RE: Fort James Beach

[firefighterjake]

CruiseCritic.com was very, very useful to me when I was planning the cruise that my wife and I went on last week (our first, but definitely not our last cruise . . . I think I'm hooked!) . . . as a result I wanted to give something back by posting a few threads on the places I went to and the folks I meant . . . maybe others will find these as useful as I found other threads at this site.

 

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My wife and I were on board the Carnival Destiny and while in Antigua we wanted to have a "down" day after several days of back-to-back tours and so we were going to the beach.

 

I had my mind set on Darkwoods, but at the last minute we opted to go to Fort James Beach . . . since it was a) closer to port and b) there was a geocache I could grab at Fort James.

 

I cannot say how happy I was with the decision . . . this was a great beach . . . not crowded at all with nice, warm turquoise-blue waters that I really, really enjoyed swimming in. For shell collectors there are some nice areas to pick up shells and for history buffs you can take a very short walk down the beach to Fort James.

 

My wife and I could care less about services, but there appeared to be a nearby restaurant of sorts with food and drink, there were some vendors at the beach entrance which offered clothing for sale, but were not pushy . . . and we met Stacy (a wonderful lady from Jamaica) who gave us both professional massages (something that neither one of us have had or indulge in) . . . if you go here I would definitely indulge in a massage and talk to Stacy as she was very personable and a bargain at $1 per minute.

 

The taxi drivers at the port all told me that snorkeling would not be good at Fort James and I have to say they were right . . . the waves (small ones) managed to stir things up so you couldn't really snorkel, but I simply enjoyed the warm water and found it to be very refreshing.

 

As an amateur photog I was also pleased to get some great shots at the nearby fort and the cliffs . . .

 

Lewis, a taxi cab driver and owner of a small neighborhood grocery store, that we met at the port gave us a ride to the beach and was there when we asked him to return.

 

All in all, this beach was very nice and very under-rated . . . this beach alone has made me want to return to Antigua and see the other 364 beaches!

[Karysa]

I agree with everything that you said about this beach. When we were there in March of last year there was a building that looked like it was going to be restrooms is it finished yet?

Glad you enjoyed you day in Antigua.

Karysa

[firefighterjake]

I agree with everything that you said about this beach. When we were there in March of last year there was a building that looked like it was going to be restrooms is it finished yet?

Glad you enjoyed you day in Antigua.

Karysa

 

I never went to the restroom, but my wife did . . . as to where or if this was the building you mention, I'm not sure.

 

And yes . . . I really, really enjoyed by day in Antigua.

[michalanajon]

Does anyone have any pictues they could post? Also, are there any water sports to rent....(I have two teenagers)? Somewhere I read that there is some kind of slide that goes into the water. Is that true?

[Karysa]

Dickinson beach is about 5 minutes further and it has the watersports. Lot's to do at that beach, it is active, pretty and a great beach to walk. Fort James beach itself, as I remember, was lovely and the water calm and blue, but the area where we parked had litter and looked like a party or two had happened there in the not too distant past. That might have changed in the last year. I don't remember palm trees but there were shade trees, it was peaceful and we found great shells and washed up sea glass.

Karysa

[firefighterjake]

Does anyone have any pictues they could post? Also, are there any water sports to rent....(I have two teenagers)? Somewhere I read that there is some kind of slide that goes into the water. Is that true?

 

I'll try to post some pics later on . . . I've got close to 300 pics and they're all hi-res so I have to spend some time downsizing them so I can upload them easier.

 

I don't recall seeing any water sports . . . and the blow-up slide that I saw set up didn't go into the water on the day I was there. It looked more like the type of slide you would see set up at a state fair.

[firefighterjake]

Does anyone have any pictues they could post? Also, are there any water sports to rent....(I have two teenagers)? Somewhere I read that there is some kind of slide that goes into the water. Is that true?

 

Here's a few pics:

 

 

 

 

 

[michalanajon]

Thanks for the pics!! It looks like a real pretty beach...relaxing!