Antigua is mostly dry. The island lost its forest to sugar cane over three centuries and much of it is now low scrub and open flats — which is exactly why the south-west corner feels like another country. Here the land rises into the volcanic hills around Mount Obama, rainfall is higher, and the vegetation closes over the road.
Fig Tree Drive is the twelve-kilometre lane that runs through it, from Old Road on the south coast up to Swetes. There are no fig trees: "fig" is the local word for banana, and they grow along it alongside mango, breadfruit, coconut and soursop. Fruit stalls appear at bends, the zipline park sits halfway along, and the trailheads for Antigua’s highest point are just off it.
Top things to do at Fig Tree Drive
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Drive it slowly, both ways
The road is narrow, potholed in places and lined with overhanging growth. Twenty minutes each way at walking-pace speeds is the point — this is a drive to look out of, not to get somewhere.
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Stop at the fruit stalls
Roadside stands sell mango, soursop, passion fruit, coconut and — in season — the Antigua Black pineapple, which is genuinely one of the sweetest pineapples grown anywhere. Bring small notes.
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Do the ziplines
The rainforest canopy park along the drive runs a course of zip lines and rope bridges through the treetops above a ravine. It is the island’s main adrenaline activity and it books out in high season.
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Climb Mount Obama
Antigua’s highest point (402 m, renamed from Boggy Peak in 2009) is reached by a track off the Fig Tree area. It is a hot, straightforward hour up with the whole island and half the Leewards laid out at the top.
How to get to Fig Tree Drive
- By car: enter from Old Road on the south coast or from Swetes in the middle of the island. From Jolly Harbour it is about 20 minutes to the southern end.
- By tour: open-sided tuk-tuk and jeep tours cover Fig Tree Drive and usually combine it with two or three west-coast beaches, which is the best way to do it without driving.
Insider tips
- Go after rain and the greens are extraordinary; go at midday in the dry season and it is simply a pretty road.
- The road is single-track in places with blind bends. Sound your horn on the corners, as local drivers do.
- Carry cash for the stalls, and buy the pineapple. It does not travel, so eat it that day.
Best tours & tickets for Fig Tree Drive
These top-rated experiences are the easiest way to enjoy Fig Tree Drive and the coast around it:
