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st thomas ideas?


smith6
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We have been to St Thomas a few times and have done Meagans Bay, shopping tours and are looking for suggestions on something else to do other than snorkeling tours. Any ideas would be appreciated. :)

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If you are in port for a full day, I would take the ferry to St. John. Very easy to do, and if you haven't been to St. John, it's a must. Any beach will work. Trunk Bay is probably the most popular beach. It used to be a Conde Nast top 10 beach. Guessing it probably still is on the list.

 

We are taking the ferry to St. John in March. Thinking Cinnamon Bay this trip!

 

Have a wonderful cruise!:D

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If you like physical activity, there is a fairly new tour that goes out by kayak to Hassel Island, just off St thomas with hike to historic spots & snorkeling. (http://Www.viecotours.com). There are many beautiful beaches other than Magen's (Smith Bay, Sapphire, Secret harbor) most with beach chairs to rent, restaurant...any taxi driver at the port can take you & arrange to meet you at an agreed return time to take you back to the ship. Just agree on price before you head out. image.jpg.7438b725554e9ffcd1ddcd98cf795f81.jpg

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  • 2 years later...

Just returned from St Thomas. We had an enjoyable day touring the island at our own pace with a rental car and using google maps on our phone. Our US iphone worked without any additional plan since St Thomas is US island.

 

We rented a car from Budget for $91 including gas and full insurance. We normally just rely on insurance included with credit card, but after seeing all the scrapes/dents/damage on cars and having never driven on left side, we added full coverage. Budget staff Serena and Byron B were friendly and accommodating with vehicle request and directions. We had no issues, but there were close calls on narrow roads due to other drivers driving fast and not looking. Had to call Budget 800 number to make reservation as port location would not come up automatically at Budget website. Allowed us to rent a Jeep, but they had no jeeps. We actually liked having a car with a trunk for our things. To rent online, type in CT3 for location and Havensight Port will come up. Walked off ship and right into Budget. Their local website makes you reserve with credit card and has fee if you do not cancel by set date. We were worried about change in itinerary and no phone at sea to cancel if things changed. For us, St Thomas was a last minute change from Tortola.

 

Anyway, it was enjoyable seeing the island, going to various lookout points and stopping at two beaches. We even returned midday and parked next to our ship to run in for lunch. As far as beaches, Sapphire was quite a distance with traffic and did not look any different than Emerald Beach. Did not stay long because we wanted to see more and were worried about driving time back to ship. We wish we had just gone to Emerald first to have more time there. The airport is right next door and it was enjoyable watching planes come and go just off the beach. Emerald Beach was clean and water clear. My husband did some snorkeling. The hotel there rents chairs for $7 pp and then has bathrooms, a bar and a restaurant. And it was a quick drive back to ship when it was time to leave.

 

The island is still recovering, but we were able to get around fine. Altered route a couple times due to major pot holes. Numerous power lines were clipped at road edge and sad signs of the hurricane destruction were still evident.

 

Tip: Watch prices at nearby Pueblo supermarket. Amstel light 6 pack rang up higher than posted price. Older clerk at register didn’t want to check price and was quite rude. We asked to remove and get what was supposed to be cheaper cans. They did not scan at all, so she sent bagger to get price. I followed hoping to show him Amstel bottle price and he wouldn’t even look at it. We kept smiling and apologizing trying to lighten situation, but it really was an unpleasant, unwelcoming experience.

 

 

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Just returned from St Thomas. We had an enjoyable day touring the island at our own pace with a rental car and using google maps on our phone. Our US iphone worked without any additional plan since St Thomas is US island.

 

We rented a car from Budget for $91 including gas and full insurance. We normally just rely on insurance included with credit card, but after seeing all the scrapes/dents/damage on cars and having never driven on left side, we added full coverage. Budget staff Serena and Byron B were friendly and accommodating with vehicle request and directions. We had no issues, but there were close calls on narrow roads due to other drivers driving fast and not looking. Had to call Budget 800 number to make reservation as port location would not come up automatically at Budget website. Allowed us to rent a Jeep, but they had no jeeps. We actually liked having a car with a trunk for our things. To rent online, type in CT3 for location and Havensight Port will come up. Walked off ship and right into Budget. Their local website makes you reserve with credit card and has fee if you do not cancel by set date. We were worried about change in itinerary and no phone at sea to cancel if things changed. For us, St Thomas was a last minute change from Tortola.

 

Anyway, it was enjoyable seeing the island, going to various lookout points and stopping at two beaches. We even returned midday and parked next to our ship to run in for lunch. As far as beaches, Sapphire was quite a distance with traffic and did not look any different than Emerald Beach. Did not stay long because we wanted to see more and were worried about driving time back to ship. We wish we had just gone to Emerald first to have more time there. The airport is right next door and it was enjoyable watching planes come and go just off the beach. Emerald Beach was clean and water clear. My husband did some snorkeling. The hotel there rents chairs for $7 pp and then has bathrooms, a bar and a restaurant. And it was a quick drive back to ship when it was time to leave.

 

The island is still recovering, but we were able to get around fine. Altered route a couple times due to major pot holes. Numerous power lines were clipped at road edge and sad signs of the hurricane destruction were still evident.

 

Tip: Watch prices at nearby Pueblo supermarket. Amstel light 6 pack rang up higher than posted price. Older clerk at register didn’t want to check price and was quite rude. We asked to remove and get what was supposed to be cheaper cans. They did not scan at all, so she sent bagger to get price. I followed hoping to show him Amstel bottle price and he wouldn’t even look at it. We kept smiling and apologizing trying to lighten situation, but it really was an unpleasant, unwelcoming experience.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Pueblo Supermarket...I remember stopping there also. I was surprised to see just how expensive their food is on the island.

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