Friday, May 07, 2010

"Adventure Antigua - Best Tour Ever"

Recently we have made some changes to the way the Eco Tour has been run. After Antigua's SubCat folded there were some good crew looking for work. It just so happened that we had taken out an ad looking for crew at the same time. I'll speak more about the new crew soon, but this blog is to feature a recent review of the eco tour which has now been featured on the very popular Travel Buddy website. We are very proud of our little Antigua tour and we are even more proud of it today after the lovely review. IT shows that the new crew are working very well with some of the veterans and that things are on the right track. The new engines, and propulsion systems are being shipped as we speak and by mid summer there will be a total rebirth of the eco tour. "Adventure Antigua - Best Tour Ever!" Read the review here: Travel Buddy and feel free to share the link on any site that you think will help spread the word about this unique and small tour. There are some websites out there that tell cruise ship passengers to stay in port while in Antigua. Possibly if more of them saw reviews like this they would understand that there are some very cool things to do while in antigua.

(edit) I decided to copy and paste the review here:

I simply cannot put into words how completely magical this tour was. At the risk of sounding cheesy, it was one of the most beautiful days of my life. The tour provided for a small crowd (a few more than a dozen) for the most wonderful trip.

First of all, know it's not a "snorkel trip" or a "booze cruise". On the contrary, it is exactly as the title states, an "eco tour". You will learn about the island, the wildlife, the flora and fauna, as well as get up close and personal with some very cool marine life. There are a couple "get-in-the water" stops, but they are not the overall focus like may snorkel trips.
Eli's Eco Tour is SO MUCH MORE. I'm a swimmer and love to snorkel, however this tour was still perfect for me and I wouldn't have traded it for an overcrowded trip with untrained guides any day. The guides were EXCELLENT, with one being a marine biologist. They were able to point out turtles and many other kinds of sea life I'm sure I would've missed on my own.
The tour took up our entire time in port, but I can't imagine spending the day otherwise. I cannot recommend Adventure Antigua enough. Booking is safe and easy online. They stay in touch extremely well.
We had about an hour before we were to meet the ship outside this great little clothing store called Exotica Antigua (which sounds WAY more racy than it was.) Upon boarding the catermaran (without your shoes, which was a highlight for me! :) we sailed off to see multiple views of the island. Unfortunately, we were there during full moon (low tide) and dry season, so we couldn't get far back into some places, but I saw jumping stingrays, hundreds of HUGE sea stars, and turtles. We did an easy-to-moderate hike to Bird Island for awesome views of the Atlantic (where they say you can sometimes see a humpback whale). Upon returning to the ship, we were served an awesome island chicken lunch onboard. After that, we spent around an hour (I lost all track of time) at Hells Gate where you could choose to swim, snorkel, hike, or relax on the boat. We chose to snorkel and saw some of the best coral and marine life we've seen (and we've been to MANY Caribbean locations to snorkel). After that we went to yet another snorkel site where the fish were a bit larger. The guides are right there to help you. In my opinion, a beginning snorkeler would have little trouble on this trip, ESPECIALLY with the friendly and patient staff. However, for those like myself that enjoy a bit more of a challenge, this trip provided that as well.
Rarely would I ever repeat a trip, but this one, without a doubt, I will book again. As a matter-of-fact, because of this trip, I'm ready to find a local hotel for an extended stay as opposed to a cruise ship stop.
I can't say enough good things about Adventure Antigua. Everything about the tour was exceptional, from the locations, to the snorkeling, but especially the crew. Thank you guys! We'll be back!
www.adventureantigua.com