Nelson's Dockyard then Valley Church or Darkwood Beach

When we dock on our cruise in Antigua we are planning to get a taxi over to Nelson's Dockyard and then get a taxi (via Shirley Heights) to one of these two beaches.

There will be at least two ships in port on the day we are there and my question is which beach is likely to suit us best / be less busy given we will probably not get to the beach until around mid-day.

A simple bar (maybe serving snacks), chair hire and restrooms would all be handy

Any guidance on prices / itinerary would be greatly appreciate

I know we could probably do a tour but think we would prefer to do this independently

We just returned from a cruise and took a Lawrence of Antigua tour which included Nelson's Dockyard and Valley Church beach. Absolutely beautiful, can't go wrong and not that crowded mid-day.

Just wondering if anyone can add any further info re my earlier post

Still planning to do this independently as opposed to a tour to allow maximum flexibility

Thanks in anticipation

We’re planning Shirley Heights, Nelsons Dockyard then Valley Church beach. Intend to go to taxi dispatch desk to get a good deal. It’s amongst the duty free shops up from the Quay. Valley Church is lovely with decent beach bar, couple of stalls, sandy beach and you’re not bothered with loads of sellers

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We’re planning Shirley Heights, Nelsons Dockyard then Valley Church beach. Intend to go to taxi dispatch desk to get a good deal. It’s amongst the duty free shops up from the Quay. Valley Church is lovely with decent beach bar, couple of stalls, sandy beach and you’re not bothered with loads of sellers

 

 

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Hi

Are you planning to get a taxi for the whole day or just book them as you go along?

Any idea how much 'a good deal' will cost?

We took a taxi to Valley Church from the ship and I think it cost somewhere between $30-$40 each way. The people at the taxi service area had us wait until another couple wanted to go to the same destination so that we could split the cost. We asked the cab driver to pick us up at a particular time and he showed up 10 minutes early--good service! Love Valley Church, will do it again on our next cruise to Antigua. Beautiful beach, some trees for shade (if you get there early, no need for an umbrella--just lounge chairs), nice little beach bar for food.

We took a taxi to Valley Church, and it cost us 6 dollars per person each way (group of 6). It was very relaxing, with no sellers harassing us. The water isn't clear but rather milky shades of turquoise (very pretty, but no snorkelling). The beach is made of crushed shells, and indeed there are many shells to pick up, we even found a massive conch shell further down the beach.

When we dock on our cruise in Antigua we are planning to get a taxi over to Nelson's Dockyard and then get a taxi (via Shirley Heights) to one of these two beaches.

There will be at least two ships in port on the day we are there and my question is which beach is likely to suit us best / be less busy given we will probably not get to the beach until around mid-day.

A simple bar (maybe serving snacks), chair hire and restrooms would all be handy

Any guidance on prices / itinerary would be greatly appreciate

I know we could probably do a tour but think we would prefer to do this independently

This is exactly what we would like to do next week. We don't want an organized tour either as we are not sure how long we will want to be the the dockyard. Wondering if you have already done this and how it worked out? Did you Taxi to Nelson's Dockyard, spend time there, get another taxi to Valley Church or Jolly Beach stopping at Shirley Heights along the way and finally a taxi back to Cruise port? How much did it cost you? Thanks.

This is exactly what we would like to do next week. We don't want an organized tour either as we are not sure how long we will want to be the the dockyard. Wondering if you have already done this and how it worked out? Did you Taxi to Nelson's Dockyard, spend time there, get another taxi to Valley Church or Jolly Beach stopping at Shirley Heights along the way and finally a taxi back to Cruise port? How much did it cost you? Thanks.

Hi

We ended up dropping our daughters at Valley Church (they didn't fancy the Dockyard) then going from there to the Dockyard / Shirley Heights, $8pp admission, back to the beach for 2 1/2 hours then back to the port. Think we were off the ship ~9.15 and back just before 4 all in price was $140 same driver with us all day - was told a taxi to Valley church alone and back would be $60+

Beach was busy (no problem finding space but chairs could be an issue if you get there later) when we got back ~12.30 so pleased the girls had already sorted ours out along with theirs (think we paid $30 for 4 chairs and an umbrella)

An enjoyable day - distances aren't far but it takes longer than expected as roads are not brilliant

Hope this helps

Yes that was very helpful. Wasn't sure if it would be exhorbitant to have a taxi for the whole day, just waiting around for us at each location. But $140.00 sounds very reasonable. Thank you:cool: