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Adventure Antigua vs See by the Sea

dvan68

By dvan68,
in Antigua

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dvan68

dvan68

Posted
Posted

We have done the Excellence tour - See by the Sea - the Catamaran that does the circumnavigation, and although it was a nice day, the initial trip through the Atlantic upset my stomach enough that I just wasn't right the rest of the day. So now I am looking at Adventure Antigua - the Eco Tour. We are really more interested in the snorkeling than anything else, which is why we are looking at booking a tour, rather than going to the beach.

 

So the question is for those people who have been with Eli - is it a calm or bumpy ride? And how is the snorkeling? The small island we went to with Excellence didn't have too much to see under water, but it was a beautiful beach.

 

Thank you!

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Miss Vickie

Miss Vickie

Posted
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We have done the Excellence tour - See by the Sea - the Catamaran that does the circumnavigation, and although it was a nice day, the initial trip through the Atlantic upset my stomach enough that I just wasn't right the rest of the day. So now I am looking at Adventure Antigua - the Eco Tour. We are really more interested in the snorkeling than anything else, which is why we are looking at booking a tour, rather than going to the beach.

 

So the question is for those people who have been with Eli - is it a calm or bumpy ride? And how is the snorkeling? The small island we went to with Excellence didn't have too much to see under water, but it was a beautiful beach.

 

Thank you!

 

We've done all of Eli's tours, multiple times. We've done the Eco tour five or six times, most recently this past January. The Eco tour focuses on the North Sound area, and does not go into the Atlantic, so you don't get as bumpy a ride at all. There are at least 2 places to snorkel, the reef, and if you want to over by Hell's Gate. The snorkeling can vary by the day, I've seen cool stuff, including octopi and rays. It's a great excursion.

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piper28

piper28

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We've done all of Eli's tours, multiple times. We've done the Eco tour five or six times, most recently this past January. The Eco tour focuses on the North Sound area, and does not go into the Atlantic, so you don't get as bumpy a ride at all. There are at least 2 places to snorkel, the reef, and if you want to over by Hell's Gate. The snorkeling can vary by the day, I've seen cool stuff, including octopi and rays. It's a great excursion.

 

Hmm, when I did the Eco tour, we did briefly go out on the Atlantic side of the island, just to demonstrate how much more it moves out there. Was short, but definitely was some movement there.

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BURNSMN

BURNSMN

Posted
Posted
We have done the Excellence tour - See by the Sea - the Catamaran that does the circumnavigation, and although it was a nice day, the initial trip through the Atlantic upset my stomach enough that I just wasn't right the rest of the day. So now I am looking at Adventure Antigua - the Eco Tour. We are really more interested in the snorkeling than anything else, which is why we are looking at booking a tour, rather than going to the beach.

 

So the question is for those people who have been with Eli - is it a calm or bumpy ride? And how is the snorkeling? The small island we went to with Excellence didn't have too much to see under water, but it was a beautiful beach.

 

Thank you!

 

Have done both of these tours and Eli's Eco Tour is better in every way.

Water was calm the day we did Eli's in March. One of our most favorite excursions in the Caribbean ever.

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Miss Vickie

Miss Vickie

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Hmm, when I did the Eco tour, we did briefly go out on the Atlantic side of the island, just to demonstrate how much more it moves out there. Was short, but definitely was some movement there.

 

Were you there during the spring? Occasionally they'll go out into the Atlantic briefly if they spot a whale, but they really don't usually do that. In 5 or 6 times on Eco we've never gone out into the Atlantic, only on Xtreme. We're just 5 months from our next visit to Antigua, and we're booked on Eli's sailboat this time, can't wait!

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  • 2 weeks later...
Mr. Click

Mr. Click

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We did Eli's Eco tour in March 2011 and it was excellent in every way. Lots of smooth water, wonderful sights, great crew, great food and two stops to swim/snorkel that everyone seemed to enjoy. It was one of the highlights for us in the Caribbean. Note, the swim and climb for Hell's Gate is not easy, especially if you are in your 60's....but I did it. There were lots of folks who opted to stay on board at that stop and just enjoy the food, drink and a dip in the water.

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  • 4 weeks later...
MAGNUM PI

MAGNUM PI

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Like most people, you go on Eli's Eco Tour, and you will be a repeat customer!

 

You are given an excellent, informative, narration throughout. The short swim to Hell's Gate is worth the effort. The rocks provide a "sit-in" jacuzzi, with the water swirling around you!

 

But something not mentioned in this thread, is the FOOD. At the beach stop for lunch, a

delicious buffet is served. It is homemade; in a wonderful secluded setting.

 

I have never read one disappointing review of Eli's tour. I consider Eli a "local legend."

The tour takes you to various places on Antigua, where Eli experienced as a youngster-growing up on Antigua.

 

Will be returning to our favorite Caribbean excursion, in February 2013!

 

P.S. Alcohol consumption is NOT a major part of his tour. Fabulous rum punch is served

on the final leg of the journey, before arriving back at the dock.

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cindygad

cindygad

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We have done all 3 of Eli's tours. The Classic we just did in Nov. It was our favorite!

 

We were in Antigua for the day at port from cruise ship Summit. We loved our excursion with Eli Fuller. We took a taxi to Jolly Harbor and met the crew at the dock. We had booked with another couple we knew and found out it was just the 4 of us for the day.

 

We started out on the Classic sailboat and motored out of the harbor and went to a reef to snorkel. There was a little current going out but my DH and friend chose to take a life jacket along for security. Eli's cousin snorkeled with us. They put up the sail and we were off along the coast line. We stopped and snorkeled again in a cove while Eli set up lunch. Yummy chicken, pasta salad, crisp lettuce salad and baked plantains and banana bread for dessert. Rum punch after the snorkel, water and sodas were available along with Tamerine juice.

 

We have taken Eli's Eco and Extreme tours in the past but did not find much written on the Classic sail excursion. I have loved them all but this was definitely my favorite. Eli was born on the island and is such a wealth of information. There was shade available if you are not a sun worshiper. They provided the snorkel gear. Jason a crew member was interesting and fun to be around.

 

He offered us a final swim but we chose just to sail a little longer. He got us back to shore and he payed for taxi for return to ship.

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Miss Vickie

Miss Vickie

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We have done all 3 of Eli's tours. The Classic we just did in Nov. It was our favorite!

 

We were in Antigua for the day at port from cruise ship Summit. We loved our excursion with Eli Fuller. We took a taxi to Jolly Harbor and met the crew at the dock. We had booked with another couple we knew and found out it was just the 4 of us for the day.

 

We started out on the Classic sailboat and motored out of the harbor and went to a reef to snorkel. There was a little current going out but my DH and friend chose to take a life jacket along for security. Eli's cousin snorkeled with us. They put up the sail and we were off along the coast line. We stopped and snorkeled again in a cove while Eli set up lunch. Yummy chicken, pasta salad, crisp lettuce salad and baked plantains and banana bread for dessert. Rum punch after the snorkel, water and sodas were available along with Tamerine juice.

 

We have taken Eli's Eco and Extreme tours in the past but did not find much written on the Classic sail excursion. I have loved them all but this was definitely my favorite. Eli was born on the island and is such a wealth of information. There was shade available if you are not a sun worshiper. They provided the snorkel gear. Jason a crew member was interesting and fun to be around.

 

He offered us a final swim but we chose just to sail a little longer. He got us back to shore and he payed for taxi for return to ship.

 

I'm so glad you found a way to post this without it getting zapped! We've done all of Eli's tours, multiple times, love them. My personal favorite is the classic yacht sail, we're doing it again this January and I can't wait!

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cindygad

cindygad

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I'm so glad you found a way to post this without it getting zapped! We've done all of Eli's tours, multiple times, love them. My personal favorite is the classic yacht sail, we're doing it again this January and I can't wait!

 

LOL jlmolner! I just wanted to get it out there since I could not find much information on the Classic Yacht sail. Enjoy your trip I would do this excursion again in a heartbeat!

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Miss Vickie

Miss Vickie

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LOL jlmolner! I just wanted to get it out there since I could not find much information on the Classic Yacht sail. Enjoy your trip I would do this excursion again in a heartbeat!

 

I wrote about our experience when I got back, and the post was removed quickly, too. And there's a "warning" on my profile, so I've been careful about review-type posts since. I've mentioned the sail in several other posts since then, but I do imagine those posts would be hard to find. We were actually supposed to do the sail last January, but Ocean Nomad was getting some repairs done, so we did the EcoTour again, instead. It was the 6th or 7th time we've done that one. Eli's excursions are the best!

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  • 1 month later...
Cheeseland Cruisers

Cheeseland Cruisers

Posted
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I wrote about our experience when I got back, and the post was removed quickly, too. And there's a "warning" on my profile, so I've been careful about review-type posts since. I've mentioned the sail in several other posts since then, but I do imagine those posts would be hard to find. We were actually supposed to do the sail last January, but Ocean Nomad was getting some repairs done, so we did the EcoTour again, instead. It was the 6th or 7th time we've done that one. Eli's excursions are the best!

 

Why can't you write "reviews"?

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Miss Vickie

Miss Vickie

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Why can't you write "reviews"?

 

The very first sticky says we shouldn't start a new thread about an operator or tour, but only respond to questions. If my review had been in another thread about Antigua tours, it would have been okay. This sticky is on each of the ports of call boards, it is enforced differently on different boards.

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