Southern Carib Excursions

[Packman1000]

We need some help. We are on the Emerald this winter and will sail to Aruba, Bonnaire, Dominica, Grenada and St. Thomas. We would like to do some sort of excursion in 3 of the 5 ports. In the other 2, we just plan to explore and walk on our own. Any advise on which ports to be on our own versus taking formal excursions (either through Princess or a private tour)?

 

I have researched the ports of call boards and have some ideas about what to do, but it's hard to figure out which ports lend themselves best to being our own tour guide.

[palolake]

We'll be going that cruise in January. Aruba, Grenada and Bonaire will be new to us. Generally, it's easier to do your own thing in the more developed countries. And, of course, St. Thomas is part of the United States. I'd say the easiest places for you to get around on your own would be Aruba and St. Thomas. But that is not to say that you couldn't find a guide to take you around the other countries. Just that those two would be the easiest.

[chrysalis]

walking around on your own in Dominica is fun.....and going to a beach on your own in St Thomas is easy to do...Coki Beach there is a good choice.

 

We love to take a water taxi to Kleine Bonaire and uninhabited beach just off of Bonaire for some fab snorkeling and swimming.

 

We have walked around Grenada a couple of time...the streets are busy and crowded....grab a taxi and take a private tour of some of the islands highlights

[GSDsky]

Been these a few times and if I knew what you enjoy doing the most in terms of excursions can give you some suggestions.

[palolake]

Sorry, but I disagree on walking around Dominica. It's not hard to do and the people are extremely friendly. BUT, if all you do is walk around, you are missing what the island is all about. That probably goes for Bonaire and Grenada also. If all you see of those gorgeous islands are the "downtown" areas right off the ship, you are missing the main attraction. Please do an excursion in Dominica and try the Kabuli beer!

[LadyBerard]

In Dominica, I would strongly recommend doing the river tubing and booking it directly with Whacky Rollers. I've done this twice with them. They are fabulous and very accommodating, even stopping at a local store for us to purchase some items on the way back to the ship!

 

Sue

[Blue Eyes]

Aruba is a great island to rent a car or jeep and tour on your own. It is hot and dry in the southern part of the island, so we were glad for the A/C. Roads are well marked and there are only a few places that you might need 4-wheel drive.

 

Dominica has a great mountain bike excursion. You go by van to the top of the moutains and bike down through the rain forrest. Stops along the way include a fresh fruit market, yum, yum!, a mountain stream that you can swim across in the freezing cold water to a natural hot spring and stops in a banana plantation. You end your tour at the ocean's edge for a van ride back to the ship. We have done this twice. The scenery was beautiful.

[choochella]

Donna, we are also visiting Dominica next month. I am concerned about the bike ride. Is it all down hill?

 

Sue, we are also interested in the river tubing. How extreme is it? Do you see people falling out of their tubes? I have seen bad reviews of this excursion and was being a little hesitant.

 

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks, Karen

[PescadoAmarillo]

Of course, your interests may differ, but here's what I'd do (love the water, hate shopping):

 

Aruba: Rent a 4x4 on the pier for the day. Do the east side of the island in the morning and then the west side in the afternoon (as it is closer if you start running out of time). Read the road map before you leave to figure out those strange traffic signs! Don't miss the national park (Arikok, I believe) on the northeast side of the island.

 

Bonaire: Take the water taxi to Klein Bonaire to go snorkeling.

 

Dominica: Book the snorkel excursion through Princess to Champagne Reef. Most amazing snorkeling I've ever done (and I've been on almost 100 dives).

 

Grenada: Some sort of land tour, the island is pretty, although after Hurricane Ivan and then this hurricane season, it is having a rough time.

 

St. Thomas: Snorkel at Coki Beach or take the ferry from Charlotte Amalie to St. John and go snorkeling at Trunk Bay.

[Packman1000]

Thank you all for the suggestions. This gives us a much better perspective of what to do on which islands.

[GloriaF]

We like to arrange private tours with some of the tour guides recommended on the ports of call boards. It is the best way to see the real island. If you stay downtown, you will see the usual port stores, and pretty soon each city looks the same from the Caribbean to Alaska. You must get out of town, IMO

 

In Grenada, we did not pre-arrange a tour, but picked one up in an open-air taxi for $20pp.

 

In St Thomas, Godfrey's Tours offers a nice all-island tour that includes stops for shopping and a beach break. We chose Sapphire Beach, but it is the majority of what the tour group wants. The price is about $20-25pp. A trip to St John from St Thomas on the ferry is nice, and from the Crown Bay pier that Princess now uses, I am told there is a ferry to Water Island (caught in the nearby City Marina).

 

We are going to Aruba in Nov 07, but are only there from 7am to 1pm. Due to the short port time, we are doing a Sail & Snorkel with Princess from 8 -11 am, then plan on walking around close to the port for an hour or so. According to Arubalisa, there are many shops close by.

 

We haven't had the pleasure of visiting Bonaire and Dominica yet ~ they are some of the few Caribbean islands we haven't been to yet.

 

Whatever you decide to do, and on which islands, have a great time!

[Blue Eyes]

The bike tour is almost all downhill, but with any mountain trip there is some uphill climbing. I only remember one time that I just gave up and got off the bike and pushed it to the top. I am not a regular bike rider and where I live we call anywhere water is not standing a hill. Flat, flat pinelands of south Georgia.

[kckitties]

Aruba

Dominica has a great mountain bike excursion. You go by van to the top of the moutains and bike down through the rain forrest. Stops along the way include a fresh fruit market, yum, yum!, a mountain stream that you can swim across in the freezing cold water to a natural hot spring and stops in a banana plantation. You end your tour at the ocean's edge for a van ride back to the ship. We have done this twice. The scenery was beautiful.

 

Donna,

Did you book this excursion through Princess? It sounds perfect!

 

Rosanne

[cruiseapril]

We have been to all of the ports except for Grenada. Agree with Aruba and St. Thomas being the easiest places to do your own excursions. Oranjestad has excellent shopping, as does Charlotte Amalie.

 

In Aruba, you can take taxis to several very good beaches, such as Palm Beach. In St. Thomas, you can do the same- we went to Magen's Bay Beach which is a good swimming (not snorkeling) beach. There are many good beaches to choose from.

 

The excursion to St. John gets good reviews- so that would be an excursion worth the $.

 

Aruba and Bonaire are very dry and somewhat dusty and hot, so we usually do water sports rather than land sports on those islands. (just our preference.)

 

Dominica is a fascinating island because of its Rain Forest. Roseau is interesting, but as many have said- there are so many adventures available on Dominica.

 

Have a great cruise, whatever you decide.

[IL-cruisers]

Nearly every port of call has its own board. They're invaluable for getting information, especially finding out about specific CL-listed shorex activities and privately-run alternatives.

[Blue Eyes]

Rosanne

We were actually on HAL both times we were in Dominica and we booked with the ship. It was the same tour group and one of the guides was with us both times. He remembered us because my husband is a forester and they discussed the trees.

[iancal]

We very seldon take ship's tours. We find the private ones to be much less crowded, of a higher quality, and are often much less money.

 

I would second Godfrey for St. Thomas. We have done his tour two times. For Grenada, we would highly recommend Mandoo. His tour was among the very BEST that we have ever taken in the Caribbean. Both are mentioned in the Ports of Call section. Mandoo has a website and responds promptly. I cannot remember if Godfrey does, but he also responds very quickly to email requests. Cannot comment on the balance. On both tours, we had beach time.