Antigua and Barbuda Travel Forum

We will be staying at Jolly Beach Resort in mid-April for a week. I usually go to Turks & Caicos for the relaxation and great snorkeling/diving but wanted to try another island. Reading some reviews it doesn't sound like we'll be doing much snorkeling at Jolly Beach. Since this is our 1st time to Antigua we'd like to venture out of the resort a day or two to other beaches and try local restaurants for their great seafood. Could anyone give me some suggestions and would you recommend renting a jeep ourselves (2 couples) or is it best to hire a driver to take us around? Any advice, suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Hi, we were at Jolly Harbour Villas ( not the resort) in Nov, '04. I know that you can get a taxi (minivan) to take you on a tour of the island for about $100 US. We never got a chance to go on the tour because of the rain. When it was nice out we went to the beach. We only got totally rained out one day,the other days it did rain some, but not all day. We were lucky, I guess from late Oct to Mid-Nov it rained almost every day. For myself, I would probably have the taxi take you around, the roads seemed very confusing to me. There are all kinds of boat tours and such that you can go on, and the locals will approach you with these offers several times a day when you are on the beach. They are very nice, not pushy at all, if you do not want to book with then, they will leave the brochure and try you again later, and if you are not interested just let them know, they will just go on to the next person.
There are several restaurants at the Villas we stayed at ( they are codos with full kitchens), But they were quite expensive. I will never forget getting 2 small scoops of ice cream for my daughter for desert, and being charged nearly $15.00 US for it!!! There is a restaurant on the beach called Castaways, they were pretty good, and much more reasonably priced. The Villas were in the process of being sold as private homes, and it was almost completely sold out when we were there, so things may have changed, as people who live there, ( alot of retirees from Europe had bought to live there 6 months out of the year) don't tend to eat out as much as people on a 1 or 2 week vacation. I know alot of the mechants were worried. as I said this is not where you are staying, we were basicly down the beach from you. I am sure you will have a great time.

I'd recommend the day trip to Barbuda on the Excellence catamaran.

It's bumpy but fun ride over the Atlantic which takes about an hour, we saw a couple of dolphins on the way.

You then bascially cruise around the island! Stopping at the Frigate Bird Sanctuary, a pink sand beach and another beach where a delicious buffet lunch is served with your choice of chicken, fish or steak.

We then stopped for snorkellin, which was better on Barbuda was better than we did on Antigua.

We also did a half circumnavigation tour of Antigua on a Sunday, stopping at the harbour and Nelsons Dockyard, and is I remember rightly Green Bay for snorkelling, which was just ok - ending at the jump up at Shirely Heights. As it was part of a tour, we were only at Shirley Heights for just under 2 hours, which for us was just right because it had been a full on day. The time at Shirley Heights was enough to watch the sunset, listen to the band and have a couple of rum punches.

Hope this helps.

Lisa

We spent a week on Antigua, althought the snorkeling isn't what I would call world class we did find a few spots worth getting our gear wet. The quietest spot was near Falmouth Harbor on the south shore near Shirley Heights. The closest we came to a reef was on the east side I think it was Nonsuch bay or perhaps Mercers creek bay. We did get wet at Jolly Harbor but it was a windy day and the surf was up. We spent a lot of time in Hansons Bay near Five Islands. We liked Mosquito Cove but were driven away by a school of Jelly fish. My suggestion is to explore. With 365 beaches your sure to find one you like. As far as renting or hiring, I would rent, especially with 2 couples. You'll have a blast. If you get tired of the beach don't pass up a hike to the top of the "mountain" I believe it was in St. Marys parish.