St. Thomas Shore Excursion

[matt082600]

Has anyone not booked a shore excursion and just took a taxi to Magen's Bay Beach and/or the shopping district? Carnival seems to charge a hefty price for its beach excursion ($33 for adults; $25 for children) when it appears they are giving no more than a taxi/bus ride. Any thoughts?

[Barbados1999]

DH and i paid the hefty $33 charge through Carnival for our excursion to magen's bay. as we were sitting on the 'bus' (which is like a converted pick-up truck) stuffed with 20 people, two people walked up to the 'bus driver' and offered her $8.00 each to take them to the beach with the rest of us who paid $33 a head. she squeezed them onto the 'bus' and they got the exact same thing we got for a fraction of what we paid. ..... just a ride to and from the beach. btw, we spent more time in traffic to and from the beach than we got to spend actually at the beach. i believe we got to spend 90 minutes at the beach so we were able to keep the bus driver's 'schedule' in tact. (our time at the beach was shortened because of the traffic.)

 

you can take a taxi .... much cheaper. yes, the beach is a very nice, picturesque beach ... and the scenery is gorgeous. but, definitely not worth $66 for the two of us through the carnival excursion.

 

enjoy!

[CorbinCatFan]

Our first trip, we booked a Carnival excursion to Trunks Bay in St. Johns. It was well worth the price.

 

Our last trip, we took an independent excursion that included transportation in the morning to shop then an island tour which included Mountain Top (hope it is being rebuilt after the fire), followed by a beach excursion for a couple of hour to Megan's bay or Coral World. Go to port of calls to get more details.

 

Overall, we have been to St. Thomas three times and if I went again, I would see about either a water taxi to St. Johns or would go up to Paradise point for some Bushwhackers.:D

[matt082600]

Our first trip, we booked a Carnival excursion to Trunks Bay in St. Johns. It was well worth the price.

 

Our last trip, we took an independent excursion that included transportation in the morning to shop then an island tour which included Mountain Top (hope it is being rebuilt after the fire), followed by a beach excursion for a couple of hour to Megan's bay or Coral World. Go to port of calls to get more details.

 

Overall, we have been to St. Thomas three times and if I went again, I would see about either a water taxi to St. Johns or would go up to Paradise point for some Bushwhackers.:D

 

This will be our second visit to St. Thomas. This time we will be with our DSs (6 and 4 yrs. old) and are thinking a nice trip to the beach for a few hours would be perfect. Perhaps followed by a little shopping for my DW and M-I-L. Thanks for the tips!

 

DH and i paid the hefty $33 charge through Carnival for our excursion to magen's bay. as we were sitting on the 'bus' (which is like a converted pick-up truck) stuffed with 20 people, two people walked up to the 'bus driver' and offered her $8.00 each to take them to the beach with the rest of us who paid $33 a head. she squeezed them onto the 'bus' and they got the exact same thing we got for a fraction of what we paid. ..... just a ride to and from the beach. btw, we spent more time in traffic to and from the beach than we got to spend actually at the beach. i believe we got to spend 90 minutes at the beach so we were able to keep the bus driver's 'schedule' in tact. (our time at the beach was shortened because of the traffic.)

 

you can take a taxi .... much cheaper. yes, the beach is a very nice, picturesque beach ... and the scenery is gorgeous. but, definitely not worth $66 for the two of us through the carnival excursion.

 

enjoy!

 

That's what I was thinking! I am not one for trying to circumvent "the system" to save a few bucks, but I would be paying $148 for my entire clan to go on Carnival's "excursion" which again, seems a trifle hefty for what seems to be a taxi ride to the beach. Thanks!!!!

[Terre]

We've taken a short tour and gone to Megan's Bay for the day. Our driver picked us up at the agreed upon time. It was so long ago, though, I don't remember how much it cost. Another time we took the ferry over to St. John and went to a beach there.

 

If you like to snorkel, Rumbaba Charters in Red Hook is really great. We did this a few years ago and it was one of the best excursions we've done.

[dna1990]

I 'think' there is a small entrance fee to Megan, but still MUCH cheaper on your own than the cruiselines.

[138east]

St. Thomas is one island where folks feel comfortable doing it themselves - just look at the enormous numbers of safari taxis that cart folks off to the popular spots 15-25 people at a time. Here's a link for taxi fares: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1013893

 

If you are 2 people, the fare to Megan's should be $16 plus $4 admission. It sounds like the $33 excursion didn't even include a lounge chair ($5??), so that's really expensive. IMO the secret to a St. Thomas beach trip is to go out early and return at least 2 hours before sailing.

[LYNNF]

I agree with 138 east. We were in St. Thomas in April, the prices he quoted were right on. Much cheaper than cruise excursion. Beautiful place though, especially if you like very calm waters.

 

LynnF

[matt082600]

Is Magens Bay Beach the best beach to visit?