Crane or Accra Beach?

[Delbonias Cruiser]

Which one is closer to the cruise pier, (Victory in May)?

 

About how long does it take to get to these beaches... by taxi, by scooter?

 

Thanks!

[Beachbum1944]

Accra is closer. Took us about a half hour to get there. Figure twice as long to get back. Lots of traffic in Bridgetown.

[shecht]

I saw in another thread that Accra is much nicer for relaxing, wading, swimming as it is much calmer than Crane, is this correct? But, the pictures I've seen of Crane look beautiful as well...:confused:

 

1st cruise and I'm so confused...:confused:

[Aplmac]

I saw in another thread that Accra is much nicer for relaxing, wading, swimming

as it is much calmer than Crane, is this correct? ===> Yep!

But, the pictures I've seen of Crane look beautiful as well...:confused:

 

1st cruise and I'm so confused...:confused:

Do Accra..trust me.

 

It's much closer to the dock, and better for swimming,etc.

Accra/Rockley has food shacks and small beach bars nearby..handy..

do Accra. ;)

 

 

_______________________________

 

this is Accra/Rockley Beach --lookin East

 

 

 

-and lookin West

[Delbonias Cruiser]

Accra it is!!! Thanks... I am assuming that you just get off the boat, find a taxi and say "take me to Accra Beach"?

 

Thanks

[KeiEdy]

Just posted this response yesterday on another thread......we asked to go to Rockley Beach. The driver knew exactly where we wanted to go. He was impressed how much research I did on cruise critic. The taxi will leave you at the beach next to the Accra Hotel.

 

 

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=18521534&postcount=9

[Kenato]

Sounds great. What was the cost of the taxi if I may ask?

 

Thanks, Ken

[Aplmac]

Accra it is!!! Thanks...

I'm assuming that you just get off the boat, find a taxi and say "take me to Accra Beach"?

Better to ask for Rockley Beach

or he'll drive you into the entrance to Accra Beach Hotel (the reason locals call that beach 'Accra')

instead of the free beach access 100 yds further on!

 

Mind you..if you pay Accra Beach Hotel's day-pass(I'm assuming they have one?)

you get the use of their facilities.

 

You may need to insist that you are taken to Rockley.

Many of our taxi drivers have 'arrangements' with (traffic-convenient) West coast locales,

and would rather zip you up the West coast,quickly

than have to drive thru/around the Bridgetown traffic to go South Coast/Rockley.

[cruisingbajan]

I also recommend Accra/Rockley and its MUCH closer than Crane.

 

Hey aplmac...I realise we are going on the same cruise in April. I'm also doing a balcony and looking forward to it.:D

[KeiEdy]

Sounds great. What was the cost of the taxi if I may ask?

 

Thanks, Ken

 

We paid $15 a person roundtrip...we paid after we came back to the boat.

[Aplmac]

Hey aplmac...I realise we are going on the same cruise in April.

I'm also doing a balcony and looking forward to it. ===> Yuh think?! :D

Oright den! We must try en butt-up.

 

So far I'm in 6207 (right up fwd.!!)

but I'm trying for an upgrade, so let's keep in touch.

 

 

Are U on Facebook?

- go look for David Aplmac and lehwe do someting,nuh.

 

Gotta get in touch, before we sail.

Email me at pcdoctor@caribsurf.com

[cruisingbajan]

Oright den! We must try en butt-up.

 

So far I'm in 6207 (right up fwd.!!)

but I'm trying for an upgrade, so let's keep in touch.

 

 

Are U on Facebook?

- go look for David Aplmac and lehwe do someting,nuh.

 

Gotta get in touch, before we sail.

Email me at pcdoctor@caribsurf.com

 

nuh problem brudda...yes I am on facebook. Uh gine an look fuh yuh now.

 

we definitley gine try to butt up...will keep in touch fuh sure.

 

my email is kawhite@caribsurf.com

[lfmcruise]

Better to ask for Rockley Beach

or he'll drive you into the entrance to Accra Beach Hotel (the reason locals call that beach 'Accra')

instead of the free beach access 100 yds further on!

 

Mind you..if you pay Accra Beach Hotel's day-pass(I'm assuming they have one?)

you get the use of their facilities.

 

You may need to insist that you are taken to Rockley.

Many of our taxi drivers have 'arrangements' with (traffic-convenient) West coast locales,

and would rather zip you up the West coast,quickly

than have to drive thru/around the Bridgetown traffic to go South Coast/Rockley.

 

Are the water and sand at Accra Beach better than the Boatyard?

[lfmcruise]

I also recommend Accra/Rockley and its MUCH closer than Crane.

 

Hey aplmac...I realise we are going on the same cruise in April. I'm also doing a balcony and looking forward to it.:D

 

 

Are the water and sand at Accra better than at the Boatyard?

[mamoune]

Better to ask for Rockley Beach

or he'll drive you into the entrance to Accra Beach Hotel (the reason locals call that beach 'Accra')

instead of the free beach access 100 yds further on!

 

Mind you..if you pay Accra Beach Hotel's day-pass(I'm assuming they have one?)

you get the use of their facilities.

 

You may need to insist that you are taken to Rockley.

Many of our taxi drivers have 'arrangements' with (traffic-convenient) West coast locales,

and would rather zip you up the West coast,quickly

than have to drive thru/around the Bridgetown traffic to go South Coast/Rockley.

 

We asked our taxi driver for Accra, and he took us at the right place no problem. Cost of the taxi was 10$ each, each way. We rented beach chairs and an umbrella for 15$. Well worth the trip, this beach is amazing!!!

[cruisingbajan]

Are the water and sand at Accra better than at the Boatyard?

 

The water is probably a bit calmer at Boatyard...not that Accra is rough...it is not that significant that it would effect your decision.All of our beaches have beautiful white sands...there is no difference at all there.

 

I personally would recommend Accra...because of the crowd factor.(boatyard will be swarming with ppl...as you can tell from these boards it is quite popular

[Aplmac]

Sometime back I was asked to rank Crane, Accra/Rockley and Boatyard/Carlisle Bay/Lobster Alive

on a scale of 1 to 10 (the usual).

 

As I redo this I am thinking of them all in a very general way

taking into consideration natural beauty, surroundings, amenities,

distance from the dock, ambiance etc.

 

Crane.... 9 outa 10 (even if it is kinda far Out There)

 

Accra/Rockley...somewhere around 7.5 - 8 (easy to get to)

 

Carlisle Bay with its beach bars thereupon ... 5 - 6 (great beach but ambiance a bit lacking)

 

 

_______________________________

What you gain on the roundabouts

is lost on the swings.

 

All in all, it's still hard to beat Accra!!

[macaroni]

How about Hastings Beach???

[cruisingbajan]

How about Hastings Beach???

 

Hastings and Accra are the same stretch of beach...you will get to Hastings b4 you get to Accra/Rockley. Hastings to my mind though is isolated compared to Accra

[Aplmac]

How about Hastings Beach???

Quite nice!

 

Most ppl think of it as Coconut Court Beach

because of the popular hotel that's the biggest thing on that stretch of beach.

Coconut Court has created a neat tidepool for swimming in front the hotel

but there's room enough for all.

 

 

You can now walk 1.2 kilometres of Boardwalk connecting Accra/Rockley Beach and Hastings Beach

thus enjoying both beaches -as well as the stroll between the two, along the shoreline!

This shot along the Boardwalk looks Westward, in the direction of Hastings Beach.

 

Good choice!

 

.

[macaroni]

Wow, that is great. We will go to one and walk to the other. Can we easily get a cab from either?

[Aplmac]

Wow, that is great. We will go to one and walk to the other. Can we easily get a cab from either?

Easier to find a cab at the Accra/Rockley end of things

 

At the Hastings Beach end

you'd have to go thru Coconut Court hotel and hope there's a cab there.

- or walk West a bit more, and get one at Amaryllis Hotel

 

 

Even if there isn't a cab around

you'll see you're almost right on the Hastings Main Road

with bus transp. if nothing else heading in both directions

-into and out-of Bridgetown

[GrantH2O]

I was just at Accra Beach on 25 February 2009 (Carnival Victory).

 

aplmac has all the good info (thanks BTW and I just now got your screen name)

 

We grabbed a taxi outside the port gate (less aggressive guys) and had them take us to the Fairchild Bus Station for $3 (for two of us). After some help from some friendly locals and a station attendent, we grabbed the number 13 bus south/east bound (get $3 in Barbados Dollars coins to pay for the bus ride). The lady in the ticket window will make change for your US$. She will give you bus tokens or change. Just tell them you want a round trip bus and they will give you $3BD. Remember $2BD = $1US. The bus is $1.50BD (or 75cents US) per person one way. (Hope that didn't confuse you). Originally they told us isle (bus) 12, but there was a gate change, a local lady helped us change lines (no big deal). We told the driver that we were going to Accra Beach (beach not the hotel) and he said he would tell us when to get off. After a short ride, I saw the Quaysdie Shopping strip mall and the Cheffette fast food place, so I knew we were there (thanks aplmac). The bus driver remembered and let us know anyway, so it worked out to be a really nice, short, cheap trip.

 

The beach had a few little huts selling souvenirs, drinks and some food (Chicken Georges). There were also changing and bathroom facilities and a beach bar and restarant at the far end of the beach. There were plenty of chairs and umbrellas for hire. We paid $20 for two chairs and an umbrella in the second row from the water (they were charging $30 for waterfront). There were also numerous palms and mangroves that provided shade and blocked the noise and views from the road.

 

The sand was soft with a very light brown and pink hue. The water was nice and turquois, but the waves were up a bit that day (note the boogie boarders). This churned up the sand and made for a pretty good roll in the surf. This made for low visibility. I attempted to swim out to the man-made reef 50 yds off shore. Once I got out there, visibility was low and I was getting tossed around quite a bit by the waves, so I called it day and gave up on snorkeling. The swim out there in the surf was tiring as well even with fins.

 

It rained a bit that day, but not bad and we did have an umbrella and the trees if needed.

 

We sampled the local Barbados Banks beer and then caught the bus back to Bridgetown.

 

A local advised us on the bus that it would be hard to catch a cab back at the bus terminal, so he advised we get off at another closeby beach and catch a shuttle. We paid $5 each and the shuttle got us back to the ship (dropped off at the front door). So total transportation there and back was $16 (not bad). Don't know if we were taken on that, but it was still an inexpensive transportation day.

 

 

 

 

 

[GrantH2O]

More pics:

 

The rocks in the foreground were just on that side of the beach, not all the way across.

 

The pic with the dark buoy marks the man made reef.

 

Example of the rental chairs.

 

 

 

 

 

[Aplmac]

Sorry you had such a grey day! :eek:

 

It's usually quite sunny at Accra,as you can see from my photos

-even if it's rainy/cloudy just a bit inland.