Carribean ports - tips please

[lady scout]

Hi, we are joining Ventura at Barbados and visiting St Lucia, St Kitts and Tortola, I have had a look at the ships tours but am wondering how easy is it to just disembark and have a look around the port town without joining a trip.

[OldJerseycruiser]

If you haven't been to St Lucia before, I would recommend Cosol Tours (google them). We went with them last week even though we had been to the Island before and had a great time. They are also cheaper than tne ship's tours.

[Essexlass2]

Its very easy to do your own thing at these ports of call. We never do the ship's excursions, far too expensive.

 

I second Cosol Tours for St Lucia, the best tour we have ever done in the Caribbean; its US$65pp and worth every bit and more. Check out Cosol's reviews both here and on Tripadvisor.

 

On St Kitts you'd probably just want to ask for an island tour to include Brimstone, Romney Manor and the Batik place.

 

On Tortola, an island tour in an open-sided jitney bus is recommended or alternatively a day at Cane Garden Bay beach.

 

Check out the ports advice here on Cruise Critic for lots of ideas and information.

 

Have a great holiday! :)

 

PS. Forgot to say that in Barbados its easy to walk from the cruise terminal into town and even a little further on to the beautiful beach at Carlisle Bay too, also the Kensington Oval cricket grounds for a US$10pp tour there too, heaps to do.

[OldJerseycruiser]

It is easy to walk to a beach in Barbados. We were going to go to the Boatyard, but decided to walk along the coast to it. After a while, when we got to a bridge, we walked over it, then went to the right and then on the left saw a car park. As I couldn't see the way to go, asked the car park attendant the way to the the beach and was told there was a gate through the carpark. We walked through and came to the most beautiful sandy beach with no-one on it. When we looked it was just before the Boatyard beach. I will definitely go there again.

[Cristaltips]

When you come out of the cruise terminal, to get to the beach and the boatyard i'm presuming that you head in the opposite direction to Bridgetown? How far is it to walk and is it easy to find? Would make a change from walking into Bridgetown although I do find a lap around the fish market interesting!! How sad is that!!!

[Morgans]

The aerial tram ride through the rain forest on St Lucia is excellent. We can recommend it very highly. Great fun and we didn't need a raincoat either!

[Essexlass2]

When you come out of the cruise terminal, to get to the beach and the boatyard i'm presuming that you head in the opposite direction to Bridgetown? How far is it to walk and is it easy to find? Would make a change from walking into Bridgetown although I do find a lap around the fish market interesting!! How sad is that!!!

 

No, when you leave the cruise terminal head in the direction of Bridgetown keeping the sea on your right. Cross over the bridge and still keeping the sea on your right side all the way, you will soon come to The Boatyard and just past there is Lobster Alive, another popular venue. In all, I would think its about a mile and an easy flat walk all the way - my husband doesn't often walk very far due to a bit of arthritus in his knee, but he walked it easily.

[lady scout]

Thanks for all the info - it's very helpfull. :)

[Helford]

We had a great day on St Lucia two years ago, my party of three met up with two others and we hired a smart taxi (7 seater) and driver for the day who took us all over the island, great value and very knowledgable and friendly chap. A bit of a chance at the time, but happy to pass on his name and phone number to anyone interested.

[Cristaltips]

Thanks for that info Essexlass2. We usually walk into Bridgetown so will have a look at the beach for a change.

[hellcat55]

We've just got back off Ventura and took a trip on St Kitts with Royston. (roystontours@hotmail.com). He will meet you at the arches of cruise terminal with a sign and a yellow shirt on.The tour can be what you want. I said no shopping. We had a leisurely ride to Romney Manor, Brimstone Hill Fortress (UNESCO site), Black Rocks, Caribelle Batik, Dieppe Bay point, Timothy Hill and Shipwreck Beach. Royston paid our entrance to Brimstone Hill Fortress and also for lunch ($5 less if not needed), he also had a coolbox full of soft drinks,water, and local beer for us. He is very knowledgeable about all aspects of the island and will answer any questions. We were very happy with his driving and he took us to some viewpoints I'm sure most islanders weren't even aware of. Royston was happy to wait as long as you needed for photos and his minibus windows pull back so you don't have to get out to snap away. We set off about 8.15am and got back 3.45pm (after a beach stop requested by us) with an agreed charge of $45 (£30) each for four people (paid at the end of the trip) The trip was excellent value for money and we will struggle to find anything new to see for our next visit. Royston has set up his own website and you can also find other internet references to his tours-mostly American reviews. The trip was prearranged over the internet and everything went very smoothly.

[Mozo9]

We like Cockleshell Beach on St Kitts. Just walk to the Port entrance and the taxi drivers organise you into a party. There were 8 in the van and we only paid $5 each way. The big pig is still there. On the way we stopped for photos of the view and to watch some monkeys.

 

We did a Spencer Ambrose tour on St Lucia, booked through the internet. Started with an island tour, then were taken by boat to the lovely beach between the Pitons where we had lunch and beach time, then back to the ship by boat, seeing the sights from the water, including the bat cave, the cave where the skeletons hung in Pirates Of The Caribbean 2 and Mick Jaggers house. Great fun and well organised.

 

I think it's a shame to miss out on the islands, no matter how often I go, I still find something to do and you don't have to spend a lot if you're on a tight budget.

 

Going to be spending Christmas and NY 2012 on Ventura.