Rainforest tour on RCI, is it that strenuous?

[MJN]

Hi folks,

We are sailing on Brilliance of the Seas on the repositioning cruise leaving Oct. 27 and will be visiting St. Kitts as one of our stops. We were planning to do the Rainforest tour through the ship and were trying to book it when red words popped up that my husband was "too old"! He is 66 and is in better shape than many people half his age! The maximum age for this tour is 65. It's not like this is the volcano hike that has a 3000 foot elevation or even the mountain bike tour. Has anyone done this tour? Is it really that hard a hike? We just did an 11 mile bike ride at Cades Cove in the smoky mountains, he did better than I did and he is 3 years older than me! JEEEEESH!

[paul58]

I would try a local tour operator to conduct this tour. The ship is just protecting itself with the age restriction. There are many that are much younger that should not be on some of the tours/activities that they participate in. The rainforest hike that I have been on in St Kitts are not that strenuous but the ability to deal with the uneven terrain on the trail is the issue. It is not a walk in the park with a nice wide paved trail to stroll down.

[MJN]

I would try a local tour operator to conduct this tour. The ship is just protecting itself with the age restriction. There are many that are much younger that should not be on some of the tours/activities that they participate in. The rainforest hike that I have been on in St Kitts are not that strenuous but the ability to deal with the uneven terrain on the trail is the issue. It is not a walk in the park with a nice wide paved trail to stroll down.

 

Thanks for your response paul58, we will explore that option and hope someone will suggest a tour operator that we would be happy with. We have read about the monkey's some locals are using to take advantage of tourists in St. Kitts so would rather do a tour than explore the downtown part of St. kitts. The rainforest is something we think we would enjoy seeing.

[erniesband]

We did a hike in the rainforest over by Romney Manor, it was not strenuous at all. We had our friend's 70+ year old mom with us and she did fine. It was part of a tour we did with Thenford Grey. First we went to Brimstone Hill Fortress, then to Romney Manor and Caribelle Batik with the regular tour then instead of going to the beach Thenford arranged to have a guide meet us at Romney Manor and take us through the rainforest. After the hike he had a taxi come back to take us back to the port. This is also in the area where the zipline is located. I would contact Thenford to see if he still does this.

www dot thenfordgrey dot com

 

If you are more adventurous try the rainforest hike offered by Javin

http://www.myislandstours.shutterfly.com

We did this one 2 years ago and it was harder than the first one but it was raining and the trail got slippery. Also the trail on this one follows a river that you are in and out of the whole hike. You'll need good hiking sandals like Keens or shoes you really don't care about 'cause you're gonna get wet.

 

Both of these tours are excellent and are highly recommended and you don't pay the exorbitant cruise ship excursion prices. I'm 62 and not in great shape and have no problems doing these hikes, you should be fine.

[paul58]

There is some nice parts of town to tour in Basseterre. The people with the moneys tend to be at the port & the most popular tourist sites. There is a nice hike in the rainforest at Ottley's Plantation Inn. They do not charge to do the hike at the plantation and it is also a lovely setting for lunch.

[MJN]

Thanks for the replies to my questions. We are now confirmed on Greg's safari's and we are really excited. I am glad I kept searching through the local operators because this one is offering exactly what we were interested in doing. Will let you know how it goes when we return in November.