Beach bums looking for the best beaches along our cruise.

[belugos]

Hello everyone. I just booked a cruise as a last minute impulse and will be leaving in 2 days to the Caribbean with RCI, from San Juan.

We are beach lovers, who sometimes enjoy historic places, etc... but primarily we are looking for beaches, snorkeling, lazy days. Our itinerary will be :

 

Last year I created a similar post and got some great feedback regarding the places not to miss, so here I am again.

So beach is the main issue here. Ideally we dont want to go too far (like crossing islands, taking ferries, etc) and find a nice beach to spend the day. Info on rental chairs is also appreciated.

[bouhunter]

Barbados: Take a 10 minute taxi to the Boatyard. Beautiful beach, good food and drink. For 12.00/pp the boatyard gives you beach chairs, a drink, and a ride back to the ship:)

Edited February 8, 2014 by bouhunter

[MommaBear55]

St Kitts- taxi to either Carambola or Shipwreck beaches. Carambola is an upscale site with a restaurant on property. $25 or $30 for two lounges and an umbrella. Lovely showers and bathrooms, protected cove tor swimming with Reef to the side for snorkeling. Shipwreck is at the other end of this same beach and is a funky space with vendors and a lean to type beach bar with great bbq.

 

St Martin's: Maho Beach for the low flying airplanes or Orient Beach for partial to full nudity.

 

St Lucia is tougher as the beaches are further away and the taxis expensive. We took a ship's tour for $35 a person. It was worth it for the sights, the beach and snorkeling and the rum punch.

 

St Thomas: Maegans Beach or Sapphire Beach are easy taxi rides away. I remember it being about $6 each with an entry fee at Maegans Bay. Coki Beach can be great snorkeling when the winds are right. St. John is a ferry ride away, often done as an excursion right from the cruise ship dock. Trunk Bay is beautiful, or you can hike from Cruz Bay St John to deserted beaches in the National Park.

 

Have a great cruise. This is a super itinerary.

[cb at sea]

A guidebook is what you need....that way, you can see what every beach is like, and decide for yourself where to go! A guidebook is a must when you're going somewhere you've never been! Libraries have them...no cost to you, or buy one! They aren't that expensive, and it will truly enhance your time ashore.

[belugos]

Great feedback so far!!!!!

 

We are so excited that I think we wont sleep for 2 nights until we arrive in San Juan for the cruise! It is way too cold here in Toronto for my liking.

[belugos]

Thanks everyone. Just came back from my cruise, and wanted to provide some feedback in case someone else comes across this post later on.

 

Barbados - BOATYARD rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Easily the best bargain I ever had in the region. From the pier, we took a cab at a cost of $5.00 per person, and paid $15.00 per person at the BoatYard, which includes the return trip to the pier, 1 free drink, beach chairs and umbrella, access to their facilities (shower, rope swing, etc) and wifi. Beer was $3.00 at the bar, and several other drinks were 2 for 1 during a never ending happy hour. We LOVED it.

 

St Thomas - we went to Megan's Bay which was fantastic. Very calm waters, some bars and restaurants nearby for a clean washroom.

 

St Lucia - for the 2nd time we went to Reduit beach and liked it. If you go there, dont pay full price for beach chairs and umbrella (20.00).. ask for Doni or Nabu at the beach and they will give you a better deal.

 

St Martin - LOVED the beach right when you take the water taxi from the cruise pier. The water taxi was $7.00 per person for all day access (unlimited), and the beach is VERY nice and clean. Beer was available at 99 cents at some bars, and a guy on the beach (Sherman) would bring a bucket of 6 for 10 bucks. 4 beach chairs plus 2 umbrellas were 20.00 in total. A bargain, in my books. Tons of restaurants across the street.

 

St Kitts - wont comment much as we did not like it at all. We went to Cockleshell Bay and wont be back.

Edited February 18, 2014 by belugos

[Underwatr]

For next time, in St. Kitts I liked Shipwreck beach.