Nelson's dockyard and a beach

[Glyn1947]

We will be visiting Antigua in January aboard the Ventura. We would like to visit Nelson's dockyard and a nice beach. What are peoples experiences of this sort of itinerary:

 

1. bus or taxi or hire car or cruise excursion?

2. The beaches on the West coast. Which is the best?

3. What are peoples best experiences for a day which includes a beach and something touristy?

 

Thank you

 

Philip

[judeg]

We were there last January and decided to be daring and try the local bus service to Nelsons Dockyard, and it was the best trip of the cruise! Walked to the West End Bus Station in town and got the Route 17 bus- well, it was a minivan- and it was great fun meeting so many local people, all very friendly, and the driver thought nothing of going slightly off route to drop an elderly passenger right outside their house! Felt very adventurous and all for, as I remember, $1 per person each way! Win win! It drops you right outside Nelsons Dockyard, which is a gorgeous place to visit, great history, places to eat and drink, fabulous setting! We then walked over the hill to Pigeon Bay,which is a lovely small beach, calm water for swimming, a good beach bar doing food and with toilets, but no other facilities such as sun loungers, so you'd need a towel to lie on! The walk there is about 20 minutes and the hill a bit steep, especially in the sun, and we didn't see any buses going there, so a taxi might be a good idea if walking's not for you, and arrange for it to pick you up and take you back to the bus stop later! We loved our day out, and soooo much cheaper than a cruise excursion. We're back to Antigua in January too(Celebrity Eclipse) and may well just do this all over again!!! Enjoy, whatever you decide to do!

[Canadian Guider]

Hi judeg -We are visiting Antigua in a few weeks and would like to do exactly what you did. One question - how did you get back to the ship after your time on the beach? Do you have to walk back to the bus stop in front of Nelson's Dockyard? How long did it take to get from the cruise ship to Nelson's Dockyard on the bus? Are there frequent buses for the return trip. We are not as daring so I need to know that it can be comfortably done.

Thanks in advance.

[caribsun]

There was six of us and we hired a cab right off the pier for a island tour with a stop at Nelsons along with some beach time.

[judeg]

Hi judeg -We are visiting Antigua in a few weeks and would like to do exactly what you did. One question - how did you get back to the ship after your time on the beach? Do you have to walk back to the bus stop in front of Nelson's Dockyard? How long did it take to get from the cruise ship to Nelson's Dockyard on the bus? Are there frequent buses for the return trip. We are not as daring so I need to know that it can be comfortably done.

Thanks in advance.

 

Hi Canadian Guider sorry for delay, only just seen your post!

Yes we walked back over the hill to the bus stop at Nelsons Dockyard and a bus came within 5 minutes! Not sure how often they run but it's pretty frequent, and it's quite busy round there so taxis should be readily available if you start to panic!! The journey is about 35 minutes as I remember. Just remembered there's another local beach, Galleon, which you can get to by water taxi from inside Nelsons Dockyard, so might be worth researching if that walk phases you!

We always get a bit nervous of trying things on our own instead of the cruise excursions too, but giving yourselves enough time this is seriously an easily do-able day out!! Have fun!