LIAT Is Launching Flights to Barbuda, a Caribbean Island With Pink Sand, Endless Beaches and a Soon-to-Open Nobu Hotel

They’re the kinds of beaches you dream about, endless, empty, white or pink. Barbuda’s sand is a different dimension entirely — and it’s why the little island occupies such a privileged place in the fantasies of so many Caribbean travelers. 

And now, after the recent launch of Barbuda’s International airport, the island is about to get its first regularly scheduled commercial flights in the post-storm era. 

Beginning April 7, fast-growing regional carrier LIAT 20 will be launching nonstop flights between Antigua and Barbuda, connecting Antigua’s air hub with the island paradise, one that will soon be welcoming the new Robert De Niro-led Nobu Beach Inn (there’s already a popular Nobu Beach Club on the island). 

LIAT will be connecting the two islands with flights on three different days, with two frequencies each day: one in the morning at 7 AM, and another at 4:35 in the morning afternoon. That means two on Monday, two on Wednesday and two on Friday. 

Unsurprisingly, it’s a short flight –  just about 25 minutes from runway to runway. 

So what about prices? The flights are starting at $160 roundtrip, including taxes, according to LIAT 20. 

Barbuda remains one of the region’s great unspoiled destinations, with just a handful of hotels along with the ultra-luxe Barbuda Ocean Club development by Discovery Land Company (one that includes a world-class golf course by Tom Fazio). 

What about where to stay? Until De Niro’s resort opens, you’ll find a handful of cottage-style accommodations sprinkled around the island. 

Your best bet is a vacation rental, like one of the villas at the Barbuda Cottages property, which has villas for about $570 per night. 

The new connections also mean you can add a Barbuda trip to your Antigua vacation — with a perfect little two-day excursion on the front or back end of your visit to Antigua. It’s easy to picture: a weeklong stay at one of Antigua’s lovely beach resorts, from Hammock Cove to Galley Bay to Curtain Bluff, bookended by a jaunt to Barbuda.

Of course, this is just an inter-island flight, so either way you’ll have to fly first to Antigua’s wonderful VC Bird International Airport. The island welcomes just about all of the major carriers, including $628 roundtrip from Miami on American Airlines and just $324 from New York on both JetBlue and American in March, according to Google Flights.