Valley Church Beach - what's it got?

[rick_1955]

...and the bus only cost us $1.50 p/p!!! The bar/restaurant at Valley Church is wonderful! We had an excellent lunch there (coconut shrimp the size of your fist!) and the world's best rum punches. This was absolutely our favorite beach of the whole itinerary. Not good for snorkeling but the beach is devine and the water color is unmatched. But, let's make this wonderful find our little secret, 'kay? :o

 

So will the bus stop on the way back even without a bus stop? Or, will all taxis come back to pick you up?

[screennametaken]

So will the bus stop on the way back even without a bus stop? Or, will all taxis come back to pick you up?

 

 

We took a taxi back to the ship. The driver was there already anyway (I think he is a part owner of the bar - his name is Almond, he is a WONDERFUL person). When we asked him if he could take us back to the port he told us "anytime you are ready". It was just that easy.

[floridalady]

That's where I am headed Dec.1st my birthday.Loved your post.

...and the bus only cost us $1.50 p/p!!! The bar/restaurant at Valley Church is wonderful! We had an excellent lunch there (coconut shrimp the size of your fist!) and the world's best rum punches. This was absolutely our favorite beach of the whole itinerary. Not good for snorkeling but the beach is devine and the water color is unmatched. But, let's make this wonderful find our little secret, 'kay? :o

[suejoe]

Has any one been to this beach recently? We will be in Antiqua next month and would like to have some info: cost of a taxi, how easy is it to get a taxi back to the ship, how long a ride to this beach. Also, what was the charge for chairs, umbrellas. We were planning on going to Jolly Beach (not the resort) but their restaurant is closed so there are no facilities to speak of there. Appreciate any information I can get....thanks!

Susan

[peg013]

We arrived early at about 10 and about 1 PM more people started to arrive including people off CB, gotta love those blue and white striped towels that scream Princess cruises.

 

 

I think they just scream "cruise line" because NCL's are blue and white striped also!

[kellyclayt]

How much was the taxi back to the ship? Thanks for the info!

 

We took a taxi back to the ship. The driver was there already anyway (I think he is a part owner of the bar - his name is Almond, he is a WONDERFUL person). When we asked him if he could take us back to the port he told us "anytime you are ready". It was just that easy.

[mnfun2bme]

We will be a family of 4 (kids ages 21 and 17) venturing to Valley Church Beach from the Caribbean Princess. We plan to take the bus out to the beach. Anyone else? :)

[mnfun2bme]

I read on tripadvisor that Long Bay Beach has the best snorkeling. Does anyone know the distance from Valley Church to Long Bay? Just wondering if it's possible to do both beaches in one day.

 

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

[Babygirlsmom]

It may be too late to respond to the last poster, but Long Bay Beach is on the opposite end of the island (east coast) and Valley Church is on the west side. I saw someone say it was 20-25 min just to get to Valley Church. If that is the case it must take a lot longer to get to Long Bay--but, I've never been there. We are looking at options of some windsurfing on the north side of the island (Jabberwock Beach), and I was wondering some similar things....could we then fit in another beach or not?

[yzu]

We will be a family of 4 (kids ages 21 and 17) venturing to Valley Church Beach from the Caribbean Princess. We plan to take the bus out to the beach. Anyone else? :)

 

We are also 4 people on same sailing- would wanna try it...The problem is - can we count to get on the bus quickly for the return trip? What do you think?

Edited November 24, 2009 by yzu

[fishnfun]

Does anyone know if there is watersport rentals there like jet skies? We are looking to get away from that. Thanks

[SANJOSEGAL]

Did you see this?

 

http://www.cruiselawnews.com/2009/09/articles/caribbean-islands/carnival-drops-antigua-like-a-hot-potato/

[cephasde]

Has anyone actually walked from Valley Church Beach to the main road and caught the bus back to St. Johns? I'm concerned about the bus being full or not stopping for tourists. We'll be there in February and want to spend some time at Valley Church Beach on our own.

 

Cheers,

 

Sheryl

[kellyclayt]

I was in Antigua a year and a half ago and am going again in a couple of weeks. We loved Antigua - beautiful beaches - and are so sorry for the locals that they are losing this business!

 

Did you see this?

 

http://www.cruiselawnews.com/2009/09/articles/caribbean-islands/carnival-drops-antigua-like-a-hot-potato/

Edited November 29, 2009 by kellyclayt

[tjschwalm]

Hey Sheryl,

We went by bus to Valley Church Beach on Thursday Nov 12th . It was simple. Getting there you walk straight out of the port to Market street

and make a left go straight past a lot of run down , some good deals ,

stores . About a 1/4 mile or 5 blocks down on the left is the bus station.

The walk in total took us about 15 minutes with an elderly man . My family thought I was crazy and I was like trust me I read about this the whole time I was doubting myself , but bus # 22 was there when we walked up . The driver was very friendly and because our boat left at 5 pm I asked him if we could get a bus back around 3:30 . He said no problem just wait on the side of the road , other side than the U.S. side .The bus is really a 15 passenger van, the fare is $1.50 per person each way. At the end of the day we packed up at 3 pm walked to the road 10 minutes tops . We waited there 10 minutes the whole time cabs pull over to ask you if you want a ride , this is important in case you get cold feet . But we waited and at 3:25 the van or bus pulled up with the #22 on windshield drivers side .

6 of us went there $10 one way total w/ $1 tip he wasn't expecting . Important

note for me , on return trip they were not happy that we had wet bathing suits . He actually asked you don't have wet bathing suits? Do you? We said no but that was a lie and you could see that our suits were wetting seats that school kids use for school travel . Because I lied I felt really bad and gave him $20 , $11 tip to hoping to avoid being scolded . He said nothing but I guess what I am getting at is try to bring a dry change for the ride home. They have changing rooms at the beach . We were back at port by 3:50 pm after doing some store browsing and dawdling and still back on board by 4:20 pm . The beach was beautiful and very uncrowded . We paid

$20 for beach chairs . Elvis was awesome to meet and a fantastic singer .

Food and drink were awesome , have to agree with previous opinions about the coconut shrimp . Lunch for 6 $110 w/ tip . Jet ski son and I $90 1/2 hr 2 machines , real fun . Drinks throughout day another $90 . Total approx for 6

was $250.00 US plus jet ski . about $42 per person worth it to me . Would

absolutely do it again , you have to see this place . Met people that paid cabs $20 apiece for round trip plus cab tip just to get there . Any questions I'm around . Have fun!

[cephasde]

Thank you so much. This is exactly what we needed to know. We'll be doing pretty much the same thing, partly for the adventure of going on our own. I have spent time living on a cat in English Harbor and think I remember the bus station. What fun! So glad you and your family had such a great day. Cheers!! Sheryl

[debr]

Sheryl,

 

We will be spending the day at Valley Church in January and I've got a couple questions. Could you tell me a little about the menu, what items are available and and estimate of price, especially the coconut shrimp:D Also, the price for chair rentals. One last question, I saw several posts about the abundance of shells on the beach, is that still true?

 

Thank you

 

Debr

[tjschwalm]

I believe the coconut shrimp , which was huge and yummy , was about $17

US and I believe it could be split I didn't as It was all I ate that day at the beach , we didn't get around to eating til almost 2pm. Hope that helps . Ted

 

I believe you could budget for $50US per person unless you drink like a fish,

believe it or not it was so hot I don't think anyone had more than 3 drinks but lots of water and they have a unique non alcohol iced tea I really liked .

[jadepearl02]

Hey Sheryl,

We went by bus to Valley Church Beach on Thursday Nov 12th . It was simple. Getting there you walk straight out of the port to Market street

and make a left go straight past a lot of run down , some good deals ,

stores . About a 1/4 mile or 5 blocks down on the left is the bus station.

The walk in total took us about 15 minutes with an elderly man . My family thought I was crazy and I was like trust me I read about this the whole time I was doubting myself , but bus # 22 was there when we walked up . The driver was very friendly and because our boat left at 5 pm I asked him if we could get a bus back around 3:30 . He said no problem just wait on the side of the road , other side than the U.S. side .The bus is really a 15 passenger van, the fare is $1.50 per person each way. At the end of the day we packed up at 3 pm walked to the road 10 minutes tops . We waited there 10 minutes the whole time cabs pull over to ask you if you want a ride , this is important in case you get cold feet . But we waited and at 3:25 the van or bus pulled up with the #22 on windshield drivers side .

6 of us went there $10 one way total w/ $1 tip he wasn't expecting . Important

note for me , on return trip they were not happy that we had wet bathing suits . He actually asked you don't have wet bathing suits? Do you? We said no but that was a lie and you could see that our suits were wetting seats that school kids use for school travel . Because I lied I felt really bad and gave him $20 , $11 tip to hoping to avoid being scolded . He said nothing but I guess what I am getting at is try to bring a dry change for the ride home. They have changing rooms at the beach . We were back at port by 3:50 pm after doing some store browsing and dawdling and still back on board by 4:20 pm . The beach was beautiful and very uncrowded . We paid

$20 for beach chairs . Elvis was awesome to meet and a fantastic singer .

Food and drink were awesome , have to agree with previous opinions about the coconut shrimp . Lunch for 6 $110 w/ tip . Jet ski son and I $90 1/2 hr 2 machines , real fun . Drinks throughout day another $90 . Total approx for 6

was $250.00 US plus jet ski . about $42 per person worth it to me . Would

absolutely do it again , you have to see this place . Met people that paid cabs $20 apiece for round trip plus cab tip just to get there . Any questions I'm around . Have fun!

 

 

Hi there,

 

Thank you for the great info! We are planning to go out to Valley Church beach in Jan and taking the bus. This is the first time I've seen post on jet ski at Valley Church. Were there more than one vendor for jet ski? Was that 1/2 for two jets at $90? Does the restaurant take credit card or just cash for the meals and drinks?

 

Thanks,

Jasmine

[tjschwalm]

Hey, That was $50 for a half an hour and I said how much for two machines half an hour and the man charged me $90 . Real fun ! I mean REAL fun there is so much wide open calm blue water with nothing around just great ! Don't know what other people encountered but the day we were there the nest said their credit card machine was down luckily we all (6) of us had some cash .

[jadepearl02]

Hey, That was $50 for a half an hour and I said how much for two machines half an hour and the man charged me $90 . Real fun ! I mean REAL fun there is so much wide open calm blue water with nothing around just great ! Don't know what other people encountered but the day we were there the nest said their credit card machine was down luckily we all (6) of us had some cash .

 

Awesome! Thank you!

[Host Kewlguy]

Hey Sheryl,

We went by bus to Valley Church Beach on Thursday Nov 12th . It was simple. Getting there you walk straight out of the port to Market street

and make a left go straight past a lot of run down , some good deals ,

stores . About a 1/4 mile or 5 blocks down on the left is the bus station.

The walk in total took us about 15 minutes with an elderly man . My family thought I was crazy and I was like trust me I read about this the whole time I was doubting myself , but bus # 22 was there when we walked up . The driver was very friendly and because our boat left at 5 pm I asked him if we could get a bus back around 3:30 . He said no problem just wait on the side of the road , other side than the U.S. side .The bus is really a 15 passenger van, the fare is $1.50 per person each way. At the end of the day we packed up at 3 pm walked to the road 10 minutes tops . We waited there 10 minutes the whole time cabs pull over to ask you if you want a ride , this is important in case you get cold feet . But we waited and at 3:25 the van or bus pulled up with the #22 on windshield drivers side .

6 of us went there $10 one way total w/ $1 tip he wasn't expecting . Important

note for me , on return trip they were not happy that we had wet bathing suits . He actually asked you don't have wet bathing suits? Do you? We said no but that was a lie and you could see that our suits were wetting seats that school kids use for school travel . Because I lied I felt really bad and gave him $20 , $11 tip to hoping to avoid being scolded . He said nothing but I guess what I am getting at is try to bring a dry change for the ride home. They have changing rooms at the beach . We were back at port by 3:50 pm after doing some store browsing and dawdling and still back on board by 4:20 pm . The beach was beautiful and very uncrowded . We paid

$20 for beach chairs . Elvis was awesome to meet and a fantastic singer .

Food and drink were awesome , have to agree with previous opinions about the coconut shrimp . Lunch for 6 $110 w/ tip . Jet ski son and I $90 1/2 hr 2 machines , real fun . Drinks throughout day another $90 . Total approx for 6

was $250.00 US plus jet ski . about $42 per person worth it to me . Would

absolutely do it again , you have to see this place . Met people that paid cabs $20 apiece for round trip plus cab tip just to get there . Any questions I'm around . Have fun!

 

The correct directions are to make a RIGHT when you reach Market Street. Not a left. The bus terminal on Market Street is on the RIGHT, not the left. Also tipping the bus drivers is NOT necessary.

Edited January 9, 2010 by kewlguy

[lukes]

We went to Valley church on Dec 28/09 on our Explorer of the seas cruise. We went because of info gathered here on CC. Valley chruch did not disappoint. Beautiful beach. We had a great time there. There was 12 of us so we hired a taxi/van for $ 5 per person one way. Our driver actually stayed talking to other taxi drivers. He didn't collect any money until we returned to the ship. A few had drinks, I don't know the price, no one in our group had food. Chairs were $ 4 each, no umbrellas but no need as there was plenty of shade. We did rent the jet ski, $45 each for 1/2 hour. They were a lot of fun.

 

Next time in Antiqua we will head to Valley church again.

[Johnthed0g]

Hmmm I can't help but wonder if those prices should have been EC$ not US$ maybe a local will advise??

[tjschwalm]

US dollars at Valley Church .