meester_jamie

check out Herod www. herodstours com/island_sp_coastal_cruise .html

you can google herod island tour pitons st lucia trip advisor has lots of info

We had a GREAT time with Herod.. $65

This is an exclusive opportunity to tour via private boat with extra special features included. Complimentary water, beers, assorted sodas, rum punch, and other refreshments will be available during the course of the tour for your enjoyment. You will have multiple opportunities to swim, bask in our tropical sun, leisurely visit "Living History" locales, explore caves, and to snorkel in world renowned the clear blue pristine waters at the best beaches on the island, including the famous "Black Sand Beach" at Anse Chastanet, and the Jalousie Beach nestled between the Pitons. Options include touring the Waterfalls or our famous Volcano.

The only thing I would add is to take time at the end to jump off the cliff if you are so inclined!!!!

W H A T ! ??? lol do you have pictures? what cliff.. seriously? I guess I have to go back and do that!

Jamie

i find the uphill a cardiac work out,, and the down hill a cartilage pain ! OSJ is very hilly in comparison to most shopping malls.. but not as bad as a Mayan ruin climb, the nice thing about walking around,, you can stop in numerous stores and rest ,, I like to grab a beer while resting,, and there are plenty of stops! then I don't hardly even remember the walk back down! lol

I don't know Marigot to Maho, but Philipsburg to Maho is $20 ..

http://stmartin-guide.info/getting.around/taxis/

if you share, you can split the costs.

I found the Buses are $2 from Philipsburg to Maho..

http://stmartin-guide.info/getting.around/buses/

we take the bus !

I was astounded at the review distribution of Cave Tubing with Vitilano Reyes (also known as cavetubing bz).

 

It has over 1700 5-star reviews on Tripadvisor, and 118 4-star reviews.

 

There are just 35 reviews of 3 stars and below.

 

So I read the bad reviews,

- The ride is LONG and the van/bus is hot. The ride is also a tour of the country, yes, it is 60-90min but if you ask questions, and take an interest in what you are seeing,, the ride feels very short, we had a/c so the ride was comfortable Even mitsugirly, who reviewed them positively, indicated this. Most say the ride is 60-90 minutes each way, on a rough road. Ouch. we didn't feel the road was rough, but it is not a beautiful interstate hwy either..nothing uncomfortable.

- You have to walk 45 minutes on a rocky trail WITH YOUR TUBE to get to the tubing site. This is actually a hike along a beautiful trail, with wildlife sightings, and time to learn about the place and the people of the area, a short swim right off the bat and then a leisure walk looking at the scenery ,This sounds very unappealing, especially since I have a 3-year-old who likes to complain during long walks and demand I carry him when his little legs get tired. I can't say for sure about a 3yr old.. but I think they would be so distracted by what is around them.. they won't even know they walked that far! and you will have to keep them from getting into all the stuff to see ,, I think they will be very occupied..

- You have to lock your feet UNDER THE ARMPITS of the person in front of you. Yuck! Also, seems uncomfortable.

I really don't think this has been the case since Dec 2012 when they got the new tubes, with the head rests, and the ropes to clip each together into a raft

- The water is cold. My wife and I felt the water was "refreshing" .. not cold at all.. and what I would expect to swim in..

- The equipment is musty and smells bad (like the helmet) I am pretty sure all the companies use the same equipment. from the same storage area. we didn't feel the equipment was dirty, as they spray it when you return it..

- On busy port days it is disorganized and the advertised small groups become large groups they have laws determining how big a group can be, how many guides are with the number of guests, and the vans only hold so many people,, but if you don't get off the ship asap , and get to the van asap,, which isn't that difficult,, then you will be in the back of a line of a lot of people.. we went in first in line,, and of course were first out ... the parking lot went from empty to full ! my rough calculations said about 2000 people .. and It was pointed out to me there is another parking lot with buses ! lol... the place can handle a LOT of people..

- The caves, while peaceful, are not all that interesting. You're basically floating for an hour and not seeing that much.

there is the dry caves on the trail to the water,,, the river thru the caves is better than a water park, the natural formations are very scenic,, and the exploration is pretty cool... I would do it again,, but a 3rd time might be a bit boring,, unless you have a really great group of people to have fun with!

 

Some of the reviews also mentioned that other tour companies don't make you carry your tubes,

This is true! , the dot BZ crew will help you carry your tube,, but they don't advertize or charge extra for that service , other will provide as they charge more..and dot BZ doesn't use armpits anymore.

 

and that some also don't make you do that stupid foot-armpit lock thing.

dot BZ doesn't use armpits anymore

 

I have to say that, if the bad reviews are even half accurate, this is not appealing at all to me.

 

Also, does anyone know which operators don't make you carry your tube and/or hook the tubes to where you don't need to do that weird foot/armpit thing?

 

Thanks.

I found the dot BZ guys to be very accommodating for conversations, jokes, help at all points along the way and back,,, along with short tours of the city sights, and pointing out things in the country.. while on the bus.. I heard they know how to clear the customs check points much better than the other tour groups,, and they did clear the check points very fast.... almost no delay at all.. they provide a lunch, and rum punch.. at a rustic place along the way... My wife and I are camping people,, but we sleep in a trailer,,not a tent on the ground... we don't need a Hilton.. so we found the dot BZ tour to be very good! We had a great time!

ymmv

We used cave tubing dot bz and had a GREAT DAY ! :) That said .. we loved it because we were somewhat prepared!

First off.. as been mentioned,, it is a long drive to the caves... so keep in mind you want to have fun on the bus! :p ask questions, get guides to tell you jokes, I found they will adjust to what the people want,, so if you want a long trip.. sit back and be quiet! .. we really enjoyed our bus ride for a couple reasons...

We got off the ship on the "first" tender! .. I think this is very important... find a way to tender as soon as you can! not to sound rushed.. but getting ahead of the crowd makes this event very relaxing! no line ups for stuff..

We had a bus load... and we all left on the same tender for the same bus so we were the very first vehicle to leave the port for the caves... the bus held about 12, so we had 2 guides..

some folks got to other buses .. and had to wait for others coming on later tenders... waiting isn't bad.. but it is more fun getting to the caves first!

The Lunch stop with dot BZ has washrooms... so if you can't make it to the cave facilities,, they can make a pit stop at their "restaurant" ... where you will come back to for lunch and rum punch!! Don't be shy! At lunch..if you want seconds,, they will give you more Punch! .. lol,, or the meat that "tastes like chicken" lol ... salad...etc.

while on our bus.. there was a lot of conversation about natural Belize, and the Mayan culture,, your guides are Mayan... this conversation made the trip go very fast!

at the caves,, there is facilities to shower, change , pee, here is where you get your tube, helmet, and vest,,, change into your bathing suit.. and grab your waterproof camera.. I used a GoPro with a chest mount.... worked great!

Now... you have to walk to the start.. carry the tube.. so you will pass the finish.. where you have to cross the river,, take a minute to swim and see the area! Look for wildlife... we saw huge spiders, and many ants... and birds..

on the trail , you go thru a dry cave , and can see the formations of rock !

walking on the trail is pretty easy,, but we had a lady who really wasn't as able as she thought,, and she had wrong shoes on ... the guides carried her tube, and helped your navigate the path...

overweight ? out of shape? .. test yourself at home... do a gentle 2km walk.. on gravel with water shoes...

What is the correct shoe??? well.. I dunno. I wore sandals that have full harness and a thick sole, so they work well walking on the sharp stones, and pretty good swimming with them on...

water shoes are avail when you arrive,, but I find they have thin soles, and you can feel the sharp stones. ... and I don't like renting something I already have.. so if you have your own water shoes.. or sandals.. take them with you.

you can leave all your stuff in your bus... so you fancy shoes, and dry clothes, and dry towel... camera,, money,, what ever you don't want to get wet...

watch your step... you don't want to stub a toe.. or twist an ankle ! have fun.. stay safe!

when you get to the dock to get in the tube,,, know if you want to be first in, or last in,, or beside your spouse... I chose first in.. with my wife behind me.. a friend was beside me . They clicked our tubes together 2 wide, 6 or 8 deep... as a raft of people!

it isn't a big rush .. but it works so well when people sort of know up front if they are fussy..where they want to sit. I don't think there is a better spot in the line.. maybe the middle is.. cause it is easy to talk to others ... up front is hard to turn around to talk .... but I liked it up front.. Call shotgun and see if you get the front row! lol Pictures from up front show people faces..

The caves are cool ! you have a headlight to see in the darkness... if you get in first, and up front... half way thru ..take a look back and just see how many headlights are behind you. !

The guides will tell you about formations ,, and where to look,,, so listen and get them to yell if need be... or they might move to the side of the raft... instead of the front or the rear... so more people can hear their descriptive narrative

Give your guide your camera to take some pictures of the whole group...

take some underwater movies, and pictures..

When you are done at the caves... the quicker you get rid of the tubes and gear,, the quicker you get dressed,, the quicker you get to the rum punch!! lol... don't rush! .. but keep that in mind..

the facilities to wash, dry, change into street clothes.. and the scenery around them... take time to take pictures,, and enjoy.!

You can do some swimming at the finish line again.. look around at the scenery..

We found the "restaurant" at lunch to be a bit understaffed! .. not a complaint.. I just wanted Rum Punch faster than they could cater to all the people........ but they were very receptive to folks helping ... so I became a waiter for a few minutes... cleaned up some plates,, poured some more punch .... as the guides where getting full plates from the kitchen!

they keep a keen eye on the time, so they make sure they get you back to the ship on time,, and will fill in with short tours of the city if you ask... if they have time...

I found cave tubing dot BZ to be GREAT ! and I have some experience with things going wrong on tours... ie..others health issues.. injuries... and some guides will give you lip service about training , and safety, and when it comes down to a situation.. they freeze.. don't react professionally.... I haven't seen cave tubing dot BZ in action personally... but my short conversations with them give me extreme confidence in their ability! ... check out their website,, they are proud of their training for injuries.. they understand that an injury is a big problem as they are not close to help... they are prepared to take care of the problem,, and practise ! That makes it second nature to understand how to prevent a situation.. and how to take care of it if it does happen..

every bit of their tour,, from booking up front... where they gave us a group discount as we used one member of our roll call to book ... to the friendly guides, that knew how to deal with traffic, and check points, the vehicles are comfy... the food, did I tell you about the Rum Punch! lol... I took a "to go" cup when we left the restaurant for the ride back :eek: didn't get caught! :D

I use http://www.hulahogs.com for transportation

hamlettm

What port / ship / date are you sailing ?

You might find time for snorkeling off molokini... I really enjoy using http://www.pacificwhale.org/cruises/snorkel-cruises

also,, there is a lot of very good information on this site.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/newport.cfm?ID=472

Cheers!

1) How far from cruise port to rent a car?

2) Whats the nicest beach for snorkeling close by?

3) Whats the best beach for beauty and relaxing?

4) Where can we see a nice waterfall without driving for hours?

THANKS!

Kahului is very close to the airport car rentals.. and shuttles go there and not far from waterfalls along the road to Hana.. you can stop at the first one or keep going to Hana for the 7 pools, or the 2 BIG waterfalls

I would head to Hana.. and stop at Keanae, then Oheo Gulch Kipahulu

Lahaina has quite a few car rental places right there.. the beach by Sheraton Maui on Whalers beach is pretty good for snorkeling, beauty and relaxing.. about 6km from Lahaina,, or drive towards Kihei and pick any beach you pass by.. but if you make it to Kihei, then Kamaole Beach III is a good place.

Happy Trails!

I have used Vaseline, it works. but nothing seems to work as good as shaving.....

so.. I have just trimmed a quarter inch below my nose ,, so mask seals there.. and on the cheeks where the mask sits.

even with the trim, I still use Vaseline ... you can get very small pocket size containers that I find have enough for 4 days snorkel.

Take a nice towel to clean up .. paper towels and water aren't the best at wiping it off

also.. I have shaved it all.... LOL... which can present a problem... you get on the ship. they take a photo of you for your key card.. and you ding it on your way off the ship... and they really don't care what the picture to your face looks like.......... but getting back on! they look at your face, and your picture and FREAK OUT! if you are clean shaven! it was funny! for me as I had a entourage with me who's laughter made security feel like they were being punked!! lol... a quick wave off embarrassment with a face rub and show them the mask... and I was golden !

I try to tell them when I head out for an excursion .