Gros Piton Climb

We had a great experience with Spencer Ambrose tours. They picked us up very close to the cruise ship around 8:30 and drove us by speedboat around the island to the Pitons. Along the way, they did drop off a couple of groups of people doing other tours. One thing to note – the speedboat was VERY bumpy going over some large ocean waves. To be expected, and no one on our boat got sick from it, but it wasn’t the most comfortable ride there.
We were set up with a local guide for the Gros Piton hike and were given 4 hours to climb up to the top and back down to the beach. We were able to do it in 3 hours 15 minutes (we are 29 year olds with a decent fitness level), although it was one of the harder hikes we have done. It is very humid, and there are some extremely steep and rocky sections that were challenging us. Spencer Ambrose provided us with 8 bottles of water between the 2 of us to make sure we were sufficiently hydrated, and we are very thankful that they did. It was very worth it, however, for the views from the top and the sense of accomplishment. Afterwards, they picked us back up from the beach and brought us to a resort with the other groups for a packed lunch and a little relaxation time. The food was all local and very good, along with free local beer and water/soft drinks. They offered us a little time to snorkel if we wanted to, even though we did not sign up for that. On the way back, the guides gave us a little history of all the towns on the coast along with some wine and drinks. It was a much more pleasant boat ride back into town. We got back in plenty of time to browse the shops around the cruise port before we had to get back on the boat by 4:00. All in all, a fantastic experience.