One day itinerary ideas

[gsquaredb]

We are a US family of 5. Mom, Dad 3 kids 12,13 and 15 going to be in St Thomas for one day on Princess. We arrive at 7am so we should have a full day. We would like to get suggestions for an itinerary for the day. We want o do a little shopping(cheap souvenirs, t-shirts etc). We want to tour the old synagogue. We would like to snorkel too.

Whats the best way to schedule this? Should we rent a car, If we take cabs it will probably cost around $200. How about a combination of public transportation, walking? It looks like Coki beach might be the ticket.

Thanks

[Ms411]

Most of the taxi drivers offer a "2-hour" tour which starts at the dock, goes to town for 2 hours for shopping and sightseeing, then back on the taxi for a narrated ride to some scenic spots, a drop-off at a beach of your choice for about 2 hours, and then pick-up and return to your dock. The regular fee for the tour is $25 per person. You can easily walk to the synagogue while you're in town for 2 hours, as well as get your souvenir shopping done.

If you rent a car, you probably won't find parking at many of the places, because for the synagogue, there usually isn't any, and at the scenic lookouts, you'll be outnumbered by taxis. Plus you won't get any narration, and you won't have anybody to answer your questions!

Many people have recommended several very knowledgeable drivers, and you can read the many comments if you do a search for St Thomas tour in this forum.

[laser110]

As Ms411 already mentioned I would look into the possibility of a taxi driver doing a tour for you. You can do this a few ways.

Take a taxi from the ship to downtown, do your shopping, sightseeing ( it is very easy to walk up to the synagogue. Just walk up Raadetts Gade away from the water up the hill and the synagogue will be immediately infront of you on the left.)

Once in town there are plenty of taxi's who can take you on a tour and drop you at a beach and then arrange for a time to pick you up later.

The second option would be to find a taxi at the ship and arrange a similar experience from the start.

Third option is to search these boards for the tour operators who conduct tours on the island and contact prior to leaving. They will meet you at the dock, and return you there when your tour is finished.

A word about going to the beach directly after town: Wearing a bathing suit in town where the suit is showing is not only tacky, it's considered by many to be just rude and in poor taste. Men usually can get away with it easier since their suits look like shorts. Women sometimes, I have seen go without a coverup up top and just have the top of their suit, or bikini showing. So if you wear a bathing suit, make sure it is covered up well.

A suggestion: Don't go to Coki beach. The beach is very popular and can be very crowded on days when there are ships in, especially if there are many ships in at once. If you want to snorkle, I would suggest Secret Harbor. If snorkling is not an issue, then try Magen's Bay. Magen's will also be crowded if you stay near the concession area, but if you move to the left or right of it down the beach some, it will be pleasant. Magen's Bay also charges an admission, $4 per person. This is because it part of a National Park and the money is used to maintain the park. Once you're there you'll understand why. The views and water are spectacular!

Finally, remember when renting chairs or float mats at the beach they usually take a deposit, sometimes as much as the entire cost of the rental, essentially doubling it. You'll get the deposit back when you return the items, but not knowing this may unexpectantly cut into your cash flow for the afternoon and could ruin a great day at the beach.

Scott

[Stacey779]

I'd also recommend making a reservation with one of the tour operators recommended on this site. We took a tour with Papa Bear last year and it was great. He has lots of different packages so I'm sure you can find one that fits your needs. Check out his website: http://www.havefunwithus.com/

There are also a few other tour guides that come highly recommended here on CC, but I only have experience with Papa Bear so I can't personally comment on them. If you do a search on the boards here you can find great information.

[gsquaredb]

Great idea about taking a tour.
I am looking at the $25 package which does the 2 hours sightseeing and 2 hours at the beach. The tour can drop us off in town for shopping. We can either walk or take a taxi back to the ship. How does this sound? Also for snorkeling and beach are we better of at secret harbor or sapphire beach?

[The Islander]

2 hour tour + 2 hour beach + drop off in town where you can go to synagogue on your own and do some shopping - sounds like a good plan. Both Secret Harbor and Sapphire have good snorkeling.

--Islander