Creole Tours question

[Mary in Maine]

My husband is 80- years old but in good health . . . . not into snorkeling. Do you think that the lobster lunch tour is workable? Specifically, how difficult is it to get into the boat? Any stairs on the back end of the boat? Is the hiking up the hill required? Any opinions would be appreciated!

[faith413]

Hi Mary,

We recently took the lobster lunch tour, and it was a great day. As for getting in and out of the boat, there is a small removable ladder on the side of the boat that you can use. It's comparable to one you would find coming out of a pool. They use a motor-boat, so if you or your husband are not comfortable riding on the boat at high speeds, you may want to reconsider the tour. It got a little bumpy but that was fun for us!!!

In order to get on the boat at the beginning of the tour, you step down onto the bow of the boat, then move down from there into the seating area of the baot. For the deserted island, you leave the boat and step into knee-deep water. Some people used the ladder, some just hopped out of the boat into the water.

If he doesn't like snorkeling, that's fine. My hubby gave it a try once (for the first time) and decided that he would rather hang out in the boat. We were at each snorkeling site for about 45 mins, the majority of the time was spent on Bird Island, which we loved. Some people snorkeled off Bird Island, too.

As far as Bird Island itself, there is a hike to the top of the island with Mario, and it is pretty steep. I would recommend he just enjoys the lower part of the island, which my husband did. There are benches there where we enjoy lunch, and he is welcome to lounge there while Glenn stays behind. My husband stayed behind since he wasn't interested in the view from up there, and was able to lounge on the shore, swim a little, and enjoy the peace and quiet- his favorite part of a vacation.

It's an incredibly relaxing day, whether you choose to snorkle and hike, or not. The beauty of Antigua is breathtaking, Captain Glenn and Mario are excellent guides. They took special care to make sure we were all having a great time.

I highly recommend the tour. We saw another group on Bird Island who booked a tour throught the cruise ship. They were soooo jealous because they only got to snorkle at one site, and only had sandwiches and soda- and paid much more than we did. They only spent about 30 minutes at Bird Island and were gone by the time we finished our hike.

You can't beat the value of Creole Cruises- snorkeling, sightseeing, fresh caught lobster and awesome food, great drinks, great service and friendly guides.

If you decide to book, tell them that Chrystal said hello!