Silver Moon Catamaran in Barbados v. Eli eco tour in Antigua

[JillB]

We are going on the Adventure and scheduled to be in Barbados one day and Antigua the next.

I have read here people raving about the Silver Moon Catamaran tour in Barbados and Eli's catamaran eco-tour in Antigua.

Since we are doing these islands back to back, I think it might be overkill (and expensive) to do both.

If anyone has done both, can you recommend one over the other? There will be children (over the age of 9), teenagers and adults in our group.

Also, if the beaches in Barbados are much nicer than the ones in Antigua or vice versa, we could make the port with the nicer beach our beach day and the port with the less nice beach our catamaran day.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you very much,

Jillb

[BeckyR]

I can't compare the 2 yet, but I wanted to tell you we are doing both these tours in March. We will be on the Constellation and there will be one day between the tours. Will be in Barbados on the 22nd and Antigua on the 24th. We have 2 teen girls. Talked to everyone and they were fine with it. Any opportunity for more sun!

 

Becky

[JillB]

Becky:

 

When you return, could you post your impressions here of each tour? That would be great.

If they are both fantastic, we would possibly consider doing both.

 

Thanks very much,

Jillb

[kawillia]

My husband and I are also debating this. We're on the Constellation in April and have booked Silver Moon in Barbados, Eli's in Antigua and are looking to book Winifred Daysail in St. Thomas. These ports are back to back and it might be overkill, but hey they all get amazing reviews. Would also appreciate thoughts from someone who has done these trips and on whether this is too much boating around.

[Texed]

I have done all three. The Silver Moon is a very nice catamaran, and they keep the guests to a minimum. Winifred is a nice little sailboat, and Sharon is very nice. Eli's Eco Tour is my favorite. Eli's Eco Tour is different than the rest. He has the activities, but he also has history, an island tour, exploring, sight seeing, ecology lesson, etc. And a great home made lunch!:)

 

So, in my opinion, you could do all three, and still have a great time, and not have overkill. But, if I could do only one, I would chose Eli.

[LisaB19]

Last year we did the Winifred and then Eli's. While Eli's was great, we have opted this year to do something different that takes less time. The Winifred and the experience with Sharon and Tommy was too good to pass up. We like the smaller crowds and personalized service that the Winifred provided. There were just too many people on Eli's tour.

Lisa

[VTSnorkeler]

We are doing these 2 tours back to back in 2 weeks. I'll report on whether or not it was "overkill".

[kawillia]

Thanks for your feedback. One other question...if you had to choose between sailing Winifred or Silver Moon which would you choose? How do these two excursions compare? They seem similar to me, but would love to get thoughts from those of you with first hand experiences.

[LisaB19]

I haven't sailed on the other one, but the things I liked most about the Winifred, Captain Sharon and Tommy, were the small group (no more than 6 passengers), Tommy's enthusiatism and Captain Sharon's obvious love of the sea and her boat, and the laid back approach of both. It was the most relaxing day of my life!

Lisa

[Texed]

Kawilla,

 

It depends what type of excursion you are after. If you want complete relaxation, chose Winifred. But, if you want a little more activity, chose Silver Moon.

 

Winifred was a nice quiet time, and as Lisa said, they are very nice. On Silver Moon, there is a lot more activity, and a higher activity level.

 

Either one of these are very nice, but there are a lot of this type activities (catamaran and sailboats), but there is only one Eli.:)

[Cruiser21]

I have sailed both of these boats. You cannot go wrong with either one. I will say that I found the Silver Moon to be a smoother sailing boat and the service top notch. With a max of 12 people on the boat you never feel crowded. For me, Silver Moon would be my first choice of any sailing excursion.

[Texed]

Actually, I like Rubaiyat as my favorite catamaran in Barbados, but Silver Moon is nice also.:)

[BeckyR]

Jillb, I'll report back. We sail 2 months from tomorrow. It can't get here soon enough!

 

I got the impression that there was more to Eli's tour, like history, cave, etc. which made me think it was enough different that it would be worth doing both. Also, I much prefer doing the water sightseeing route than the land route! Guess I just prefer a boat to a bus!

 

We did Tiami cruise on our own on our last trip to Barbados and loved it. Silver Moon sounds very similiar. We will be on Silver Moon II, as the other was booked for a private tour that day. Still it has a max of 18 people. There were 25 on the Tiami Cat. and we weren't at all crowded.

 

Becky

[cruisediva07]

This is a great thread. We’re also having a hard time deciding what to do. We did the Tiami tour in Barbados two years ago and enjoyed it. The service was outstanding and we had a great time, but didn’t enjoy the snorkeling with the turtles all that much. Our 21 year-old daughter and her boyfriend are joining us on our cruise this year, and we want to plan a catamaran tour that we’ll enjoy together. We were thinking about Eli’s but didn’t want a tour that was quite that long. But we didn’t want to do exactly the same tour as last time either…..the Tiami.

 

Does anyone know of a shorter catamaran tour in Antigua that is great……or is the Silver Moon/Barbados our best choice?

 

Also, as someone mentioned above…..would we have a better beach-day in Antigua or Barbados? If we do The Silver Moon/Barbados, we’ll probably go to Turners/Antigua vs if we find a tour in Antigua, we’ll visit The Boatyard/Barbados. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Dee

[Texed]

I don't want to beat a dead horse,:), but most of the catamarans in Barbados are quite similar. They have catamarans on other islands that are similar to those also. But, Eli's Eco Tour is unique. The only "gripes" that I ever heard about Eli's Tour was when it was cancelled because of equiptment and/or weather.

 

The first time I was going on Eli's Tour (we have gone four times), I thought it would be too long. Boy, was I wrong. I was sorry when we had to leave.

 

Believe me, it has enough different things, that the day goes by fast. The first part is slower moving as Eli tells about the history, and/or sights of the island. The afternoon (after a fantastic lunch), is a lot more active. But, the ones that do not like the snorkeling, swimming, hiking, exploring, can just chill out on the boat or sit on the beach.

 

Try it, you'll love it! :)

[San10s]

After all the testimonials here about Eli's tour, we decided we had to do it while in Antigua on 02/24/05. :) I know we won't regret it and will come back to add our glowing review. Thanks for everyone's insight. :)

 

Judy

32 days until we sail on the Golden :D

[JillB]

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to post here in response to my question about catamaran trips in Antigua and Barbados. Your replies have been extremely helpful.

I am looking forward to the reviews of Eli's in Antigua and Silver Moon in Barbados as well as any beach recommendations from the people who are cruising in the next few weeks and months.

My husband thinks I am a bit obsessive planning so many months in advance, but these boards have been so great when planning our last 2 cruises, and I always learn so much this way.

 

Thank you,

Jillb

[kawillia]

I'll second that thank you. Your feedback was terrific and we have no doubt that the excursions we picked are top notch. Happy sailing everyone!:cool:

[Texed]

Judy,

 

Tell Eli that Tex said hello. I know you will really enjoy his excursion. :)

[skiiergirl]

Texed....as I've said before....I swear you must be Eli's brother or manager or at least get paid a hefty monthly commission....(Big LOL)

 

One of these days we are going to have to try Eli's. I think we would love it based on everyone's reviews but length is the drawback for us. I don't think it would "feel" too long but it would leave no time for shopping and we must hit "Goldmitty" in the morning and usually afternoon too. Maybe during the second week this year when it is just the two of us I can get hubby to try Elis.

 

For those that don't do Eli's or another catamaran and are looking for a beach in Antigua....we love the daypass at the Allegro.

[Texed]

Skiiergirl,

 

So nice to hear from you again. Yep, I still sing the praises of Eli. :)

[VTSnorkeler]

If you have the opportunity to do both of these tours, I can't recommend them highly enough. We did them back to back and were a little tired from the sun, but loved every minute of each tour. Will be posting reviews later.

[ESaylor]

We just returned from the Constellation yesterday and did both tours. I don't think that doing two is overkill. We thoroughly enjoyed both. If you can scrape up the $$, I don't think you will be disappointed. I asked my husband to pick between the two (for the benefit of this question) and he said he couldn't. Each was a little different. A rundown on both:

 

Silver Moon takes only 12 people per tour. The owner and captain, Nick, said he used to do "splash and dash" tours for years with another company and didn't like that they crammed up to 100 people on one boat. His boat is incredible spotless and the lunch is superb. Nick did have to cancel his trip to see the turtles due to very strong winds from the north that caused really rough surf on that part of the island. Actually, all tour operators had to cancel this area. We did go to the southern part of the island where the waves were very calm. We snorkeled there and did get to see a turtle swimming in the reef. It was a fabulous day and we thorougly enjoyed it.

 

Eli's Eco Tour was also great. This takes you to fairly remote areas of Antigua that other operators don't go to. Since Eli grew up here, he takes you where he used to play as a kid. He also stops the boat often to give information about the history and ecology of the land. I think your kids would love hearing him talk about the different species of fish and marine life as well as the birds of the island. Hearing him talk, you can really see he loves preserving the pristine areas of the island. He is also excellent at spotting whales, turtles, stingrays, etc. You also get to hike a very short distance to the top of Bird Island which gives you an amazing view of both the Atlantic Ocean on one side and Caribbean Sea on the other.

 

These were the only tours we did on our 7 day cruise. I would really recommend you biting the bullet and try to do both. I don't think you will be disappointed. Bring plenty of sunscreen -- this is a lot of time in the sun.

[erniesband]

There's something that I don't think any one's pointed out yet - Eli's boat isn't a cat. It's a good-sized, comfortable, motor boat, no sail. And he offers a very different experience from any catamaran excursion, one that has been well described in this post and others on these boards. I think it's worth while to try to do both - while every island has at least one cat tour, all are pretty similar, and none are at all like the experience Eli provides.

 

And to the person who asked if Texed was paid, I can tell you that those of us who promote Eli on these boards (my husband and I wrote the first review several years back, before he started getting many cruisers) do it because we truly appreciate the experience he provides and like Eli and his crew as people.

 

As for planning in advance, if you want to do Eli's tour, it's pretty much required, because he fills up so fast, so don't let your husband make you feel foolish! We've booked Serenade for next January, and I've already e-mailed Eli with our date in Antigua!

 

Jodi

[Texed]

Jodi,

 

Thanks for your comments, and a kind word. It seems as though some think that there has to be an ulterior motive for someone if they recommend someone or something. I guess that's the way it is with a lot of people.

 

Anyhow, I guess some just feel that I had some reason other than wanting them to enjoy the excursion, and get to meet Eli. He loves his island so much, I just wanted to share that with others. I hope I haven't hurt him more than I tried to help.

 

But, it seems my posting on here is causing too many to question my motives, so, I will not post on here for the foreseeable future.

 

Jodi, thanks for telling me about Eli, and I will definitely go with him again the next time I am in Antigua.

 

If anyone has a question I can answer, and don't think I will get a kick back for it (I won't know when you are sailing), you can e-mail me at:

edgarnjacque at aol dot com.