Empire Car Rentals: Your Keys to Every Corner of Antigua
Family-run island rental with free delivery, a Jeep for every beach, and none of the airport-counter runaround.
Why Go
Antigua brags about having 365 beaches — one for every day of the year — but only a handful sit near the resort strip. Empire Rentals is the small, locally owned outfit that quietly hands out the keys to the other 350: Jeep Wranglers for the rutted track to Rendezvous Bay, a Suzuki Jimny for the switchbacks up Shirley Heights, an Alphard when the whole extended family is in from abroad. Based in the Belmont Clinic Complex on All Saints Road just outside St. John's, they'll drop the car wherever you're staying — cruise pier, VC Bird Airport, a villa in Jolly Harbour — at no extra cost, then collect it when you're done.
The Experience
Empire's whole model is built to skip the classic Caribbean rental headache. There's no fluorescent-lit counter, no shuttle bus, no line behind a honeymooning couple arguing about insurance. You book, tell them where you are, and a driver from the family-run team meets you with the car and the paperwork. On the spot they'll handle the mandatory Antiguan temporary driver's permit (US$22) so you don't have to detour to a police station on day one. The fleet leans practical and well-maintained rather than flashy — 16-plus vehicles ranging from a nippy Hyundai i10 for solo travelers weaving through St. John's one-way streets, up to a Toyota Noah or Alphard when you're hauling the crew and the snorkel gear. Rates are refreshingly honest: US$45/day for a compact, around US$70 for a midsize SUV, US$80 for a seven-seater, with a 10% discount when you book seven days or more. Payment is easy (Visa, Mastercard, Amex), and 24-hour roadside assistance means if you find yourself axle-deep in a Half Moon Bay sand track at sunset, someone actually picks up the phone.
What to Try
For most couples, the sweet spot is a compact SUV like the Suzuki Jimny, Toyota Raize, or Kia Seltos — high enough to shrug off Antigua's famously pothole-strewn back roads, small enough to tuck into the tight parking at Nelson's Dockyard. If you're chasing the harder-to-reach beaches on the Atlantic side (Rendezvous Bay, Half Moon, Windward Bay), splurge on the Jeep Wrangler; a few kilometers of that road turn any low-clearance sedan into a bad afternoon. Families and small groups should ask about the Toyota Noah or Alphard — proper seven-seaters with real luggage space, still under US$100/day. And if you want the cheapest possible way to bop between town, Fort James, and Runaway Bay, the Hyundai i10 does it beautifully on almost no fuel.
Insider Tip
Antigua drives on the left in right-hand-drive cars — a double curveball for most North American visitors. Book the smallest vehicle you're comfortable with for the first day or two while you re-wire your brain (roundabouts here are aggressive), then call Empire to swap up to the Jeep once you're confident. Because delivery and pickup are free island-wide, the swap costs you nothing but a phone call. Also: request the temporary permit ahead of arrival so it's ready when the car is — it saves the classic day-one queue at the traffic department.
The Practical Stuff
Base: Belmont Clinic Complex, All Saints Road, St. John's. Phone/WhatsApp: +1 (268) 774-1654. Email: info@empirerentalsantigua.com. Free delivery and collection anywhere on Antigua, including VC Bird International Airport and the St. John's cruise port. Payment: Visa, Mastercard, American Express. Temporary Antiguan driver's permit required (US$22, handled at handover). Rates from US$45/day compact to ~US$100/day for premium SUVs and vans; 10% off weekly rentals. Collision Damage Waiver is extra — ask for the quote in writing. 24-hour roadside assistance included.
Pair It With
- Adventure Antigua — Book a day on the water with this long-running, family-run boat charter outfit, then use your Empire rental the next morning to chase the beaches you spotted from the sea.
- Shirley Heights Lookout — The Sunday-evening sunset party is legendary, but the switchback road up rewards a small SUV — exactly why you rented the Jimny or Raize.
- Nelson's Dockyard, English Harbour — A UNESCO-listed Georgian naval yard on the south coast; easy 40-minute drive from Empire's St. John's base and impossible to reach cheaply by taxi.
- Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority — Grab an official island map and current road-closure info from their St. John's HQ before you head off on any Atlantic-coast beach hunt.
