Ohio_Kevin

After reading hundreds (thousands?) of postings on Antigua, I decided it was the place for my family's upcoming vacation. THEN, I stumbled upon a posting that described baseball-sized spiders as a common sight. I've got two women in my family that will have me back at the airport in 30 seconds if that's really the case. Help - who's had a recent experience with this???

ejcrowe

In my various travels to the Caribbean I've encountered such spiders only twice, once in Nevis and once in Antigua. I'm a bit of an arachnophobe and I don't care for spiders of any size to be near me, but I do find them fascinating to watch from a comfortable distance (or from the other side of a glass door, which was the case in Nevis).

Chances are very good that you won't see a single wolf spider during your vacation. In my two cases they were in heavy foliage and it took a bit of looking to see them. I love Antigua and I would hate to see someone cancel their vacation just because there's a chance they'll see a large spider. (There was a similar thread here several months back about a woman who became scared about her trip to St. Lucia after reading about the fer-de-lance that inhabits the island. You might find it a resassuring read. She went and had a wonderful time.)

If you have specific questions, let me know and I'll try to answer them--either about Antigua or the spiders. I hope you still go. My husband and I returning to Antigua in May for our 5th visit.

IRabbit

We visited Antiqua twice, and I never saw one.

wtggirl

Oh my gosh! The thought totally freaks me out. But, I do remember seeing this variety of eight legged monster in the hills of Kentucky while camping. Huge, brown, fuzzy and ugly. I was told it was a wolf spider. They must be in lots of woodsy areas on many islands, but you hear about them on islands where hiking is popular for tourists. Just my guess.

Ohio_Kevin

OK, sounds promising enough - some amount of adventure probably comes with the territory anyway!
While I've got your attention, how about some opinions regarding places to stay? We're looking for a 2 BR/2 Bath villa or cottage with a (private?) pool, and preferably on/near a beach. Some of the options appear to be Calvados Heights, Moondance, and perhaps Dickenson Bay Cottages, all in the $2,000 range. I've noticed that only about half of the properties have A/C - how much of a problem is that in July/August? We did without last year on St. John, USVI, but some days would have been more comfortable with some cool air! Thanks.

ejcrowe

Sorry, can't help you with villa recommendations as we always return to our friends at Long Bay Hotel. Whether you need a/c depends on how heat sensitive you are. If you're a little sunburned and carrying that heat on your skin, a ceiling fan may not be enough. When traveling in July or August, I prefer to have the option of a/c for sleeping at night. If the villa is not an open plan style and you plan to spend a lot of time there during the day, my guess is it would be on the stuffy side with no a/c. If it's designed well, then it will definitely catch even the smallest breezes, and of course ceiling fans help. Good luck finding a place to stay!