Which of these Southern Caribbean islands have the best/worst tours?

[Reijo]

We leave Friday (2/24) for a Southern Caribbean Cruise. We have never been to four of the islands. Can you tell me which of the following islands are good for touring or which would you not waste your time on. I've read that Dominica is very dangerous. Also some have mentioned that it's better just staying on the ship. Islands are:

Basseterre, St. KittsRoseau, DominicaSt. John'S, AntiguaPhilipsburg, St. Maarten

Also, if you've been on one of these 10 days cruises, any idea as to how many "formal nights" there are?

[Fouremco]

We leave Friday (2/24) for a Southern Caribbean Cruise. We have never been to four of the islands. Can you tell me which of the following islands are good for touring or which would you not waste your time on. I've read that Dominica is very dangerous. Also some have mentioned that it's better just staying on the ship. Islands are:

Basseterre, St. KittsRoseau, DominicaSt. John'S, AntiguaPhilipsburg, St. Maarten

Also, if you've been on one of these 10 days cruises, any idea as to how many "formal nights" there are?

We've enjoyed tours on all of these islands and wouldn't hesitate to do so again. While there is some political unrest in Dominica, the Canadian government's risk assessment for visitors is "Exercise normal security precautions" currently.

[cb at sea]

You will have 2 "formal" nights on a 10 day....but nowadays, they are only as formal as YOU want to be.

 

You should pick up a guidebook on your ports...none of them are any more "dangerous" than anywhere else....just use common sense! A guidebook will show you points of interest, and if you are worried about "going it alone", there are tour companies. You'll be fine.

[mjgep0316]

Loved our tour of St. Kitts with Grey's island excursions. We also used them from St. Kitts to go to Nevis and it was equally as enjoyable.

 

 

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[suzk2275a]

We have rented a car in St. Maarten several times. We've felt very safe on the island. The rental booths are at the pier. We have reserved the cars before the cruise. It's one of our favorite islands.

[polymedia]

I had great tours on all of those islands. Really, some of the best ever!

I especially loved Dominica and can't wait to go back.

Did Grey's Tours in St. Kitts and Chalkie Taxi in Antiqua and can't say enough about them.

[msakmom]

I have also toured at each of these islands. I think our tour of Dominica was probably our favorite of all. We never felt in danger or that it was unsafe. Dominica is not as touristy as other islands and we enjoy that type of island.

 

I have also stayed on St Marteen for an extended period of time and enjoyed that. We rented a car while there, and would not hesitate to do it again. Ultimately, you can't really go wrong on any of the islands.

 

Our last time at St Kitts, we took an ATV tour and had so much fun. It was great.

 

Any time we visit Antigua anymore, we just pick a beach and go. There are so many to choose from. Whatever you do, I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself.

[ravensbad]

We have never been to four of the islands. Can you tell me which of the following islands are good for touring or which would you not waste your time on ...

 

Basseterre, St. Kitts

Roseau, Dominica

St. John's, Antigua

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

 

 

We had a fantastic tour with Royston Tours on St. Kitts. In Antigua we have done both the RCL "See Antigua by Sea" catamaran tour and a land tour with Scenic Tours Antigua. Both tours were good, but we definitely preferred the catamaran tour. In St. Maarten we had a nice island tour with Bernard's Tours. We have not been to Dominica as our 10-day Serenade itinerary went to Martinique instead. Of all of those islands, St. Kitts was definitely our favorite tour. Romney Manor, Caribele Batik, the old rum distillery, and Brimstone Hill Fortress are some of the highlights in St. Kitts.

 

Also, if you've been on one of these 10 days cruises, any idea as to how many "formal nights" there are?

 

There will be 2 formal nights on a 10-day cruise.

[onthewater51]

We just got home from that itinerary. If you have not done a catamaran excursion before my wife & I had an incredibly fun day doing the St Kitts/Nevis catamaran tour. It's an 80' x 34' catamaran that takes a 90 sail from St. Kitts to St. Nevis. During sailing they have open bar, play Caribbean music & it seemed everyone had a blast. There's bathrooms on board & you can sit up from on the netting and get wet, or sit back under cover by the bar area.

 

They beach the catamaran on St. Nevis & serve you lunch of BBQ chicken, hot dogs & salad nestled under seagrape trees. You get about an hour to swim. It's a really pretty beach, clear water & no waves. Very isolated

 

I think we paid around $119 p/ person and you reach it from the pier. No long drive needed. The entire excursion was 4 or 4 1/2 hrs. Highly recommend it

 

 

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[onthewater51]

Also... in Dominica it's a short 5 min walk to the Botanical Garden (free). Once there & If you don't mind strenuous exercise hike Jacks Trail. No open toe shoes. Takes about 20 min to summit & you get a beautiful view of the harbor & the ships. The trail itself is almost prehistoric. because you're in a rain forest. We enjoyed it, and it costs nothing.

 

 

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[Fouremco]

We've enjoyed tours on all of these islands and wouldn't hesitate to do so again. While there is some political unrest in Dominica, the Canadian government's risk assessment for visitors is "Exercise normal security precautions" currently.

Adding to my earlier post and based on personal experience, a tour that I'd recommend for each destination:

 

Antigua:

Island Experience

Scenic Tours Antigua

http://scenictoursantigua.com/v2/

 

Dominica:

Dominica Jewel Tour

Nature Isle Explorers

http://nietours.com/index.html

 

Sint Maarten:

SXM Tour II

Bernard's Tours

http://www.bernardstours.com

 

St. Kitts

The Grand Tour of St. Kitts

Grey's Island Excursions

http://www.thenfordgreytours.com

[schmeed]

Check out Maho Beach in St. Maarten. It's the small beach at the beginning of the runway. The planes come in very low (I swear you can touch the landing gear in some cases) and then when they take off, it's fun to either stand there and face the unbelievable wind, or watch people go rolling down into the ocean.

 

If you're lucky, you'll get to see a widebody. No more 747s as KLM discontinued that service to the island last year.

[Reijo]

Thanks to everyone for your information. Appreciate it much!