Shore Excursions NOT affilated with HAL

[FreeStyleNCL]

ok I originally wrote this in mind of searching for non-ship affiliated shore excursions but that changed as i was writing lol so ignore the Title :D

 

 

these are our stops on our 10 day cruise

Bahamas/Grand Turk

Road Town

Philipsburg/St. Maarten

Saint Thomas

San Juan/Puerto Rico

 

We want to save some bux as well as explore the island by our selves. My friend said he rode a scooter somewhere and I would like to know if any of these islands have a Scooter rentals.

 

we're planning on doing so far....

1 Scuba

1 Beach day @ san juan

1 Scooter

 

ALSO any recommendations on shore excursions(affilated with the ship or not) would be GREAAAT. we're 23~24 males so no city tour or something like that. More adventurous excursions would be great!

 

thanks all

[maxout]

Check these out...

 

http://www.hollandamerica.com/dest/excursion.do?portCode=SXM&from=&view=&tourId=346&dest=C

 

http://www.hollandamerica.com/dest/excursion.do?portCode=TOV&from=&view=&tourId=5877&dest=C

[FreeStyleNCL]

my friend probably wont' do regatta and we're not certified divers. we already have a shore excursion in mind for scuba

[cmdchiefthom]

Just some suggestions, in Tortola, the Baths at Virgin Gorda are considered a "must do" and would be considered a beach day. There are scooter rentals in St. Maarten, but be careful. My son and DIL, rented scooters, and the owner didn't have any helmets. They drove over to the French side of the island, and were stopped by the French cops for not having helmets and paid over a hundred dollar fine.:mad: I've done a catamaran sail from St. Thomas to St. John with some beach time and snorkeling included and it was great. Hope this helps.;)

[FreeStyleNCL]

wow $100 fine...I will make sure to get a helmet!

 

those seem like a good list of things to do

 

anyone else have other activities?

[Travel Angel]

ok I originally wrote this in mind of searching for non-ship affiliated shore excursions but that changed as i was writing lol so ignore the Title :D

 

 

these are our stops on our 10 day cruise

Bahamas/Grand Turk

Road Town

Philipsburg/St. Maarten

Saint Thomas

San Juan/Puerto Rico

 

We want to save some bux as well as explore the island by our selves. My friend said he rode a scooter somewhere and I would like to know if any of these islands have a Scooter rentals.

 

we're planning on doing so far....

1 Scuba

1 Beach day @ san juan

1 Scooter

 

ALSO any recommendations on shore excursions(affilated with the ship or not) would be GREAAAT. we're 23~24 males so no city tour or something like that. More adventurous excursions would be great!

 

thanks all

 

Why not visit the "Ports of Call" section here on the boards and see what other CC'ers have felt about their tours ?

[FreeStyleNCL]

sorry a newb here

 

ANY idea how much the Scooter rental is and for how long?

 

Thanks!!! :)

[Jen&Joe]

Grand Turk - do the dune buggy adventure (through HAL). Its awesome!

 

Tortola - we went to the Virgin Gorda Baths. Its a really cool beach that you can only get to by climbing through these rocks that have little caves etc. It can get crowded there though.

 

St. Maarten - do the 12 meter regatta. You get to sail one of the boats from the America's cup challenge in a race against another boat. By sail I mean actually do the work on the boat. It was a blast!

 

San Juan - rum factory tour!

[WeLoveCruising]

I dont know about the scooter rental, but I would reconsider your plan for a beach day in San Juan. The port area is very built up / city like, and the nice beaches are quite a distance away. Also the ship tends to leave mid afternoon (make sure to check your schedule).

[sailandcruise]

In San Juan you can take the municipal bus from the terminal right across the street from the pier to the Condado or Isla Verde beaches. Just 75 cents per person, and a great way to experience the local life too.

[WeLoveCruising]

In San Juan you can take the municipal bus from the terminal right across the street from the pier to the Condado or Isla Verde beaches. Just 75 cents per person, and a great way to experience the local life too.

 

That's good info. I've stayed in a few of the hotels on Isla Verde before, and also been to Luquillo which I thought was nice, but remember it being a long way.

 

What I meant in my post was that to me, the beaches on the other islands he's visitng are far more beautiful than those in and near San Juan. For some of the other islands, the beaches themselves are the highlights of those port days. San Juan and Puerto Rico have so many other highlights and things to offer, to me, the beaches just arent one of them. JMHO.

[FreeStyleNCL]

my friend is thinking about the RUM factory Tour in San Juan

 

I just wish I could get more info on Scooter rental availabilities on the islands