diy tips for Tropical Sands and Sunsets/ Paradise Islands

Bridgetown, Barbados

St John's, Antigua

Road Town, British Virgin Islands

Fort De France, Martinique

Castries, St Lucia

Bridgetown, Barbados

Bridgetown, Barbados

Bridgetown, Barbados

Bequia, The Grenadines

St John's, Antigua

Philipsburg, St Maarten

Basseterre, St Kitts

Road Town, British Virgin Islands

Bridgetown, Barbados

we have a few ports with 2 visits and n overnight in bridgetown, any tips for things to D I Y

The Caribbean is great for DIY. When you get off the ship there are always loads of taxis (like our mini buses). They offer trips but usually want to wait until there are 6 or 8 people to share. We like this as it's someone to share your experience with. You can speak to a couple of drivers to see who has the best price etc and they usually have a map to show where they suggest taking you. It's great as they know their island and sometimes take you to places off the beaten track, also your small group can ask to be dropped at a beach at the end of the trip and picked up later.

Road Town - Tortola - there are open topped buses waiting and they will take you to lovely beaches for the day. They return frequently

Antigua - we loved this island and would definitely do a trip.

Castries, St Lucia - this is the only place we pre-booked a trip as it had been recommended. We contacted Cosol Tours and they were brilliant, they waited at the ship side for us and we were on our way. A tour of the island and tried local foods etc . Loads of rum punch and soft drinks on board and a very friendly driver. Would definitely recommend this.

St Kitts - by the dock there were drivers but we were told not to use them. We walked a little further and found Rose (from Leeds). She took us on a lovely tour and ended up with fresh coconuts. She was really interesting and can also be found on website - Rose and Jim tours

Barbados -we only had a few hours on our last day so walked into the town. Quite a nice place with lots of market stalls selling local produce.

Enjoy your cruise:)

Just do the beaches on change over lots of taxis food and drink on the beach great day.

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Thanks not a fan of staying o a beach though prefer sightseeing, don't even spend the sea day on a sun lounger

mtt - i have got some diy tips but no time at the mo!

Will try to post later in the week.

if you put some ideas of what you like to do it might help with my responses:)

mtt - i have got some diy tips but no time at the mo!

Will try to post later in the week.

if you put some ideas of what you like to do it might help with my responses:)

thanks not a fan of spendng a long time on the beaches,like site seeing, shopping and animals if that helps

We have also done lots of other trips over the past seven years, Harrison's caves is good, round the islands, the rum distillery, the orchid farm was OK but not our thing but did like the National trust property. Or just a walk round off the boat with a ride on a tricycle and a great local into Bridgetown. What ever you do I think you will enjoy.

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Before we went I did a lot of research into what we wanted to do and see at each of our stops and I think this saved a lot of time when we got there. We always got off the ship fairly early so that we gave ourselves plenty of time to get back to the ship on time and also have a look around the town we had docked at. I sent lots of emails to various places including bus stations so I knew which bus I needed to get!

I know that there were lots of tour companies and local taxi firms that lots of other people from the cruise ships use and they all seem to offer fairer prices than the excursions offered on board ship.

St Lucia

- Definitely Cosol tours. You are taken to all the main sightseeing places and only on a beach in between the Pitons for an hour. Can't recommend this company and tour highly enough! You pay on the day and they are ready and waiting for you as you get off the ship. It cost US$75 and included plenty of food and drink.Check out other reviews on Tripadvisor.

-plenty of shops.

St Kitts

- The railway - I'm sure this is only bookable through the cruise line, but we really enjoyed it and the cocktails and rum punch were flowing freely - beat ever pina-colada!

-there is Brimstone Hill Fortress that we intend on visiting in March - don't know yet about buses/mini-vans but I'm sure that taxis will take you there.

-we also went into Basseterre and had a wander around the town and then had a longer walk around the bay.

-tourist shops near cruise terminal.

Barbados -

-Buses are very easy to use in Barbados.

-on our middle Sunday we walked into town and took a bus out to walk along the Southern Boardwalk.This wasn't actually very long so after an hour or so at the beach we walked back towards Bridgetown. This was a nice walk and went through various older parts and through the Savannah Garrison area. Back in Bridgetown there is a small marina area.

-we did the farewell tour on our last day which we really enjoyed and could recommend as we weren't hanging around the ship. The trip took you to various places of interest and included a delicious buffet lunch. You were then dropped off at the airport in plenty of time.

- beaches - do it yourself - the beaches are within walking distance or a short taxi ride or use the public buses.

- everything is shut in Barbados on Sundays apart from places to eat/drink and some tourist shops near the beaches.

-shops near cruise terminal.

Antigua

-we walked to the bus station and got a very fast mini-van to the area around Jolly Harbour(re-visiting where we honey-mooned!). There is a big marina area here with several eating/drinking places and a few shops. There is also a lovely beach, again with bars etc so you could have a good wander around.

- I would recommend going to Nelson's Dockyard/ShirleyHeights/English Harbour - there are local tours available just outside the cruise dock. We intend on using public buses for this when we go!

-St John's is a nice town to look around.

-plenty of shops.

St Maarten

-LOADS of shops in Phillipsburg. Very busy and not our cup of tea at all !!

-easy walk from the cruise terminal into town.

-we jumped into a mini-van behind the main shops and went into Marigot for a look around. US$2 each and very easy. Marigot is a lovely town with a French feel. There was a market, marina and plenty of shops.

-be wary about minibuses/taxis just outside the cruise terminal as they are supposed to be extortionate - check out St Maarten on Tripadvisor and the thread on this website.

Road Town

-we jumped on a safari bus and went to Cane Garden Beach. US$8 each, each way. Lovely beach with the usual facilities and market stalls. You could also get an island tour for $15/20. Don't know where they went though - seemed to be well organised by tourist companies.

-nice town to wander around-not too touristy.

Hope this gives you some ideas !!!