Eco-Hike on St. John's

[fishouttawater]

I cannot recommend this enough...I was on St. Thomas for 2 hours and couldn't get out of there fast enough! Eco-hike was so interesting, Thuderhawke was great -- I really learned A LOT about the island, the history, the foliage, etc. The stop at honeymoon beach (gorgeous beach!!!) was PERFECT and we just sooooo enjoyed the quieter ambiance of the island.

 

St. Thomas is a shopping NIGHTMARE -- it seemed every store was advertising 'tanzanite rings $10' -- sorry to offend if that's your idea of a good time, but I found st. thomas to be a rather souless place.

 

Also, the hike was a nice way to get in some exercise after all the food!!

 

It was wonderful :) enjoy!!

[samdham]

I'm so glad you enjoyed it! We're going in a few weeks. Could you please tell me how strenuous the hike was? Is it something that requires hiking type shoes, or did people wear sandals? How long was the walk?

 

I'm hoping I can wear my Teva sandals and not pack my clompy tennies.

[fishouttawater]

The first 5 minutes of the hike was quite strenuous I thought -- I was really huffing and puffing as it's straight up hill. After that, it really levels out with minimal exertion -- a few ups and downs but I found it pretty easy -- just don't be alarmed by those first few minutes :)

 

I think you could probably wear Tevas -- I wouldn't recommend flipflops -- we wore our hiking boots but everyone else was in tennis shoes.

 

Make sure you wear your swimsuit under your clothes -- I didn't see a place to change and make sure you bring towels with you from the ship. We brought a backpack along with water, towels, sunscreen, camera, and flip flops for after the beach (we didn't want to put our socks/shoes back on). There's no water on the hike so make sure you bring some with you. We went at 11:00 am so it was a hot hike, but it might be different if you have an 8 am departure time.

 

Hope this helps!

[samdham]

Thank you so much for your help. That info is great to know!

[bradlkm]

I'll jump in here a little late to agree with this post. The eco-hike was one of the best excursions I've taken. Lot's of neat information, gorgeous views, beautiful swimming spot. Thunderhawk (the guide) is definitely an odd type of guy, but after the first couple of minutes you really come to appreciate him!

[bchbum641]

Did you just go to the nature welcome center to do that trip or was it through the ship? We did a small hike real close to the nature center that was nice but didn't take it all the way to the beach. That sounds fun. We had water shoes that are like tennis shoes- they aren't quite a comfortable as regular tennis shoes but worked ok for us. They can get wet and sandy with no problem.

[bradlkm]

The trip we did (with Thunderhawk) was through the ship. We considered just taking the ferry over to St. John and walking the trail ourselves (we found detailed park maps on the official US National Parks website for St. John), but there were 6 ships in port at St. Thomas on the day we went, so we decided to avoid the crowds waiting for taxis and ferries and just use the ship's tour.

 

I'm not usually a huge fan of "guided tours", but this one was really great. We may even take the same tour again some day, which is really saying something!

[fishouttawater]

We did ours through the ship as well...we were transported over on a ferry specifically for the St. John's excursions booked through the ship.

 

I would echo the sentiment of taking that excursion again -- we usually go it alone and this was the only excursion we booked and it was well worth it.

[mringenoldus]

How would I be able to tell if Costa used Thunderhawk for their tour?

[kendon]

I did this excursion while my husband and sons went scuba diving in St. Thomas. I joined up with a small group from Princess and loved it!! The walk concluded with a tour of the grounds of the Caneel Bay Resort. It was half the price two years ago! Tevas are fine, that's what I wore. Perfect since you go for a swim at Honeymoon Beach and won't need to carry or ruin a pair of hiking boots. Bring a camera.

[samdham]

I'm back, and you were right, it was AWESOME! Thunderhawk knew his stuff. He was so funny--part crotchety, grumpy man, part comedian. He was great!

 

I did wear my Tevas, and I'm glad I did. It had rained a little bit before we were there, and there were a few muddy spots. The beach was beautiful, and I loved the sugar mill part. We had about 45 minutes at the beach, if I remember correctly. The tour met on the cruise ship pier at 12:50, and we left St. John at 4:15 pm, and were back at the cruise ship pier at 5:00.

 

I brought back Thunderhawk's brochure to put in my cruise scrapbook, and in case anyone wants a good description of the excursion, here it is:

 

"An enjoyable ferry ride across the Pillsbury Sound (note: it took about 45 minutes and left right from the cruise ship pier) brings you to St. John and The National Park. You will be met by award winning Thunderhawk Trail Guides and take a mile and a quarter hike along the Caneel Bay Trail built by slaves almost 300 years ago. You will reach the summit at Lind Point and enjoy a breathtaking view of St. Thomas and the British Virgin Islands. Here you will be given a presentation on te history of St. John. Descend to Honeymoon Beach, featrured on the Discovery Channel as one of the world's most beatutiful beaches. Swim, snorkel, or just lay on the fabulous coral sand. Continue on to a short botanical tour of the gardens of world famous Caneel Ba Resort where you will visit the ruins of an old sugar mill. Wear good shoes, bring water, sunblock, and wear a bathing suit."

[mringenoldus]

samdham

Did you book this tour on your own or with the cruiseline?

 

About how long was the tour - start to finish?

 

Did you taxi back from Caneel Bay resort? (We did this hike on our own a few years ago and we walked out and cabbed back)

 

What was the cost?

 

Thanks!

[samdham]

samdham

Did you book this tour on your own or with the cruiseline?

 

About how long was the tour - start to finish?

 

Did you taxi back from Caneel Bay resort? (We did this hike on our own a few years ago and we walked out and cabbed back)

 

What was the cost?

 

Thanks!

 

We booked with the cruiseline for $69. We were in port from 9-6:00, and we were to meet on the pier at 12:50 pm. Once we were all gathered, we boarded the boat to go over to St. John. The boat was parked right between the Dawn and the ship docked in front of us. We arrived back on the pier at 5:00. The tour guide has an arrangement with the restort, and we boarded an open air truck for the quick ride back to th ferry, which left at 4:15.

 

You could probably do the physical tour on your own for much less than what we paid. I think you have to pay a few dollars to get into the national park, but you could hike around on the well-marked trails on your own. But for me, the tour guide, Thunderhawk, added so much that we would have missed on our own.

 

Another bonus, if you're cheap like I am, they sold bottled water on the boat for $1, which is significantly cheaper than on the ship. They also had rum punch ($5) and beer ($4) for sale. But do bring water on the hike, there is none available there.

[bradlkm]

But do bring water on the hike, there is none available there.

 

Thunderhawk supplied water for us on our hike (he gave each of us a bottle of water). Did he not do the same for you? It's possible he had spent too much time in the sun that day. :rolleyes:

[fishouttawater]

We were not supplied with water -- we brought our own.

 

We were SOOOOO glad we left St. Thomas and did this tour, it was amazing!!

[Sailor Gal]

The Eco Hike sounds intersting. Is the hike portion all in full sun? Was the boat over and back one of the regular ferries or a different boat just for this group? HAL offers this at $79 pp. Sounds a little pricey.

[bradlkm]

Through a good bit of the hike, there is plenty of shade since you are surrounded by trees and other vegetation. Just like a typical walk through the woods, where the sun is peaking through in places all along the hike.

 

The ferry that we took over was one that was taking our group along with 2 other tours to St. John (all from our ship, which was the Disney Magic). It was a pretty big boat, and I would say there was ~80 people on board.

 

I think we paid $59 for it on our Disney cruise back in October. $79 is getting kind of pricey. I'm still very happy that we took the excursion, but it sounds like HAL may be trying to squeeze you for a few extra $$!

[samdham]

I paid $63. We were on a two-level Island Girl boat that had people who were on three different St. John tours from two ships.

 

It was a sunny day, and I don't think much of the hike was sunny. In fact, I think I took my sunglasses off during the hike.

[cathykb]

We took this tour with Thunderhawk on 2/19 from the Radiance of the Seas. It was the highlight of our trip. This was also the first excursion I have been on where the guide mentioned CruiseCritic!

 

Cathy & John

[mringenoldus]

We are on Costa in two weeks. I don't see any excursion that mentions Thunderhawk - I sure wish we could book this privately!

[HappyCampers3]

The description of the tour on RCI indicates time to shop or get a drink after the hike, in Cruz Bay, before going back to St. Thomas. Is this correct? Did any of you have the chance to go through the shops in Cruz Bay, or did you board the ferry, immediately after the hike? The shops at Mongoose Junction are great...much better shopping than in St. Thomas (although shopping for booze is better in St. Thomas).

[GomiBoy]

I took this last week on a Princes Cruise. It cost $69/each. The ferry picked us up at the pier at 8:30 and took about 45 minutes to reach St John. This was a charter ferry for cruise excursions only. Water, beer, and snacks are available to buy onboard. We were not given any on the hike. We immediately met the guide and hit the trail--there was no time to shop. The hike is about 1 1/4 miles and I didn't find it terribly strenuous. The ground is rocky and uneven and you do have to go up and down some reasonably steep inclines. The hike is mostly shady but it was hot and we were mostly sheltered from the breeze. Thunder Hawk stopped several times to talk for a couple of minutes about plants, animals, and island history. We stopped at Honeymoon beach which plenty of shade if you want to keep out of the sun. Thunder Hawk had a few sets of swim goggles and took a few of us out a reef to show us coral bleaching and point out some fish and corals. We hiked out through a resort that had a beautiful site with an abandoned sugar plantation. We took a taxi back to the ferry and were back at the pier around 1:30, though some said we were running late. Thunder Hawk is a bit of an odd character. He started off a bit grumpy and his narration was a dry monotone. He warmed up after a while and people were more comfortable asking questions. He's very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the island's history and I recommend the tour. It's a nice change from the typical beach-and-rum-punch tours.

[HappyCampers3]

so, no shopping time in Cruz Bay, after the hike?

[Wonders10]

I took this last week on a Princes Cruise. It cost $69/each. The ferry picked us up at the pier at 8:30 and took about 45 minutes to reach St John. This was a charter ferry for cruise excursions only. Water, beer, and snacks are available to buy onboard. We were not given any on the hike. We immediately met the guide and hit the trail--there was no time to shop. The hike is about 1 1/4 miles and I didn't find it terribly strenuous. The ground is rocky and uneven and you do have to go up and down some reasonably steep inclines. The hike is mostly shady but it was hot and we were mostly sheltered from the breeze. Thunder Hawk stopped several times to talk for a couple of minutes about plants, animals, and island history. We stopped at Honeymoon beach which plenty of shade if you want to keep out of the sun. Thunder Hawk had a few sets of swim goggles and took a few of us out a reef to show us coral bleaching and point out some fish and corals. We hiked out through a resort that had a beautiful site with an abandoned sugar plantation. We took a taxi back to the ferry and were back at the pier around 1:30, though some said we were running late. Thunder Hawk is a bit of an odd character. He started off a bit grumpy and his narration was a dry monotone. He warmed up after a while and people were more comfortable asking questions. He's very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the island's history and I recommend the tour. It's a nice change from the typical beach-and-rum-punch tours.

 

Thanks for the review! I'm doing this excursion on my cruise in April. Honestly I'm a little concerned about the "steep inclines". I don't hike ever.

 

Does anyone have any pictures they could post that show what it looks like?

[lili0606]

I just got back from doing this tour with Royal Caribbean. I won't repeat a lot of what people already said but I do recommend this tour. It's a nie change and you'll learn a lot. Don't worry too much about steep inclines. It's rocky so do wear sneakers or hard soled shoes. There are a couple of hills but nothing too hard at all. Do the snorkeling if you can- ThunderHawk goes out with you and explains what type of fish and coral you are looking at- Really nice fish!

I do have a pic of of Cruz Bay and a pic of a bird in the woods..that's about it (no pics of the terrain) but it wouldn't let me upload. If you want to see them I can email them to you. You can email me at lpalazzo95@sbcglobal.net.