Looking for St. Thomas/St. Maarten suggestions

[Casey's mom]

We are cruising on 3/23 -- me and DH and 2 DDs (5 and 4). Our 5 year old is a good swimmer and likes to snorkel (but not a ton of experience) and our 4 year old loves the water, but can't quite swim on her own (though she's close). Can anyone make beach or excursion suggestions for our St. Thomas and St. Maarten days? From looking at the list, it appears some of the excursions are for kids 5 and up (so we don't qualify). I also hate feeling like herded cattle, so I would not mind just taking our own cab (or other available transportation) to a nice beach or other recommended place. What has worked well for people travling with young families?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!

 

[joshua4]

We are going on March 2 on the Magic and are in a similar situation. We have a dd(1.5) and ds (5.5). We are thinking about going to St John on the St Thomas day and taking a cab to either Trunk Bay or Cinnamon Bay. If you look through recent posts you will see the directions to do that.

On St Martin day, we are still not sure which beach to go to, so let's see what else the experts say!

Josh's mom

 

[Wonderwoman1982]

Rent a car at Avis. CHEAP and you can do what youwant all day. Right across the street from Havensight Dock Mall, and driving there is EASY. Not at all confusing. I'm talking about St. Thomas... We missed st. Maarten when I cruised, and instead went to San Juan, so I can't give you any tips for St. Maarten.

 

[ssclbc]

We did the Sea and See on St. Maarten so I can't give you any specifics on beaches there.

We took a taxi to Sapphire beach on St. Thomas. It was beautiful! Since there is a hotel there chairs, food, restrooms and equipment rental are available. There seemed to be decent snorkeling and fairly calm shallow water for the younger kids. Plus there was alot of shade close to the water. The taxi was $8 per person each way, our 3 year old rode for half price. If you bring a cooler full of drinks, snacks and ice from the ship, you'll be set for the day.

 

[sandee]

We thought Magen's bay in St. Thomas was the highlight of our last trip. We payed a few dollars for a cab to the beach (I think kids were $1 adults $3) pd. about a dollar each for entry to Magen's Bay and about $5. each to rent chairs. No crowd at all -they don't rent umbrellas, but there's lot of shady coconut palms to sit under. On the ride over our cabbie asked when we wanted to come back to port and not only was he back on time to pick us up, he walked down to the beach area about 30 mins. before our set time just to let us know he hadn't forgotten us and that he would pick us up just a few feet from where we were sitting. The water was crystal clear and very calm - no waves to knock over the little ones. 10 yr. old Gr.Dtr. saw a number of fish (brought our own snorkling gear) and loved the water. We had a sm.soft sided cooler we'd packed that held 6 sodas (we bought a 12 pk. before boarding ) and we just bought a pizza at the snack bar/ forget price but pretty reasonable. GREAT PIZZA! If you do decide to do something on your own, be sure to take some smaller $$ bills with you. We saw someone try to buy a soda with a $100. bill and she was very sarcastic when the snack bar was unable to make change. There is a small bathhouse / restroom, but showers were salt water. Okay to rinse off but needed to shower and shampoo when we got back to our room. Relaxing on a floating mat while a waiter from the bar area waded out and took my order for a pina colada and served it to me right out in the water was my idea of paradise. Sigh! wish I were there right now!!

 

[KeenHo]

We cruised with our children (DD 12, DS 7) last May ('01).

On our day at St. Thomas we took a taxi to Magan's Bay, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. We asked the taxi driver to stop at one of the highest points in St. Thomas, which she did. We all piled out and had a family photo taken with a beautiful island and ocean backdrop. It was breathtaking. Magan's Bay is calm, it's great for relaxing and swimming with the family. We were able to find a lot of starfish in the sand in the shallow water near the beach, although we were careful not to hurt them. Magen's Bay is a state park, there is a small fee ($2-3 per car) to get in. We paid for the taxi to enter. We swam and lounged most of the afternoon. There is a snack bar/restaurant there by the beach, although not a 5 star establishment. Burgers, Fries, etc. I would highly recommend this beach for your family. I am sure some others will share their opinions on Magen's Bay too. On the way back to the ship we stopped in town (Charlotte-Amalie) to do a bit of shopping.

On St. Maarten, we decided to join friends at Orient Beach, again taking a (harrowing) taxi ride from the ship. We stayed to the left of the nude beach area (in the blue chair area). However, as it is listed in other threads, nude sunbathers tend to walk up and down the beach on occasion. Our children hardly noticed and it wasn't an issue. We enjoyed the afternoon there also.

Good luck in making an informed decision that is best for your family. Enjoy your cruise !!!


Howard

 

[lUVTOGO]

Keenho, Are those Taxi drivers really that bad. My daughter is uncomfortable in other peoples cars to begin with, and I do not want to her to be upset if we take a taxi to the beach in St Thomas. Do they really speed all over the place?

 

[KeenHo]

The taxi ride on St. Thomas was fine, we had a very nice driver (female) who was very used to dealing with tourists. St. Thomas has better developed roads and signage when compared to St. Maarten.

It was on St. Maarten that we had a harrowing taxi ride. The trip was, for the most part, in heavy traffic and slow. There were areas where there wasn't as much traffic, we went faster then. More than sheer speed itself, the combination of the twisty, narrow roads and speed made it harrowing. However, we made it there unscathed. (A past trip in a New York City cab was worse.)

It wouldn't be my travel mode of choice if other more economical means were available. However, as a tourist on the island, it was the most convenient for our short time there.

Good Luck!

Howard

 

[NCRedding]

ILUVTOGO: We did taxis to Coral World--going over we rode in the open air, truck taxi. Coming back, we caught a van with A/C and seat belts which was much more relaxing to me and DD. There were a few of the vans at the end of the gangway, more of the open air truck ones, but I think if DD is nervous, I'd go with the vans. At St. Thomas, we went to Coral World, which gives an all day ticket--they have lockers and fresh water showers. Coki is a beautiful beach, but the restrooms leave a lot to be desired. I would not have felt comfortable driving in St Thomas--they drive on the other side of the road.

 

[penguins_fan]

We also had a 4 yr old which meant no to most excursions. In St. Maarten we took the water taxi to Great Bay Beach and had a great day - calm water, lots of shells, readily available chairs, umbrellas and food/drinks at reasonable cost. Great for waverunners also. We weren't concerned with the snorkeling since we had pre-arranged for that in St. Thomas with the Coki Beach Dive Club - one of the links on Dave From Marietta's great page. The dive club picked us up at the ship saving the cost of the taxi one way to Coki Beach (about $7 per person). Their $30 package included the cab ride, snorkel gear, food for fish and help from an instructor which was great for the kids. The snorkeling was good - lots of fish, coral was ok, beach is small but nice. The beach is next to Coral World, which we didn't visit. Easy to get a taxi ride back to ship. We would have liked to have gone to St. John's but with the limited time, decided against it.

 

[Nana Sue]

We go to St. Martin every other year for two weeks and it's a lovely island but you won't see that from Phillipsburg. Phillipsburg has good shopping (I can give you the name of a great jewelry store) but it's not very attractive. Rent a car for the day or hire a taxi at the dock and have them take you on a tour of the island to see how beautiful it is. Then have them take you to a nice quiet beach for swimming.

 

[Lisa7mike]

We had the same problem with having a 4 year old and the excursions. My oldest (8) wanted to snorkel and I hate the HERDING. We chartered a boat through www.daysailfantasy.net. For the day we had the use of a 36' sailboat with the Captains. First we cruised over to St. John then my husband and 8 year old went snorkeling and the younger one and I took the dingy over to the Paradise Beach. As the 4yr go use to the area she then put on a life jacket and tagged along, so I could go snorkeling, even though she did not wear a mask she had a blast.

Pam and Brian are the captains and are from NY and PA. They are great with the kids. Good Luck!!

Lisa