Dockyard to Crystal Cave for a group of 8

[Kspray818]

I'm trying to figure out the best way to get from Dockyard to Crystal Cave for our group of 8. Our group includes 4 seniors age 55-70 and 2 young kids ages 3 and 1. I know I can take the ferry from Dockyard to Hamilton (25min) and then take the bus (40 min) for a total of ~1 hour travel time. But since we have 2 young kids, we'd really like to minimize our travel time. Is there another way for us to get there? Could I arrange for a private minibus or taxi ahead of time and how much and how long would the ride be usually? I also checked the calendar, there will be 2 cruises (including ours) docked during the days we're there on 9/23 and 9/24 so I feel like the ferry and buses will be at max capacity and we will likely have to wait a lot so I want to avoid all that with kids. Thanks in advance.

[Charles4515]

It would take about 45-50 minutes by taxi or minibus by road from the Dockyard. You could pre arrange a minibus. In one of the other recent threads I have listed three possible minibus companies. If you want to take taxis you could prearrange the two taxis you would need, but getting taxis should not be difficult at the Dockyard or Caves.

 

Noting the composition of your group with young toddlers and some seniors you should be aware that the caves are accessed by stairs that are about 88 steps down and the same back up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CruisinCrow]

Charles4515, do you know the approximate cost of taking a taxi from the Dockyards to Crystal Caves?  We plan to take the ferry to Hamilton and taxi from there but I'd like to know in case our ship arrives late and we miss the ferry.

 

Thanks!  You're a huge help on this forum.

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, CruisinCrow said:

Charles4515, do you know the approximate cost of taking a taxi from the Dockyards to Crystal Caves?  We plan to take the ferry to Hamilton and taxi from there but I'd like to know in case our ship arrives late and we miss the ferry.

 

Thanks!  You're a huge help on this forum.

 

The appoximate cost would be $63 for 1-4 passengers, $80 for 5-7 passengers.

[CruisinCrow]

3 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

 

The appoximate cost would be $63 for 1-4 passengers, $80 for 5-7 passengers.

 

Thanks!  Hopefully we'll be able to catch the 2:15 ferry to Hamilton.  I guess another option would be to take the 2:45 ferry to St George and taxi to the caves from there.

[jethrojam]

duplicate, without og quote 

 

Edited April 27, 2019 by jethrojam

[jethrojam]

On 4/25/2019 at 9:47 PM, Charles4515 said:

I

 

Noting the composition of your group with young toddlers and some seniors you should be aware that the caves are accessed by stairs that are about 88 steps down and the same back up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

•  

I had to carry my big bag of 2.5 year old flour up those cave steps.   They are steep, wet, and not fun.  I HIGHLY recommend one person takes the kids to the beach or the zoo instead.  FWIW my now 6 year old son, who has the memory of an elephant, does not remember 1 second of that cave....and odds are, neither will your 1 and 3 yo.  

[marci22]

I agree with Charles and jethrojam's warnings about the steps. With much older and much younger visitors, the steps can be challenging. As mentioned, they are steep, wet, and slippery. And there are a lot of them.