Serenade 2010 itinerary - which island to tour with guide?

[Kikkycat]

We are booked on Serenade's 1/30/10 sailing which includes ports of call in Tortola, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia and Grenada. We've been to St. Maarten (last week!) and toured with Bernard (he was awesome!) so we have a little bit of a "feel" for that island now and know what we want to do upon our return there.

 

Of the other four ports of call, we expect to go with a guided tour on two of them. Neither of us want to feel like we're tied to doing the same thing on each island, no matter how different each island is. Which two islands do you feel would be best to do with a guide, and which two would be best for exploring on your own, and why? I have researched each island to see who is/are the recommended by CC people tour guides, or who is the "Bernard" of each island.

 

Thanks in advance!

[mikepmcm]

We are booked on Serenade's 1/30/10 sailing which includes ports of call in Tortola, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia and Grenada. We've been to St. Maarten (last week!) and toured with Bernard (he was awesome!) so we have a little bit of a "feel" for that island now and know what we want to do upon our return there.

 

Of the other four ports of call, we expect to go with a guided tour on two of them. Neither of us want to feel like we're tied to doing the same thing on each island, no matter how different each island is. Which two islands do you feel would be best to do with a guide, and which two would be best for exploring on your own, and why? I have researched each island to see who is/are the recommended by CC people tour guides, or who is the "Bernard" of each island.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Antigua Eli's Eco Tour is the most talked about (i would not venture on this island on your own).

 

St. Lucia Cosol's can't be beat well worth the money

Cosol above with his banana ketchup

[Kikkycat]

Thanks Mike. Could you please elaborate on why you said you would not venture onto Antigua on our own?

[Kikkycat]

Nevermind, I just remembered that murdered honeymoon couple on Antigua. Point taken...

[mikepmcm]

Thanks Mike. Could you please elaborate on why you said you would not venture onto Antigua on our own?

 

There have been numerous posting on the Antigua boards. Targets are couples by themselves, there's safety in numbers. Our waiter the night before we were to arrive in Antigua gave our table warnings about the island, enough said. This could also be why Eli's is so popular, it's entirely on water and lasts for 4-5 hours.

 

Here's Eli's tour with the Serenade behind it in Antigua

 

Mike

[BroncosFan2010]

I second the Adventure Antigua and Eli's Eco Tour.

Try Cosol tours for St. Lucia. We will be doing that in a few weeks. Have heard great things about it on CC.

St. Maarten is a great island to just find a beach and go shopping.

[Kikkycat]

Checked out Eli's website and have a question. How much of this tour is based on swimming/snorkeling/watersports? My husband doesn't swim at all - never learned how and has no interest in learning. He would enjoy just a boat ride up to a point, but would be bored if everyone else (including me, I LOVE to swim) were in the water and he was just a spectator for more than 20-30 minutes. Is Eli's a viable adventure for us?

[mikepmcm]

Checked out Eli's website and have a question. How much of this tour is based on swimming/snorkeling/watersports? My husband doesn't swim at all - never learned how and has no interest in learning. He would enjoy just a boat ride up to a point, but would be bored if everyone else (including me, I LOVE to swim) were in the water and he was just a spectator for more than 20-30 minutes. Is Eli's a viable adventure for us?

 

We have not done the Eco Tour ourselves, maybe others can help you here or on the Antigua boards.

The ship has a rain forest zipline which might be more to your husband's liking here's the website of the company Antigua's unique Rainforest Canopy Tours. You can only book this through the ship.

[Mike&Nancy]

Checked out Eli's website and have a question. How much of this tour is based on swimming/snorkeling/watersports? My husband doesn't swim at all - never learned how and has no interest in learning. He would enjoy just a boat ride up to a point, but would be bored if everyone else (including me, I LOVE to swim) were in the water and he was just a spectator for more than 20-30 minutes. Is Eli's a viable adventure for us?

 

Hi Becky!

 

We did Eli's last time we were in Antigua, and I'm going to book it again. It's a great excursion, and we can't wait to go back. I didn't get off the boat either (I have fish poop phobia :o). I don't recall being the only one left on when everyone else went in the water, but I could have been. I was having so much fun, I don't think I would have cared. Plus, I got some great shots of Mike. I doubt he'll be the only one not going in, (I'll be there if we do the same one...we're going to look into the extreme tour this time) but if he is, he won't mind.

 

Nancy

[Deborito]

Hey Becky, last year when we were on the Jewel, we booked a tour through the ship for Tortola to Virgin Gorda. We went over to The Baths. We were in port for such a short time we didn't want to try to make the trip on our own.

 

Debbie

http://www.paradise-islands.org/virgin-gorda-baths.htm

[Kikkycat]

Thanks Nancy & Debbie!

 

Nancy, if you book Eli's and we book Eli's I guess John won't be the only one going in the water. You have fish poop phobia and he has sink like a rock phobia (despite having a scientific mind he doesn't "get" that you can float in salt water better than regular and is convinced he'd go straight to the bottom... ):rolleyes:

 

From the reading I've done it's not hard to see The Baths are the most popular place to go when docked in Tortola. But they're on a different island. Has Tortola nothing to see on its own?

[lhall85917]

Checked out Eli's website and have a question. How much of this tour is based on swimming/snorkeling/watersports? My husband doesn't swim at all - never learned how and has no interest in learning. He would enjoy just a boat ride up to a point, but would be bored if everyone else (including me, I LOVE to swim) were in the water and he was just a spectator for more than 20-30 minutes. Is Eli's a viable adventure for us?

 

We did this and aren't real swimmers either. It was a great tour. There were 2 stops for snorkeling - they were about 30 minutes each. At each stop there was a lot to see in the water from the boat so we never felt bored at all. I highly recommend it. Here are just a few pics - http://good-times.webshots.com/album/563160837YizhZf?vhost=good-times

 

We also did Cosol's tour and it was the best island tour we have ever done. We saw a lot of the island, had time look around at several areas, plenty to eat and drink and it was entertaining! And pictures from there - http://good-times.webshots.com/album/563162459mmInNq?vhost=good-times

[lhall85917]

Thanks Nancy & Debbie!

 

Nancy, if you book Eli's and we book Eli's I guess John won't be the only one going in the water. You have fish poop phobia and he has sink like a rock phobia (despite having a scientific mind he doesn't "get" that you can float in salt water better than regular and is convinced he'd go straight to the bottom... ):rolleyes:

 

From the reading I've done it's not hard to see The Baths are the most popular place to go when docked in Tortola. But they're on a different island. Has Tortola nothing to see on its own?

 

We've been to Tortola 3 times, the first time to The Baths - amazing! The second time we did a land and sea island tour. It was interesting and we enjoyed it, but can't say there was a whole lot to see. Here's a link to a few pics - http://good-times.webshots.com/album/563161202hKaAui?vhost=good-times

[Kikkycat]

We're with you Nancy & Mike on the Extreme tour with Eli! We checked out the specifics of that and it sounds right up our alley. We are roller coaster enthusiasts so we feel "the need for speed". DH would be happy to stand in the water to meet some stingrays. Now we're psyched. It is a bit pricey - wow just noticed that!

[erniesband]

Checked out Eli's website and have a question. How much of this tour is based on swimming/snorkeling/watersports? My husband doesn't swim at all - never learned how and has no interest in learning. He would enjoy just a boat ride up to a point, but would be bored if everyone else (including me, I LOVE to swim) were in the water and he was just a spectator for more than 20-30 minutes. Is Eli's a viable adventure for us?

 

We've done the EcoTour 4 times, the Xtreme once, and we're booked on his new sailing excursion on Ocean Nomad next January. We've been on the Eco-Tour several times with non-swimmers, who have enjoyed spending their day relaxing on board. Your husband will be able to get off at Bird Island to explore - that requires no swimming. And if he wants to get off and do Hell's Gate, they'll not only provide flotation devices, and will also help him there and back. We've seen them do it. Our first time on the tour there was one guy who was a non-swimmer who wanted to try snorkeling, so they got him in the shallows at Bird Island and taught him to float and snorkel using flotation. He had a great time!

 

By the way, they recently caught and jailed the perpetrator of the killing of the Australian boat skipper in Antigua. There is a large grass roots movement afoot on the island to address safety and security issues. They are well aware of safety and security issues and their impact on tourism, and the importance of tourism to their economy. We're friends of Eli's and follow the discussions on his Facebook page and other sources. Eli's tours are popular because of the quality of the tours, not necessarily because people are afraid to go on-shore. There are many people who enjoy beach time or land tours on the island.

 

We've used Mandoo twice in Grenada now, he does terrific tours, and we're hiking to Seven Sisters Falls with him next year.

 

We've used Frank on St. Lucia, who offers a day very similar to Cosol.

 

Kikkycat, didn't read all the way to the end before I posted - you will LOVE Xtreme! It's a blast. Go to Youtube and search for Eli365 - there's a great video of Extreme.

 

Jodi

[Mike&Nancy]

We're with you Nancy & Mike on the Extreme tour with Eli! We checked out the specifics of that and it sounds right up our alley. We are roller coaster enthusiasts so we feel "the need for speed". DH would be happy to stand in the water to meet some stingrays. Now we're psyched. It is a bit pricey - wow just noticed that!

 

It sounds like fun, doesn't it? Yeah, it's a little pricey, but will be worth every penny. Even if you change your mind, the Eco tour will be just as great. :) I just don't have any desire to get in the water, and was happy to stay on the boat. Like Jodi said though, they will be happy to help him. I got some great shots of Mike up on top of Hell's Gate. You'll be happy with which ever one you decide.

 

Nancy