Tortola day beach versus land/sea tour

[Wendy S.]

We are doing the Eastern Caribbean soon with stops in Tortola and St.Thomas. While the kids love the beach, it’s not my favorite lol. We have the Castaway Cay day of course and so I’m debating the islands and whether I want to spend each port on a beach. Is Jost Van Dyke really worth the length of the ride with young kids or are all the beaches there equal? And has anyone done any boat or land tours that also stop at a beach for a bit? Do they let you off to shop? I love to actually see the islands and villages, not just beaches. My husband said whatever I want. Not helpful. Ugh I’m torn.

 

[AquaDame]

This was lost in the meets forum... bumping for visibility!

 

[teacher31]

Jost Van Dyke beach day for us in Feb. was horrendous. I would not recommend it for anyone.

 

[Wendy S.]

Do you mind me asking what was bad about it? Thanks!

 

[teacher31]

Disorganized and no communication. The ‘tour operators’ literally kicked the group ahead of us out of their chairs, the bar didn’t accept cards and you were given ONE bottle of water, not clear on pickup, nobody to ask questions about pickup. They shorted us one hour on the beach because of their ineptness. Favorite part? Crappy ‘taxi’ stalled on the highest mountain due to bad transmission and rolled backwards. Driver said it had been happening a lot lately. Totally unsafe.

 

[auntlynne]

 

[auntlynne]

 

[auntlynne]

 

[Wendy S.]

Thanks so much

Disorganized and no communication. The ‘tour operators’ literally kicked the group ahead of us out of their chairs, the bar didn’t accept cards and you were given ONE bottle of water, not clear on pickup, nobody to ask questions about pickup. They shorted us one hour on the beach because of their ineptness. Favorite part? Crappy ‘taxi’ stalled on the highest mountain due to bad transmission and rolled backwards. Driver said it had been happening a lot lately. Totally unsafe.

Thanks so much. Exactly what I don’t want. I’m thinking some sort of land/sea tour would be better!

 

[Wendy S.]

If you have a long (enough) port day in St Thomas, I consider visiting St John to be a better option. It is less developed, 1/3 of it is National Park and possibly has prettier beaches (personal opinion). It has about a 2-block long ”downtown.”

The challenge is being sure to get back to the ferry for the return. They run hourly; you just can’t push your luck trying to squeeze in the last one before ship departure.

No comments on Tortola, I stayed on the ship.

Thanks so much for your reply! My kids are well behaved and pretty easy. But being kids, they like to get out and move. The older two (15,12) just go with whatever. The younger (7,5) like to be active. They like the beach but it’s more the stuff on the beach (sand toys, buckets, floats) which these don’t seem to have anyway. By “shopping”, I guess what I mean, they want to be active. They like looking at souvenirs and seeing sights as well. Idk if a land/sea excursion fits the bill or maybe just getting off the boat and wandering is enough. I’m nervous about times as you said. I don’t want to miss the boat!

 

[auntlynne]

 

[DIS_Ag]

I don’t know if he’s still around but we did a catamaran tour with Patouche tours. I think the baths are must see and this is the way to do it.

 

[auntlynne]

 

[auntlynne]

 

[Wendy S.]

Thank you all for your replies! I thought about the Baths because it looks beautiful and the kids love to explore, but the excursions were sold out. Is it hard to do on your own? To find the ferry? Is it far? I’m always nervous going out on our own with the kids. I think I watch too much news lol. Do a lot of people do it and definitely make it back to the ship safely? The Patouche tour looks like it’s a snorkeling combo. My youngest just turned 5 and she hasn’t done snorkeling yet so I’d definitely have to take the ferry I suppose. Thank you all again!

 

[Erica1016]

St Thomas is such a beach island - and lots of nice beaches. Maybe the best for having a choice in so many beaches.

As for shopping, what are you thinking? Trinkets? High-end jewelry or clothes?

(We did not grow up shopping on vacations and still don’t do much of it while on vacation. I am more likely to visit grocery stores to see what is different. I picture most kids getting squirmy in stores - while at home or on vacation. Actually, I have seen few kids in shops in ports. Or maybe they are quiet and well behaved).

The capital of St Thomas has an attractive harbor front which has been upgraded since Hurricane Irma (2017). A lot of shops are housed in centuries-old stone warehouses. Clothing, jewelry…

Tourists shops are also right at the port. DCL usually docks at Havensight (West Indies Co - WICO). You walk past these when returning to the ship.

In some ways, St Thomas is less like what you would expect a Caribbean Island to be as far as villages. They have supermarkets and K-Mart plus chain pharmacies.

Coral World - you could do a little research and see if this would interest your family. It is next to Coki Beach. I saw a video where an adult couple visited this recently. It looked appropriate for the curious or young kids.

You could get on a taxi (you usually share) - and usually are open-air pick-up trucks converted, with bench seats and a top. Head to Magen’s Bay and then leave when you have spent enough time. Plenty of taxis are available for return. This is considered one of the best beaches in the world.

There is a look-out on top of the mountain above Charlotte Amalie. It has a little shop and restrooms.

There is also a gondola/ tram near the port. It will take you to a place to look over the harbor. It has a restaurant.

DH loves grocery stores to see what's different. He loved stopping at Mega in Cozumel. We're on the Eastern Caribbean route in May...any grocery store recommendations for St. Thomas? That's one of his requests that day (we're easy to please).

 

[DIS_Ag]

Thank you all for your replies! I thought about the Baths because it looks beautiful and the kids love to explore, but the excursions were sold out. Is it hard to do on your own? To find the ferry? Is it far? I’m always nervous going out on our own with the kids. I think I watch too much news lol. Do a lot of people do it and definitely make it back to the ship safely? The Patouche tour looks like it’s a snorkeling combo. My youngest just turned 5 and she hasn’t done snorkeling yet so I’d definitely have to take the ferry I suppose. Thank you all again!

When we did it my oldest were 5 and 3. The snorkeling was off a beautiful beach and as low key as you wanted. It was 6 years ago, so I don’t know what’s changed.

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

I did the Land and Sea tour last December and loved it. NO BEACHSTOP! we left in a safari style bus, drove around the island for very nice panoramic views and some info on the island. Made a 30 min stop on one of the views where they had restrooms and a place to buy drinks and snacks. There we also got the info about the remainder of the tour. Drove around more for more views also next to the coastline; When the landpart was done we stopped and were left by the driver in the area where the boat would arrive. To me it was a little unclear whether they were gonna call us or whether we had to go ourselves as soon as we spotted it. There were some souvenirshops and bars in that area. we were there for 15-20min (I also found free wifi there) til the boat arrived. The boat was pretty high speed and thus bumpy we went to all the different islands and got info on who they belonged to or what the history was. We made a stop to feed groupers so saw them jumping out of the water. The guides were very entertaining (songs and quizes). we were back at the ship about 45 min past the time that was advertised though but overall I def loved the tour better than my expectations based on the description and the price.

 

[swimfin]

We are doing the Eastern Caribbean soon with stops in Tortola and St.Thomas. While the kids love the beach, it’s not my favorite lol. We have the Castaway Cay day of course and so I’m debating the islands and whether I want to spend each port on a beach. Is Jost Van Dyke really worth the length of the ride with young kids or are all the beaches there equal? And has anyone done any boat or land tours that also stop at a beach for a bit? Do they let you off to shop? I love to actually see the islands and villages, not just beaches. My husband said whatever I want. Not helpful. Ugh I’m torn.

We love booking Aristocats in Tortola. They are INCREDIBLE! You sail to three different spots and spend time in a cove to play in the water. Highly recommend them! https://aristocatdaysails.com/

 

[auntlynne]