Antigua Shore Excursions Guide

Best of Antigua tours include St. John’s, above. Credit: Pixabay license

Antigua shore excursions include their fair share of walking and traveling tours of the island with a focus on history and culture.

Best of Antigua tours usually take place either at the St. John’s cruise port on the northeast tip of the island or Nelson’s Dockyard and English Harbour at the southeast tip.

The tours of St. John’s take about two hours and may cost $40 or higher depending on the cruise line and cruise date.

The tours of English Harbour take between three and a half and four and a half hours or more depending on the operator and certain amenities. Most of them cost about $60 to $75 because of the distance and the expense of the excursion bus.

Cost also depends in part on the length of the tour and the operator. The harbor is about 35 minutes from the St. John’s cruise terminal.

Guided walking tours of St. John’s include various landmarks, monuments and architecture of this former British colony as well as an introduction to its history. They are best for cruise passengers who have a limited excursion budget or other plans for the day.

English Harbour

English Harbour is the location of Nelson’s Dockyard, a restored British naval base from the 18th century. Excursion visitors will tour the dockyard, often with the help of an Antigua National Parks guide.

They also may visit the Dow’s Hill Interpretation Center for photographic views of the harbor. Stops also include the fortifications at Shirley’s Heights and may include a visit to the white sand Turner’s Beach.

Some versions of this tour may take longer and cost more if they include extras such as lunch.

Cruise lines that offer both tours include Carnival, Norwegian and Princess. Local and national excursion operators also offer these tours for anyone who wants to buy them in advance of the cruise or online during the cruise. Other cruise lines, such as Celebrity, offer only the English Harbour tour.

Other Antigua Shore Excursions

Other Antigua shore excursions include hiking, a zipline facility, snorkeling with sea turtles and full island tours via bicycles and offroad vehicles.

Full island tours, which often include English Harbour, cost about $70 per person. Zipline tours usually cost more than $100.

Anyone who is simply planning a Caribbean cruise and hasn’t bought cruise line tickets yet should compare prices for the above tours from each cruise line.