My day in St Thomas

[Stillfloatin']

Arrived on the Destiny Feb 21st. There were 3 ships, including the Destiny, docked in Havensight, and the QE II anchored outside of Charlotte Amalie harbor. Thanks to recommendations on the ports board, I had called ahead and arranged for Donovan to be our tour guide for the day. Donovan is totally cool. He’s the spitting image of Morgan Freeman, and let me tell you, what that guy doesn’t know about the history of the Caribbean, and St Thomas in particular, probably isn’t worth knowing. He’s amazingly informative and funny too. To contact him, his number is 340-775-2729 HOME and 340-998-9021 CELL. He was waiting for us by the Avis rental booth, wearing his signature straw hat. He took us to the usual spots, plus some out-of-the-way personal faves of his. Naturally, we took time to stop off and drink banana daiquiris at the mountaintop where they were invented. Donovan told us the back story on that and then, we hiked down to the abandoned original stone room where they were first made. We each drank a couple because hey, they use fresh bananas so they must be healthy, right? You can stand outside on the deck to drink them and look down on Megan’s beach. Donovan showed us where Captain Morgan, the pirate, used to keep his lookouts to warn him of other ships in the area. Pretty view. Nice place for the pirate’s life, if you ask me.

 

 

Next, it was on to Coki beach, where we spent a couple of hours snorkeling, and Donovan went and tracked down some caffeine-free diet coke for one of the gals in our group. Those suckers are hard to find, but of course, Donovan came back with a 12-pack, which totally made her day. The snorkeling wasn’t quite as clear as usual due to lots of rain and wind the previous week. But hey, it was warm, sunny, and plenty of fish to see so nothing to complain about. There are umbrellas, loungers, snorkeling equipment and towels to rent from a couple of stands on the beach. Also, a fresh-water shower and even a changing room. My favorite part: a nice lady who sold us the best daiquiris and brought them right to us on the beach. Didn’t have to move a finger to get them. I recommend the “everything fruit” one. Delicious. Goes down nice and cold and smooth. After cleaning up and changing back into our regular clothes, we were starved and wanted to try some local fool. We told Donovan we would buy him lunch and to take us to his favorite place. It was great little place called the Petite Pump, over-looking the Charlotte Amalie harbor, right by where the ferries dock. Didn’t see any tourists there, just locals going to or leaving from the other islands. We had fresh fish (heads still attached) and this weird-sounding but really good tasting side dish called fungee. It’s made of okra and corn meal and even though it sounds like it could be gross, it’s pretty tasty. Also, the local rice and peas (which aren’t really peas, but pinto beans). Good lunch, good view. We could see the Destiny across the harbor.

 

Finally, we finished with a little shopping, then it was back to the shop, straight to our cabins, and a little liquid refreshment on our balcony while we sailed away from St Thomas. :D

[MamaParrotHead]

thanks so much for taking the time to write up your review. SOOOOOO looking forward to going myself!:)

[Stillfloatin']

You'll love it. Beautiful island, beautiful beaches, great shopping. Pretty much developed but still wonderful. Have fun!!

[VACATION IS MY LIFE]

I sounds like Donovan was a good tour guide. How much $ was the tour? and how many people does he take at a time? My wife and I are looking for a tour guide for St Thomas, but we don't want a big group with us. Also was it all day?

Thanks

[crisp1]

We're a group of 7- too big/small? Was this all day- how many hours? Thanks

[Cora Baxter]

It sounds like heaven the way you described it! I'm printing this info out and will hopefully hook up with Donovan. Is there a time factor to hook up with him? Any help would be appreciated.

[Stillfloatin']

Donovan was $20 per person. Our tour lasted most of the day. He will tailor it to whatever you want. His van seats 6 comfortably and he has a larger one for larger groups. He never tries to get other people to come on your tour with you. When you book him, he is exclusively yours. As to time factor, I would recommend you reserve him at least a month ahead. He's getting pretty popular as as alternative to the "cram everyone in" tours. Too me, $20 a head for several hours of exclusive touring was a great bargain. And Donovan is informative, funny, and personal. You can't go wrong with him.

Tell him Monica and the gang say hi.