Have you used a Safari Bus?

[tropiclvrs]

We will be in St. Thomas this May with our 5 and 3 year olds, and I'm considering booking a private tour that will be in a safari bus. These don't have seat belts (which I'm not very comfortable with), but I was wondering what experiences others have had, and if you felt it was safe. I know all the laws of gravity, so no need to go down that path;) Just looking for opinions from others that have been on these with kids.

 

 

Thanks!

[sprockie]

We took one to Magan's bay in St. Thomas with our 8 and 3.5 year old. It was fine. The kids sit in the middle and they never travel too fast because of the winding roads. I felt perfectly fine about it.

[tropiclvrs]

Thanks for the info. Did you arrange a private tour ahead of time or did you just find one when you got off the ship?

 

I'm thinking of using Christiopher Henry from EEE Tours, or Godfreys.

[crusinmama06]

No...and I'll save you the laws of gravity speech ;)

 

But I will warn you, THIS picture haunts me...the link is from the Princess cruise board...it's a safari bus (or so they claimed on the Princess Board) and it was from an excursion in Tortola where a 24 year old died. You'll have to scan down to see the pic at the bottom.

http://www.vistandpoint.com/news/local/4473-us-tourist-dies-in-bus-accident

 

The accident just happened on Feb 24th. He was there with his family.

 

So to answer your question, no, I won't do safari buses with my kids. No excusion is worth it. I've been to St. Thomas a few times with them and we were able to do full sized buses and taxis with seat belts.

[tropiclvrs]

Thanks for the comments thus far! Anyone else have any experience with these open air type tours?

I am especially interetsed in anyone that has taken them on St. Thomas as part of the tour typically is going up the mountain for wonderful views of the surrounding islands. I'm wondering how narrow of a road and twisting it might be...

[sprockie]

Thanks for the info. Did you arrange a private tour ahead of time or did you just find one when you got off the ship?

 

I'm thinking of using Christiopher Henry from EEE Tours, or Godfreys.

We didn't use any tour, just got on the nearest safari bus going to Magan's Bay beach - there's lots of them - also lots on the return. With our kids being 3 and 8, we didn't want to commit to a tour, not knowing how long they would handle the beach. As it turned out, we left about 3pm.