Puerto Rico/Turks/St.Thomas Recommend Shore Excursion??

[mollybax]

Can anyone recommend or tell me about a shore excursion they took in Puerto Rico, Turks and/or St. Thomas? I plan to book 2 shore excursions. I am trying to decide which excursions and which 2 destinations I should choose.

 

THANKS,

Molly:)

[Willsot]

Can anyone recommend or tell me about a shore excursion they took in Puerto Rico, Turks and/or St. Thomas? I plan to book 2 shore excursions. I am trying to decide which excursions and which 2 destinations I should choose.

 

THANKS,

Molly:)

 

If it were me, I would probably choose one excursion out of San Juan and one out of St. Thomas. One of the best HAL shore excursions we ever experienced was the Champagne Catamaran Sail & Snorkel, St. Thomas to St. John. We did San Juan on our own and enjoyed it and did a kayak excursion in Grand Turk. Next time we would just relax by the beach and pool in Grand Turk and would take an excursion in San Juan. Others have had positive things to say about the Segway Tours in San Juan.

[mollybax]

Thank you, the Champagne Catamaran Sail & Snorkel, St. Thomas to St. John was top on my list. I am happy to hear that you enjoyed it. I was trying to decide between that one and the Catamaran Sail & Snorkel, Cotton Beach in Grand Turk.

 

Molly:)

[Boytjie]

If you are a scuba diver I would strongly suggest diving in Grand Turk; I am sure snorkeling would be excellent too. I have done the champagne catamaran to St. John and it was good, but the diving is just a lot better in Grand Turk.

 

We did the Bio-luminescent Bay excursion in San Juan and it was amazing. You need a late night departure, a moonless night and be able to row a canoe (in the dark!)

 

For a treat in San Juan, go to La Bombonera (259 Calle de San Francisco) in the Old Town for mallorcas and cafe con leche. Yummuy. And pick up some Puerto Rican coffee to take home from a supermarket - much cheaper than in the tourist shops.

[K&RCurt]

We just got back from this itinerary on the Eurodam. The only "excursion" we did was the "Ultimate Snorkeling" on Grand turk. OMG! Neither DW or I had snorkeled brfore and this was just amazing! We saw barracuda, stingrays, yellow tail jacks and multitudes of other fish. As a result of this we are planning to learn SCUBA before we return next year!

 

We di San Juan on our own and walked to El Morro, but we are huge history buffs, so that's our thing.

 

On St. Thomas we did a private tour combo shopping in Charolette Amalie, Island Tour and Magens Bay beach. It was a fabulous day and was only $25.00 ea plus $4.00 each for entrance to Magens Bay.

[bcirish]

Grand Turks - have not had a chance there but last time we sailed by because of a storm am going in Jan this time.

 

St Thomas- IMO the two snorkel trips are pretty equal. We usually stay on island but have cruised there a couple of times before - very different experience- a couple of warning especially for this port - check and see how many other ships are in - water gets mighty busy sometimes - most we have seen in port is 15 - we did not go to town that day!!! I would lean to Turks for under water - STT is okay but I have seen better - that being said - folks tend to like Trunk but don't think that is offered on any kind of boat - they often bus you to the ferry and then bus you to the beach- so so . We actually prefer the schooner because it is a different experience and usually will not accommodate as many people as a catamaran

 

This site will help with that - http://www.cruisett.com/ports.php

 

I would lean to Turks for under water - STT is okay but I have seen better - that being said - folks tend to like Trunk but don't think that is offered on any kind of boat - they often bus you to the ferry and then bus you to the beach- so so . We actually prefer the schooner because it is a different experience and usually will not accommodate as many people as a catamaran

 

differences -

1. on Schooner with Castaway Girl and in the past both stops have been pretty consistently good - I liked seeing the turtles and always lots of little fish- actually considered this one before when cruising - protected cove means usually smoother water

 

2. Champagne is on a Catamaran and they do not disclose the stop - which is something I would like to know - we had one experience in which we stayed right in the bay area not far from the ships to do our snorkeling - I thought we would be going further but you could be okay and I love the catamarans- the coast of St Thomas is pretty from the ships too.

 

San Juan - lots of different opportunities - did not always care for SJU but have stayed a couple of times recently and been in on cruises and am liking it much better

 

1. Bioluminescent Bay Kayak -have heard excellent things about this one - never been there at the right time - would love to do it

 

2. El Yunque Rain Forest Day Hike - two fold - if you are active and have never been to a rain forest - I love the R forest - we drove out ourselves but this one could be nice

 

3. Old town is fascinating and if you would do that - it is a short cab ride from the docks - would be really short if you could swim it :D

There is a trolley which goes around the Old town which you can check out on line and it was not really expensive - liked the forts - It is not a huge area and between the trolley or some energetic walking and a lot more strolling you can see it and have some of the goodies and do some shopping

 

Hope this helps - Not sure when you are cruising but this may help

We usually are in the islands in March and the water is fine ( 84) but we found it a bit cool in December ( think it was closer to 81 - I like 84 ) - I was surprised because I had never been in the winter before- did not consider the change in water temp but don't let that slow you down - you will find the sun very warm and the water okay and being on the water - perfect!