Is it "majority rules"?

[Benji817]

Hello all,

 

I'm still trying to decide what to do in St. Thomas when my mom and I visit in January. We're considering a 1/2 day sail, but also considering booking a tour (like Sunny, Godfrey, Henry, or Air Force 1). It seems like they all receive favorable reviews on this board. My question is, since it's just the two of us, will we have any say in what beach we go to? We don't want to go to Coki - we would prefer to visit Saphire. My concern is that we might be "over ruled" by a larger group on the tour. Has this happened to anyone? Can anyone recommend one of these tour operators that you know will split drop offs between the beaches?

 

Also, if you have been on one of these tours, did you think 2 hours was enough time for shopping? Did you feel rushed at all? We want to be able to pick up a few souveniers, nothing major, but we do like to browse!

 

Thanks for your feedback!:)

[Benji817]

OK, I'm sorry - I finally got the search function to work and I answered the first part of my post re: majority rules. It seems as though Godfrey will make more than one stop if not everyone wants to go to the same beach. If I'm wrong, someone please correct me!

 

Again, sorry to ask a question that's already been asked. The search function never seems to be working for me. :(

[The Islander]

Which ever tour you decide to go with you should ask them before booking just to make sure you can go to Sapphire even if everyone else wants Coki or Magens. Those three beaches are usually the options.

 

--Islander

[katiel53]

We have found that Godfrey will take us to Magen's even if everyone else wanted Coki. When we used Sonny he had people going to Coki or Sapphire. He wouldn't take anyone to Magen's.

 

As far as shopping, keep in mind you probably won't get 2 hours of shopping time if that's what you sign up for. For example, if you sign up for 10AM, if everyone that's signed up for that time isn't there, the drivers wait a few minutes. Then, at times they pick up others who are just going into town. So, there could be a stop along the road for those people to pay for the trip. The ride into town itself can be about 15 minutes or so with traffic.

 

Finally for 12Noon pickup, you will have to walk to an area that is away from the shopping to get your tour guide. So, we allow about 15 minutes for that.

All in all, for the 2 hour shopping trip, our experience is that you can get anywhere from 1:15-1:30 hours of shopping.

 

We have been to St Thomas many times, so that is plenty enough time for us to get to the linen store, jewelry shop and back to the tour stop. I don't know how long it will take you to find what you are looking for.

 

If you take the 3 hour shopping tour, and get done early, you could always sit and get a cold drink and watch people for a while. Enjoy your trip to St Thomas.

[Benji817]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. We actually just booked with Godfrey. I sent him an email, just in case, and he said we had a choice of whatever beach we wanted for 2 hours. Works for me! :D