chipeneezer

I was just there last week and used Arubus.  It was super easy to find and use.  The bus station is directly across the street from the pier.   You can buy a round trip pass/card (2 trips) for $5 or an all day pass/card for $10 and ride as much as you want.  The bus stops are easy to find.  I told our driver where we wanted to go and he dropped us off in the exact spot.

The #10, 10A, or 10 B buses all go to all of the popular beaches - Eagle, Palm,  etc...  10 and 10A go all the way to Arashi and Boca Catalina.  You can google Arubus and see the routes.

I'm just back from San Juan on Freedom of the Seas and used Uber several times while we were there.  It was cheap, easy, and quick.  I know other people have said that Uber is not really available in San Juan, but I had no problems and I don't even use it at Home.

When you arrive at the airport you have to use a Taxi.  They don't let Uber Pick up at the airport, but you can go back to the airport on Uber.  Our Taxi(Toyota Sienna) from the airport to our Hotel (Hyatt House - about a half mile from Pan American Pier) was $24 for four people with 4 big suitcases.  The vans/buses charge $10 per person to take you from the Pier to the Airport.

Our Uber Trips:

Uber XL (Kia Sorrento) from Hyatt House to La Garita, near El Morro, was $6

Uber (Honda HRV) from La Barrachina to Hyatt House was $6.18

Uber XL (Ford Explorer) from Hyatt House to Pan Am Pier, was $5.62

Uber XL(Kia Sedona) from Pan American Pier back to the airport was $16.40

Thanks for the review and pics.  It looks beautiful.  We will be on Curacao in two weeks.

How much was the taxi each way?  Do you know if they charge for the trip or per person?

What about people in the MDR that have the soda pkg? How does that work? Do you have to bring the cup or do they know you have it?

Any recommendations on which beach bar to taxi to and spend the day?  Is it just same stuff different color chairs or is one better than the other?  Are some more fancy and some more wild?

There are 9 of us going in mid June - 7 adults and 2 teens.  Just looking for a good laid back vibe - good food, drinks, tunes, sun and sand.  

The last time 4 of us were on St Martin (10 years ago) we rented a Jeep and drove all the way around the island to Maho Beach and back.  There was time left, so we stopped at Orient on our way back and just threw our towels down on the beach near the first parking lot we found.  We walked up and down the beach stopping at several beach bars along the way.  It was a great time.  I'm sure 10 years and a hurricane have changed things.  

Any suggestions or comparisons from one to the other are greatly appreciated!

On 5/20/2019 at 10:54 AM, erikaem86 said:

You can get on and off the ship as many times as you like.  We left 3 or 4 times and each time we came back we had a bottle of wine (allowing us to circumvent the 1-bottle maximum per passenger limit).

Has anyone else gotten away with this?  Sounds like it is worth a try!

On 2/12/2019 at 8:06 PM, mstrwizard said:

looking to rent a utv or golf cart to do my own tour of the island. I think this may be best for me so I can stop and see what I want to see without doing a tour. thanks

What islands are you visiting and how long will you be on each one?  We are going to all three ABC islands this summer and I want to do similar stuff.

My brother did a UTV tour on Aruba and had a blast going to the Natural Pool and other places.  He said a Jeep would go to all of the same places, but the UTVs can go closer to the cliffs and up gnarlier hills/trails.  Jeep rental is half the cost and carries more people - you also get the Jeep for the whole day to visit other beaches etc...  

Bonaire sounds like the island to rent a golf cart if you are going there.

• Search on a site that uses all airlines like kayak.  
• Set up alerts on a site like airfarewatchdog.
• Try several airports each time you search - we have gotten good deals out of Newark.  
• Search on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  They seem to have good pricing.
• Be ready to buy when it seems like a good deal.

I've been wondering the same thing.  We are going to the ABC Islands and St Martin in June.  I know everyone else in my family will think I am crazy.   I was hoping on one(or more) of the islands I would be able to get out early and go for a quick run around the port area and get back in time to shower and have breakfast with everyone.

Not sure what time you would be running, but I would think that running just about anywhere early in the morning is fairly safe.  Usually the type of people out early are going to work and not the criminal type.  Traffic could be another issue depending on how fast people drive.  Not sure if there are sidewalks etc...

The easy way to see plenty of turtles on Honeymoon Beach is to rent a stand up paddleboard from Dinghy's Beach Bar. We had a big group and rented two of them and took turns going out. Everyone saw several turtles just minding their own business. Great food and friendly people at Dinghy's and Heidi's - we tried both.

Columbia makes a bunch of shoes that are quick drying and have built in drains. I just got some for kayaking, fishing, and beach trips.

https://www.columbia.com/shoes-mens-water-boat/?pgsize=32

I am excited to read your review. We are taking this cruise next June and I can't wait. Doing the Outer Banks this year, but I am more excited about the cruise. Have a great time and take maximum advantage of that drink pkg!

Go to the Annaberg Sugar Plantation and then do the Leinster Bay Trail. The trail is mostly flat with a few ruins and views of Waterlemon Cay.

If you also want to snorkel you can snorkel around Waterlemon Cay. It is at the end of the Leinster Bay Trail and has some of the best walk in snorkeling on St John. We saw turtles, eagle rays, baracuda, tons of fish and beautiful coral.

Rent a car. You can stay at the beach as long as you like or check out other places as well. It is also fun driving on the left side of the road. I have been to St Thomas three times (1 cruise and 2 villa rentals) and driven every time. The maps they give with the rental cars are pretty easy to follow since there aren't that many roads. I also used our Garmin (I just updated the maps to make sure they included USVI).

Try Moe's Fresh Market in Red Hook. It is very clean and close to Lindquist. Probably the closest thing to a US grocery store.

We have rented from Budget and Discount Car Rental. They are both great. The great thing about having your own transportation is that you can check out a beach and if you don't like the vibe you can move on. We have a Garmin that we take down there and it works great, they will also rent those to you. Since St Thomas and St John are islands you really can't get lost even without the GPS.

Depending on your budget I would suggest renting a Jeep. There are rental companies that are close to or will meet you at the port. You can hit any beach in St Thomas or take the car barge ($50 rd trip) to St John. Just driving on the wrong side of the road up the steep hills is an adventure. The trip to St John almost feels like an excursion with all of the fish, scenery, and coral you can see just looking over the side.

If you have have a Jeep you can pretty much travel any road/trail on the map and visit some uncrowded spots.

This is Lindquist/Smith Bay Beach. It is the beach where the Direct TV commercials "Hanna and her Horse" were filmed. Google that.

We stayed on the point (Cabe's Point) to the right/East of the beach 2 years ago. We could cut through the woods and go to Lindquist. Lindquist is very calm. Almost like a swimming pool. It is a great place if you just want to relax on a beautiful beach. They say it is what Magen's Bay like was years ago. There are no restaurants or bars though, unless a local is selling stuff to the excursion passengers. Lots of iguanas and chickens for entertainment.

The snorkeling on Cabe's Point is incredible. There are abundant multi-colored sea fans, coral, and schools of tropical fish. If you are good swimmers I would suggest walking up the beach as far to the right as you can and then swimming out and snorkel towards the point. It is worth the effort. The point seems untouched and better than most of the "best snorkeling spots" on St Thomas or St John.

What cell phone provider do you have? AT&T has excellent coverage in St Thomas and it is part of the US, so your calls are free.

I used Budget in Havensight when we were on our cruise, but that was 10 years ago. We just walked off the ship and there it was. Very easy. Their website still shows the Havensight location, but I don't see it on google maps.

We are going for a week in July and are renting a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited from Discount Car Rental. I used them two years ago and really liked them, but they are close to the airport. They allow their vehicles to go to St John.

Hi~ I'm planning on renting a car and driving around the island and enjoy some beach and snorkeling.

We wanted to visit a couple beaches and wondered how crowed Magens Bay is in July.

Would it be better to skip this beach and go for the smaller beaches and save time?

Or is the view really worth dealing with the crowd?

Check one of the websites that show how many cruise ships/people will be on St Thomas that day:

July is off season and most days there are only one or two ships in port, so it shouldn't be that crowded. That is nothing compared to high season when there are 5 ships in port. Magens is a huge beach and can handle lots of people.

Magens is a wonderful beach to chill out, get some sun, have some drinks, and enjoy one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. It is almost like a gigantic swimming pool. If you want to see lots of fish and coral there are better beaches for that. The good thing is that if you have a car you can always just go to Coki or Saphire as well. Have fun!

Been to both. I vote Christmas Cove if you are looking for good snorkeling. I saw lots of beautiful coral, schools of fish, octopus, and the Pizza Pi boat is really cool. Can't go wrong.

Trunk Bay is a beautiful beach and great view, but overcrowding has effected the coral and I don't think snorkeling is that great.