Pinel Island

Anyone have experience with the logistics of getting to and back from Pinel Island? Want to go but not sure if the effort is worth it and don't want to worry about getting back to the ship. Thanks.

I heard it's a great beach but have the same questions not sure if worth the effort to get there. Thanks for posting them.

It's really not that hard to get there, or even that far. It's about a 20 - 30 minute drive from port to Cul-de-Sac (just north of Orient Beach). To get to Pinel Island from Cul-de-Sac is a 5 - 10 minute ferry ride over to Pinel Island. It would be no problem to get a cab to take you to Cul-de-Sac but since Pinel Island is not a popular destination for cruise passengers, the issue would be getting a cab back to the ship since they normally aren't waiting for cruise passengers at Cul-de-Sac.

We spent the day in Pinel Island while on a cruise stop in May 2013, but booked through a private tour company. Unfortunately, the tour company we used no longer has the Pinel Island trips. It may be possible to get a cab and arrange for pick up at Cul-de-Sac at a certain time or if you have mobile phones, arrange to call for them to pick you up when you are ready to leave. There are also some private tour groups (don't know which ones off hand) that have stops at Pinel Island for a brief period of time.

We took a cab from the port to the ferry. It was pretty pricey and we were not impressed at all with Pinel Island. They have a bar but you can go to so many others without paying so much. The beach is not any better than any other beach.

We would not do it again. Hope this helps.