Anyone have any thoughts on what to do in Antigua?

We will be taking the CB repositioning cruise on May 17th and one of the stops is in Antigua. Stopped there once and just walked around town for a few hrs, we were wondering if there was anything that would be good/fun to see/do?

Beaches lots and lots of beaches!!!

Darkwood beach by bus 22 in front of Market a few minutes walking from dock

I f I knew how I would post my pictures

We will be taking the CB repositioning cruise on May 17th and one of the stops is in Antigua. Stopped there once and just walked around town for a few hrs, we were wondering if there was anything that would be good/fun to see/do?

Hi,

We've been to Anitgua twice and the first time we took a wonderful excursion, it was a catamaran sail to Bird Island, it included snorkeling, a beach stop and lunch great fun.

Bird Island Excursion Photos Here

The second time we stopped there was funny because my DH was diving there and I was not and he asked the dive operator what he could suggest for me to do there and Carlos replied, "Please, don't leave your wife in St. John's". I'm not sure why he said that but we took his advice and hired a taxi to English Harbor. It was a lovely ride along the coast with a stop at Shirley Heights to see the colonial harbor from above before making our way down to the Harbor itself and Nelson's Dockyard.

It was a lovely day.

Here are the photos from that day.

If you haven't been to English Harbor, it is definitely worth seeing. We've never seen anything like Nelson's dockyard elsewhere in the Caribbean. It is historically well preserved, and is truly unique.

DavidnSteph

We did the Circle Antiqua by Sea with Princess and it was great.

This tour was awesome and well worth every penny that we paid. We were able to see some of the homes of the rich and famous, had a fabulous barbecued lunch along with rum punch and other tropical cocktails throughout the trip. The trip stops for about 2 ½ hours on a small island beach and you can swim, lounge or snorkel to a nearby reef. There was a lunch of chicken or fish, salad, coleslaw, rice, and pasta salad served on the catamaran. Even with around 100 people on board it never felt crowded. NOTES: While not completely a party boat, the tour guides do provide PG-13 entertainment that may not be appropriate for all kids. Also, there is approximately 20 minutes travel through the Atlantic that is a bit choppy and I would recommend taking it easy on the alcohol before this time and maybe taking some sea sick precautions before going. I only saw/heard about two people that got or felt sick.

We got a taxi to Valley Church beach and had a wonderful day, the beach was lovely and I kept on expecting to see Johnny Depp come out from around the corner....it was very private and nice. Really good beachfront restaurant owned by a man named Elvis. We rented chairs, ate lovely curries, salads, drank ice cold rum punches and beers and had the whole beacj to ourselves for quite a few hours. The taxi driver who dropped us off picked us back up at the appointed hour and we paid him when we got back to the ship.

We got a taxi to Valley Church beach and had a wonderful day, the beach was lovely and I kept on expecting to see Johnny Depp come out from around the corner....it was very private and nice. Really good beachfront restaurant owned by a man named Elvis. We rented chairs, ate lovely curries, salads, drank ice cold rum punches and beers and had the whole beacj to ourselves for quite a few hours. The taxi driver who dropped us off picked us back up at the appointed hour and we paid him when we got back to the ship.

WOW,, I been there. best beach EVER.

I loved it, the water was perfect for a swim.

I have attached a couple pics.

Eli's Eco Tour was a great. He also has a powerboat tour as well. It was one of my favorite excursions on any cruise and much better than any ship excursion. The boat is located right near the cruise doc. You get Bird Island, Hell's Gate, snorkeling, lunch and drinks.

http://www.adventureantigua.com/

Beaches lots and lots of beaches!!!

Darkwood beach by bus 22 in front of Market a few minutes walking from dock

I f I knew how I would post my pictures

Darkwood beach is wonderful, but eat on the cruise ship because the restaurant has flies and I've never ventured into the restroom, I can't imagine it's very nice.

The beach though, it's fantastic, and the bus trip there is something like 2 dollars fifty cents U.S. each direction...as opposed to a taxi which will cost two people 32 dollars each way.

I'm a big fan of Antigua Paddles (http://www.antiguapaddles.com ). It's a really nice eco tour that includes kayaking through the mangroves, touring the North Sound Marine Park, and snorkeling at Bird Island.

If you haven't been to English Harbor, it is definitely worth seeing. We've never seen anything like Nelson's dockyard elsewhere in the Caribbean. It is historically well preserved, and is truly unique.

 

DavidnSteph

MistyPA,

Come join our roll call we are 150 strong and have many great plans for shared private tours, dinners, trivia teams, a sail away party and a meet and greet. It's a really great group of people. Join us.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=770082

A seconder for Darkwood Beach. We thoroughly enjoyed the bus ride with the locals. Had a school teacher beside us that became an excellent tour guide for our ride. Roughly 20 minutes from the bus terminal and it drops you off right at the beach. Get there before noon as in the afternoon it got pretty crowded and no shade places available.

Beaches lots and lots of beaches!!!

Darkwood beach by bus 22 in front of Market a few minutes walking from dock

I f I knew how I would post my pictures

Our group took a tour with "Lawrence of Antigua" and it was marvelous.. Visited all the highlights and he also offers beach option (which we didn't take). Small group (9 of us) and very personal service, very knowledgeable. Can't recommend highly enough..

When you exit the cruise ship pier in Antigua, and walk straight through town, you will notice a Body Shop on the right hand of the street. Directly next door is a bottle shop that has the biggest selection of Caribbean Rums I have ever seen.

A great shopping opportunity.

Where do you get the bus to go to the beach? What destination does it say on the bus? Thanks Kimberley

My DW and I with two friends took the Gordon Tour, which was superb. HE took us to the main highlights and was very knowledgeable about the island!