By Kisean
Antigua and Barbuda has moved up to fourth place among the Caribbean’s safest destinations, according to the 2026 Honeymoon Always Caribbean Safety Index, and is now the highest-ranked sovereign member of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) in the survey.
The twin-island nation scored 7.39 out of 10, assessed across six categories including crime, healthcare, hurricane risk, resort infrastructure, and tourism crowd levels. Of the 27 Caribbean destinations evaluated, no other OECS sovereign state ranked higher.
Aruba held the top spot with a score of 8.50, followed by Barbados at 8.21 and Curaçao at 7.62. Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda’s closest OECS competitor, saw the sharpest drop in the entire index, falling from 8.29 last year to 6.88 in 2026.
The result remains a strong run for the twin-island nation. In the 2025 Caribbean Island Safety Index, a separate survey by travel advisory service Always All Inclusive, Antigua and Barbuda placed fifth among the region’s 10 most-visited destinations, earning a composite score of 8.1 and the description “safe, scenic, and laid-back.” It has held a US State Department Level 1 travel advisory, the lowest risk rating possible, across both years.
The nation has consistently appeared near the top of Caribbean safety assessments from 2022 through 2026. Independent evaluations have repeatedly pointed to its low tourist crime rate, stable government, and well-developed resort sector as key strengths. One 2026 review noted that Antigua halved its crime rate over the past decade through CCTV expansion and community policing, and that Mount St. John’s Medical Centre ranks as the best-equipped public hospital in the eastern Caribbean.
The broader picture, however, carries some caveats. The homicide rate climbed from 2.4 per 100,000 people in 2019 to 10.7 in 2022, and reported crimes in the first half of 2024 rose 8 percent compared to the same period the year before. Analysts have noted that these figures remain low by Caribbean and Latin American standards, and that most violent incidents do not target visitors.
The Honeymoon Always index also weighs factors beyond crime data. Resort infrastructure makes up 30 percent of the overall score, while tourism crowd pressure accounts for a further 20 percent, reflecting the view that a destination’s feel matters as much as its statistics.
Elsewhere in the Caribbean, Jamaica posted the largest improvement among destinations, jumping from 5.15 to 6.36, while the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas also recorded gains. Antigua and Barbuda’s score edged down by just 0.04 points year on year, a sign of the consistency that has defined its position in regional safety rankings over recent years.
