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Best Excursions for Southern Caribbean

LuckyAshley

By LuckyAshley,
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LuckyAshley

LuckyAshley

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I've done some research on each of our ports and have a general idea of what to do/possible tour groups to book through. I wanted to get a better idea of what you guys would think to be the "best" island for certain activities. We're doing a back to back on the AOS next January out of San Juan (our first back to back so I may have more questions about that in the future :) ) and our ports will be:

 

Departing out of San Juan

St. Croix (twice)

St. Kitts

St. Maarten

Dominica

Barbados

St. Thomas

Antigua

St. Lucia

Grenada

 

Which has the best snorkeling?

Which has the best beaches?

Which has the best ziplining?

Other favorite/"must see" activity?

 

Any recommendations including specific places or tours would be greatly appreciated.

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LuckyAshley

LuckyAshley

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Dominica is a fantastic Port, We enjoyed snorkeling at Champagne reef and the trip up and into Titou Gorge.

We were with a private guide Levi Baron -Bumping Tours and had the most wonderful time

 

Thanks! I've got Bumpiing on my list for Dominica. We're thinking about doing the Treasures one, although I'm a little sad that one doesn't do the Emerald Pool. Do you know which tour Levi does himself, or does he do different ones?

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Yvie

Yvie

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Last month we were in St. Kitts and went to Carambola Beach Club. We rented a couple of chairs and an umbrella. They have a restaurant, beach bar, and nice restroom facilities. It was a nice relaxing beach day.

 

On St. Martin we did Capt. Bob's tour (Souliga Destinations). You can see videos of this excursion on youtube and reviews on trip advisor. This was our favorite excursion. A high speed boat circles the island and makes beach, snorkel, lunch, and swim stops as well as Maho Bay to see a big jet come in and tour past the yachts in the marina.

 

In Barbados we've done a catamaran sail on the Tiami, but that was a few years ago, so you would need to look at current reviews.

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cruiseapril

cruiseapril

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Tours in Dominica and St. Lucia are needed -with good drivers and good guides.

 

We went on the Layou Valley tour and one of our party did the Aerial Tram.

We enjoyed the beauty of Dominica and the Rain Forest.

 

In St. Lucia, we went on a shorter tour, but were glad we did a tour as the roads are narrow and winding (as in Dominca.)

 

We went on an island tour in Barbados which was good and another time went to Carlisle Bay on a day pass. Very nice beach.

 

Our favorite beach in St. Thomas is Magen's Bay Beach- but it is not for snorkeling. Lots of cruisers like Trunk Bay in St. John for snorkeling.

 

We went to Orient Beach in St. Maarten, but it was quite crowded and

the surf was up. Next time, we would go to Marigot and to a beach near there.

 

Have fun planning your cruise. Sounds good.

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erniesband

erniesband

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Just back from a B2B in January on Jewel and have done 20 Southern cruises from San Juan. Here's some things we've done over the years and would recommend:

St Thomas - shopping paradise, for a relaxing day book a daysail, we like High Pockets, or head over to St John and the better beaches.

 

St Croix - Virgin Kayaking on the Salt River - http://www.virginkayaktours.com

Cane Bay for snorkeling

A trip into Christianstad for it's history

Rainbow Beach really close to the pier

You can see most of Fredrickstad in an hour

 

Antigua - For water adventures any of the tours by Adventure Antigua - http://www.adventureantigua.com

For history, a tour that goes to Nelson's Dockyard, Shirley Heights, etc. Gordon or Lawrence get good reviews.

 

St Lucia - this island is best seen with an all day tour like Cosol, Mystic Man and others offer, It's a natural paradise. Ziplining is very popular here. If you want a great beach day with good snorkeling look into a day package with Island Divers at Ti Kaye resort. http://www.tikaye.com

 

St Martin - shoppers paradise Front Street in Phillipsburg

Orient Beach to people watch.

Maho Beach to watch the planes come in.

Bernard's Tour comes highly recommended

 

St Kitts - highly recommend a tour by Thenford Grey hits all the highlights

www dot thenfordgrey dot com

If you're looking for something different try Javin's Tour

myislandstours.shutterfly.com He takes you to Black Rock, hiking in the rainforest, snorkeling at a wreck, and the beach.

 

Dominica - Any of the tours offered by Levi http://www.bumpiingtours.com

 

Barbados - most popular thing is swimming with the turtles, go with

Calabaza - http://www.calabazasailingcruises.com or

Silvermoon - silvermoonbarbados.com

If you like chocolate there's a small factory that gives tours

http://www.agapey.com

For history Glory Tours has some interesting tours.

 

And don't forget to give yourself some time to explore San Juan. Come in a few days early, see Old San Juan, the forts and El Yunque.

Edited by erniesband
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WaggesAZ

WaggesAZ

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Departing out of San Juan (Great destination-LOTS to do here) See the rain forest, walk the cobblestone streets checking out shops and restaurants, kayak in the biobay, tour the forts, enjoy a beach day.

 

St. Kitts - check out Rose and Jim's taxi if the fortress is of interest. We also went with Javin who proudly tells the stories of his boyhood living on the island and snorkeling out at Whitehorse bay was incredible.

 

St. Maarten - Go to Marigot & enjoy the french shops, head to Orient for a wonderful beach day (stay left if nudity isn't your thing but AVOID the beach where you can take the water taxi from the ship-polluted water) or MAHO to experience the jumbo planes flying over you. Be sure and grab a bottle of Guavaberry Liqueur, they have a lil shop near the dock with samples. DELISH & you cannot get it in the states, or shipped here either.

 

Dominica -Levi has recommended for good reason! My husband and I still talk about our tour with him and it was 5 years ago.

 

Barbados - Contact Gina with Calabaza - simply an AMAZING day. If not available Silvermoon is great too!

 

St. Thomas Taxi to Sapphire Beach (Great views, nice beach & natural shade) or taxi to Red Hook and Cinnamon Bay on St John great snorkeling & BEAUTY!

 

St. Lucia - Spencer Ambrose Land and Sea was AWESOME tour. Snorkeling between the Pitons, actually just being there is incredible. Definitely have to do a tour here.

 

 

Any recommendations including specific places or tours would be greatly appreciated.

 

See above for my recommendations. The southern Caribbean is fantastic! I dream of a B2B - have a great trip!

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bumbletigger

bumbletigger

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At Maarten- Capt. Bob's Speedboat your was awesome!! The best parts were snorkeling with the sea turtles followed by the yummy lunch.

 

Barbados- Calabaza!!! They take 12 or less people. Well worth the $$. The ship wreaks were so cool seeing all the fish so close to you.

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Jocko97

Jocko97

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Here are a couple more links from our AOS southern Caribbean cruise a few years ago:

 

St Lucia

http://herodstours.com/st-lucia-piton-adventure-speed-boat-coastal-cruise/

 

Barbados

http://shasacatamarancruises.com

(sea turtle snorkeling)

 

St Martin

http://www.sint-maarten.net/St-Maarten-Beaches/BaieRouge.html

(required a taxi ride to the French side, totally worth it!)

 

Sent from my LG G2.

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tidygirl

tidygirl

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Thanks! I've got Bumpiing on my list for Dominica. We're thinking about doing the Treasures one, although I'm a little sad that one doesn't do the Emerald Pool. Do you know which tour Levi does himself, or does he do different ones?

We lucked out getting him last April we are returning this April with our 2 young adult daughters and SIL We are doing Roseau Valley best and we requested him back in Oct or Nov, so make reservations as soon as possible and request him you may get lucky!

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LuckyAshley

LuckyAshley

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For Snorkeling from your list and we've been to all of them: St. Croix is very good and St. John which you can do from St. Thomas is nice as well. :)

LuLu

 

Thank you for the advice. We've actually done Trunk Bay on St. John and really enjoyed it. I think we'll try something else this time in St. Thomas.

 

Where do you recommend for snorkeling in St. Croix? I think we're looking at Buck Island or Cane Bay?

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LuckyAshley

LuckyAshley

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Just back from a B2B in January on Jewel and have done 20 Southern cruises from San Juan. Here's some things we've done over the years and would recommend:

St Thomas - shopping paradise, for a relaxing day book a daysail, we like High Pockets, or head over to St John and the better beaches.

 

St Croix - Virgin Kayaking on the Salt River - www.virginkayaktours.com

Cane Bay for snorkeling

A trip into Christianstad for it's history

Rainbow Beach really close to the pier

You can see most of Fredrickstad in an hour

 

Antigua - For water adventures any of the tours by Adventure Antigua - www.adventureantigua.com

For history, a tour that goes to Nelson's Dockyard, Shirley Heights, etc. Gordon or Lawrence get good reviews.

 

St Lucia - this island is best seen with an all day tour like Cosol, Mystic Man and others offer, It's a natural paradise. Ziplining is very popular here. If you want a great beach day with good snorkeling look into a day package with Island Divers at Ti Kaye resort. www.tikaye.com

 

St Martin - shoppers paradise Front Street in Phillipsburg

Orient Beach to people watch.

Maho Beach to watch the planes come in.

Bernard's Tour comes highly recommended

 

St Kitts - highly recommend a tour by Thenford Grey hits all the highlights

www dot thenfordgrey dot com

If you're looking for something different try Javin's Tour

myislandstours.shutterfly.com He takes you to Black Rock, hiking in the rainforest, snorkeling at a wreck, and the beach.

 

Dominica - Any of the tours offered by Levi www.bumpiingtours.com

 

Barbados - most popular thing is swimming with the turtles, go with

Calabaza - www.calabazasailingcruises.com or

Silvermoon - silvermoonbarbados.com

If you like chocolate there's a small factory that gives tours

www.agapey.com

For history Glory Tours has some interesting tours.

 

And don't forget to give yourself some time to explore San Juan. Come in a few days early, see Old San Juan, the forts and El Yunque.

 

Thank you this was extremely helpful!

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erniesband

erniesband

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Thank you this was extremely helpful!

 

You're welcome. I forgot to mention that these are not ship excursions and must be booked though the various independent operators.We just feel it's better to help the local economy rather than the cruise lines bottom line.

We have never had an issue with any of the tours that I recommend as to safety or getting back to ship on time.

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Jason008

Jason008

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What is the best way to get to and from Magens Bay?

 

You can either take the excursion through Royal Caribbean at $35 per person or you can use a taxi to get there on your own. Taking a taxi is much cheaper but just keep in mind that you need to get back to the ship on time.

 

I have attached a pic from the Royal Caribbean excursion book that I picked up onboard the Allure of the Seas. Its the Magens Bay beach getaway. It may be hard to read...you can also go to the RCCL website and look at the excursion there.

1423628465575.jpg.2045b7417db40c7b4069bbc5ab0d980c.jpg

Edited by Jason008
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