Jalousie Beach & Spencer Ambrose

[toberman]

I have determined that Spencer is the only tour operator with permission to get close to Jalousie Beach.

 

My question is -- if you take a tour with Spencer, what is included once you get there? How much are chairs and beach umbrellas? And what other amenities are available at Jalousie?

 

Janette

[topazz11]

Frank Charles also has permission to drive into Jalousie. From what I have read chairs are $20pp. I emailed the hotel to see if they had any kind of day pass or if you get free chairs when you purchase lunch. Have not heard back from them yet.

[toberman]

Frank Charles also has permission to drive into Jalousie. From what I have read chairs are $20pp. I emailed the hotel to see if they had any kind of day pass or if you get free chairs when you purchase lunch. Have not heard back from them yet.

 

Thanks for replying Stephanie. That sounds pretty steep for chairs.

 

Janette

[DrmnOfMaui]

Cosol also does Jalouise Beach. We visited last Wednesday and found it to be one of the most beautiful places we've ever visited!

 

With Cosol (Jn Claude was our wonderful tour guide!) you take a water taxi around the Pitons to get to the beach. Yes, the chairs were $20 each. We were only there for about an hour and a half, so we did not do the chair. I didn't snorkel there, but my family did and my kids are still saying this is one of the best snorkeling days they had. My son saw a jellyfish and sqid in addition to all the "usual" fish. Loved this beach!!!

 

Some of the people from our Roll call did Spencer Ambrose and I believe they really liked their day as well.

 

 

 

 

Loved this beach!!

 

[toberman]

Cosol also does Jalouise Beach. We visited last Wednesday and found it to be one of the most beautiful places we've ever visited!

 

With Cosol (Jn Claude was our wonderful tour guide!) you take a water taxi around the Pitons to get to the beach. Yes, the chairs were $20 each. We were only there for about an hour and a half, so we did not do the chair. I didn't snorkel there, but my family did and my kids are still saying this is one of the best snorkeling days they had. My son saw a jellyfish and sqid in addition to all the "usual" fish. Loved this beach!!!

 

Some of the people from our Roll call did Spencer Ambrose and I believe they really liked their day as well.

 

 

 

 

Loved this beach!!

 

 

Nice pictures -- thanks for posting!

 

Janette

[rxnrn]

Spencer is the best! We took a private tour with him in June and it was hands down the best tour ever. Once you get to Jalouise beach he has a driver take you down to the beach via a van. You can use the facilities but the beach chairs are for the hotel guests. We had to pay $ 20 per chair for the 1.5 hrs we were there. Next year we will spend more time at the beach. Spencer will come down and get you when it is time to go. The private tour is well worth the extra $10/person because he will do what ever you wish. There is no one else to please but your group/family. Enjoy St.Lucia

[Caribbreeze]

Spencer is the best! We took a private tour with him in June and it was hands down the best tour ever. Once you get to Jalouise beach he has a driver take you down to the beach via a van. You can use the facilities but the beach chairs are for the hotel guests. We had to pay $ 20 per chair for the 1.5 hrs we were there. Next year we will spend more time at the beach. Spencer will come down and get you when it is time to go. The private tour is well worth the extra $10/person because he will do what ever you wish. There is no one else to please but your group/family. Enjoy St.Lucia

Do you, or anyone else, have contact info for Spencer. I like what I'm reading about him.

We're not cruising for another 193 days, but who's counting?

[Caribbreeze]

Do you, or anyone else, have contact info for Spencer. I like what I'm reading about him.

We're not cruising for another 193 days, but who's counting?

Wow. I've been away from this board for too long. Found just the info I was looking for further down. Sorry folks:o

[topazz11]

Drmnofmaui

 

Where do you get the water taxi and how much is it? Is there a schedule that it runs on?

How long does it take?

 

TIA

[maygoddess]

Drmnofmaui

 

Where do you get the water taxi and how much is it? Is there a schedule that it runs on?

How long does it take?

 

TIA

 

Stephanie..I may be wrong, but I don't think there is a water taxi that anyone can just pay for and take. I think the group tours just arrange it to get there groups over to Jalousie after they do the rest of the island tour. Otherwise that beach would have constant taxis back and forth letting people off and would spoil the somewhat quiet beauty of the place.

 

Personally..if you are doing a cruise with multiple island stops, I would not spend ALL day as a beach day on THIS island. It is the most lush and greenest of the islands we stopped at on caribbean Princess this past april and I want to see more if the island beauty here like the botanical gardens, maybe zipline, etc. There are other islands with alot more beaches. yes, Jalousie is pretty, but so are the beaches on Barbados, Antigua, etc..and perhaps those are not as lush and green.

 

So we are returning next march on Carnival Victory and I am already in contact with Spenser to do a private tour or perhaps a small group with a custom tour. His usual "west coast" tour is great, but since I already did it and don't care if I skip the beach here this time and see more of the lush beauty of this island, I am asking him to come up with a completely different tour for us. I am traveling with people who have never been here so it won't matter to them which part we see.

 

Anyway..my 2 cents. if you really ONLY do beach days when you cruise, then by all means, find one there or join a tour that goes to Jalousie..but also consider this island for its other stuff to see you may not want to miss!

 

I cannot wait to go back again. This was by far my favorite island. I left my heart there so I cannot wait to go back and find it again! Spenser almost tempted me with staying there and working for him! LOL! I told him not to joke because I could do it! :-)

[thatcounts]

We went with Herods tour and he pulled right up to a dock. He was the only boat doing this. The rest pull up to the beach and you climb out of the boat - either way seemed just as easy

[gr8togocruisin]

Frank Charles also has permission to drive into Jalousie. From what I have read chairs are $20pp. I emailed the hotel to see if they had any kind of day pass or if you get free chairs when you purchase lunch. Have not heard back from them yet.

 

Can you tell me more about Frank Charles. I'd like to find someone to drive us to Jalousie?

[topazz11]

gr8togocruisin - Franks email is franktax@hotmail.com Search st lucia frank and you should be able to find it. it won't let me put in a website

[Aligator6182]

We are interested in going to Jalouise Beach with out an island tour. Can any taxi get you there or does it have to be a specific one? What about the water taxi? Where can we catch that?

[PurpleDog]

A word of caution: my wife and I [both in our early 50's] booked with Spencer last September while on a 7 day RCCL cruise. Hes was very busy that day, so we ended up with his brother. We liked both Spencer [who btw, wears a HUGE gun on his hip] and his brother, and the island itself it amazing. We visited a bunch of places - a local school, a banana field, the lava pits, waterfalls and gardens and of course the famous Jalousie Beach. However, we spent most of the day crammed into a van with a family of 4 and a huge cooler. It was very uncomfortable in that van !! The ride from the cruise terminal to JBeach is NOT a 20 minute little jaunt; its more like 1.5 -2 hours plus - and longer if some cows happen to wander into the road. =) And also, you will drive thru some towns along the way that will make you feel sad; the poverty and despair is like nothing you've ever seen. There are no words to describe it.

 

My understanding is that Spencer will "customize" his tours to your likes and "want to see's." Well, the family that was in the van before we arrived was calling the shots and apparently wanted to see the island and not the beach; we ended up being at Jalousie for like maybe 35-45 mins. Its one of my Top 10 beaches in the world, and being able to spend only 45 mins there was a HUGE dissapointment. My advice to all considering the Spencer Tour is to ask how many will be in your van BEFORE booking and then - if at all possible - be there early so your party will get the best seats in the van. My wife and I spent over 4 hours that day crammed together like sardines onto one small van seat up against a cooler. My wife has said more than a few times that she will NEVER do a island tour like that again that involves so much time on the road !!

 

Email me with any questions, or if you'd like some pics from that day.

[Travel To Be Free]

Purple Dog: Thank you for your honesty. I am thinking of booking with Spencer and like well-rounded input.

 

At first I thought I wanted to spend most of the time at Jalouise, however, from a few posts above, they say the island is so beautiful and not to be missed. What types of things do you see on the ride over? Is it beautiful -- something not to be missed -- or is it a long ride?

 

How is Jalouise? I would love to see your pictures!! Another tour I am looking at does not go to Jalouise, but to another beach... If we were able to see the Pitons from a boat (part of the other tour) and see the beauty that way, I'm trying to figure out if I'll miss one of the greatest beach experiences???

 

Any opinions you can give is greatly appreciated!!

[PurpleDog]

Travel

 

Some more ramblings ...

 

I'm not sure how to post photos on the site, but I'd be glad to email some to you if you PM me your email addy.

 

The island is beautiful and be described in 2 words: LUSH & GREEN !! ;)

 

You see ALOT of the island on the way to JBeach; if I had to do it all over again I'd get a driver to take me from the cruise ship to J Beach and perhaps make 1-2 stops on the way back. The lava fields were a bunch of dirt piles with some bubbling water pits; and the garden and waterfall was amazing, yet its one of those things that you can see in 15 mins. My wife I I leave next Sunday the 27th on Carnival Victory and St Lucia is one of the days we plan to spend mostly on the ship.

 

J Beach was the last stop in a LONGGGGG day of riding in that van. We stopped 4-5 times for breaks and to sample the locally made foods; nothing was memorable except for: at one point and the driver got out, ran into a field, and came back with a "hand" of fresh bananas. Mmmmmm; bananas never taste like that in the States !! I could not enjoy bananas back home again for like 6 months .. lol.

 

There were many photos opportunties; the best being a shot of the Pitons from about 5 miles away up on a hill .. a simply amazing vista. However, after a while, we got tried of climbing in and out of the van. Our experience would have been 10X better if we had been sitting in comfy seats.

[Travel To Be Free]

Purple Dog: Thanks!! I'm thinking about doing the boat tour even more now. I guess I may just have to miss Jalouise Beach and see what I missed from the boat. :eek: If you can email the pictures to sherriecar@comcast.net, I would love to see them. If you run out of time... that's okay, too.

[DrmnOfMaui]

PurpleDog's thoughts are very accurate! We did the Cosol Tour, and while we really enjoyed it, it was a veeerryyy long day with lots of driving and not a whole lot of stopping. The stopping was more for a quick picture, not a "get to know the place" stop. I did get some fabulous photos! The volcano was accurately described, steaming rubble, but I'm glad I saw it (that's my geology minor speaking!!). The Banana Plantation was neat to see, I wasn't as impressed with the bananas though...very similar to what I get at home. But se did have a mango that I will never, ever forget! Absolutely fantastic. The waterfall and botanical garden was just like Purpledog described... nice, smaller than I thought, but nice. Cosol stopped for bread on the way back and that was fabulous! The vistas that we stopped at to take photos were beautiful. It is a truly gorgeous island, lush green and mountainous.

 

The water taxi and the beach were my favorite parts! It truly think Jalousie Beach was one of the most beautiful places that I have ever been on earth. My kids and husband enjoyed the emerald waters while I walked about to take some more photos. It was breathtaking!

 

I did enjoy seeing the island. It is indeed lush and beautiful, but like PurpleDog stated the poverty is very obvious. I think that it was good for my kids to see that not everyone in the world gets to live like we do. While I did see poverty, I didn't really see "despair"... many of the people we saw were happy and smiling, kids playing soccer, ladies out at the market, old men snoozing on porches. People seemed content, and everyone we met was very friendly. St. Lucia was one of my favorite stops!!

 

 

Vista of the gorgeous Pitons!

 

 

One of the fishing villages

 

 

My volcano stop!!! The tour provides a guide from the park who explains in detail about the volcanic creations of the islands!

 

 

The very crowded and slighly small but very pretty waterfall

 

 

Our guide, Jon Claude showing us how bananas get their start!

 

 

Baby Bananas....

[DrmnOfMaui]

Here are some shots of the beach!

 

Water Taxi to Beach

 

 

The beach!

 

More beach!

 

 

View from the beach

 

My daughter spending time in the beautiful water

My daughter in the water taxi

 

 

This beach is truly one of the most beautiful places in the world!! (IMHO!)

 

Hope the pictures are helpful! It was fun for me to look at them again. Our tour was Cosol, but I believe we went to just about all of the same places as other tours.

[sunseeker09]

The pictures are all so beautiful. Thanks for posting. To anyone who wants to more time on Jalousie beach and less time touring, contact Frank Charles. We haven't been yet, but I did contact him and he will take you to the beach and back with no, or limited stops. It's still a long drive over the windy roads, so we haven't decided yet. We might do a half day cat cruise instead. It's also quite pricey for just 2 ($140 without drinks or food). Not saying Frank is expensive. It's just such a long way. If you have a small group of your own though, and you don't mind the drive, it sounds like a good alternative to a packed day of touring. Also note that chairs are expensive there, and acording to other reviews, the resort isn't thrilled about all the extra people.

[Travel To Be Free]

Thanks for sharing -- these are beautiful pictures!

[Host Faith]

Do you, or anyone else, have contact info for Spencer. I like what I'm reading about him.

We're not cruising for another 193 days, but who's counting?

 

Hi there! You can contact Spencer at spencer7114@gmail.com. We're touring with him in October, and he has been quick and courteous in his responses. I'll report on the trip when we get back :)

[dluvsc]

The pictures are all so beautiful. Thanks for posting. To anyone who wants to more time on Jalousie beach and less time touring, contact Frank Charles. We haven't been yet, but I did contact him and he will take you to the beach and back with no, or limited stops. It's still a long drive over the windy roads, so we haven't decided yet. We might do a half day cat cruise instead. It's also quite pricey for just 2 ($140 without drinks or food). Not saying Frank is expensive. It's just such a long way. If you have a small group of your own though, and you don't mind the drive, it sounds like a good alternative to a packed day of touring. Also note that chairs are expensive there, and acording to other reviews, the resort isn't thrilled about all the extra people.

 

Sunseeker

Do you mean it costs $140 for the trip to Jalousie Beach with Frank for two people or are you talking about the catamaran trip? I too am interested in a very brief tour, like on the way to Jalousie but I don't want to be limited to only having an hour at Jalousie.

 

Thanks

[sunseeker09]

Sunseeker

Do you mean it costs $140 for the trip to Jalousie Beach with Frank for two people or are you talking about the catamaran trip? I too am interested in a very brief tour, like on the way to Jalousie but I don't want to be limited to only having an hour at Jalousie.

 

Thanks

 

Yes. Frank quoted us $140 for the 2 of us, or $160 with lunch (not sure what/where). Taxi rates from Castries to Soufriere seem to be $80 each way! (and that's not even all the way to Jalousie) St. Lucia seems to be a very expensive island to get around on! Frank would be willing to stop when/where you want along the way, or not at all. So with a min. 3 hour return trip, with say an 8 hr day, that gives you a few hours on the beach for sure. Frank does come recommended.

Mainly for me though it's that I don't travel well in vehicles on windy roads. We're doing the land tour on Domicina to see the falls and such, so that 1 day is enough windy roads for me. I much, much prefer to be out on the water. Hence trying to find an alterniative.

The all day cat cruise with serenity, with lunch ashore was quoted at $95 p/p.

The 4 hr cat cruise with Carnival is $59 p/p (no food).