Jolly Harbour is Antigua's west-coast clearance location and a legal port of entry, and the only seaport station the Immigration Department describes as handling yachts and fishing vessels alone. Send the vessel, crew, route and timing details and we will introduce you to a local agent who can prepare the file and coordinate your arrival or departure.
This is the most straightforward Antigua clearance point on paper, but the published Customs boarding window is the narrowest of the four mainland yacht stations. That makes arrival timing the thing most worth getting right, and it is what an agent is best placed to advise on.
Customs publishes boarding hours of 08:00 to 16:30 here, against 06:00 to 18:00 at Nelson's Dockyard, Deep Water Harbour and Heritage Quay. An agent can tell you whether your expected arrival leaves enough of the day to clear, and what the options are if it does not.
The agent can submit the eSeaClear notification, assemble the crew and passenger list, and check the documents aboard against the nationalities and whether anyone needs a seaman's book, visa or visa waiver.
The agent can coordinate the cruising permit and harbour charges with the Port Authority, which keeps an office here, and advise on berthing or mooring for the length of stay you have in mind.
Prepare the applicable records before arrival or departure.
The national sequence applies. What is distinctive is that the authorities are reported to share one building, and the published Customs window is shorter than elsewhere.
Prepare the eSeaClear notification with the vessel details and the full crew and passenger list. An agent can submit it and hold the reference.
Fly a yellow Q flag on arrival and keep everyone aboard until clearance is granted.
Customs lists a Jolly Harbour boarding office for pleasure yachts, published as 08:00 to 16:30. The captain goes ashore with the outward clearance from the last port, the crew list and the vessel registration.
Immigration describes Jolly Harbour as a pleasure port accommodating only yachts and fishing vessels, published as Monday to Friday 08:00 to 17:00 and weekends 08:00 to 16:00, with no off-season variation.
Harbour fees and the permit are settled with the Port Authority, which keeps an office here. The yachting association states that all three authorities share one building at Jolly Harbour, which is why clearance here is often described as a single stop.
Complete outward clearance and settle charges before departure. If the yacht has been lying in English Harbour or Falmouth earlier in the season, have those National Parks receipts available even though the charges do not arise here.
Points specific to this location; national requirements are on the homepage. Published hours are a planning aid, not confirmation of attendance on a given day.
Customs names Jolly Harbour among the six legal ports of entry and lists a boarding office for pleasure yachts, published as 08:00 to 16:30. That is narrower than the 06:00 to 18:00 published for Nelson's Dockyard, Deep Water Harbour and Heritage Quay, so a late arrival can mean waiting until the following day. Immigration publishes Monday to Friday 08:00 to 17:00 and weekends 08:00 to 16:00 for its station here.
Immigration describes Jolly Harbour as a pleasure port that only accommodates arrivals and departures of yachts and fishing vessels. It is the only one of the five seaport stations described that way; the others are pleasure and cruise, commercial and cruise, or commercial and cargo. That is the clearest published sign that this location is set up for visiting yachts rather than shared with other traffic.
The national yachting association states that Customs, Immigration and the Port Authority share a building at Jolly Harbour, as at English Harbour and North Sound. The Port Authority is reported to keep offices at Jolly Harbour and English Harbour, which is where a cruising permit extension would be raised if the yacht needs to stay beyond the permit period of up to six consecutive months.
National Parks charges attach to the English Harbour and Falmouth area rather than here, but they follow a yacht that has been lying there, since receipts may be requested when clearing out from a different port. Jolly Harbour itself is a full-service west-coast marina used for short stops and longer work periods; berth availability, draft and services vary and should be confirmed for your yacht and date. Cruisers report that attendance practice differs between offices, so ask an agent what is currently expected.
Yes. Customs names it among the legal ports of entry and lists a boarding office for pleasure yachts, and Immigration runs a seaport station here. Send the eSeaClear notification in advance, fly the Q flag on arrival and complete the formalities ashore. An agent can coordinate the process.
Customs publishes boarding from 08:00 to 16:30, and Immigration Monday to Friday 08:00 to 17:00 and weekends 08:00 to 16:00. The Customs window is narrower than at the other mainland yacht stations, so a late arrival can mean waiting until the next day. Confirm current arrangements before relying on them.
Jolly Harbour is on the west coast and is the only station Immigration describes as handling yachts and fishing vessels alone. English Harbour is on the south coast, covers Falmouth as well, has wider published Customs hours and sits inside a national park with charges attached. Which suits depends on your route and where the yacht will lie.
Not from clearing here. Those charges relate to the English Harbour and Falmouth area. But if the yacht has been anchored or berthed there earlier in the stay, they still apply and the receipts may be requested when you clear out from Jolly Harbour.
Customs states that only the captain may disembark to make clearance, with a crew member allowed where there is a language barrier. Cruisers have reported that practice at some offices differs, so have an agent confirm what is currently expected here rather than assuming.
It is a full-service marina used for both short stops and longer work periods, and it sits away from the south-coast race calendar. For any length of stay, check the cruising permit period of up to six consecutive months against the Immigration permission granted to the people aboard, which is a separate limit.
Use this page for Jolly Harbour arrival, departure and Antigua yacht-paperwork assistance.