Blackbeards: YAY or NAY / Help needed

[waykaylincruz]

Ok, I am trying to narrow down my selections for an excursion while in St.Thomas next month. None of us in our party have ever been there before. We have 2 daughters, ages 8 & 10 going along with us.

 

We really wanted to book the Ultimate Island Experience so we could tour the city and end up @ Blackbeards. The one thing that appealed to us about Blackbeards is that there are a couple of pools there that our girls can swim in after we tour the grounds. The one negative about that tour is the 2 hour swim @ Magen's Bay. I think a shorter visit would be better for my family or omit it all together which isn't an option with this tour. We liked the fact that we could leave BB and walk down to the shopping area and then head back to the shoip @ our leisure.

 

We have considered a private tour (Ie: Sunny, Papa Bear, etc) but none of them drop off @ Blackbeards. I am sure we could just take a taxi from the port to BB, but I am not sure what the cost would be.

 

I guess my question is....is Blackbeards worth the effort to get to. So many options, so little time in port...hmm!!!

 

Please share your opinions....they are most appreciated. And any other ideas that perhaps I have overlooked??

 

Thanks a million!!!

 

Renee

[Name Of The Game]

Here's a view from one of the lookout points at Blackbeards also showing a pool. It's very close to the main shopping area so you could take one of the open air bus for $5.00 each or whatever it is now. There was no one using the pools when we were there.

 

[Name Of The Game]

Here's another nice view.

 

[waykaylincruz]

Thank you!! Beautiful pics!!

[Betsy's Mom]

The $ buses do not go near Blackbeards.:(

B.

[emmtee]

This sounds like the tour I took last July. We did some general sightseeing, a couple of hours at Magen's Bay, and finished at Blackbeard's Castle. The castle was nice, but there isn't really that much to it. There are a bunch of statues of famous pirates, the pool (which I never saw anyone swim in) some sort of restaurant, a gift shop, a tower (great views from the top) and the house he lived in. It is interesting to see how he lived, but just as interesting to me was the walk down the 99 steps to the downtown shopping area. You pass some historic homes and the amber museum. Once you reach the bottom, you shop as long as you want and take a $4 taxi back to the ship.

 

I didn't spend much time at Blackbeard's because I wanted to do some shopping and save a little time for the skyride to Paradise Point. The ship's (RCL) excursion price was actually lower than the Paradise Point admission, but I didn't purchase it through them because I wasn't sure I'd have time. (Plus, Paradise Point had a package that included a Bailey's Bushwacker in a souvenir mug!)

 

I loved Magan's Bay. I wish we could have spent more time there, but I wouldn't want to miss any of the other things I did. Unfortunately, there are only so many hours at port. I had too much fun at Paradise Point and barely made it back on the ship in time as it was.

 

If you have time, Paradise Point has a bird show that your girls would love. I only caught a few minutes of it, but it looked great.

 

Here are a couple of pictures of the pools at Blackbeard's Castle.

[waykaylincruz]

Thank you so much for the reply!! I just may stick with the Ultimate Island Experience and add on the Paradise Point trip to the top. I had wanted to do that at the end of the afternoon. Is the tram to the top close to the pier?? I thought I had heard it was in walking distance right across the road. You are so right..the price through the ship IS cheaper than their prices.

[Name Of The Game]

Yes, the tram is not far from the pier.