Eastern Carib Excursion Suggestions

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Sodey

Guest
OK, I'm about 40 days out and now need to get serious about booking excursions. Active family with teenagers. Love Beach stuff but want to do a little shopping and a little sightseeing but would get bored on a 3 hour historical tour.

Nassau, St. Thomas, St. Maarten

Ideas so far:

Nassau: Blue Lagoon
St. Thomas: Coki Beach and tour with some open bus company
St. Maarten: Some beach and drive around island and shopping

Can't do anything real expensive because there are 6 of us.
 
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ironman417

Guest
Coki Beach is a great beach for snorkelling. The fish are there in swarms and not far from shore, about 20 to 30 feet. I saw people there with Milk Bone type doggie treats. They would hold them in their hand and as the bone softened up in the water, the fish would just go crazy for them. It is not a very big beach and busy. Magen Bay Beach is another choice, if you like long beach walks and a gentle slopping beach that is great for swimming. Both beaches can easy be gotten to from the ship's pier by open air busses.

The ship has a nice beach tour to Orient Beach in St. Maarten. It is a very beautiful beach where the water can get a bit rough. The tour bus goes through the countryside and stops at a gift shop area with nice views. The tour includes beach chairs, lunch (barbequed chicken and ribs) and a drink on the beach. You'll have all the shopping you want in Phillpsburgh and there is a nice beach right there also, if going to Orient Beach is too much.
 
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Sodey

Guest
Thanks, How much is the Orient beach tour from the ship?

Is there another bus type service that does the same thing as Godfreys on St. Thomas?
 
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Camelia

Guest
St. Maarten is so easy to get around, I wouldn't waste my money on an overpriced ship tour. We took a cab to Orient Beach, beautiful beach, then a cab to Marigot, the must-see french capital, and then a cab back to pier. This way we saw the whole island, and did on our time.
 
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Sodey

Guest
What would it cost in cab fare to go from the dock to Lapalama Marina in Simpson Bay for 11 people?
 
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jbest

Guest
Every driver in St. Thomas will give you the same tour Godfrey does. Godfrey stood us up, so we had to go with another guy, who gave us a wonderful tour. We enjoyed shopping, the island tour, which included a stop at Mountaintop View with an amazing view of the water and ships and the best frozen banana daiquiri I've ever had, and then Coki Beach. Two hours later he picked us back up from Coki to return us to the ship.

In St. Marten, we went to Orient Beach ... can't remember how much the taxi was. But, we did see topless women and two totally nude older men, so you'll have to decide about your teens. Everything Cool beach is near the shopping area, but I've heard lots of people say it's fun without the nudity.

We did the Snorkeling with the Stingrays at Blue Lagoon in Nassau on a family cruise. At the time our kids were 18 and 8, and both loved it!
 
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Camelia

Guest
Orient Beach may have some partial or full nudity, but the beach so busy and crowded, one might never notice. There are lots of people, and the waste majority is dressed. I wouldn't let that concern make me miss out on this beautiful beach. The color of the water was worth the two old naked men I unfortunatly saw. My son was so busy playing, he never saw anything.
 
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kld261

Guest
I just got back from the same places. We went to Blue Lagoon in Nassau and it was very nice. It takes about 45 min to get there and 45 min back. The food was expensive there, it was about $8.50 for a hot dog or cheeseburger. The food was just okay. The other meals were even more.

We went to St. John and went to Trunk Bay it was wonderful, but it did take alot of time taking the taxis and then the water taxi to get there.

In St. Maarten we did the Golden Eagle Catamaran thru the ship in the am, and then took a taxi to Orient Beach in the pm. Both were wonderful. Orient Beach is the best. I wish we would have had more time there. You could spend the whole day at Orient Beach and have a blast, there are plenty of restaurants and some shops, right there on the beach. The taxi was $6 per person.
 
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Sodey

Guest
I'm thinking of renting an 18 foot speed boat on St. Maarten and going tubing and cruising around the bay from a beach that would be used as home base for 11 of us.
have any of you done or heard about this?
 
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teeree

Guest
How much was a cab to Orient Beach?? Was the water rough? We have a couple of non-swimmers with us that would prefer a calmer beach. Are there some areas to shop near there? We stayed on the Dutch side last year & are anxious to see the other side. Sailing Carib Princess 9/18. Can't wait!!!!
 
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