Excursions in St.Thomas

[Celticsun32]

Sailing on the Freedom of the Seas in March, not thrilled with any of the excursions offered by the ship, any suggestions for what else to do? Other excursions that are not run by the ship that are safe and worth while

[Clarea]

Sailing on the Freedom of the Seas in March, not thrilled with any of the excursions offered by the ship, any suggestions for what else to do? Other excursions that are not run by the ship that are safe and worth while

Some take the ferry to St. John.

[grand isle joe]

"The Bones"........snorkeling at Turtle Cove and BBQ on Honeymoon Beach....THE BEST excursion EVER!!!!!

[Artemus]

I did Godfrey Tours one time and it was really good. They have several variations of their tours to choose from and are reasonably priced in my opinion. You pay in cash the day of the tour. I have already reserved seats again for when I'm on Oasis this summer.

http://godfreytoursvi.com/

[moopetguy]

What I'm going to describe aren't "excursions" per se, but some people may still enjoy these activities as we did when we were in St. Thomas last week.

 

My wife and I have a daughter who is 4 years old. We went to the Butterfly Garden. Admission was $12/adult and $6/child ($30 total), and we loved it (especially our daughter). You can walk from the ship...it's literally one of the closest attractions to the pier. If you keep your receipt, you have same-day re-admission privilege (butterflies will be more active in the morning and less so in the afternoon -- yielding a different experience each time). Staff are very knowledgeable and friendly, and they will show you how to get a butterfly to climb onto your finger. http://www.butterflygardenvi.com/

 

The other thing we did was walk to the Paradise Point Tramway and rode up and down twice that day (once in the morning, once in the afternoon). $21/adult and our daughter was free. Worth it if you take more than one trip up and down (you get a bracelet and it's unlimited same-day rides).

http://www.ridetheview.com/

 

Both of these are very safe :)

 

We wanted to do something different this time because the first time we were there, we went to Magens Bay Beach.

[wikoffclan]

We did an excursion in St. Thomas with Captain Charles Whittemore of http://www.simplicitycharters.com in January of 2014 for a full day sail and it was Absolutely the BEST excursion ever. He has a "small" sailboat (42 foot) and takes a maximum of 6 people. We had my sister, brother and their spouses along on our Carnival cruise and so made a family day of it. Charlie responded quickly to emails, gave details needed. We sailed, snorkeled, had lunch, drinks were free-flowing. It was a truly memorable day. I highly recommend you check it out. (The boat is Not small. Plenty of room to move about, stretch out in the sun or shade, help Hinckley trim the sails, etc. Fun fun fun) (PS - Hinckley's a dog :-)

[Sky616]

We did Godfrey tour in 2014. It was a really good tour.

[matj2000]

In St.Thomas we usually rent a jeep for the day and do our own thing.

The steep winding roads and driving on the wrong side pretty much make it and excursion itself.......

[sddsddean]

We had a great tour in May '15 with http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g147405-d1049571-Reviews-or40-Virgin_Islands_Ecotours-Charlotte_Amalie_St_Thomas_U_S_Virgin_Islands.html#REVIEWS

 

Kayak, snorkel, short hike and hermit crab racing!! If you dock at Havensight allow 20 mins for cab ride and 45 mins from Crown Bay.

 

Simon

[ahughes517]

We did an excursion in St. Thomas with Captain Charles Whittemore of http://www.simplicitycharters.com in January of 2014 for a full day sail and it was Absolutely the BEST excursion ever. He has a "small" sailboat (42 foot) and takes a maximum of 6 people. We had my sister, brother and their spouses along on our Carnival cruise and so made a family day of it. Charlie responded quickly to emails, gave details needed. We sailed, snorkeled, had lunch, drinks were free-flowing. It was a truly memorable day. I highly recommend you check it out. (The boat is Not small. Plenty of room to move about, stretch out in the sun or shade, help Hinckley trim the sails, etc. Fun fun fun) (PS - Hinckley's a dog :-)

 

 

That sounds really fun. Going to check it out for our day in St. Thomas for the Oasis in March. Thanks for the review.

[beshears]

Moopetguy, you mentioned Paradise Point Tramway. That looked great.

 

Since we are docking in Havensight, do you have any idea if we can walk, or need to take a Taxi to it?

 

I thought I had heard there was a beach around Paradise Point Tramsway, if so, do you know the name?

[moopetguy]

Moopetguy, you mentioned Paradise Point Tramway. That looked great.

 

Since we are docking in Havensight, do you have any idea if we can walk, or need to take a Taxi to it?

 

I thought I had heard there was a beach around Paradise Point Tramsway, if so, do you know the name?

 

Walking from the dock at Havensight to the Paradise Point base station is about a half-mile (800 metres), give or take a bit. Definitely walkable unless anyone in your party has mobility issues.

 

Regarding beaches, I'll point you towards CC's St. Thomas beach guide:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/v-2/articles.cfm?ID=1636

[moopetguy]

Another few comments on my experience at Paradise Point -- we were there on a Monday, yet some vendor stalls at the top weren't open (or maybe they were vacant, I don't know -- they have roll-up/down metal doors). The restaurant and I think 3 vendor stalls were open.

 

One of the stalls could be referred to as the "bird lady". She has several exotic birds sitting in cages and on perches. However, just to let you know in advance, you will not be able to take your own pictures (it's not like a zoo/interactive exhibit or anything). If I remember correctly, the lady charges $20 for a photo with a bird. You can feel free to look at and admire the birds, though :)

 

Oh, and if you want to take a taxi from the pier to the top of Paradise Point, I think it will be $7 per person, one-way. Then you can get to the top without paying $21/adult for the cable car ride (i.e. if you are not particularly interested in the cable car ride, but still want to get to the top for the view).

 

There is a meandering road on which you can walk up to the top of Paradise Point but I think the grade is steeper than most people would want to walk up. This is the same road that vehicles would take when driving up (there's a small parking lot at the top).

 

You can take a look at the map/satellite view on Google Maps (which also has a "measure distance" feature) to get a sense of scale and where attractions in the area are located.

[wantocruisemore]

I think a lot depends on your interests. There are several great beaches, Sapphire and Coki that cruise passengers go. If you prefer a little less commercialized there is St John.

 

If you just want an island tour there are many recommendations on this board.

 

Likewise, if you want a full daysail or half day there are plenty of reviews.

 

It all boils down to what you want. And you don't need a ships excursion for any of them.

[Ms411]

There isn't a beach near Paradise Point.

[Anet01]

If your looking for something more active, we did jetskiing with 340 Watersports. We all had a great time.

[sid_9169]

If your looking for something more active, we did jetskiing with 340 Watersports. We all had a great time.

 

I second this idea... I did this jet ski tour last time in St Thomas and had a BLAST!!! We rode right up next to our cruise ship as well as the Oasis of the Seas docked at Crown Bay... Those jet skis are fast...

[beshears]

Moopetguiy, another question in regard to Paradise Point Tram in St. Thomas. So if I understood you right, you said if we take a "Taxi" from Havensight there, it would be around $7.00pp, each way, is that right? Did you say if we did this, we would NOT have to pay $21.00 to take the "tram ride", or did I misunderstand you?

[moopetguy]

Moopetguiy, another question in regard to Paradise Point Tram in St. Thomas. So if I understood you right, you said if we take a "Taxi" from Havensight there, it would be around $7.00pp, each way, is that right? Did you say if we did this, we would NOT have to pay $21.00 to take the "tram ride", or did I misunderstand you?

 

Yes, the tram ride's $21pp cost isn't mandatory to get to the top of Paradise Point. You can take a taxi since there's an access road to get to the top (or walk...probably too tough for many people, though).

 

The tramway was never busy in my experience so if there is a desire to ride it up and down multiple times, that makes the $21pp charge more worthwhile. They will also take a photo of your party with a greenscreen backdrop that's digitally inserted and offer it to you for $10 with a cardstock frame (no pressure by the photographer, totally up to you).

[beshears]

Sorry, but I'm still a little confused. :confused:

 

You say the $21.00 is not mandatory to take the tram ride, is that correct? In other words, are you saying, once the Taxi takes us to the "top" for $6.00 pp, we can get on the tram going back and forth, without any cost??? That doesn't make sense to me. Maybe you are saying we can pay the $6.00pp to take us to the top, and then $21.00 to take us back and forth on the tram?

 

I just want to be "prepared" for the cost of this, if you understand where I'm coming from?

[moopetguy]

Sorry, but I'm still a little confused. :confused:

 

You say the $21.00 is not mandatory to take the tram ride, is that correct? In other words, are you saying, once the Taxi takes us to the "top" for $6.00 pp, we can get on the tram going back and forth, without any cost??? That doesn't make sense to me. Maybe you are saying we can pay the $6.00pp to take us to the top, and then $21.00 to take us back and forth on the tram?

 

I just want to be "prepared" for the cost of this, if you understand where I'm coming from?

 

LOL, I might be making it confusing for you; sorry. :o

 

There are three ways to get to the top of Paradise Point:

 

1) Walk. Might not be fun, though. And then you need to get down somehow. Walking is still free :)

 

2) Take a taxi from Havensight (ship dock). Should be $7 per person. This will get you right to the top. No need to take the tram in this case. But now you need some way of getting back down (either to the ship or somewhere else you want to go). You can walk down (free :)), or take another taxi ride at $7 per person. I don't think you will be able to take the tramway down (see comments below).

 

3) Take the cable car. This will cost $21 per adult, but you get a bracelet that's good for unlimited rides all day (both up and down). But, you'll need some way of getting to the tramway base station from Havensight first. This is walkable, about 800 metres (half a mile) as I mentioned.

 

The Paradise Point Tramway's ticket booth is at the base station. I am not 100% sure, but I don't think you can purchase a bracelet at the top (to ride down, if you had not already purchased a bracelet for the ride up). They don't have a ticket booth or point-of-sale at the top that I noticed.

 

Clear as mud? :)

Edited February 1, 2016 by moopetguy
Added comment that you can't buy admission at the top

[moopetguy]

I guess there is also:

 

4) Rent a car, drive up to the top of Paradise Point yourself. There's a car rental agency right at Havensight. If you are planning on renting a car for the day, then you may as well use it to get up to Paradise Point :) There's parking available at Paradise Point as I mentioned, but I'm not sure if it's free (I think so, but don't quote me on it).

[dividedsky]

We will be sailing with Captain Max next week. Very much looking forward to it. I'll report back on how it went on my return if interested.

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147404-d1134275-Reviews-Sail_with_Captain_Max-St_Thomas_U_S_Virgin_Islands.html

[beshears]

Moopetguy, thank you for trying to explain this to me. Sorry I'm such a PAIN.:(

 

I have seen pictures of the tram, and to me, it looks like you go from one end to another end? Or does it go from the bottom to the top? Maybe therein lies my problem, trying to find out which direction it goes, and the cost.

 

Are you saying, once we get to the bottom (walk or Taxi) that is where we get the "tickets" for $21.00 to use the tram?

 

So if the Taxi takes us to the top, then we don't ride the tram, is that what your saying?

 

The object is to RIDE the tram.

[moopetguy]

Moopetguy, thank you for trying to explain this to me. Sorry I'm such a PAIN.:(

 

I have seen pictures of the tram, and to me, it looks like you go from one end to another end? Or does it go from the bottom to the top? Maybe therein lies my problem, trying to find out which direction it goes, and the cost.

 

Are you saying, once we get to the bottom (walk or Taxi) that is where we get the "tickets" for $21.00 to use the tram?

 

So if the Taxi takes us to the top, then we don't ride the tram, is that what your saying?

 

The object is to RIDE the tram.

 

No problem, clarity is important...I want to make sure you understand the options.

 

The tram goes both ways, bottom to the top and back down. See this snippet from Google Maps: https://www.google.ca/maps/@18.3312699,-64.918726,17z

 

The cable cars take you from the "Paradise Point Base Station" up to "Paradise Point Tramway" as shown on the map, and back down once you're ready to leave. Once you purchase your admission bracelet at the base station, you can then ride up and down as many times as you want for the day.

 

I was probably contributing to the confusion because I was trying to distinguish all the options for getting to the top of Paradise Point. I thought that if it were considered too expensive, you (or others reading this thread) might not want to ride the tramway, yet still want to get to the top for the views or the restaurant.

 

So since you WANT to ride the tramway, ignore what I said about taxis or rentals. Walk to the base station, pay your $21pp admission, and ride all day up AND down :)