Private Tour for 7 people??

[leighuf]

I've been to St. Thomas before on a cruise; we chartered a sailboat out to Buck Island for snorkeling. We are returning this upcoming summer with a family of four. Together we have 7 people. This time we would like to to charter a boat and snorkel, visit St. John, enjoy being out on the water etc. The problem I am having is finding a tour company that accommodates more than 6 individuals!

 

I love Tripadvisor, but am getting frustrated because every tour company I'm finding only allows up to 6 people! Arrrgh! I do NOT want to take a ship tour.

 

Any suggestions?

[O2B@Cagain]

There are Coast Guard rules that make it easier to get a "6 pack" license, which is why you see so many boats that take only 6. You can go as part of a bigger boat, but you will probably have to share.

[leighuf]

Any recommendations? Am having trouble finding any

[O2B@Cagain]

Daydreamer and Coconut are catamarans that take a large number of folks. New Horizons and Nightwind take more than six. If you start with one of these, they may be able to lead you to others.

 

Pirate's Penny and Stormy Petrel are powerboats that take a max of 12.

[leighuf]

I'll check them out!

[jmrfamily]

We just got back from our cruise and did a full day private excursion with Double Fun Charters http://doublefuncharters.com/index.html and had a great time.

 

There were 15 in our group of various ages and snorkeling skill level and everyone enjoyed the day. We scheduled taxi service through Alvin at Islander Taxi islandertaxiservices@yahoo.com. He picked us up at 8am at the dock and took us to meet Double Fun on the other side of the island (about a 30 minute ride). Captain Jamie was ready and waiting for us when we arrived. We boarded and were on our way. I requested that we not go where the rest of the cruise ship passengers would be going and that is exactly what we got - we made two stops and there were no other boats at either location. The trip includes a nice lunch, some good rum punch, beer and soft drinks. The crew is very friendly and helpful.

 

Alvin was waiting at our scheduled time when we returned and we headed back to the ship - they suggest you give 1.5 hours from the sail return time and your cruise ship's all-aboard time for the return taxi ride because traffic can be heavy in the afternoon.

 

There are not a lot of reviews of Double Fun on this site yet but there are a lot of great reviews on Trip Advisor.

[leighuf]

I'll check out double fun, too. Thanks for the rec!

[zozogo]

My friends and family came down to St thomas and we went out with Cap. Stan on Good Day Charters. We had 8 in our group and went to St John and then the British Virgin Islands ( soggy dollar, corona island, willy t's etc) it was amazing!!!

 

I would stay away from the charters that pack on the people as it gets crowded and a little too organized, if you know what I mean. Check out the reviews on Trip Advisor, thats how we decided to go with Cap Stan. if you dont have passports, I believe they offer Usvi only trips, also less expensive. If your budget allows I would go BVI, its utterly amazing.

 

Have fun and Good luck!!

[Jiffymom]

Sounds amazing. How many hours was this tour