Valley Church Beach - what's it got?

[loveysbydesign]

bumping this to see how this beach is now ;)

Trying to decide between this one and Darkwood!

Edited August 4, 2014 by loveysbydesign

[avandrie]

Bump indeed! This one went all "crickets"!

 

Bus number/price updates anyone? How's the beach? Crowd? Etc.

 

 

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[chickadee1]

3 weeks to Antigua - thinking of Valley Church Beach@

 

Are there still chairs and/or umbrellas (or just shade which is great) to rent? How about update of restroom facilities and food and drinks?

 

Thanks so much! Would love to hear from recent visitor!

 

Barbara

[cruisin from ontario]

Hi,

 

I am going to take the bus to Valley Church Beach. When I leave the port area and get to market street, do I turn left or right?? I have seen conflicting statements and I am not sure what way to turn. Are there bus depots in both directions?

 

Thank you for any help anyone can provide.

[FOXTROT]

To the right. The depot is across the street from a big market.

 

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[shipty2]

3 weeks to Antigua - thinking of Valley Church Beach@

 

Are there still chairs and/or umbrellas (or just shade which is great) to rent? How about update of restroom facilities and food and drinks?

 

Thanks so much! Would love to hear from recent visitor!

 

Barbara

 

The restrooms were spotless last week. There were umbrellas and chairs to rent to provide shade. There is a place to buy food and drinks too.

[Carolyn R]

I am just adding my 2¢ to this thread. I had not been to VCB for about four years and visited again last week. It has always been my favorite beach in Antigua and still is but is now much more crowded than it used to be. There is still someone giving massages in a little open-air pavilion on the beach, $25 I believe.

[chef choy]

Got super excited about this beach reading all this, but did notice a lot of the reviews were pretty old. Checked Trip Advisor and they said that it is crazy busy. Has anyone been here more recently? Was it busy and was the food still top notch?

[loveysbydesign]

We did not go there but others in our cruise group did. We went to Darkwood Beach and LOVED it! Perfect beach! Beautiful, quiet, friendly soothing and peaceful.

 

 

Looking to the left

 

 

Looking to the right

 

Edited December 9, 2014 by loveysbydesign

[lewinr]

how did you get to darkwood beach? is there a bus that we can take?

[loveysbydesign]

how did you get to darkwood beach? is there a bus that we can take?

 

We walked to the bus station and took bus #22. It cost $1.50 pp each way. Bravo was our driver and he was super friendly and helpful.

By forewarned when you get off the ship you will be pestered constantly by a bunch of people trying to get you to take a taxi, when you tell them you are going to the bus they will look at you like you have 2 heads!!!

 

click on this thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2115017 for pics. I posted to help you get to the bus station!

[queen_kathy1]

We will be in Antigua next week on the Jewel with MSC Musica and Celebrity Eclipse also in port. Any guesses how crowded VCB will get with the 3 ships docked that day? Is it true we can walk a short distance and find a shaded area away from the crowds if they are there?

[chef choy]

We will be in Antigua next week on the Jewel with MSC Musica and Celebrity Eclipse also in port. Any guesses how crowded VCB will get with the 3 ships docked that day? Is it true we can walk a short distance and find a shaded area away from the crowds if they are there?

 

When you go, please revisit this thread and let us know how it goes. Would really like to know.

[kenorus]

When we were there early november it was so busy we were crammed in like sardines. Vendors fighting to sell you chairs and sticking you so close you could not move. Yes it is a beautiful beach but if you have trouble getting in and out of the water you may have issues as there is a drop. Where we were sitting we found a huge chunk of glass lucky i found it before someone cut themselves. one restaurant and beach bar on whole beach. I would research how many ships are in when you want to go and dont think know one knows cause all the drivers want to take you there.

[2PinaColadas]

Well, we had planned on going to VCB, but everyone on here keeps talking about how crowded it has become.

 

What is the best alternative-- we want a pretty, relaxing beach with some amenities, but we don't want the crowds.

[caribsun]

Well, we had planned on going to VCB, but everyone on here keeps talking about how crowded it has become.

 

What is the best alternative-- we want a pretty, relaxing beach with some amenities, but we don't want the crowds.

Jolly Beach is nearby.:)

[loveysbydesign]

We walked to the bus station and took bus #22. It cost $1.50 pp each way. Bravo was our driver and he was super friendly and helpful.

By forewarned when you get off the ship you will be pestered constantly by a bunch of people trying to get you to take a taxi, when you tell them you are going to the bus they will look at you like you have 2 heads!!!

 

click on this thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2115017 for pics. I posted to help you get to the bus station!

 

Well, we had planned on going to VCB, but everyone on here keeps talking about how crowded it has become.

 

What is the best alternative-- we want a pretty, relaxing beach with some amenities, but we don't want the crowds.

 

Darkwood Beach was amazing! Clean, safe and uncrowded! More pics. in this thread! http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2100550

 

 

 

Edited December 16, 2014 by loveysbydesign

[SueMo]

I'm hoping to find a beach with soft, white sand, with no surf and easy access in and out (no sudden drop-off). Does this describe Valley Church Beach? If not, does anyone know of such a beach? Thanks so much!

 

I am a huge fan of Valley Church Beach, but I will say there is a sudden drop-off as you go into the water. I love the setting and will continue to go back, but if you have small children, they will definitely need help getting into and out of the water.

[loveysbydesign]

I am a huge fan of Valley Church Beach, but I will say there is a sudden drop-off as you go into the water. I love the setting and will continue to go back, but if you have small children, they will definitely need help getting into and out of the water.

This is why we went to Darkwood Beach instead ;)

[queen_kathy1]

We went to VCB last week. Unforunately we had a lot of rain the day we were there and it was quite persistant so we didn't stay as long as we wanted nor did we get to swim as much as we had hoped.

 

All that aside, VCB is super beautiful - the water is a gorgeous blue. The sand is very sharp due to lots and lots of shells so bring water shoes and you'll enjoy your time there more. I wish i had brought my water shoes!

 

We were a group of 3 adults and 1 toddler and took the #22 bus - there were several other cruise passengers on the bus with us who were also going to VCB. The bus actually went off the main road and drove us right down to the beach. Instead of walking all the way to the beach area with all the chairs/umbrellas - we stayed near the beach entrance and had no crowding at all and our own big tree to shelter us from all that rain. Took us less than 5 min to walk down the beach to go to that busy area to use the restrooms.

 

Yes there's a bit of a drop in the water but that's no biggie - just carried my daughter in to the water. It's the sharp sand that was more troublesome for me. Fortunately I did pack water shoes for my toddler so she had no issues - and she loved looking for shells - so many to choose from for souvenirs!

 

Going back to the boat we walked about 5min back up to the main road and within 5 min a bus #22 came by to pick us up. Vehicle is really no different that the private taxi cabs but I much preferred paying $1.50pp vs $8 pp for a cab (each way).