Eastern Caribbean excursions w/3 & 5 yr olds?

[2preschoolers]

We're contemplating an itinerary that includes

 

Nassau, st Thomas, San Juan, Grand Turk.

 

Last year we did Western Caribbean and found plenty if kid- friendly shore options. Am I missing something, b/c the stops on the Eastern itinerary don't seem nearly as interesting/fun for little ones. (Well, aside from Nassau)

 

Any suggestions for those ports? We're happy doing beach days but I am not finding the abundance of choices like I did for Cozumel, grand cayman, etc. We especially enjoyed our day in Cozumel, at one of the all inclusive beaches!

 

Thanks!

[Keith1010]

The Grand Turk facilities at the pier are quite nice. There is a very nice beach right there. My suggestion would be to make this a beach day with the children and you can easily walk back and forth between the ship if you need to go back there for any reason.

 

Keith

[MamaParrotHead]

We're contemplating an itinerary that includes

 

Nassau, st Thomas, San Juan, Grand Turk.

 

Last year we did Western Caribbean and found plenty if kid- friendly shore options. Am I missing something, b/c the stops on the Eastern itinerary don't seem nearly as interesting/fun for little ones. (Well, aside from Nassau)

 

Any suggestions for those ports? We're happy doing beach days but I am not finding the abundance of choices like I did for Cozumel, grand cayman, etc. We especially enjoyed our day in Cozumel, at one of the all inclusive beaches!

 

Thanks!

 

We're doing a similar route, but my kids are a bit older. I'd still suggest some of the same things for you.

 

Nassau- some decent resorts sell reasonably priced day passes. I know one of them is the British Colonial Hilton. More info over on the Nassau board, the details are fuzzy for me, I can't remember exactly which ones but I know 3-4 of them do.

 

St. Thomas- we're heading over to St. John to snorkel, but I'd suggest cabbing it to one of the close beaches or making this a shopping day. St. Thomas is known for their shopping. We did a fun tour here on our first time in St. Thomas, but the roads are crazy (as are the drivers) and most of the tour vehicles are open air trucks with no seatbelts.

 

San Juan we're hitting up the old forts (with big lawns for playing in...some say to bring/buy a kite). Admission is free for kids, MINIMAL for adults (under $5). And riding the free trolley to explore Old San Juan.

 

Grand Turk- total beach day. Roll off the ship early, have a fun beach morning and head back in time for lunch and some R&R in the cabin (or swimming in the pool).

[A&Jfamily]

We're doing a similar route, but my kids are a bit older. I'd still suggest some of the same things for you.

 

Nassau- some decent resorts sell reasonably priced day passes. I know one of them is the British Colonial Hilton. More info over on the Nassau board, the details are fuzzy for me, I can't remember exactly which ones but I know 3-4 of them do.

 

St. Thomas- we're heading over to St. John to snorkel, but I'd suggest cabbing it to one of the close beaches or making this a shopping day. St. Thomas is known for their shopping. We did a fun tour here on our first time in St. Thomas, but the roads are crazy (as are the drivers) and most of the tour vehicles are open air trucks with no seatbelts.

 

San Juan we're hitting up the old forts (with big lawns for playing in...some say to bring/buy a kite). Admission is free for kids, MINIMAL for adults (under $5). And riding the free trolley to explore Old San Juan.

 

Grand Turk- total beach day. Roll off the ship early, have a fun beach morning and head back in time for lunch and some R&R in the cabin (or swimming in the pool).

 

I would agree with these recommendations and add the following:

 

Nassau - Adastra gardens - we spent a very nice 2 hours there. We have also done Blackbeards Caye which has an easy sting ray enclosure and good feeding experience. My kids like it very much.

 

St. Thomas - there is tons of kid friendly stuff here. Ride up to the top of the hill. Do the butterflys. Check out a dolphin enounter. But, what we chose was an island tour with Henry of EEE tours. Granted my kids were older (5 and 11) but they both loved it and him. He even took us to his house and fed the kids bananas from his tree and knocked down a coconut, gave us the milk, and cut it open for the meat.

 

Grand Turk is one of my kids favorite ports. If you walk off the ship and go to the right, you will find thousands of conch shells. If you go aways, you will find a white sandy point that looks fabulous (we could see if from our snorkel excursion). Or you could walk to the left and hang out at the beach bar - the name escapes me at the moment but you can find it on ports of call.

[CanadianTwosome]

I recently arranged for our family to scuba dive in St. Thomas, and the company we're booked with is located at a park called Coral World that we're going to stop at when we get back. It looks like fun and offers some encounters with sea animals, including holding a canvas while a sealion paints a picture for you...

 

Here's a link: http://www.coralworldvi.com/

[AlanAllyn]

I would think that the kids will like Coral World and Coki beach, right next to it. HOWEVER, there was recently a shooting in this area and most cruise tours are avoiding it. They have announced extra police presence for the area. Check it out.

[2preschoolers]

I recently arranged for our family to scuba dive in St. Thomas, and the company we're booked with is located at a park called Coral World that we're going to stop at when we get back. It looks like fun and offers some encounters with sea animals, including holding a canvas while a sealion paints a picture for you...

 

Here's a link: http://www.coralworldvi.com/

this does look pretty cool! Yet, I was thinking the same thing as said below - I'm a bit Leary of that area right now. We'll likely have a 3, 4, 5 & 7 yr old in our group.

I would think that the kids will like Coral World and Coki beach, right next to it. HOWEVER, there was recently a shooting in this area and most cruise tours are avoiding it. They have announced extra police presence for the area. Check it out.

Thanks! I'm hoping things are better there cone January. Happen to know if taking z ferry to St Johns is a safer bet?

[sprockie]

Last time we were at Coki beach, there were non-stop drug deals going on just behind us. With the recent shooting, I won't be going there any time soon. Magan's bay is wonderful for little ones. Nice, calm beach, lots of shade, picnic tables, lots of cabs to and from. Picture below is Magan's Bay

Grand Turk - we tried going to Governor's Beach, but found it much better right at Margaritaville. Lots of lounge chairs, shade, good beach, huge pool. We packed lots of snacks and drinks for the kids... I never wanted to leave.