Help us pick a beach

[TupeloHoney]

I've looked through this board and found lots of possibilities for beaches, but I just can't make up my mind because I don't feel like I have all of the info I need. So I'd love it if you could give me some feedback.

 

We'll be in Antigua for a day, and we want to do some shopping and some beach time. It doesn't really matter which we do first. But I don't want to go to a beach that is too far from the port, so we have plenty of time to do both.

 

We have 7 people in our group, ages 8, 31, 38, 43, 45, 68, and 70. We want a pretty beach, not horribly crowded, and it has to be somewhat calm. The 8 year old loves playing at the beach, but is not a strong swimmer. So we don't want anything with monsterous waves. None of us are into any of the toys like wave runners or anything like that. They can be there, but we don't need them. But there does need to be a place for the 68 year old to sit in a chair in the shade and be able to watch us.

 

Although I would love to do the day pass at Pineapple Beach Resort, no one else is interested. :(

 

Any thoughts? I'd appreciate any feedback you can give me.

[MamaQuack]

bump:)

[texancruzer]

You didnt say how long you will be in port..... but the island is not very big so nothing is really WAY FAR.

 

We rented a car and went straight over to Long Beach - very calm water with snorkeling right off the beach, beautiful white sand, a couple of little tiki hut type places for burgers, fries etc., chairs and umbrellas for hire and even a few open air stalls of island shirts and trinkets for shopping. We stayed here for about 3 hrs then headed south to Nelsons dockyard and then back west down Fig Tree drive (gorgeous) and then back up to port..... basically a large circle. Even still had about an hour to shop near the pier. So with proper planning - you can do alot. We loved Antigua - like a tropical Texas hill country - pretty rural but people exceptionally nice.!!!

 

P.S. Lots of taxis coming and going the whole time we were there so no problem getting there and back.

[TupeloHoney]

Thanks Texancruiser! Do you know if Long Beach and Long Bay are the same place?

[pswgh]

Long Beach and Long Bay are the same place. Just there last week and it was great. I would try to find a taxi driver before going or arranging something because we found the drivers to be very pushy as you got off the ship. We were able to find a very nice taxi driver, Nicholas to took us there for $24 (for four, each way). We arranged for him to pick us up at an arranged time and he was there 1/2 hour early (which was good because it started to rain). There are however lots of taxis available if we wanted to come back earlier. The ride from the ship to the beach was about 1/2 an hour. The beach itself is beautiful. My friend went snorkeling and loved it, lots of fishes.

[Methow Cruiser]

You didnt say how long you will be in port..... but the island is not very big so nothing is really WAY FAR.

 

We rented a car and went straight over to Long Beach - very calm water with snorkeling right off the beach, beautiful white sand, a couple of little tiki hut type places for burgers, fries etc., chairs and umbrellas for hire and even a few open air stalls of island shirts and trinkets for shopping. We stayed here for about 3 hrs then headed south to Nelsons dockyard and then back west down Fig Tree drive (gorgeous) and then back up to port..... basically a large circle. Even still had about an hour to shop near the pier. So with proper planning - you can do alot. We loved Antigua - like a tropical Texas hill country - pretty rural but people exceptionally nice.!!!

 

P.S. Lots of taxis coming and going the whole time we were there so no problem getting there and back.

 

How much was your car rental? I heard gas is $4 on Antigua and car is expensive?

[texancruzer]

We rented a Suzuki Grand Vitara from Hertz.... $57.00 + insurance + Antiguan drivers license (required) = $ @ 95.00 . If you book thru the main rental office (there are a couple listed on the website) they will deliver to ship if requested....actually to a hotel about a 2 minute walk from pier. She was there waiting for us with our almost new car and made the whole process very easy. I actually made our reservations using the 800 international # also listed on the website....I like to talk to a human being when making all my plans....c.s. rep was very helpful as we also booked a car on St. Martin and in San Juan.

 

There were two couples (our best friends) so we split the total. Yes, gas is expensive anywhere on the islands but the island is not that big and we didnt use that much gas. Must return tank full and I think we spent about $10.00 or so on gas.

 

So still much cheaper than taxis (for 4) and we had total control over where, when, for how long etc... we had a blast driving all over the island.

DRIVING IS ON THE LEFT THO..... roads are ok and traffic was almost non-existent once out of town.

[partyboy]

TupeloHoney,

It's possible this site might be helpful!:)

http://www.caribbeanportreviews.com/Antigua.htm