Excursions for 3 6 and 8 YO

I will be bringing my 3 boys age 3 1/2, 6 and 8 on Carnival Sunshine to Aruba,Bonaire,and Grand Turk I'm looking for non ship sponsored excursions at each port that will allow my age children. Carnival excursions have age limits on things I feel my youngest could easily do. All 3 boys swim well listen and follow direction better than most teenagers and are physically stronger than most children their age. Last Cruise 2 years ago we went swimming with the stingrays in Grand Cayman and snorkeling and they did great my baby at the time stayed on the boat while they snorkeled but was perfectly fine with the stingrays. The boys will all enjoy a bit of history but I prefer it to be less than 1 hour at a time of "boring" with some adventure included. What companies have you used?

For Grand Turk I highly recommend not doing an excursion.

Right next to where you will dock is a beautiful beach and it is fun to make it a beach day. This is what many people do.

There are shops and also a nearby pool.

I highly recommend this.

Keith

Photos of the beach at Grand Turk.

Keith

For Grand Turk I highly recommend not doing an excursion.

 

Right next to where you will dock is a beautiful beach and it is fun to make it a beach day. This is what many people do.

 

There are shops and also a nearby pool.

 

I highly recommend this.

 

Keith

That looks like a Perfect solution for Grand turk. Is it walking distance,do we rent chairs?

That looks like a Perfect solution for Grand turk. Is it walking distance,do we rent chairs?

Yes, when you leave the ship it is a five minute or less walk to the beach. :)

Keith

We normally hire private guides for tours, but Aruba is very safe and there will be a ton of taxis waiting at the port. You can easily hire one to take you around the island when you get off the ship. Phillips animal gardens is a very special rescue organization, and you can get very close to the animals. And your tour can end at a beach.

Get yourself a guidebook...libraries have them, and you can see ALL there is to do in each place! Rarely are excursions needed in the Caribbean. And with 4 of you, excursions get pricey....you can do what you want, on your own timetable quite easily IF you know something about the places you'll visit!

Get yourself a guidebook...libraries have them, and you can see ALL there is to do in each place! Rarely are excursions needed in the Caribbean. And with 4 of you, excursions get pricey....you can do what you want, on your own timetable quite easily IF you know something about the places you'll visit!

A guide book is helpful and I have ordered them. I have traveled around the country and utilized them but I will say some of the things the guidebooks hi-light are incredibly underwhelming. I find the best advice I receive is direct where I can ask questions from people who have actually been there. Also I can't exactly snorkel or glass bottom boat ride without some person or company providing the boat or equipment and Guide books tend to be out of date and not the best at making useful recommendations on what company to use or avoid.

We just returned from Southern Caribbean cruise. On Aruba we did De Palm Island - our son is 8, and he loved the little water park. Plus they had nice beach and snorkeling. In Bonaire we took a tour through ship - it was called Mangroves, Flamingoes, and Beach Stop. It went to nature preserve and was amazing. I don’t know your company, but we were on funky-looking school bus.

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A guide book is helpful and I have ordered them. I have traveled around the country and utilized them but I will say some of the things the guidebooks hi-light are incredibly underwhelming. I find the best advice I receive is direct where I can ask questions from people who have actually been there. Also I can't exactly snorkel or glass bottom boat ride without some person or company providing the boat or equipment and Guide books tend to be out of date and not the best at making useful recommendations on what company to use or avoid.

Very valuable post. Also, I would add that the guidebooks from the library are almost always out of date and you really don't know if the info is accurate. I also find it much more fulfilling to have a local guide (on some not all) excursions to answer questions and give history and /or anecdotes about wherever we are. Not everyone on vacation is looking for the cheapest way...sometimes it "pays" (pun intended) to spend some money (within reason) to get the full experience. :)

Very valuable post. Also, I would add that the guidebooks from the library are almost always out of date and you really don't know if the info is accurate. I also find it much more fulfilling to have a local guide (on some not all) excursions to answer questions and give history and /or anecdotes about wherever we are. Not everyone on vacation is looking for the cheapest way...sometimes it "pays" (pun intended) to spend some money (within reason) to get the full experience. :)

Thank you. I don't want to pay a premium every stop but some tours are worth every penny. We used Aquarius tours in Grand Cayman and they were amazing and 1/2 the cost of the ships tour,that my children weren't even old enough to sign up for. I'm all about saving money but not to the extent that we miss really cool things.

We are looking at these ports for a cruise next fall and have 5 year old twins.

I'm strongly considering using a company in Grand Turk called Wet Money. They have tours and the capacity to do a private charter. It's $600 for the half day private charter, but it includes snorkeling at two places, a long tube ride, and stingrays at a private island. I can say that they respond quickly to questions and emails, which I always consider a plus.

For Aruba, I'm thinking we may hit Boca Catalina for snorkelling followed by Arashi Beach. We will take our own equipment and inflatable pool noodles to enjoy the day.

We are looking at these ports for a cruise next fall and have 5 year old twins.

 

I'm strongly considering using a company in Grand Turk called Wet Money. They have tours and the capacity to do a private charter. It's $600 for the half day private charter, but it includes snorkeling at two places, a long tube ride, and stingrays at a private island. I can say that they respond quickly to questions and emails, which I always consider a plus.

 

For Aruba, I'm thinking we may hit Boca Catalina for snorkelling followed by Arashi Beach. We will take our own equipment and inflatable pool noodles to enjoy the day.

Boca Catalina looks really nice, any idea how long it takes to get there on the bus?

Boca Catalina looks really nice, any idea how long it takes to get there on the bus?

16-20 minutes via public bus, which is $2.30 (assuming it hasn't increased) per person per direction.