Excursion time......need advice!

[my3kids]

I like the looks of the Pinel Island Tour at St. M, and had planned to do St. John on my own.....but now rethinking the plan.

With a family of 5, the DCL excursions can add up quickly. We like nice, uncrowded beaches where we could snorkel from the beach(don't want to snorkel from a boat with children) and enjoy a beautiful day. So, could we do something like that in St. M. without doing the DCL trip? What about getting to St. John on our own.....or are there beaches as beautiful on St. Thomas?

I need specifics here.....take a taxi to where, get a ____0'clock ferry to where, taxi pickup at what time......worst case senario of travel time to get back to the ship.....The least transfers between taxi's and ferries the better. Make it simple....

Let me have your travel plan!

 

[Señor Ferrari]

On St. Maarten, I'd suggest either Dawn Beach or Little Bay Beach for snorkling. Both are a short cab ride from the pier. I prefer Dawn slightly, but the surf can be a bit rough there on occasion, so for kids, Little Bay might be a better choice. It's also closer to the ship by about 5 minutes.

The St. John beaches are beautiful, but there are some nice ones on St. Thomas, too. On St. John, I like Cinnamon Bay and Trunk Bay. Trunk Bay is usually much more crowded, so I tend to favor Cinnamon Bay. On St. Thomas, Coki Beach is good for snorkling, and Coral World is right there, which is fun for the kids.

If you do choose to go to St. John, try to be among the first off the ship once it clears. Grab a cab on the pier to the Red Hook ferry. Try to get there in time for the 9:00am ferry. You can get a cab to the beach at Cruz Bay on St. John, and most drivers will arrange a time to pick you up. If it still works the same way, the ferries leave St. Thomas at the top of the hour, and St. John at the bottom. I would try to take the 2:30pm ferry back to St. Thomas, which will get you back to the ship by about 3:30, giving you time to hit the shops if you want.

There is also a ferry which leaves from Charlotte Amalie to St. John, but I've never taken it, so I can't offer any info about it. I'm sure someone on the boards would have some.

 

[my3kids]

Thanks for the advice. Any others who have done the islands on their own?

Would be really be missing out on something by not going to St. John? The ferry and multiple taxi's make me nervous about missing the ship.

 

[my3kids]

Bump: Doesn't anyone else do excursions on their own?

 

[Boomerwon]

This is a great question! We too have little ones and won't be able to participate on most of the excursions. I'm wondering about the W itinerary, also. We are doing both the W & E in less than two weeks. My family needs beaches with a low break and areas that have easily accessible bathroom facilities (potty training). Yahooo! It's getting close!!!

 

[prymsu]

We did Dawn's Beach on our own. The beach was easy to get to, and very clean. However, the water was very choppy the day that we went, and it was tough to snorkel in my opinion. I think it was 18 bucks one way for the three of us to get their. Ten bucks if i am remembering right for two chairs and an umbrella. When we got off the ship, there were people by the visitor center that walked us directly to a taxi. just make sure you agree on the price to get there ahead of time...