Dear Editor,
Good evening,
I am a tourist who regularly visits Antigua and Barbuda, and I recently had one of the worst experiences of my life on a Caribbean island. My family and I arrived on Monday and are staying at an Airbnb in the village of Buckleys. Because of the horrific experience we had today, we are now considering cutting our stay to just three more days instead of our original plan of two weeks in Antigua.
While driving on the road from Buckleys to All Saints, it appeared that the road had been dug up intentionally for some reason. Our car, with my husband and young children inside, began sliding in the dirt because it’s a front-wheel drive vehicle.
We nearly ran into a lamppost, and my children started screaming and crying because they were terrified and thought we were in danger. I have never driven on such a road in my entire life—it was unacceptable and unbelievable. My husband and I are still traumatized by the ordeal.
To make matters worse, a kind passerby driving a pickup truck helped pull us to safety onto a paved road. We thought we were finally safe until my husband drove toward a white apartment on an incline, where there was a very deep trench.
Our car got stuck again because of how low the rental vehicle is and how deep the trench was. We had to call the rental company, explain the situation, and wait for a tow truck—which took about an hour to arrive due to the heavy rain that fell today. The person responsible for Buckleys Village should be ashamed of the condition of the roads. It is horrific, to say the least.
When we finally got to safety again and started driving down Buckleys Main Road, we encountered another nightmare. The water on the road was so high that we couldn’t pass, and the road conditions made it impossible for our rental car to continue safely.
We had to face three disasters in one day. In some sections of Buckleys Main Road, only one car can pass at a time because the road appears to have been dug up. For a family unfamiliar with Antiguan roads, the number of potholes—literally everywhere—was shocking.
Our day was completely ruined, and we eventually had to turn back and return to our Airbnb in Buckleys. I believe the authorities responsible for the road network in Buckleys must do better.
The poor road conditions are a terrible look for tourism. To the rental car company, we thank you for your professionalism and compassion. And to the people of Buckleys who helped us, we are grateful. Our first impression of Antigua is that the people are kind—but the roads, unfortunately, are a 0/10, especially in Buckleys.
Signed,
Julia Moltovia
United States Tourist
Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Antigua!
We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages.
Contact us at [email protected]
Completely agreed! Sorry to hear about this experience, but as a resident of Buckleys we have been facing the horrendous roads and the constant digging up of the roads and the potholes for a very LONG time now. Something needs to change immediately as many other villages in Antigua face the same issues.
To each their own, but I don’t even drive when I visit, I get driven any and everywhere, because your safety is literally at risk on these roads every single minute of driving.
So I learned my lesson and just get a shuffer.
Like I said..nothing to show for all that money that was coming into the island for the last 15 years..or did they actually of collected all the taxes, duties and VAT?
But any how you put it, nothing to show.
Sorry, meant to say chauffeur.
Chupz….. why would you think that the toad was intentionally dug up? Why? How fast was your husband driving to swerve off the road and almost hitting a lamppost?
As a Citizen I am feeling really bad.
Meh shame. I do apologize to you and your family.
U.S. family chups…..Buckles family drive there everyday… take your time the it’s a rainy day. Don’t let them fool you America have pot holes too and mud washing away the road.
Texas had a flood that washed away half the state. People died.
You come to the small island and act as if it’s the worst you’ve ever seen SMH. where you come from people die in a mud slide and a flood so please have a safe flight.
“Observers”, stop being in your feelings. Antigua roads are the worst I’ve seen in any country, regionally and internationally. I live here, but I’m not originally from here, and I dread driving these roads even on a dry day. I’ve said a million times that I don’t understand how they do so well in tourism with these horrible roads, so kudos to the marketing and advertising. But jeeze, the roads!
WOW “South Side”, just WOW!!! There was no lie in the report, the roads are terrible!
“I am a tourist who regularly visits Antigua and Barbuda”. Ok, great! Welcome back!
“My family and I arrived on Monday and are staying at an Airbnb in the village of Buckleys”. A tourist family visits from the US and decides to stay in Buckleys? Ok.
“I have never driven on such a road in my entire life”. If you regularly visit Antigua and Barbuda as you said then you MUST of driven on such poor roads before because they are nothing new and not just in Buckleys. They are everywhere here.
“For a family unfamiliar with Antiguan roads, the number of potholes—literally everywhere—was shocking”. You said you regularly visit Antigua and Barbuda so how are you unfamiliar with the roads and the number of potholes everywhere?🤔
“Our first impression of Antigua is that the people are kind”. First impression? You said you REGULARLY visit Antigua and Barbuda so how can you have a “first impression”?🤔
Is this really a tourist from the US or a resident that lives in Buckleys?🤔
Also the name “Julia Moltovia” doesn’t appear on any social media. The last name “Moltovia” comes from a fantasy book called “Mimus.”
Welcome to Antigua Julia.
Antiguans have been complaining about the roads in that vicinity for as long as I can remember. But the relevant authorities have been ignoring us.
Despite you and your families traumatic experience, I am glad that you’ve commented on our terrible roads and potholes; and I’m glad you and your family are safe and sound.
On the whole we are a helpful and resolute people, but unfortunately we have a government that has ignored our road infrastructure concerns for a decade or so; and sadly, Buckley’s and the nearby All Saints Road are the worst on the island – and that’s even without the recent torrential downpours.
As a regular tourist to Antigua, I believe that your concerns will be duly noted, because international criticism doesn’t bode well for our politicians.
I do hope that you won’t have to curtail your vacation.
All the best
Antigua need to update itself for tourism and the citizens of this twin island state, I was recently in the Bahamas, and I used Google map to guide me around in my rental car, and the recent storm that pass through the Bahamas in September 2025 had the place flooded, but my Google map showed red lines on certain streets where there was flooding to divert me to an alternative route, so Google map is interactive, and I observed the government workers with huge water pump engines removing water from some important flooded road way to some place else that the road could be passable, but make no mistake our atmosphere of governance under the ALP is not that civil, the last time I saw some care showed by a government is when the UPP under the hon Baldwin Spencer administration put those side walks in town, I can remember in my young days coming down high street by old treasury and balancing on the rain gutter so someone else could pass and slip off into the gutter, so the UPP did a good thing, the onliest thing is that the technicians at the time did not know it would take a special high suction vac truck to clean and maintain those gutters now covered with walkway, so they became blocked. and was criticized by the ALP which catapult them into office, even though they had no solutions.
The culture of Antigua needs to change, people that comes back to offer their expertise is victimize and fought down by the establishment of square pegs, who love the taste of power with nothing to offer the country, it happens in APUA and the public works department and the police force and all part of government, even in private sector hotels.
I empathize and sympathize with these vacationers, because my vacation last month was similar in weather conditions except the potholes and dug up Street which is a culture here, showing the limited capacity of what obtains for a supervisor here, a time ago a streetlight pole was knocked out on factory road so it was a spectacle, the APUA supervisor went there for the publicity well dressed in white clothing ,long sleeves and a neck tie intimidatingly watching over the actual work men performing the repairs, and up to this day all that was done their is some hazardous wires sticking up out of the foundation of the broken lamp pole, a real supervisor would have been only their for logistics, and would a find it fit to organize conduit and PVC pull box to terminate those energized lines more aesthetically and safe for the public and the image of APUA.
Another time I stopped in Otto’s and came out of my vehicle to speak to a road repair gang colloquially refered to as the sugar cake gang, I ask who is the supervisor on site, and proceeded to give him a history lessen of my witness of road repairs in the 1970’s when I was a boy, that the men will burn a fire in the said hole to be patched, that when they add the bitumen it would vulcanize and bind the asphalt, I even went on to tell him the modern way I saw in other country is an equipment with LPG torches to burn the road so that when the asphalt is thrown in it could vulcanize and bond, he arrogantly told me he knew that, but my explanation to him is that passers by and visitors to the country will observe you as dumb and illiterate, how can a young man like you preside over such atrocities, but nevertheless hadeed gets paid for the bitumen oil they waste doing sugar cake.
Antigua and Barbuda need new ideas injected into it to build it up instead a these entitlement clique that occupy these positions because of family and political connections.
Wait until they navigate St Johns at night…where one can suffer multiple panic attacks when driving.
Unfortunately, flash flood warnings apply to everyone, including tourists who spent their hard earned savings and are looking to get every minute of their money’s worth. The roads are not the best and I hope they improve but please pay attention to the authorities and avoid unnecessary travel under these conditions.
Oh stop your moaning, it rains heavily in Antigua, the roads get ripped up. Drive according to the weather and road conditions and you will be alright. That said, you are right about the road conditions they are atrocious, guess the government are too busy lining their pockets with money sent to improve the roads instead of investing in doing a job properly! And…who got paid for putting all those ridiculous black and yellow hump in the road??? Now that really was a complete waste of time and money. Some government official sitting pretty on that pile of cash!
You’ve been to Antigua multiple times but this is the first time you’ve seen roads like that? And apparently you don’t know how to drive in bad weather? OK Karen.
I regard something genuinely special in this site.
Those who believe this: You have been duped by a local! 🤣😜