Which beach and how in Caribbean as a solo?

[fraj1]

Am doing twelve of the most well known Islands on my Caribbean cruise in February - any advice as to which beaches are best for solos (to get to and feel safe on)? I can do ships tours but they don't seem to spend very long there or do several in one day! Tried Roll Call but despite ship being full (Fred Olsen braemar 18th February) no one else seems to be on it! Advice appreciated! Thanks!

[Victorious8]

Can't help you but wanted to tag myself in this post to bump it and find the information later for myself :D

[vespertino]

Are you looking to relax on the beach or do some snorkeling tour activities?

 

I didn't know which islands you were going to so I looked up your ship's itinerary:

 

Bridgetown, Barbados

Scarborough, Tobago

St. George's, Grenada

Kingstown, St Vincent

Roseau, Dominica

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

Basseterre, St Kitts

Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos

Road Town, Tortola

St John's, Antigua

Castries, St. Lucia

Bridgetown, Barbados

 

Out of these I've only been to St. Maarten and took a bus to Marigot for some shopping and I didn't go to the beach. It seemed safe although the French side seemed to have better infrastructure when I visited (roads maintained, public spaces tidy, buildings well kept, etc).

 

If you're hoping to do some snorkeling along with beach lounging I would suggest going on a ship tour. Most of the snorkel tours I've been on will dock on a smaller beach and protected from big waves farther away from the touristy or high traffic areas so there's privacy, calm waters, and few strangers crossing your path. There is usually an option to relax on the beach instead of snorkel, and the may also have floating foam noodles for staying afloat if you want to lounge in the water. The exact details would be in the tour information.

 

If the goal is to relax on the beach for a while to soak in the sun, the tours visiting multiple beaches might not be a great fit. But if you don't use a tour, you're somewhat at the mercy of the islands infrastructure and their public transportation if the beaches aren't within close distance of the port.

 

Others may be able to chime in on their experiences on those islands and offer up more details.

Edited January 4, 2016 by vespertino

[fraj1]

Really helpful thanks! Am looking to do both snorkelling / swim with turtles and on a separate day or two just lounge and swim!

[Earl Colby Pottinger]

I have not been to all of these islands so take my comments with a grain of sand (yes, bad joke).

 

Bridgetown, Barbados: Very fine sand, watch out for your camera. Had a quiet beach time there but did not find it special.

 

Scarborough, Tobago: Have not been you lucky dog.

 

St. George's, Grenada: Have not been.

 

Kingstown, St Vincent: Have not been.

 

Roseau, Dominica: Did the tour instead to the jungle, sulfur spring, water falls and others places. Did not see the beaches but understand they have a green sand beach and black sand beach. Also a beach with a hot spring heating the sand. Plan to go back and stay at a small rental for 1-2 weeks in the future, my web search suggest the beaches are small but not crowded.

 

Philipsburg, St. Maarten: Loved Maho beach, the sand was lacking due to a recent storm. But the planes landing and taking off made up for that. Also there is a local bar (with wifi) that serves a fine breakfast if you start the day early. Also the water was great! Note: share a taxi if you can, it costs me $8 for the car in a group and $20 when I went by myself.

 

Basseterre, St Kitts: Did not like the island, Brimstone fort was interesting but it was a long trip to there. The beach area that you get to by water taxis (it is a very long walk otherwise - take the taxi) is your basic sit in the sun or run into the water stop. There is a good board walk for shopping, but nothing special that I know of.

 

Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos: This is a full commercial stop run by the cruise lines. I did like the beach, and if it has not changed in the last two years they have put out some stone structures to encourage fish to be in closer to shore. You will not see a lot of fish here but I consider it one of the best beaches if you have kids with you. There is wifi at the Jimmy Buffet restaurant and at the smaller pizza? store. I have enjoyed my time at this beach, because of the little extras like the small church and the open air barbecue but there is not much to see in the waters.

 

Road Town, Tortola: Have not been.

 

St John's, Antigua: I and one girl I was with were busy buying artwork, the other girl however did the catamaran tour to a number of beaches. She raved about how great the beaches were on this island. Since I did not go I can't say anything except you really should do some web search on this island, it should have just the type of beach you are looking for.

 

Castries, St. Lucia: Expensive island, but we loved the beach - great sand. Again another beach day where we sat and relaxed.

 

I also agree with vespertino, if you want to do any snorkeling arrange a tour that will take you out to where the reefs and fish are.

Edited January 4, 2016 by Earl Colby Pottinger

[fraj1]

Wow thank you so much for such an informative reply! I have lots of research and planning to do! any other comments very welcome - but I am now definitely going to book at least a ship tour for snorkelling and the turtles. Thanks again!

[vespertino]

I wanted to add one more thing: the snorkel/beach lounge excursions I've been on trended towards the "beginner" and "light-to-moderate" physical activity level. The tour operators for those shore excursions seem to make sure the little beach cove is well protected and sheltered, but perhaps at the expense of seeing some of the better reefs/sea life. Ones that are more snorkel or diving intense might not have as much of a "beach lounge" option but I haven't done much research into that as I'm a weak swimmer and stick to the easy ones :) But I really enjoy them and there's always seems to be enough coral reefs in the shallow areas to attract tropical fish and sea life without having to swim very far or deep.

[Newbcruiser1]

Just a couple tidbits of info! :)

 

St Maarten - check out Bernard's Tours (private company - Google it). I have been on the same tour 3 times - once with a friend, once with family, and once solo! Loved it each time! If you're not looking to veg out all day at one beach, it's a great option! Last time I went (solo), the group went to an Iguana farm to feed them bananas, to Maho beach for about 45ish minutes to watch the plane's landing overhead (not the type of beach you'd want to lie on all day with the planes and the steep incline and minimal sand, but it's great to have a drink at the bar (and use their restroom!) while watching the planes landing directly overhead. He then took us to Marigot - don't miss Sarafinas, it's an incredible French pastry shop! Amazing pastries, sandwiches, gelato, etc! Following that we went to Orient Beach for about 2 hours. There are numerous beach "clubs" along the beach where you can rent chairs and umbrellas (often free if you buy a drink) and a beautiful beach. My caveat would be if you want to skip the whole tour part and hit the beach, I would recommend Orient Bay! You can get there by taxi but I'm unsure how much it would cost.

 

St Kitts - look into a day pass at the Marriott! I have stayed there for several land vacations, and most recently, went there while on a cruise! You will read mixed messages... The beach is technically public so you can pull up a towel. We took a taxi to the resort, where you can purchase a day pass if you want access to all of their amenities (pools, towels, beach chairs, restrooms, etc). We had just planned on making do with no chairs on the beach... However, On our way through the resort to get there, the "chair guy" found us at the beach, and explained that cruisers need a day pass if we want chairs (I guess our big bags gave us away!) BUT that he would be willing to "hook us up". We were in! He set up some chairs for us where we wanted them, got us towels, etc, and we tipped him for his help! He told us to feel free to use the pools, and nobody would bother us. We then realized that day-passers are given different coloured towels from hotel guests. Fortunately he had given us the hotel guest towels! When the beach got too windy (the Marriott is on the Atlantic side and we were getting a free exfoliation from the sand, we relocated to the pool! What do you know - everyone with those other coloured towels were asked by security to show their day passes... And security strolled right past us! It was one of our favorite days of the trip! Not sure if that employee is still there but I read about others' similar experiences on here! :) I don't believe a day pass is expensive either - maybe about $40.

 

St Thomas - not sure if you're going there, but there's a shared shuttle bus that does runs back and forth between Magen's Bay - it's beautiful there and I have always felt safe! I'm sorry I can't remember the details in terms of cost and entry to the beach but it was extremely reasonable!

 

Good luck! :)

[Newbcruiser1]

Just to add - also been to Tortola solo. Didn't do the beach there, but booked a ship's excursion which took the ferry to Virgin Gorda (nearby island) to The Baths. It was a leisurely walk between caves of giant boulders and whatnot, put into a secluded and beautiful beach. Again, not a ton of time spent there but it was beautiful and I would do it again in a heartbeat! Loved that excursion!