St. Thomas, St. Maarten & Nassau Excursions w/ 5 & 3 yr. old

[tropiclvrs]

I'm tyring to figure out what we'll do when we stop in St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Nassau on our cruise this coming May.

 

I know that we'd like at least one day at a great beach. Preferably not too crowded, but one with calm, cyrstal clear water.

 

I haven't completely figured out what we are going to do regarding the car seat situation. I know we could bring the backless booster for DS who is 5, but DD will just have turned 3.

 

Any ideas and/or comments on what you have done?

 

Thanks!!

[14ersco]

Last year in St. Thomas we went with Papa Bear of Air Force 1 tours:

 

http://www.havefunwithus.net/

 

Our DS was 5 at the time and had a great time seeing the islands, then spending the afternoon at Coki Beach. Papa Bear has a child just a little older than yours, so he is very good with kids. On his web site it has videos for Coki (there was clip of Papa Bear and his child). He also stops often to show the local plants and fruits along with the normal view points. We even got to see a big lizard hanging out in a tree.

 

We did not use a car seat since the bus was one the open air types with rows of seats behind a cab. Just sat our DS between us so he would not slide around. With all of the traffic in St. Thomas Papa Bear was driving slowly and carefully.

 

Coral World sea park is next door to Coki Beach, so you can easily do both areas. Coki is very shallow for a ways out and the fish will come right up to you (especially if you bring a few slices of bread).

[cb at sea]

Do your beach day in either St. Martin or St. Thomas....but nicer beaches and water than Nassau!

 

You don't need an excursion for any beach day at any of those ports, tho...they are easily doable on your own, and cheaper, too!

 

Get yourself a guidebook on your ports...it will tell you about ALL the different beaches, which are best for kids, for snorklers, etc...and you'll know where to tell the cab to take you! It will also tell you about food/drink, bathroom availability, etc.....and how much cabs are!

 

A guidebook is invaluable to get the most from your vacation!

[tropiclvrs]

Last year in St. Thomas we went with Papa Bear of Air Force 1 tours:

 

http://www.havefunwithus.net/

 

This looks like this may be the way to go for us. Thank you for the recommendation. I am still nervous about the no seatbelt thing even if they do go slow, you never know about the other drivers. Did it seem like most families took this type of transporation?