Blackbeard's Castle in St. Thomas

[eeyore1079]

Sorry if I posted this in the wrong section, but I want to know only about Royal Caribbean's excursion. Has anyone ever taken the Blackbeard's Castle tour in St. Thomas? How do you get to the castle? Walking....bus....safari bus????

 

Thanks

[Stormlover]

Try asking on the Ports of call Thread for St Thomas site. You may get more responces. ;)

[escentialssoycandles]

I am not sure how we got there as I a was alot younger (23 yrs ago), but it is still a memory that I carry with me and hope to share with my kids when I take them someday.

[dallen10]

We took the Blackbeard's Castle excursion. Hope this picture works.

[nanfromatlanta]

We have been to St. Thomas many times over the years, and have visited Blackbeard's Castle on more than one occasion. It site is high up on a hill which overlooks Main Street, the main shopping area in downtown Charlotte Amalie. We took either a ship tour or a cab directly to the site, and then walked down 100 steps, past the 1829 Hotel, to Main Street and the shopping area. This map should give you some perspective...

 

http://www.blackbeardscastle.com/bbc1829camap.htm

[Mydnite]

It is not a castle to start with, it is a singular stone tower. We were quite disappointed, if the description you have read also says there is a visit to an archaeological site (it used to say that not sure if it still does), that is also not true, they point out a plot over a wall where an archeology student dug a couple of pits a few years ago.

 

However, if you go knowing what it is then you are better positioned to see if you will enjoy it.

 

The tour starts out by taking you for a couple photo stops, with the obligatory shop. Then you are taken to the entrance to the castle (tower) where there is a shops, the tower and a café, a tour guide will sit and talk to you for a while and then you start out in a walk down the hill side, so there are a lot of steps. On the way down you will go into a restored colonial house, there is also a shop selling rum with some samples.

 

 

 

 

When you get to the rum shop you are on your own, as the tour finished there and you make your own way back to the ship. That is quiet easy, you just go to the main road and there are loads of taxis, you can even see the ship.

 

It was not too bad, but it rather mis-described. OH has an archeology degree so that was why we booked it, so we were rather disappointed, but it was not too bad, and we got to see some of the island.

 

 

The tower in the backgorund is the 'castle'

 

 

some of the steps on the tour

[

 

 

 

btw it is a folly, there is no evidence blackbeard actually visited the island, much less built anything.