lotro

I did come across a Hop on Hop off tour offered through islandtrams.  It is $29 and shuttles run every 45 minutes.  

I'm planning on taking the bus to Palm Beach.  Any suggestions where to exit the bus to find a vendor who rents chairs?  Since this area is largely hotels, wasn't sure where the public access points are and where to find chair rentals.  Anyone know of good deals?  

Playa Kenepa Grandi aka Grote Knip is the same beach as the picture.

It's expensive via taxi.

Here are the taxi rates from the port.[ATTACH]430605[/ATTACH]

 

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Thanks for the clarification. I spotted Playa Kenepa Grandi on the internet, but there was no mention it goes by another name. Guess I'll save that beach if I'm ever lucky enough to take a land (versus cruise) vacation here. What's your pick for beaches near the port?

It is a very nice paved sidewalk that begins near Renaissance Marina, and goes along the waterfront past Surfside Beach .

Thanks Hatteras! Sounds nice...do you know the approximate length of the walkway?

Two suggestions if you aren't renting a car.

Irie Tours West side tour will go to several West side beaches.

Back2Nature private jeep tours will customize a tour for you. If you contact Back2Nature, tell them Bridget M sent you, I love their tours!

 

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Bridget...what do you think about Playa Kenapa? Also, do you have a guestimate on what taxi fare would be from the port? Thanks

There are stores and restaurants near the cruise port, and two casinos. Also, there is a very nice pedestrian walkway not far from town.

Can you elaborate on the pedestrian walkway, please? Where does one access it and is it adjacent to the water? Thanks!

The last time we visited Aruba, we purchased a "day pass" to go to the beach through the hotel; no hotel stay. This is no longer an option here?

Thanks, but we're not needing to "park" since we won't have a car. The park & cruise price builds in the parking for the week. I'm just looking for a hotel that offers shuttle service to port...preferably free. We normally sail from Miami or Fort Lauderdale and can always find hotels with this service.

I've contacted the Visitors Bureau and they were unable to provide me with this info...I've tried to search "hotel" websites and they don't allow me to advance search for free shuttles...I've googled. It's nearly impossible to find a straight forward list of hotels that offer free shuttle service. Does this exist in Charleston? We are flying in, so no vehicle to utilize the Park & Fly packages. Where would I obtain this info? Thanks!

I found my very first piece of sea glass at Governor's Beach. On later trips, also found some at the beach adjacent to port. Even found some blue pieces. The best spot for sea glass is in Bermuda and St Kitts, from my experience.

We have rented from Nathan twice and never gave cc info ahead of time. We made it a point to be among the first off the ship and then high-tailed it to just outside the cruise terminal and got a cart.

We too had a blast exploring the island...even gave a ride to a local who lived in the hurricane damaged area of the island. We drove through many neighborhoods to see how the folks lived in different areas. We also went to a donkey farm to check out the animals, by Governor's Beach (had beach totally to ourselves) and ducked into their grocery store, hardware store, and department stores. Of course, the Lighthouse is a cool place and got some awesome photos there. We would use him again.

You can walk from Maho to Mullet Beach. About 15 minute walk. Go on Google earth, it is easy to spot. Then when you back track, hop on one of the taxi that are waiting at the Sonesta. Food and drink available on the beach and also chairs and umbrella. Better beach for swimming than Maho. Sonesta have day room available. I have no idea how much it costs.

we made this walk as taxi would only stop at maho. we walked to mullet and through golf course. walked back 2 maho in afternoon and saw planes for an hour and then took taxi back 2 port. easy peasy

We spent a few hours at Mullet last week and there were no restrooms. Only port-a-potty and it was DISGUSTING! However, the beach itself was beautiful and the bar/restaurant was great too! We will definitely be going back! We went to Maho after that but were only there a short time so not sure if Sunset bar had bathroom facilities. However, I will say that Maho is not a good beach for swimming especially for kids. We had 9 kids in our group and we only allowed them to go in up to their knees. The waves were big, the bottom was rocky and there was a big drop off. Mullet was much better for swimming. Oh I should also mention that we saw a few topless woman at Mullet too.

sunset bar has regular bathrooms

Here's some general info I found:

Jitney buses: These run between the downtown area to Cable Beach and Paradise Island from early morning until about 7 p.m. at 30-minute intervals. Fares vary (though they're generally about $1.25 per person, each way), depending on the route. Exact change is required.

The Nassau Water Taxi departs every 30 minutes from behind the Festival Market to Paradise Island, operating daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The roundtrip cost is $6. Notes: Though the trip takes just 10 minutes, the water taxi may not depart on time. Since the operators tend to give you a bit of a "tour" along the way, expect to be approached for a gratuity.

Yes, a jitney is just another name for a public bus/van. We took the jitney to the zoo the last time we were there. As I recall, we walked to the downtown shop area and just asked someone where the bus stop was. Very easy. Can't answer your other questions about times, etc.

We took the water taxi to Paradise Island and walked on the nearby beach.

After numerous attempts to get a downtown Charleston hotel were rejected, finally settled for an Airport hotel:

2.5 star

Hampton Inn Charleston - Airport/Coliseum

4701 Saul White Boulevard

Charleston, SC

$47.00 + $13.76 fees = $60.76 for 5/16/2008

They don't advertise it, but they do offer an airport shuttle service. Rate on website was $125.

Do all staterooms have special ships stationary? This is a great idea! thanks!:)

If they have it, you can usually find it in the organizer in your room that contains the room service menus and general info about the ship, etc. It's usually a rather large binder found on the desk in the cabin. If you open the binder, the stationary, envelopes and pen will usually be in a pocket in this binder. If not, ask your cabin steward.

Another place you can check for a journal before you leave home if the Dollar Tree. They aren't anything fancy, but they are cheap...$1. I have been buying mine there for several years now. On the plane en route to the cruise, I detail the costs...cruise & where booked, air fare, pre-hotel, etc. It's amazing how fast you'll forget this stuff! I then document each day of the cruise and what islands we visited...what we did and what the cost of the excursions were. Make a PRO & CON listing for the particular cruise we were on...after 10 cruises they all start to run together!

Some days we're so busy, I don't get a chance to write everything I want in the journal, so I skip 5 or 6 pages and then can fill in the blanks later. While I was sitting on the upper deck pool area documenting my cruise, the Head of Houskeeping came up and began talking to me about what I was writing about...I think he thought I was a critic or something. We ended up talking over an hour and had a very enjoyable conversation...all due to my little travel journal!