Thenford Grey

[Gardendog]

We just went on a tour with Thenford last week. It was absolutely wonderful. The passengers that went on the ships tours all looked at our bus and wanted to be in our van--they told me so in the evening.

 

Thenford has a headset that he talks into as he drives. Without sounding patronizing, his English rivals the Queen's (the one in London), and his vocabulary as well. A pleasure to listen to as he also is incredibly knowledgeable in everything pertaining to St. Kitts, plants, animals, history and architechture.

 

Since he found that we were interested in history, he made a stop at the ruins by Romney Manor, and explained it all to us.

 

I had originally scheduled a private tour for DH and me, but asked fellow table mates to join, so we were 6. All six of us felt that we were on the first class tour. Actually at the gardens by the Caribelle batik, as he was showing and explaining plants to us, the passengers from our ship would trail us and listen since their guides did not do this.

 

I have scheduled many tours with CC recommendations, some very good, some average. This one was OUTSTANDING.

[ROWSE]

Jayhawk: Thenford Grey has several different tours. We did the (The Tour) which did go to Cockelshell beach for about an hour and a half. The rest of the day was sightseeing going to Brimstone Hill Fortress and the Romney Manor-Caribelle Batik. We had many many places we got out and took pictures too of the beautiful surrounding areas.

 

We had a fantastic time and Thenford's van is so plush with huge windows and great air conditioning. He is easily understood with his microphone headset too. It is by far the best transportation we've been in.

 

I want to go back someday and do one of his other tours as we were so impressed with this one.

 

I am not sure a 5 or 6 year old would enjoy sightseeing of any kind. We spent from 9:15 a.m. to approximately 3:30 with him. It sounds like the beach tour is 4 hours. Your kids would probably love exploring the places we did stop though, so it is a hard call.

 

We saw so many animals on this island roaming all over. Cows, goats, monkeys, pigs. That would be really fun for them too. We saw a lot of them on the way to the beach so your kids would see that if you just did the beach.

 

Whatever you decide I would highly recommend Thenford Grey. He was very well priced and very professional.

[chamima]

Jayhawk: Thenford Grey has several different tours. We did the (The Tour) which did go to Cockelshell beach for about an hour and a half. The rest of the day was sightseeing going to Brimstone Hill Fortress and the Romney Manor-Caribelle Batik. We had many many places we got out and took pictures too of the beautiful surrounding areas.

 

We had a fantastic time and Thenford's van is so plush with huge windows and great air conditioning. He is easily understood with his microphone headset too. It is by far the best transportation we've been in.

 

I want to go back someday and do one of his other tours as we were so impressed with this one.

 

I am not sure a 5 or 6 year old would enjoy sightseeing of any kind. We spent from 9:15 a.m. to approximately 3:30 with him. It sounds like the beach tour is 4 hours. Your kids would probably love exploring the places we did stop though, so it is a hard call.

 

We saw so many animals on this island roaming all over. Cows, goats, monkeys, pigs. That would be really fun for them too. We saw a lot of them on the way to the beach so your kids would see that if you just did the beach.

 

Whatever you decide I would highly recommend Thenford Grey. He was very well priced and very professional.

We toured with Thenford at the end of January and I would just reiterate all of the good things everyone else has said. Plus, there was a car seat in the back of his van for a couple with a small child (who never showed up), he's THAT accomodating! He will gear the tour to the people he has, even 5 and 6 year olds!

[mamoni]

Does Thenford provide water on the tour or should we bring our own?

[MGnut]

Does Thenford provide water on the tour or should we bring our own?

 

Yes, he provided water on our "The Tour" trip with him in January.

[tjcox9]

We toured with Mr Grey on Valentine's day and he was every bit the gentleman I'd read of. The van was quite new and very clean. Mr Grey's narration along the way (with mike) is great.

 

We went to the beach area after the Fortress and other stops (some got off in town instead) and enjoyed our time there also. You see a different (new resorts and large homes) on this portion of the tour as opposed to the first part. There is also a great stop for photos on the way to the beach area.

 

When we were boarding the van to return to the ship, he had taken white and red markers and put all our names and Happy Valentine's Day on the back window. He's possibly the best, most professional guide we've ever had.

[DaveLite]

I don't know how I missed this thread!

 

On a different board, everyone was recommending Royston for tours so I contacted him. Here's his website:

 

http://www.roystontours.com/services.htm

 

Can anyone tell me if they've heard of him?

 

I'm now torn; I don't know if I should stick w/Royston or book with Thenford. Any recommendations?

 

Thanks!

 

Sure would love to make it even harder on you to decide. We were there in February 09 and my wife and kids took off horseback riding. I stayed just out of reach of the tour guides and watched them from the other side of the gates. I picked the guide I wanted after watching them for 20 minutes then pointed at him and asked him to come to me. I picked a good one. I ended up buying a shirt exactly like his. I'm so proud of the shirt. I had such a good time I was bummed that the wife and kids were not with me. After I got home I did more research on him and it's true. He is a member of the police force and has spent a lot of time learning about his island.

If you are able to pick from your three choices and you pick Smiling Kenny, ask him about the guy that bought a shirt just like his.

I will be going back to St. Kitts and will be looking him up. I hope it's soon.

Kenny's website is St.Kitts Captain Sunshine

I just love it when people have lots to choose from.

[hillside]

I want to add my kudos to Thenford Grey and the wonderful tour that we took with him this March. We booked independently, on line, after reading CC reviews. What a great choice! We were on the Azamara Journey and our group ended up being 10 people, all from our ship who'd booked independently. We had a lovely, well maintained air conditioned bus for our tour. Mr. Grey was very knowledgeable about his island and offered many insights. Highlights included Brimstone Fortress, Carabelle Batik and Romney Manor, and a stop at the end at Cockleshell Beach. We had a lot of fun spotting monkeys, as well! We were never rushed. This was one of the BEST tours that we've ever taken. I contacted him through his email address that I got on his web site. I just put his name in on my search and got a very prompt response. The site even listed a US telephone number.

[mrspaper]

Thenford was terrific. He took us around the whole island and he was very professional. We had 2 vans go out. The people in the 2nd van didn't enjoy their tour as much, so I definitely recommend you request to be in Thenford's van. The other van driver also didn't take the passengers to the beach where we were all supposed to meet. He said it was too far. (I think it was Cockleshell-It's the beach with Wilbur the pig and the Reggae Beach Bar and Restaurant). St Kitts was much poorer than I expected and this depressed me. The rich side of the island is foreigners. Their primary income is tourism, so please use the locals. They could certainly benefit from our money.

[Jeepers385]

We recently toured with Mr. Grey and had an absolutely wonderful time. There were only 4 of us in his big van and it was great. He stopped all the way out to the Fortress took us all the way over to Cockleshell Beach. He picked us up at 9:00 am and had us back to the ship by 3:00.

He has so much knowledge and a great speaking voice.

[Carla1968]

We booked through Thenford Grey and were fortunate to be assigned to his older brother, Sackville. He was a wonderful guide - very knowledgeable and took the time to 'teach' us about the island and Brimstone. One of the things that we noticed that set him apart from the other tour guides we saw was that when we arrived at Brimstone, Sackville accompanied us throughout the fort, telling us the history and sharing his wealth of knowledge. The other tour guides waited at the canteen for their passengers.

 

He was a perfect gentleman. We were impressed by his knowledge, pride and professionalism and we would highly recommend Sackville Grey.

 

We were a party of 15 - 9 adults, 6 kids - ranging from 8 to 80 and we all loved him. It was more of a 'historical' tour than Cosol in St, Lucia but equally as entertaining. It was a nice balance....we also did them back to back and did not find it to be too much.....even with the diverse age group that we had.

 

Hope that helps.

[NCTribeFan]

Just back last last night from San Juan. Very tired and having trouble keeping all my 6 island tours straight in my very tired brain.

 

Thenford's tour was very good. It would've been an excellent excursion if not for The Loud Family being on our bus.

 

At least it was a real bus. By the end of the week, I wasn't sure I ever wanted to climb aboard another minibus to be bounced and jolted around another island.

 

The Loud Family rather ruined it all for us, sadly.

 

People, just try to have a little consideration for others. Some of us actually want to hear what the driver is saying. To sit there and talk over him while he's giving the tour and information is just astoundingly rude.

 

If you must talk, at least TURN DOWN THE DAMNED VOLUME. I know it's hard for you to imagine, but we REALLY DON'T CARE WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT EVERYTHING. Sorry, but that's true. Your comments and little private (not funny) jokes aren't entertaining to anyone but yourselves.

 

Anyway, it was a great tour, otherwise. Mr. Grey was very knowledgeable, pleasant, and polite. Really enjoyed the fort and the beach stop.