Holiday in Antigua--Suggestions?

[SteveJ]

My wife and I will be going to Antigua for 10 days in a couple of weeks. We will be staying around Dickenson Bay and do not plan on hiring a car as we both like to walk.

Just curious on what there is to do on the island? Of course we will relax and go to the beach, but are there are any "must see" spots or things to do? Thank you in advance for anyone's suggestions! We're very excited!

-Steve

P.S. Abbott's Jewellery is already on this list... ;-)

[azguy]

Been to many islands, con't help with Antigua though......enjoy the trip, can never go wrong with warm water, sand and sun

[zama]

Have been there don't remember a lot to see, lots of sun, and if you were a cricket fan you can walk past Viv Richards house. In any case sun coming of a US winter will make you smile. Antigua is not very big from memory.

[SteveJ]

Originally Posted by azguy

Been to many islands, con't help with Antigua though......enjoy the trip, can never go wrong with warm water, sand and sun

John,
Amen brotha! Can't beat those three things!

Originally Posted by zama

Have been there don't remember a lot to see, lots of sun, and if you were a cricket fan you can walk past Viv Richards house. In any case sun coming of a US winter will make you smile. Antigua is not very big from memory.

Craig,
Thanks for the info! I've never actually seen any cricket and sure don't understand it, but I'll definitely check out the house! I'm always open to learning local sports and history. Thanks again!

-Steve

[zama]

Steve,

Viv Richards is voted one of the 10 greatest crickets of all time and was not only famous for his swash buckling style but the fact he defined Caribbean cool. Like most of the locals his humble house is the standard two room house, tiny and timber, you will find plenty of things named after him and I think Richie Richardson the other famous cricketer from there. I did take a picture in Antigua that I used in many presentations, parts of the city still have fresh water at the end of the street, but have cable TV, just goes to show some upgrades are hard to retro fit than others.

[SteveJ]

Zama,

Very interesting, thank you! Although I googled "swash buckling style" as I have no idea what it means and I couldn't find a definition. Cricket is such mystery to me! ha ha Thank you again for the info!

[gwalker]

Stingray City is great for snorkeling and diving and is a MUST DO IMHO. Hells Gate is a cool ocean arch to see. The market in St John is really cool on weekend mornings. Take a day to go to Barbuda and go se MonTserrat. Its been 15 years since I've been but that's what I remember. I have no idea about food nightlife or shopping. Not sure if there are watch stores.

Oh I forgot to mention if you like skeet shooting there is a really cool clay range there but I didn't get to go.

I just googled and there is a Diamonds International so I'm sure there will be plenty of jewelry shops.

[SteveJ]

Thank you very much for all of that info! I am PADI certified and I plan on doing some SCUBA while I'm there. We'll definitely check out everything especially the skeet shooting!

Diamonds Intl is there as well as Abbott's Jewelery. Abbott's is an AD so I can't wait to see what they have!

The biggest question we have now is, to rent (hire) a car or just use the taxi services. To rent for the 9 days is $310 (USD) which doesn't seem high, but also not cheap. I hear taxis range from $10-27 each way to a destination. I think we may use the taxi services for the first couple of days and then rent a car if we need one.

[gwalker]

Originally Posted by SteveJ

Thank you very much for all of that info! I am PADI certified and I plan on doing some SCUBA while I'm there. We'll definitely check out everything especially the skeet shooting!

Diamonds Intl is there as well as Abbott's Jewelery. Abbott's is an AD so I can't wait to see what they have!

The biggest question we have now is, to rent (hire) a car or just use the taxi services. To rent for the 9 days is $310 (USD) which doesn't seem high, but also not cheap. I hear taxis range from $10-27 each way to a destination. I think we may use the taxi services for the first couple of days and then rent a car if we need one.

I would use a taxi when you have to drive and walk everywhere else. Maybe rent a car 1 day to just drive around. Actually after looking up stingray city i think its snorkel only. It's only a few feet deep so no need for scuba. There are a ton of dive spots there though. Tons of reef diving there. Please take pics to share with us not on vacation.