Has anyone tried the new Zipline Safari?

We are interested in doing the Zipline Safari in St. Kitts.

Has anyone tried it? What did you think of it?

Are there any private tour operators that could take us to the Zipline and then to a beach afterwards?

I believe that they will pick you up for the Zip Line Safari at Port Zante & return you there. You may have to arrange another ride to the beach. Here is their website: http://skysafaristkitts.com/index.html

The new Zipline Safari is becoming a very popular excursion. I am planning on trying it next week. :)

 

The Full Tour is 2.5 hours and starts at 9AM, 10AM and 12:30PM. The 9AM tour would given you a few hours to spend at South Frigate Bay; the closest beach to the port.

 

You can book your tour and beach transfer at http://www.stkittstourstore.com which is located at Port Zante.

Thank you island gyal for the information.

Are the start times you mentioned the time we would be picked up from the pier or is this the start time of the actual Zipline? (This way I would know how soon we would need to get off the ship--as I understand the Zipline Safari is approx a 20 min drive away).

After you tried the Zipline, please post your experience of it--I would be interested to know what you thought of it.

I went on the zip line tour of July 4th and must say that it is absolutely awesome. I have also zip lined in Kauai, Hawaii, Jamaica and Puerto Rico and I like the equipment used on the St Kitts zip line far better then the other three. Breaking at the end of each line is not an issue and the equipment seemed far superior to that which was used on the other zip lines that I have gone on. If someone has a severe fear of heights then this excursion is probably not for him/her. Other then that I would highly recommend it.

We went Ziplining last week and had a blast! I highly recommend it. I have never ziplined, and thoroughly enjoyed it!

Oh, good I'm so glad the OP asked this question. We booked this through Carnival just a couple of days ago and I'm thrilled to hear positive reviews.

I went on the zip line tour of July 4th and must say that it is absolutely awesome. I have also zip lined in Kauai, Hawaii, Jamaica and Puerto Rico and I like the equipment used on the St Kitts zip line far better then the other three. Breaking at the end of each line is not an issue and the equipment seemed far superior to that which was used on the other zip lines that I have gone on. If someone has a severe fear of heights then this excursion is probably not for him/her. Other then that I would highly recommend it.

Did you book this thru the cruiseline or using a private tour operator?

We're thinking of doing this excursion when we cruise in December.

We booked the Zipline Safari through St. Kitts Tour Store. I had emailed St. Kitts Tour Store as well as the Zipline Safari directly for information and rates. Both offered the same rates (and even reduced family rates), however the Tour Store could guarantee spaces with an advanced booking whereas the Zipline Safari said they could only book spaces one week prior.

We just returned from our cruise on the Carnival Victory and did the Zipline Safari on July 11, 2009. None of us have ever ziplined before, so this was a new experience for all of us. We were picked up from the St. Kitts Tour Store by a driver directly from the Zipline Safari. The Zipline is located at the Wingfield Estate near Old Road Village. Along the way, the driver gave us a brief tour of sites we passed and explained the history of Old Road. When we arrived at the Zipline Safari we had to fill out some paper work and were weighed. We were shocked to discover that we had all somehow gained 10 pounds—was it from eating too much on the cruise or are their scales out of wack? We would like to believe it was the latter. We had two guides for just our family of 5—Crystal, the manager of the Zipline Safari (and a fellow Canadian) and Conner. Both offered excellent and professional service.

After a brief orientation and a practice run on the Monkey Trainer, we were transferred by jeep further up the bumpy hillside to get to the other lines.

The next line was the longest and highest run—“The Boss” and it was my personal favourite. My 10 year old wanted to go first and just before he disappeared around the treetops, he turned back and waved. I thought that flying 250 ft above the rainforest at speeds up to 80 km/h (50 mph) would be scary—but actually it wasn’t. I thought the zipline was pretty “cool” and a lot of fun, however DH and my three sons thought it would be more thrilling if the zipline could reach faster speeds!

The third line was the Mango Tango supposedly named because of the Mango tree at the end of the run. We were even offered a mango if we wanted one to eat.

The fourth run was Brimstone Blast. This was the run were they cut out the top of a tree so that zipliners could fly through. It was supposed to give you the sensation that you were going to hit the tree—but I didn’t notice that. You could also get a view of Brimstone Hill from here.

The final run was the River Rocker. Two ziplines side by side offering its riders the chance to race to the end.

Our Zipline Safari began at 10:00 am and was over by noon. After the Zipline, Crystal gave each of us a bottle of water and we were then given a tour of the sugar estate ruins.

There was someone at the last zipline taking pictures but even after waiting around for 15 minutes, the pictures were still not ready so we decided to head back towards the ship for lunch.

The Zipline Safari is very safe and even though the Zipline Safari wasn’t fast enough for DH and sons, we still had a lot of fun.

Thank you so much for posting this! What are the weight limits?

Thank you so much for posting this! What are the weight limits?

The minimum weight is 60 lbs.

The maximum weight is 275 lbs.

The age limit is 6 years.

I realize that there are warnings for those who have back issues. My friend and I traying to determine if we should just not try zip lining. She had a disc fused in January of this year. She is fine now (no back issues) and should be even better when we go on our cruise at the end of September. How much pressure and stree is put on the back? Should we just not even consider zip lining and option? The last thing we want to do is to create additional injury after she had her back corrected.

Thank you.

I agree with island gyal. I would not risk it either.

They have a series of compression springs on the zip line with gradaully increasing spring force. When you come to the end of the line, your "trolley" hits the springs, causing them to compress. This is what brings you to a stop. A cable and one way cable lock hold the springs in the compressed state after your trolley compresses them. After they remove your harness from the zip line, they "release" the cable lock and "reset" the springs for the next person.

Just before impact, they instruct you to lean back and put your feet up (ie. spread apart) to reduce the impact to your body when you hit the springs. The heavier you are, the harder you hit the compression springs.

Our youngest son (70 lbs.) barely hit the springs. I (160 lbs) hit the springs reasonably hard. I got quite a bit of jolt on the first zip line as, as I did not lean back far enough when I hit the springs. On the subsequent lines, I leaned back more and received very little of a jolt. No big deal for me, but I definitely would not book this excursion if I had any previous history of back or neck injuries. Not worth the risk in my opinion.

Thank you...I was hoping people would say don't worry...but, oh well. I do not want her to risk any injury. We will look for another excursion that is not as demanding on the back.

How much was the zipline through the Tour Store? We'll have around 10 people that want to do it, so would we get a "family discount"?

How much was the zipline through the Tour Store? We'll have around 10 people that want to do it, so would we get a "family discount"?

The zipline rates through the Tour Store where exactly the same as the rates through Ski Safari. The only difference was that the Tour Store could guarantee spaces with an advanced booking, whereas Sky Safari would not. Ski Safari would only accept bookings (if there are any spaces left) one week prior.

The family discount gives you a savings of 15%. It includes 2 adults and 2 children.

The total cost for all 5 ziplines with the family discount is $302.00. Each additional adult is $99.00 and the rate for each additional child is $75.00.

The cost includes the $10.00 transport fee to get to Sky Safari and back to the pier again.

Adults rates are for those between 15-65 years

Children rates are 14 years and under

Senior rates are 65+ (I believe this is the same rate as the children's)

If you do not wish to do all 5 lines, you can book a Half Tour, which includes 3 ziplines. The cost for this is $60.00 per adult and $45.00 per child.

Another option is the Half Tour (3 ziplines) with River Walk, for $75.00 per adult and $57.00 per child.

Hope this information helps.

cz

I went on the zip line tour of July 4th and must say that it is absolutely awesome. I have also zip lined in Kauai, Hawaii, Jamaica and Puerto Rico and I like the equipment used on the St Kitts zip line far better then the other three. Breaking at the end of each line is not an issue and the equipment seemed far superior to that which was used on the other zip lines that I have gone on. If someone has a severe fear of heights then this excursion is probably not for him/her. Other then that I would highly recommend it.

Just curious, they strongly recommend against this if you have had a neck or back injury in the past. I have had neck surgery about a year ago, but have no restrictions at all from my physician. How hard is ziplining on the neck? I really want to do this, but am curious. Thanks.

Does anyone know if it is better to book this adventure with the cruise ship or with the company directly? We will be on the Carnival Miracle this December and would like to book this tour for our family. The excursion offered with the ship offers 4 lines only, and includes transportation. The tour offered by the company does not include transportation (offered at an additional charge), but offers 5 lines to ride. Does anyone know which line is omitted from the excursion if booked with the cruise line?

I asked this same question directly to the vendor and the cruise line is not counting the first practice zip while the vendor site is. It is exactly the same.

The vendor did say that if you book thru them, someone not zipping, but wanting to watch could do so for $10.00. This is the cost of their transportation.

We just did this tour and we booked through "The Tour Store".

We were originally scheduled for the 8:00 but ended up on the 10:00 since our ship was late. We boarded a van and were taken to the site, checked in, weighed (very discreetly) and then were walked to the trainer. Then they took us up to the by jeep and away we went. There were 8 in our party with two guides.

We had a blast. Guides were fun but safety was first on their minds. They never deviated from their protocol and that was comforting.

Some have said this new ziplining experience is hard on your back and neck but I didn't think so at all. It's new because it has "automatic" brakes. It actually a giant spring that stops you. I will say the SOUND is what is somewhat unnerving. It's a big SCHWACK when you hit the spring but I didn't think it was jerky at all. I LOVED it!

They are supposed to be adding more lines and I'd love to go back!

I'd do this again in a heartbeat!

I asked this same question directly to the vendor and the cruise line is not counting the first practice zip while the vendor site is. It is exactly the same.

 

The vendor did say that if you book thru them, someone not zipping, but wanting to watch could do so for $10.00. This is the cost of their transportation.

Appreciate the info, it seems cheaper to book through the cruise line. All lines and transportation for 80.00, versus 99.00 before the additional 10.00 for transportation if booked through Sky Safari itself. Is this your impression also? Thanks for your response.

carnival just canceled this trip for us and i wonder why

id still like to do it but im nor sure cause i dont know why they did

Let me know if you find out why it was cancelled. My family and I are currently booked for Dec 27th. I hope I didn't work up the courage only for the excursion to be cancelled!

I received my cancellation through Sky Safari (I booked thru them) and they said that they were having "technical difficulties" with one of the lines and were closing the rest of November.

Better to be safe than sorry!

Let me start by saying that I've heard about the recent accident but I am not worried - I plan to do this in January. Just have a question for those who have tried this in St. Kitts, was the equipment uncomfortable? I noticed in the pics that there are straps going across the chest and as a female, thought this might be a bit... constricting, if not plain painful?