Antigua Beaches

[Sailor Gal]

There is very little information being shared on the Antigua thread. I would really appreciate it if those who have already been to Antigua beaches could go to the Antigua thread and make some recommendations on beaches. Just want a nice beach that's not too expensive to get to by taxi. Want to relax, maybe swim, have a drink, have restroom available. Would really appreciate hearing from those who have been there and done that! Thanks so much!

[chrysalis]

We enjoyed Long Beach this past April when the Sun anchored at English Harbour (not St John's as scheduled)...lots of facilities and services

[NOBADDAYS]

Did I post on there about Castaway beach. It cost us about $24 round trip for two taxi and it was a lovely quieter beach. We were there in Feb of this year. If you send me your email I can forward some pictures to you.

Undergracetwo@aol.com

[sadie8]

We went to Dickenson Bay. Sounds like it might be a good fit for you. Taxi was $3 pp/each way. Sit at Sneaky Pete's. Chairs were $5 each, drinks reasonable. take your own food or eat lunch back on board he only sells snacks (chips and nuts)! It was a great day in Antigua.

[tequilasunrise]

Darkwood beach is lovely, absolutely gorgeous. It's a little farther than Dickenson, but if you want peace and quiet it's perfect. There's a little bar there with food/drinks, restrooms and changing rooms, and the most beautiful turquoise water. When we were there, there were less than 10 people on the beach all day. There is no regular taxi service; no one comes by here. Arrange for the driver who takes you to pick you up. Either arrange to pay him all of his money after he returns you (so he will come back) or tip him well and remember they are on ISLAND time so leave lots of time to get back.

 

Turner beach is around the corner from Darkwood and is also very nice. There's more people here, but a fancier restaurant and more taxis around.

 

Dickenson is better if you want services like equipment rentals, a choice of places to eat, activity. There's more people around, and getting a taxi back is easy.

 

Castaway beach is the one Princess was offering and is very lovely. If you go on your own it's cheaper. But you don't have to worry about transportation if you book theirs and the lunch is good.

 

Never been to Long beach but a lot of ppl like it. It's a long trip tho. A resort there will sell you a day pass with unlimited food/drinks if you want, thinking it's called Pineapple or something like that. I haven't done it but have heard good things about it. It's expensive, however.

 

The beaches on Antigua are breathtaking. There's a LOT of them (364, so they say). I didn't see an ugly one, so not likely you can go wrong. Hope that helps :)

[YoPhilly]

We stayed for a week last year and went to several beaches, all of which were lovely. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them. We stayed on Jolly Beach which was spectacular. Also went to Darkwood and Dickinson.

[Beach4me]

I like Runaway Bay. Can't remember the cab fare but it's not much. Never very crowded.

 

Also, do a search on the Antigua board on Pineapple Beach Club. I plan to check it out next time I'm there. They offer day passes. From what I've read, it sounds like a nice beach & pool. I don't think it's very far from port either.

[Sailor Gal]

This is SO helpful. Appreciate any more recommendations from those who've been there and done that. THX

[Quadsd]

We went to Turners in January and loved it. We got a taxi once we got off the pier and 2 other couples joined us to bring the cost down. The restaurant wass nice and the water perfect. We spent about 5 hours on the beach before the taxi came back for us.

[Sailor Gal]

So sounds like we can't go wrong with Dickenson, Turner's, Jolly or Castaways, but Darkwood has no regular taxi's. Thanks a lot.

[martij6]

All inclusive day pass allows for pool, beach, some swimming equipment, food, drink, facilities. We went with a large group that organized on our roll call here on CC and had a great time. Here's a link:

http://www.allegroantigua.com/english/daypass.phtml

 

I recall the drive over to be about 30+/- minutes, but don't hold me to that. We also stopped @ Devils Bridge on the way. As I went w/ the group, we had buses we rented so can't tell you about the cab fare.

 

Have fun.

Joel