Led by a True Professional!

  Short 2 hour moderately easy hike up to Signal Hill through the rainforest from our guide Dassas’ home. Best to wear long trousers as the are lots of plants that... read more stick to hairy legs like mine!
Dassa is a font of knowledge and has some very funny stories about the history of the Island. He is very enthusiastic about the natural environment and was able to identify most of the plants and animals.
We had a nice refreshing glass of fresh lemonade at the end.
I highly recommend this tour.

  We asked the resort where we stayed for a recommendation; they suggested Dassa and this tour. What a great 2 hour adventure! Dassa knows about the local history, flora and... read more fauna. He kept us at a comfortable pace with enough challenge to burn off some of the buffet-calories we'd accumulated! Great conversation, nice hike, amazing views. Highly recommend it.

  Dassa was an encyclopedia of all things West Indies throughout our hike. As a history buff, I really enjoyed Dassa’s ability to tie the island’s history into the hike, not... read more to mention the breathtaking views from Signal Hill. The house/studio he and his wife share is absolutely beautiful and they rewarded us after the hike with some very delicious lemonade!

  Really informative, interesting walk up through the rain forest to Signal hill . Fantastic views all across the island, well worth the hike . Sensible walking shoes are recommended... read more as the paths are rough. Learnt so much about the trees , fruit and wildlife..

  Sassa is an amazing guide for the walk up signal hill via the historic dam- he knows so much about history and wildlife. Paths are good but steep in places.... read more Views from the top are 360 and give you a birds eye view of the island.

  We arrived by taxi to a beautiful house with a colorful happy art gallery in the back garden. Our guide and his college student daughter ( home for Christmas vacation)... read more introduced themselves, got us some walking sticks and guided us up the steep Signal Hill. Stopping along the way to show us trees, tell us stories and give us the history of the water pump and dam. We saw kapok trees, cocoa pods, inhaled the earthy, musty scent of the rain forest. It is a strenuous walk but they were patient and kind for those who could not keep the pace. We stopped at a lookout with a beautiful view of Cairo Harbor. We picked lemon grass and chewed it and chatted. The group proceeded up the hill for the final 360 view of the island. The hike down was slippery so be sure to have some shoes with great traction. Upon our return to the gallery we drank homemade lemonade made with lemons from their yard. Beautiful people with an obvious love for their home and caring for their environment.

  It was our great pleasure to go on a hike with Dassa, an extremely knowledgeable and experienced guide. On the hike we got lessons in flora and fauna, dam building... read more and water control, history, development, conservation, natural medicine, and politics. Hiking with Dassa is like hiking with a Jeopardy champion. Dassa calls himself Footsteps Rainforest Hiking Tours.

  We are a group of 18 Ramblers touring & walking on the Caribbean Islands. In Antigua we were lucky to have Dassa as our principal guide. He was ably assisted... read more by 5 young adults that he is training as guides. A couple of whom were particularly knowledgeable about the water system & proposed development plans.
The 3 hour walk took us to Signal Hill & the superb 360 degree view of the island. The guides explained the flora & fauna.
The walk started & finished at Dassa's lovely house & art studio run by his wife. We were able to use a table in his garden for our picnic lunch to round off a wonderful morning.

  We booked a 5-6 hour walk with Dassa through our hotel. We took a taxi from the hotel to the Studio Art Gallery, Fig Tree Drive. We had to... read more be there for 8.30am. We chose our walking sticks, Dassa provided water and tangerine and then we set off with Dassa our guide and his young assistant Josiah, our first stop: Wallings Dam. Dassa told us the history of the dam and pointed out the different plants and trees throughout the hike. He is a fount of knowledge and explains how the plants can be used. I only wish I had had a notebook and taken more photos so I could remember more. Josiah picking up the soldier crabs is something I will remember. There were steepish sections but we knew we wanted to try to do a hike so had taken our proper walking shoes (not everyday) with us. These are essential for comfort and safety. There was just two of us on the walk and we had taken a picnic which we enjoyed when we arrived at Rendezvous Bay. Josiah lit a fire to ward of sandflies and Dassa showed us how the early settlers used dried cactus as flambards(torches) to light their way. We could have swum in the sea but had not taken swimming gear. Apparently there are occasions where for an extra charge he will provide food and cook it on the beach for lunch; that would have been a great experience. Dassa made sure that we were comfortable throughout the hike and checked if we wanted to take a break. It was an amazing day and from talking to him he can do different walks which are not apparent from the website so it's worth contacting him in advance. When we arrived back he picked two lemons and made fresh lemonade, which was delicious. Thank you for a brilliant day an experience to remember.
Do take time to look at (and purchase) the exhibitsin the gallery before or after your hike.

  After a taxi trip from Galley Bay we arrived at Fig Tree Studio Art Gallery on Fig Tree Drive. This was the starting point for our trip to Wallings Dam... read more and then on to Signal Hill. We were met by Dassa, our guide, his wife and son. There was just us 2 on the hike, a special favour from Dassa to do this for us on a Sunday because we were returning home before the next organised hike plus we had a special interest in birdwatching as well as hiking. We had a quick wander around their amazing garden, Dassa giving lots of info about flora and fauna (hummingbirds, broad winged hawk, bananaquits, bullfinches seen) then it was off we went! I am sure Dassa toned down the pace for us, it was very hot and humid plus we are not as young and fit as we were! But what an amazing trip it was! Dassa did his best for us in finding lots of birds, some "first timers" , also pointing out different plants, fungi, insects and butterflies. He was always making sure we were ok and looking out for our safety. We had brought water but there was no need as he supplied this too.
A fantastic experience, wish we had met him sooner as could have done more of his amazing hikes around beautiful Antigua.
Thank You Dassa for the wonderful trip and the very welcome lemonade on our return

  We booked through our hotel and took a taxi

The amiable Dassa was an excellent guide and showed us fauna and flora that was completely new to us
... read more /> The view from signal hill is stunning and well worth the climb - but you need to be reasonably fit and need trainers as a minimum as it can be slippy

The highlight for us apart from the views was finding a large soldier crab near the top of a hill !

The lemonade at the end is worth the trip in itself.

We combined our visit with a trip to English harbour as we were based in a hotel in the north

Thanks Dassa for a great trip !

  We booked onto the Signal Hill tour and thoroughly enjoyed it. Our Guide was a lady from the local village, who was really knowledgable about the trees, plants and animals.... read more The hike was fairly hard work but the view from the top was well worth it, as was the homemade lemonade at the end! The length of the walk was perfect and left us enough energy to enjoy the rest of the day.
I'd hightly recommend this if you want to explore the rainforest, and do something slightly more unusual.

  4 adults took the walk with Dassa and it was wonderful! He was very informative and friendly. This excursion is a must and we would recommend it for any age.... read more Mom did great with us on the hike and she's 62 (were in our 30s). We learned a lot and had fun!

  Our guide (also the owner) was amazing. He was so informative and we talked the whole time. He was amazingly fit which made us all wonder if we should become... read more rainforest guides!

A must 🙂 He also gave us lemonade after our hike (adorable).

  We hiked with Footsteps Rainforest Hiking Tours in early Nov., 2014. Dassa, the owner, is a courteous, able, and knowledgeable guide.
The taxi ride took about 35-45 minutes to... read more reach his home. There was a mixup on the date of our hike, so we showed up via taxi (fare about $80 US, roundtrip) at Dassa's operation with no one expecting us. But his wife phoned him, and 45 minutes later Dassa was booted up and ready to lead us.
We covered about an hour and 15 minutes each way, starting at 10 am and finishing about half past 12. Dassa provided water.
We hiked in sneakers, but boots would have been better had we brought them: the trail was muddy in spots from recent rains. On a drier day the sneakers would have been fine, as the trail is earth, leaves, and grass. Expect a steep initial climb to the reservoir and dam above his home. From there we continued our climb to the top of Signal Hill and a panoramic view of Antigua. Rain isn't out of the question, so bring a jacket or umbrella.
Dassa had planned a return via a different route, but a recent storm had blocked the route with many downed branches; we retraced our upward route to get back.
We were in good hands from start to finish with Dassa. He phoned our taxi driver as we were headed downhill, and we were picked up promptly. Our strategy was to return quickly to St. John for a good lunch and a cool drink. Another option is to have your driver take you to lunch while on the return journey.
After a number of days at sea, it was good to stretch our legs on Antigua with Dassa's hiking tour. Great scenery, good exercise, and good service.
Tips:
Bring a rain jacket or umbrella.
Bring snacks for on the trail.
Make sure your driver has the company's address.
Phoning the tour company from the pier is a good idea.
Long pants recommended due to many grasses and undergrowth along trail.
This is a solid, service-oriented operation. Glad we hiked with them.