Coral World

[cwf1028]

I wanted to know how easy it is to get your own taxi in St.Thomas and visit Coral World on your own. I have 4 and 7 year old so our excursion options are limited, and I don't think they will be ready to leave Coral World after only an hour and a half. How much does the taxi usually run for a family of four and how easy is it to get a taxi back? Just a little nervous about doing it "on our own".

 

[SweetSpot]

Cabs are readily available both at the port and right outside of Coral World. If you know what time you are leaving the taxi that took you there will gladly come back for the return trip. We found it more convenient to take one of the many waiting taxis back to the ship.

Coral World is not that big and can very easily be done in less than 1 and 1/2 hours. It's also attached to Coki Beach which is a great beach loaded with beautiful fish that you can see as close as a couple feet from the shore line. The beach is free so you might want to bring beach clothes in case they get bored in Coral World and you are ready to head back to the ship.

 

[DrCavin]

We did Coral World on our own. We also have a 4 & 7 year old. They loved it!! Taxis were really easy to get & I think it was about $25 each way for us.

Don't worry about doing it yourselves!!

 

[cwf1028]

Thanks so much for the reassurance. I am trying to plan the trip with as few time restrictions as possible and thought it would be great to hit the beach afterwards if the kids were up to it. Thanks for the information, I think that's what we're going to do. Feel like this would also leave us open to not going at all if we find out we're not up to it that day, since we have not had to pay in advance!

 

[two4ruff]

I too, was extremely nervous doing Coki Beach & Coral World on our own - but it was the easiest, stressfree day of our trip!

We plan on doing it again on our next cruise! Enjoy it!!

 

[kcashner]

It's very easy! You can get discount coupons from the tourist info booth right by the dock. The cabs are right there, and will be happy to take you. There's no problem on the return either...cabs right at Coral World.

It's much cheaper to do it on your own than with the DCL group. You can also enjoy the beach while you're there...remember to take towels from the ship and bring them back. It is an easy, relaxing day...much nicer to be on your own schedule.


Ditto for the Butterfly farm on St. Maarten! Easy, cheaper and nicer on your own.

 

[Zandy595]

Scroll down to the bottom of the Coral World site and click on "Click here for Discount Coupon".

Don't click on the sting ray that is swimming around the window because that coupon expired in 2002.

 

[mobetsy]

The rate from Coki Beach (which is where Coral World is) to the ship is $7/pp; I'd assume it's the same to get there. Loads of taxi vans are right there, so it's a cinch to get one; do look for one that is mostly full so you don't have to wait long while the driver gets other passengers to fill it up. Coki Beach is really wonderful, and in the first part of the morning it is fairly quiet...very, very easy to see fish just by being in the water! Be sure to get sandwiches/chips/cookies/etc. from room service the night before to take for lunch; it will save you a bundle.

 

[cwf1028]

Thanks so much for all the advise. I have been reading these boards for about 6 months and have gotten so many good ideas. Definately bringing our lunch. Not cruising until 4/2005, and I think the coupon on line expires at the end of this year. I'll just keep an eye out and maybe they will post a new one later in the year. I'm just having a hard time committing ahead of time to things when I'm not sure what we will feel like doing. I have been on a couple of cruises but this is a first with kids and we want to go easy on the planning. Thanks again for all of your input!

 

[kellib36]

When we were in St. Thomas in Jan, I wanted to hit the Del Sol store downtown before we headed to Coral World to Snuba. We got a taxi to downtown no problem, but to get a cab at 1130ish to Coral World was a nightmare....

The cabbies were rude and only wanted to take you back to the ship or to certain other areas. Coral World and Megan's Bay were NOT on the short list. We tried to get a cab for 30 minutes, and while several cabbies were ACTIVELY trying to get fares, they'd start to talk to us, realize who we were, and then walk away. After 30 minutes, a cabbie took another couple and their daughter to Megan's Bay and us to Coral World in the same trip. (They are on opposite sides of the island) We weren't impressed, to say the least. The trip home was a piece of cake, comparatively. Meaing, a taxi was waiting when we were ready to leave.

Downtown St Thomas is a joke...each store had a hawker out on the sidewalk that "actively" tried to get you to go into their store. All in all, not a great experience. Kelli

 

[cwf1028]

Thanks for the warning. Think we will just stick to Coral World/Corki beach and back. I nervous enough about that, don't think I would take the chance going anywhere else on my own, at least not this first trip....

 

[NYDisneyMom]

Originally posted by cwf1028
Thanks for the warning. Think we will just stick to Coral World/Corki beach and back. I nervous enough about that, don't think I would take the chance going anywhere else on my own, at least not this first trip....

We did Coki/Coral World on our trip last month...it was a piece of cake, really. Just make sure you leave enough time to get back to the ship!! Traffic starts to get heavy around 2:30-3:00, so give yourself an hour to get back to the ship!

As for the people out on the streets trying to get you to come into the stores...well, it's like that at St. Maarten, too. I think all touristy island areas are like that, it's how those people make a living, so just expect it and don't let it bother you.

You can some pics of Coki/Coral World here...
http://community.webshots.com/user/phylliskelly