is excellent, too, and several of the dive operators take snorkellers on their dive trips, mooring near some good, relatively shallow coralheads. Reckon on around US$15-20 for an outing, including equipment.