Thenford Grey vs Royston

[helensobol]

I'm always conflicted when deciding upon which tour to pick especially when there are rave reviews about each.  

 

To start - I'm not a big fan of island tours but our last experience with the ATV tour in St Kitts was not promising so I want to make sure what I pick is going to be enjoyable for my daughter (age 10). 

 

It seems the general description of the Grand Tour and the Island Tour of both vendors is very similar.   I know there are mentions of the Royston being a bit more rustic (which I don't care about).   Honestly, I just want a good time where we aren't sitting in a van all day and rarely getting off.  

 

Any insight on what might be best and why you prefer one to the other would be great! 

 

[santana007]

Hi , did you contact with Royston? I need his email please help me ...

[RadioPeri]

We've never toured with Royston, but can't say enough good things about Thenford Grey. I don't know if he's doing many tours himself these days (we toured with him quite a few years ago), but I've rarely dealt with a tour operator as professional and knowledgeable. His Grand Tour was interesting, educational, and fun. A GREAT introduction to a beautiful island and its history.

[helensobol]

On 12/6/2018 at 4:06 PM, santana007 said:

Hi , did you contact with Royston? I need his email please help me ...

Yes,  his email is:

 

roystontours@hotmail.com

[kmdreamcatcher]

On 12/7/2018 at 4:01 PM, RadioPeri said:

We've never toured with Royston, but can't say enough good things about Thenford Grey. I don't know if he's doing many tours himself these days (we toured with him quite a few years ago), but I've rarely dealt with a tour operator as professional and knowledgeable. His Grand Tour was interesting, educational, and fun. A GREAT introduction to a beautiful island and its history.

 

I agree with the above.  Getting ready to book my 4th tour with Grays.  I did the Grand Tour the first year and the 2nd and 3rd we did private tours with the company.  I did have the honor of meeting Mr. Gray in 2017 because of a mix up of where the ship docked.  Very nice man and he checked on me and my mom throughout the day.  You will love the island tour with them.  

[CntPAcruiser]

Our experience was with Royston. "Rustic" is a good description. He drives an older van and takes six to eight passengers, with a cooler of soda and local beer in the front, and everything else needed for his guests somehow stowed like Mary Poppins' magic valise. There were several opportunities to get out and walk around, take pictures, and experience the beautiful setting. Specific stops included Brimstone Fortress, Romney Manor/batik "factory" and the sights around there, and a couple of scenic outlooks and other island experiences with the wildlife (not monkeys). We had a snack lunch and some beach time, and then swung around the last of the island before getting a great view of the harbor before heading back to the ship. Royston likewise provides a lot of great information about his home and answered all our questions. It's obvious that he has a passion for sharing his love for St. Kitts.

[Brational]

We took the Royston tour last week and "rustic" is the right word.  Open air, older Toyota van that seats up to ten including front passenger.  We went places and saw things that I'm guessing very few other operators go and it definitely gets bumpy.  I would be sure to see the east end of the Island and Bassetterre first which is the most scenic and interesting of the tour.  Although there are some attractions on the west end of the loop, be forewarned that what you see is mostly rundown and very depressing slums.  Given a do-over, we would have either been dropped at a beach or stopped our portion back near the port.

 

The lunch provided was local pick-up which was very good.  If you need a restroom break, you better speak up because it's not really included as a scheduled stop.

 

Also, Royston is a very humble soul and soft spoken  If you're in the rear two rows, you might as well visit among yourselves because you will little if anything of his narrative.  Also despite repeated protests that the four of us (two of us are 70 and the other couple in the later 6o's with multiple joint replacements. we still ended up in the back two rows thanks to a family of four who had toured with Royston years ago and felt that they alone were entitled to special treatment.  Again, Royston's gentle nature meant that he said nothing to the Family Rude. 

 

If you get the right seat and are somewhat in control of the agenda, it's definitely worth it.  3 stars out of five for us.

[RadioPeri]

1 hour ago, Brational said:

We took the Royston tour last week and "rustic" is the right word. 

 

(major snippage)

 

If you get the right seat and are somewhat in control of the agenda, it's definitely worth it.  3 stars out of five for us.

 

Gosh, if this doesn't sound like an ad for Thenford Grey, I don't know what does. 

 

[EeyoreRN]

OP, can you please elaborate on what was bad about your ATV excursion?

[MotownH2O]

We toured with Thenford Grey Tours Dec 2017 and we had the privilege of having our tour conducted by Mr Thenford Grey himself.  We had a wonderful time and Mr Grey is an awesome Gentleman!  He runs a very professional operation and I was very impressed with everyone who is a part of his Tour Company.  You can't go wrong selecting Mr Thenford Grey!

[spdwain]

Just got back from Escape in the Caribbean.  We had the good fortune to have out Grand Tour of St Kitts led by Mr Grey.  This was the best tour I have ever taken.  The man is so knowledgeable about his island and it's history.  Unlike other tours that drop you off and say be back in 30 minutes, Mr Grey went into every venue with us.  At Romney Manor he knew the common and scientific names to all the trees and plants as well as where they came from.  If we went through on our own it would have been pretty, but we would not have gotten as much out of it.  I missed the demo at Carib Batik (long bathroom line) and when I mentioned it, Mr. Grey took me back in and I had a private demo.  We never felt rushed.  During our drives Mr. Grey would tell us about famous people who grew up on St. Kitts and could recite their poetry and even treated us to a few songs like "Amazing Grace" and we all joined in "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" with him.  He knew where everyone on the tour came from and tried to tie in pertinent facts from their homes.  He even wrote "Congrats David on your MBA" on the van window when we mentioned we were here to celebrate that, along with Happy Anniversary to another couple.  All I can say is I was blown away with this tour. 

[Stinger-pr]

I have toured with Grey's outfit twice. First time with Mr. Grey and the second with Pastor William Henry (or was it Henry Williams??). I was a bit critical at the time on my reviews but it was not because of the tour or Mr. Grey or Mr. Henry (or Williams...). It was because St. Kitts has a LOT of similarities with the Puerto Rico countryside and it was a bit repetitive to us. For example, they pointed out several fruit trees and plants that were interesting for most, we see them in PR all the time. Still, they conducted a very informative, relaxed and comprehensive tour of some of the sites of St. Kitts and both were very wel mannered, knowledgeable, and professional and their vans were in top shape. They also used a mic hooked to the van speaker so everyone can listen in well in every seat. I highly recommend them!

[helensobol]

On 12/15/2018 at 3:47 PM, EeyoreRN said:

OP, can you please elaborate on what was bad about your ATV excursion?

 The ATV excursion I took was very disappointing for many reasons. 

 

1.  It had an option to go to the beach afterwards which the tour company refused to bring us to because everyone else was going to the boat. 

 

2.  The excursion was noted to be 3 hours long with multiple stops.   We ended up being on the atv for about  2 hours at best and we made one stop.   

 

I felt the whole thing was advertised as something different than what is was.  

 

This is the a tour I booked via https://www.shoreexcursioneer.com/

[ithaca gal]

We just took Royston’s tour today. Except for the batik stop, we were alone at every beautiful overlook and photo op. He absolutely takes you places no one else does. Great sense of humor and concern. 

[Bluewake]

We took a tour of St Kitts with Thenford Grey a couple of years ago.  As others have noted, he is a well-spoken and intelligent gentleman whose tour is about information and seeing/appreciating the island and it's history, not about rum punch and loud music.  [Not that music and punch isn't sometimes fun but that is not what Mr. Grey's tours are focused on.]  We very much enjoyed the tour, felt it was well worth the price, and enjoyed meeting Thenford.  Additionally, our vehicle was modern, air-conditioned, and comfortable.   We highly recommend his tours.