What to do on St. Thomas, St.Maarten, Tortula, San Juan & Amber Cove

Hello, My husband and I will be cruising to these islands this fall and don't really know much about them. Any help would be appreciated .:)

Look in the "ports of call " board. Each of this places will have many ideas for things to do. ( mods will probably move your thread there )

Tortola go to Cane Garden Bay, no excursion necessary, $10 pp taxi

St Thomas: Abi Beach, Magen's Bay, Trunk Bay (on St John)

St Maarten: Orient Beach

Tortola: Jost van Dyke -- hands-down the nicest beach I have been to in the Caribbean (and I've been to at least 15 different Caribbean islands

As someone who lived in the Virgins for a while, Trunk Bay"s coral is all burnt out. The amount of tourists has taken it's toll and no locals go there anymore. St. John is one of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean. Try Francis/Maho or Cinnamon Bay. The snorkeling at Maho is excellent. You will not have the amenities of Trunk, but it's only a few hours and the food is pretty mediocre anyway. If you want to stay in St Thomas go to Coki Beach, you will love it.

After you look over each on the port boards here...go to tripadvisor and search there too!

In San Juan, you can just walk through the historic district (great walk for pix and history with beautiful water views) and can walk up to both forts as well....stop for lunch somewhere in the historic area...amazing food(love the food and the drinks too in Puerto Rico)!!!!

Amber Cove, great pool area (free unless you want a an umbrella) with pool bar, zip line (cost pp) and amazing views, just a relaxing, easy day (or look through the ship sponsored excursions and choose from one of those if not interested in relaxing day)....

St. Thomas, there are many beaches depending on if you want to beach it and swim, snorkel or dive...check the shore excursions that are offered by CCL after you read the port of call threads to get an idea of what appeals to you.....lots of reviews for each port

Obviously you have beach options at each port mentioned. But if you aren't a big beach person:

St. Thomas: take a taxi to Mountain Top. Gorgeous views from the very nice souvenir shop with bar. The taxi driver will also stop along the way for photo ops. The excursion to St. John is nice if you have time.

San Juan: one of my favorite places, feels and looks very authentic, as opposed to cruise line built and operated ports like at Grand Turk. Old Town San Juan is a great place to just explore on foot, lots of history, lots of shops - souvenir and other - the two forts with spectacular ocean views. There is a free trolly there, once you tire of walking. It circles Old San Juan and eventually takes you back near the ship. There is usually a nice couple at the town square with tame parrots. Photos with the birds on your shoulders for five bucks. Plenty of food and drink options.

Tortola: Quaint little town there to explore on foot, but be careful on the narrow sidewalks.

St. Maarten: By all means check out both sides of the island, the Dutch side and the French side. Take the water taxi from near the ship to town. It's a nice little ride and cheap. Be advised that some of the beaches on the French side (Orient Bay Beach for certain) are clothing optional.

Great itinerary, you'll enjoy it.

Thanks so much for the answers. I am a beach person, but hubby not so much:hearteyes:. He would like to do some foodie tours, we raise grass fed critters. I am good with that but we would like to see the places we dock at too.

Any walking or biking tours that are well liked?

In St. Thomas I have taken a cab to Bolongo Bay for a great time at the beach. The lift to Paradise Point is also fun.

Also, check out the ship's excursions on line prior to your cruise. That will at least give you an idea of what there is to see/do on the island. If something strikes your fancy, 99% of the time you can do the same excursion once on the dock but not through the ship for a lot less $$$$. In St Thomas, our favorite outing is going over to Trunk Bay on St John.

Depending on your timing in port, there is (or at least was a couple of years ago) a walking food tour in San Juan. Sorry, I can't remember the name. Check out the San Juan tourist site. That is how I found it. Trip Advisor might have info on it, too.

Tortola go to Cane Garden Bay, no excursion necessary, $10 pp taxi

We walked there from the cruise port on a very hot day with absolutely no problem.

St Maarten I have several time go to Orient Beach (ship tour)

Check out The Baths on Virgin Gorda. (Google: the baths bvi). We loved our catamaran excursion that took us to The Baths. We snorkeled and then went ashore onto the beach. You will see large rock formations, caves, and grottos. I first experienced them in 1979. Also see Tripadvisor info. :)

In San Juan, you can just walk through the historic district (great walk for pix and history with beautiful water views) and can walk up to both forts as well....stop for lunch somewhere in the historic area...amazing food(love the food and the drinks too in Puerto Rico)!!!!

 

Amber Cove, great pool area (free unless you want a an umbrella) with pool bar, zip line (cost pp) and amazing views, just a relaxing, easy day (or look through the ship sponsored excursions and choose from one of those if not interested in relaxing day)....

 

St. Thomas, there are many beaches depending on if you want to beach it and swim, snorkel or dive...check the shore excursions that are offered by CCL after you read the port of call threads to get an idea of what appeals to you.....lots of reviews for each port

Would appreciate your recommendations for PR food and drinks for lunch.

Hello, My husband and I will be cruising to these islands this fall and don't really know much about them. Any help would be appreciated .:)

Something not to do in St. Thomas . A professional basketball player has a residence in St.Thomas and does tours in the off season . He is very nice ,very personable but his tours are awful .I enjoyed talking to him as I played 2 seasons of semi pro basketball but that did not make up for a bad tour .All he did was to take us shopping .