Scenic Tours of Antigua

[carbon]

which beach did you visit?

[Northern Light]

Hello all,

 

I returned from my cruise on the Conquest yesterday and wanted to share my thoughts on Scenic Tours of Antigua. We really enjoyed our tour with them. We had Jerome as our guide, and he took us on a tour around the island. He was very informative and answered any questions that we had.

 

There were some people on our tour that were going to the beach, so he dropped them off at the beach at the end of our tour, then dropped us off back in St. John's and was going to pick up the people from the beach later on. Looking back on it, I wish we had done the island experience with the beach, the beach looked very nice. We got to get out and walk around for a few minutes before going back to the city. Also, we met Sean, the owner of the company at the beach as he was dropping people off there as well. He came over to us before we left to go back to the city and thanked us for choosing them for our tour.

 

When we were dropped off, we asked Jerome for some places we could go have lunch and he gave us an excellent recommendation. I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have.

 

Thank you very much for posting as you said you would try to do Redsox1584. Your comments are very much appreciated and confirms our decision to go with this company without the beach.

 

Sandy:)

[redsox1584]

which beach did you visit?

 

Turner's Beach

[redsox1584]

Thank you very much for posting as you said you would try to do Redsox1584. Your comments are very much appreciated and confirms our decision to go with this company without the beach.

 

Sandy:)

 

Your welcome! Have a wonderful time on your cruise!

[Froufie]

Turner's Beach

 

Thanks for the great feedback on Scenic Tours as we are booked on the same excursion in November.

 

Wondering if you can provide any details on Turner's (altho I know you didn't stay long) - e.g. loungers/umbrellas, washrooms/change facitilies, food/drink?

 

Thanks!

[redsox1584]

Thanks for the great feedback on Scenic Tours as we are booked on the same excursion in November.

 

Wondering if you can provide any details on Turner's (altho I know you didn't stay long) - e.g. loungers/umbrellas, washrooms/change facitilies, food/drink?

 

Thanks!

 

There was a bar at Turner's beach, I am not sure if they served food or not. There were washrooms/changing facilities there - I did not go in them. They had lounge chairs and umbrellas available for rental for $10/person - our tour guide Jerome was telling the other people on our tour this that were staying at the beach.

It looked like a nice beach, not too crowded, although we were the only ship in port that day, so I am not sure if it would be busier with more than one ship. The tour itself without the beach is $33/person and with the beach is $38/person, I think that's a pretty good value in comparison to the ship excursions. The tour guide will pick you up at a specified time to go back to the ship. He dropped us back off in the city and was going to pick up the people at the beach a few hours later. Hope this helps!

[Froufie]

There was a bar at Turner's beach, I am not sure if they served food or not. There were washrooms/changing facilities there - I did not go in them. They had lounge chairs and umbrellas available for rental for $10/person - our tour guide Jerome was telling the other people on our tour this that were staying at the beach.

It looked like a nice beach, not too crowded, although we were the only ship in port that day, so I am not sure if it would be busier with more than one ship. The tour itself without the beach is $33/person and with the beach is $38/person, I think that's a pretty good value in comparison to the ship excursions. The tour guide will pick you up at a specified time to go back to the ship. He dropped us back off in the city and was going to pick up the people at the beach a few hours later. Hope this helps!

 

Thanks so much for the additional details - my group has booked this tour and I am looking forward to it - esp the beach part :D:D

[groovechick]

It looked like a nice beach, not too crowded, although we were the only ship in port that day, so I am not sure if it would be busier with more than one ship.

 

I've been in touch with Scenic Tours to book with them for December and the reason they go to Turners Beach is precisely because it does not get so crowded with cruise passengers, as most head to Valley Church or Darkwood. Even if there are several ships in port it is significantly quieter than Valley Church.

[Peachy59]

Redsox1584, thanks for that review. Can you tell me how long the portion of the tour is before he drops people at the beach? We really want a few hours at the beach, but would also like to see some of the island. Thanks! :)

[redsox1584]

Redsox1584, thanks for that review. Can you tell me how long the portion of the tour is before he drops people at the beach? We really want a few hours at the beach, but would also like to see some of the island. Thanks! :)

 

 

The tour itself was around 3.5 hours.

The people that were on our tour that were staying at the beach were planning to stay a couple of hours there. :)

[TickledBlue]

Does anyone know if Scenic Tours or Lawrence of Antigua offer their tours in port?

 

I'd prefer to decide whether we are up for a tour coming off of the ship rather than in advance.

[Froufie]

Does anyone know if Scenic Tours or Lawrence of Antigua offer their tours in port?

 

I'd prefer to decide whether we are up for a tour coming off of the ship rather than in advance.

 

You may ask if you see them if there are any extra spots available? maybe some 'no shows'? But otherwise if they are booked there will be no room for you on the tour....

[blue_water]

Does anyone know if Scenic Tours or Lawrence of Antigua offer their tours in port?

 

I'd prefer to decide whether we are up for a tour coming off of the ship rather than in advance.

 

This is their livelihood, they cannot stand there that day hoping you are in the mood to use their services! Having said that, some folks do indeed desert their guide they booked with and there may be a guide looking for a client. But unless you're looking at a different excursion I'd recommend booking the tour with Lawrence if he is available rather than puttering around St Johns...

Edited October 24, 2015 by blue_water

[blue_water]

This is their livelihood, they cannot stand there that day hoping you are in the mood to use their services! Having said that, some folks do indeed desert their guide they booked with and there may be a guide looking for a client. But unless you're looking at a different excursion I'd recommend booking the tour with Lawrence if he is available rather than puttering around St Johns...

 

I misread your post TickledBlue, sorry, I thought you had already booked! Yes as Froufie said you can look for any operators who may be looking to fill a group tour. Beautiful island!

[TickledBlue]

I misread your post TickledBlue, sorry, I thought you had already booked! Yes as Froufie said you can look for any operators who may be looking to fill a group tour. Beautiful island!

 

Thanks for posting back, I thought your initial response was pretty harsh for an innocent question. Our upcoming cruise is very port intensive and I'd prefer to not book something in advance. I was just wondering if Scenic Tours or Lawrence of Antigua would be among the crowd of tour operators in port. If they are and we are up for a tour, we'd choose them.

[bumblebutter]

I have a fast question for your redsox1584, how long was the stop at Nelson's Dockyard National park? We're really interested in getting some photo ops there. Thanks.

[redsox1584]

I have a fast question for your redsox1584, how long was the stop at Nelson's Dockyard National park? We're really interested in getting some photo ops there. Thanks.

 

 

We made 2 photo op stops in the national park, one at Shirley Heights and I can't remember the name of the other, we stayed about 10 minutes at each of those.

Then we went down to the dockyard and we had a 10 minute guided tour but then had 20-25 minutes on our own to check out the dockyard

[fishman620]

I have been waiting all week for an email confirmation of the Island Experience with beach excursion, as we booked on their website and paid a deposit, I've emailed them but have not gotten a reply back.....just wondering if they are slow to respond.

[fishman620]

Got an email confirmation from Sean back yesterday....all is well....can't wait for this excursion....it gets a lot of good reviews.

[redsox1584]

Got an email confirmation from Sean back yesterday....all is well....can't wait for this excursion....it gets a lot of good reviews.

 

 

Oh good! Have a wonderful trip!!

[snow bunny]

DH and I are doing the private tour. Will report back with our experience. As we have never been to Antigua we thought a tour would be the best way to experience this island!

 

snow bunny

[blue_water]

DH and I are doing the private tour. Will report back with our experience. As we have never been to Antigua we thought a tour would be the best way to experience this island!

 

snow bunny

 

Yes that is a great way to first experience Antigua. We enjoyed the Excellence catamaran on our first visit and seeing the island from the sea. But an island tour with a good guide is a great day.

[Lucky Granny]

I really like what I've read about Scenic Tours, but am hesitant to book because of the four-passenger minimum. I'm booking for just my husband and me, so we would be left without a tour if no one else books that day. How many people do the vehicles hold? Does anyone know if their tours fill up in advance or would I be taking a chance with them? I'm also awaiting a report from Snow Bunny as she booked a private tour, apparently for just two people. That sounds great.

Edited November 10, 2015 by Lucky Granny

[redsox1584]

I really like what I've read about Scenic Tours, but am hesitant to book because of the four-passenger minimum. I'm booking for just my husband and me, so we would be left without a tour if no one else books that day. How many people do the vehicles hold? Does anyone know if their tours fill up in advance or would I be taking a chance with them? I'm also awaiting a report from Snow Bunny as she booked a private tour, apparently for just two people. That sounds great.

 

 

Our vehicle was a van which held about 8 people, there was also a bus they had that held around 20 people. Both of the vehicles were full the day we went.

 

I don't think you would be taking a chance booking a tour with them. You can also ask them if anyone is booked for your date just in case.

[ve3khq]

Just returned from our 10 day cruise aboard the Regal Princess. Prior to departure, I had booked the Island Experience with Beach Excursion. Communication with Sean prior to booking was excellent and the on-line booking process worked well. Sean met us at the port along with 3 other couples. He has a wealth of knowledge and provided us with a very informative Island tour. The final stop was Turners Beach which turned out to be one of the best stops we made on this cruise. I would highly recommend this tour for anyone visiting Antigua for the first time.