Help with excursions

[dorsetcruising]

We are going on a 4 week Xmas and New Year cruise to the Caribbean. We are going to arrange our own excursions mostly and would really appreciate hearing peoples favourite trips to the following ports of call:

 

Tobago

Grenada

St Vincent

Antigua

St Kitts

St Maarten

St Thomas

St Juan

Port Canaveral

Key West

Cozumel

Costa Maya

Grand Cayman

Ochol Rios

Catalina Island

Tortola

Dominica

St Lucia

Barbados

 

Any tips or recommendations greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks :)

[OldJerseycruiser]

Eli's EcoTour (www.adventureantigua.com) is our all-time favorite excursion in Antigua. They pick you up on the dock right next to where the ship berths and always make sure that they know the time it leaves, getting you back in plenty of time.

 

We had the best Christmas Eve ever and would recommend it to everyone. :)

[Somerset Cruiser]

As regular cruiser in the area, 11th time coming up in February, I will try to help. However what is good for one person.......

 

Tobago; not sure here, best to get away from the port area though, see the interior and some beaches.

 

Grenada; the interior is well worth a visit, the beaches are great as well, Grand Anse is a short boat ride from the cruise port.

 

St Vincent; again you need to get away from the port area, a boat trip is a good idea or an island trip.

 

Antigua; Sea or sand is best, Nelsons dockyard worth a visit as well. Ive just looked at Eli's that looks good.

 

St Kitts; The train is great, as long as you don't mind heights. Sea and sand an option again.

 

St Maarten; best for shopping, you can also get a bus to the french side.

 

St Thomas; not to sure, it was a long time ago

 

St Juan; you can walk to the fort, check out Wikipedia,

 

Port Canaveral; not been

 

Key West, not been

 

Cozumel

Costa Maya, not been to either for few years, we used to like the town of cozumel, but the ships dock a long way off now. Beach or historical sites I guess.

 

Grand Cayman, swim with the stingrays.

 

Ochol Rios, Dunns river falls is one of the best things we have done, a hard climb but worth doing

 

Catalina Island; get of early while it is still quiet.

 

Tortola; you can get a tour bus at the end of the jetty for about $20, a scenic drive and 2-3 hours at the beach.

 

Dominica; the interior is fantastic, said to be the island Columbus would regognise

 

St Lucia; sea, sand, sights, too many to mention.

 

Barbados; you can hire a car and do your own thing, get a bus, hire a taxi. Beaches are great on the east?, but the west? is well worth a visit,

 

Sorry there is not too much detail, but it is a huge subject, I could bore you for hours!!

 

Not every knows but you need to be on your guard, muggings are not unheard of, but common sense is normally enough to keep yourself safe. Places where you need to be very careful are, Tobago, St Juan, Ochol Rios, Dominica and St Lucia.

 

If you want more detail on anything in particular just ask, as I said I can talk for hours about these beautiful islands.

 

Have a great cruise.

[dorsetcruising]

Thank you for all your information, most helpful, cant wait now.:)

[Johnthed0g]

Tobago- not much to see, pigeon point beach is great when no ships are in but ..there are!

Grenada- prettiest town, Grand Etang for nature, beach.

Antigua- Nelsons dockyard, view from Shirley heights, Great beaches, not much else.

Ocho Rios- Dunns river falls definitely, definitely watch it here!

Tortola- The trip to the baths (a beach) on Virgin Gorda is memorable.

Dominica- definitely a trip here nothing much to do on your own, I have not heard of any security problems here.

St. Lucia-not the friendliest place but a lovely island, very green, they say "Cosol Tours" are recommended.

Barbados- South,.. from my point of view, bars cheaper places to eat, busy ''town'' beaches. East,... wild & windswept, nothing to do as such but beautiful. West,.. traditionally the poshest area but getting built on so much it is being spoilt, access to beaches difficult, suggest a trip that involves snorkel/ swim with turtles but DO TRY to go on a small boat not a mega Cat with 100 people. We drive over there but then we know it, & we still get lost!! Bridgetown is quite a large city with lots of shops, about all.

[jeanlyon]

Definitely Cosol Tours - really good.

[ccrystal]

We used shoretrips and found these excellent from start to finish, and very personal service.

 

The recent ones we did was the dune buggies and zip lining.

 

Whilst on Antigua book yourself an helicopter ride to Montserrat, that is absolutely fantastic. We did that a couple of years ago, at the beginning of this year we did one on St Lucia and last week did one round Aruba.

 

We found the prices for the p and o excursions were on par with shoretrips, except for the trips to the beaches, where it was cheaper if you just got in a taxi and negotiated the price beforehand.

 

You could try the St Kitts Scenic Railway tour and enjoy a choir singing to you whilst taking in the sights and enjoying a few rum punches or pina coladas and at the end get a souvenir dvd of the ride.

 

The rhum runner is always a best seller if you like catamarans, snorkeling and rum!!!!

 

A trip to Soufriere and the walk in volcano in St Lucia is very interesting and the botanical gardens very lush.

 

Whilst on Jamaica definitely visit Dunns River Falls, a dvd is taken of you walking up the falls and it's great to watch afterwards.

 

St Maarten, take the water bus and get off at the Green House and get yourself a strawberry or lime daquiri they are to die for.

 

Some of the ports you pull into can look a little dire and you don't get a true feeling of the island and the people, so don't judge a place by what you see from your balcony or being on deck.

 

There are many excursions and I always say, next time I'm going to do this or that, whether it is just to have a wander, and island tour or something more adventurous.