Southern Caribbean ports - which ones are "easy"

[sprockie]

I posted this question within another thread, but thought I would throw it out on it's own.

We (family of 4 with two teenagers) are thinking of a southern caribbean next winter. We have been on eastern and western cruises a handful of times and would like to try something new. Our ideal port is an easy walk/cab ride to a great beach where we can snorkel, swim in calm waters and relax. We love Grand Turk and Half Moon Cay for this reason. While I realize they are man made ports, I am wondering if there are other southern ports with easy access to great beaches. Can anyone identify for me which ports fit this description moreso than others? Thanks to everyone in advance.

[Seafoam Green]

Bonaire has incredible snorkeling within walking distance of the ship. Curacao has a great downtown right at the port and it's a short ride to many beaches, for swimming, snorkeling and diving. I would recommend going to both.

 

Aruba is OK, but I prefer the B and C of the A-B-C islands. The snorkeling is boring. The beaches are nice. There are many different types of tours. There's a brewery with a nice little pub that's not exactly close to the port. Many American fast food and coffee franchises are near the port.

[Copper10-8]

Barbados and Grenada come to mind

[Krazy Kruizers]

In Bonaire and Curacao, take water shoes with you are some of the beaches and waters close to shore have a lot of stones.

[Floridiana]

In Aruba, we took the public bus to a very nice beach, sand.

[Keith1010]

We love Barbados.

Keith

[danacline]

If all you want to do is go to a beach, you're going to miss the charm of the southern islands. On many of them, the Atlantic side is choppier than the Caribbean side. There are so many other things to do - go to the Pitons in St. Lucia, take the sugar cane train in St. Kitts, go rainforest hiking in Dominica, tour the Mt. Gay distillery in Barbados. There's a beach near the port in Grenada that has underwater sculptures.

 

My dad (83 at the time) and I did this route on Celebrity from San Juan, and it was amazing. 8 ports in 11 days - pretty intensive but well worth it. If all you want are beaches, I would suggest sticking to the traditional east and west routes. If you want Adventure, southern is the way to go.

[OlsSalt]

BONAIRE: either take the waterfront walk or a cab to the small ferry that goes to Klein Bonaire island for easy access snorkeling. There are no facilities on Klein Bonaire so take everything with you. But it is well worth the trip. Head to the left when you leave the port entrance along the water and it is mile or so walk to the ferry dock.

 

ARUBA: DIY island tour on the local bus. Head into town on the main street to find the local bus station. Two loops - one goes to the local part of the island and some nice beaches and one loop does down to all the high rise hotels. Both are interesting but the local loop is by far the most interesting experience. Then you can also connect to another bus to Baby's Beach if it is running that day if you want a seaside experience away from the huge crowds at the other end of the island. They were also developing a bus stop on this local loop called Spanish Harbor which is reputed to be the best for snorkeling but it looked pretty inaccessible by bus when we were their a few years ago.