Excursions: What's the Best Way to Go It On Your Own?

[clarkgriswold]

OK. We know what we are doing on our Eastern port days.

At St. Maarten we're sending the kids on the Teen 12-meter excursion, and we are going to head to Orient Beach on our own.

Then, on St, Thomas, we want to head over to St John. As I understand it, this requires a taxi/boat/taxi trip each way.

Anyone with any thoughts/advice/details on the cost and best ways to do these two "excursions" on our own?

Many thanks!

 

[Señor Ferrari]

On St. Maarten, there's a taxi stand at the end of the pier, with signs for different destinations. Just wait at the Orient Beach sign and you can grab a cab pretty quickly. A lot of the drivers will arrange for a time to come get you later in the day. We usually go to Dawn Beach, which is near Orient, but on the Dutch side. I think it was $7.50 each way per person for two of us.

On St. Thomas, if you want to go to St. John, I'd try to be among the first people off the ship once it is cleared. There will be a line of taxis along the pier, grab one for the Red Hook ferry. Try to get to Red Hook for the 9:00am ferry. Take the ferry to Cruz Bay on St. John, and from there you can grab a cab to the beach. Trunk Bay seems to be the favorite, but I prefer Cinnamon Bay, it seems to be less crowded when there are several ships in port. You'll want to get back to the ferry dock on St. John by 2:30pm. I haven't done this in a few years, but I think that the ferries still leave St. Thomas at the top of the hour, and St. John at the bottom. It's about a 25 minute ride. From Red Hook, it's another cab ride back to the ship. The cab ride from the pier to Red Hook is about $8/person, but they might cut you a deal if you have a larger group. I can't remember the cost of the ferry, I think its about $3/person, but again, it's been a few years since I've gone.

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Here's a link to info about the ferries...

www.st-thomas.com/week/ferries.html