One of Antigua's biggest attractions can be found in the town of Seatons on the east of the island. The area's small islands and shallow, clear waters create ideal conditions for stingrays and other marine life.
The private company Stingray City organises snorkelling trips here, specialising in swimming with stingrays, feeding them, as well as visiting coral reefs with other species of colourful fish.
What to expect from a stingray trip?
Snorkelling trips, swimming and feeding rays are organised 3-4 times a day. We recommend booking online at the official website stingraycityantigua.com, places are limited and especially on days when cruise ships arrive in Antigua (usually Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays) tend to be fully booked.
On the other hand, the least crowded days are Sundays.
First, you will receive basic instructions on how to treat the stingrays, then (free of charge) you will get your goggles and snorkel and go on a 5-10 minute boat ride to the artificial pontoon. From there you will observe the stingrays for a while and then you can swim with them and feed them directly.
Swimming with the stingrays takes about 30 minutes, then you have about the same amount of time to snorkel undisturbed at the coral reef.
When you arrive back on land, you will be given a glass of strong punch or pure rum as a treat.
In total, the stingray tour lasts about 60-75 minutes and we can definitely recommend it.
Price of Stingray City tours
Swimming with the stingrays with feeding and snorkeling at the coral reef costs 60 usd per person. You can also pay by card or East Caribbean dollars, in which case the cost is 165 xcd per person.
Transportation to Stingray City
The small marina is somewhat hidden and signage from the main road is very vague. Still, the easiest transport to Stingray City is by car. The first thing to do is to head east on the island towards the town of Willikies. Turn left right at the start of it and keep the main road straight at all times. It gradually narrows and you may find that you have entered a residential area with no way out, but keep going.
When the street starts to turn sharply left and down, you have only the last few metres to go. There is free parking on site, but if the car park is full, pull over to the side of the road.
The price for a taxi from St. John's works out at roughly 35 usd.
The nearest bus stop is the 33 bus (approximate location on google.com/maps), which runs on average once every 15-20 minutes from St. John's, is on the main street about 1 km from Stingray City.
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