What to do in St. John NB

I was checking out all the excursions in St. Johns. I think we are going to do our own touring. How far from the ship are the sea caves in St. Martins. That seems like a fun thing to do. I have a 9 year old son coming so I want him to have a great time. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Rent a car and drive to the sea caves. It is much cheaper than anything else and is a very easy drive!

I was checking out all the excursions in St. Johns. I think we are going to do our own touring. How far from the ship are the sea caves in St. Martins. That seems like a fun thing to do. I have a 9 year old son coming so I want him to have a great time. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

It is a 50 minute drive each way.

Rent a car and drive to the sea caves. It is much cheaper than anything else and is a very easy drive!

This is what we are doing in July.

I was wondering about transportation in St. Johns. How is the public transportation? Does it run frequently? Or are taxis a good way to get around. How about the prices of taxis and public transportation? I would rather not rent a car. Any info would be great....

I was wondering about transportation in St. Johns. How is the public transportation? Does it run frequently? Or are taxis a good way to get around. How about the prices of taxis and public transportation? I would rather not rent a car. Any info would be great....

As a local my recommendation is to NOT rent a car unless you are going to St. Martin's. All the attractions you'll want to see in Saint John are near the ship so you can do it on foot. Reversing Falls however is a 30-50 minute walk depending on your speed, or else a bus ride $2.50 or taxi approx. $7

Busses are frequent.

We are considering renting a car and driving to St. Martin. Which car rental companies are near the pier, or will easily pick us up? Thanks.

We are considering renting a car and driving to St. Martin. Which car rental companies are near the pier, or will easily pick us up? Thanks.

AVIS is almost across the street from the Marco Polo cruise terminal and "Pugsley C" dock. If you are docking at Long Wharf, AVIS and Enterprise are of equal walking distance. To see where you are docking: http://www.cruisesaintjohn.ca/visitsaintjohn/cruiseschedule.asp

AVIS (506) 634-7750

Enterprise (506) 693-8688

Freedom Tours - Our Guide Trinna and driver Sharon were wonderful. They got us to the sea caves before the excursions arrived to see no sea caves because they had the tides chart and did the tour in reverse. They are knowledgeable about their city and proud and showed us so much. They are wonderful.

AVIS is almost across the street from the Marco Polo cruise terminal and "Pugsley C" dock. If you are docking at Long Wharf, AVIS and Enterprise are of equal walking distance. To see where you are docking: http://www.cruisesaintjohn.ca/visitsaintjohn/cruiseschedule.asp

 

AVIS (506) 634-7750

Enterprise (506) 693-8688

Just from our experience, AVIS was not very friendly or competitive price wise. We walked a little further to Enterprise and they were very nice and priced wayyyyy less than AVIS. Just my opinion from our trip last fall.

I love the quaint village of Saint Martins. I am biased though I have lived there before.

I would recommend the 'caves' to any boy that age. Do undestand that you can fully enter them , but that they are not deep. If you are expecting deep cave exploring you would be quite disappointed otherwise I think it is going to be plenty of fun. HOWEVER; be very aware of the tides on the day of your visit. At high tide and for a period of time before and after high tide , you will be looking at the caves that are inaccessable because they are underwater. As you may have read the tides rise and fall as much as 50 feet in the Bay of Fundy. So find a tide schedule and plan your visit accordingly. I think this is another reason to rent a car and go at your own schedule if you are going to Saint Martins.

I would also recommend the 'Fundy Trail Parkway'. It is beautiful, and will really represent the rugged and scenic Bay of Fundy coastline. You can check out that here: http://www.fundytrailparkway.com/ It is about 10 minutes 'past' Saint Martins. It would be a very good way to fill in time waiting for the tides.

I'm deciding between St. Martin's and St. Andrew's for our day in New Brunswick. Our cruise ship is in port 8-5. I already have a car booked with Enterprise. The day we are in port the low tide is at 7:22 and the high tide is 1:33pm. I don't think we would want to go to St. Martin's unless we can experience walking the ocean floor to the caves. I calculate that between getting off the ship, picking up car and driving, that we wouldn't arrive in St. Martin's till around 10:30. Would we still be able experience the caves at this tide level? What time would the ocean floor not be walkable? Any preferences between St. Martin's and St. Andrews? Thank you.

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I'm deciding between St. Martin's and St. Andrew's for our day in New Brunswick. Our cruise ship is in port 8-5. I already have a car booked with Enterprise. The day we are in port the low tide is at 7:22 and the high tide is 1:33pm. I don't think we would want to go to St. Martin's unless we can experience walking the ocean floor to the caves. I calculate that between getting off the ship, picking up car and driving, that we wouldn't arrive in St. Martin's till around 10:30. Would we still be able experience the caves at this tide level? What time would the ocean floor not be walkable? Any preferences between St. Martin's and St. Andrews? Thank you.

I don't know for sure about being able to walk to caves 3 hours after low tide - I would say it would be too rushed and you don't want to be caught with the tide coming in. St. Andrew's is a historic seaside resort town with shops, restuarants and whale watching. Kingsbrae Garden is famous.

I'm deciding between St. Martin's and St. Andrew's for our day in New Brunswick. Our cruise ship is in port 8-5. I already have a car booked with Enterprise. The day we are in port the low tide is at 7:22 and the high tide is 1:33pm. I don't think we would want to go to St. Martin's unless we can experience walking the ocean floor to the caves. I calculate that between getting off the ship, picking up car and driving, that we wouldn't arrive in St. Martin's till around 10:30. Would we still be able experience the caves at this tide level? What time would the ocean floor not be walkable? Any preferences between St. Martin's and St. Andrews? Thank you.

I would not expect to walk into the caves much past 2 hours after low tide. Acey described Saint Andrews quite well. There are more shops in Saint Andrews, it is a larger village. If you are looking for scenic views of the rugged Coast line I would still recommend the Fundy Trail Parkway. If you are looking for more 'civilization' and shops Saint Andrews. I would google both and decide what your preference is. If you are a 'light house' person. There is a scenic little one near Saint Martins called ' Quacko Head Lighthouse' , it is not far from the village but it is off the beaten path ( you can drive right to it ). If you are a covered bridge person Saint Martins is one of the few places you can see two of them from the same point.

Best of luck , I am sure you will enjoy your time . If you did get to Saint Martins I think you would still she the fishing boats on the ocean floor when you arrived, and floating in deep water when you left.

Does anyone know if we will be able to get off the ship (scheduled to afrrive in St. John at 8 am) rent a car and get to St. Andrew's in time to catch a 10 am whalewatching tour?

Does any6ne know if there is a closer whalewatching tour?

I have looked online and only seem to find 10 am whalewatches - oh how it would be helpful if there were one at 11!

Does anyone know if we will be able to get off the ship (scheduled to afrrive in St. John at 8 am) rent a car and get to St. Andrew's in time to catch a 10 am whalewatching tour?

 

Does any6ne know if there is a closer whalewatching tour?

 

I have looked online and only seem to find 10 am whalewatches - oh how it would be helpful if there were one at 11!

St. Andrew's is about an 70-75 minutes from Saint John. There are more than just one whale tour operators in St. Andrews to choose from - see:

http://www.tourismnewbrunswick.ca/tabid/1112/Default.aspx?Search=whale

Considering a lot of their business would be from cruise ships, I can't imagine the operators ill-timing the excursions - so you should be alright. The Village of Black's Harbour I believe has whale watching tours also - they are 50 minutes from Saint John - call the village at 506-456-4870 and they be able to help you out.

Acey & obtuse1, thank you for your replies. It looks like we'll visit St. Andrews. Funny, but my next question was the one Kaylas mom just asked. I was doing research on whale watching and noticed the times of departures. That's cutting it close. I probably won't reserve in advance and just show up and whatever happens, happens. The zodiac is a faster excursion at 2 hrs compared with quoddys at 3-3 1/2 hrs. The tall ship leaves at 9, so that's out. The zodiac appeals to us more because it's quicker and gives us more time in St Andrews. Has anyone taken the zodiac? Is it very uncomfortable being in the open and probably getting wet?

Bonnieg - I may have good news. Island Marine emailed back and said they MIGHT be able to do a 10:30 tour with their new boat. Waiting for a final reply.

No, they don't seem to have figured out about the cruise ship business.

Kaylas mom, thank you! The only problem is the length of their tours. If you leave at 10:30 you won't get back till 1:30-2, that doesn't leave much time to walk around St. Andrews. I'm going to email the zodiac tours and see what their deal is. I'll keep you posted.

Bonnie

Thanks Bonnie. We will stick together and conquer this - it seems so silly. What They told me is that the tour is only two hours, so I think we will be okay. My in-laws will worry to death that we will miss the ship.

We are going to be in St. John's in Oct. and there are only one tour a day. Heather from Freedom Tours explained that the whale tour boats do not make adjustments to the schedule. In Oct. it is 1 PM and a 3 hour tour. THE KICKER is that if foggy or other circumstances they do not GUARANTEE that they will be back at the dock in 3 hours. It is about a 55 mile drive to St. Andrew's from the port and you have to go to the car rental place to turn in car. Heather said they do not do the whale watching tours because they can not GUARANTEE being back. Apparently they do Guarantee being back on their tours.

I decided that since the boat owners themselves said it was difficult and a bit short on time I would not risk it. Also they said bring a winter coat hat and gloves for Oct. :eek: I still have absolutely great memories of whale watching in Bay of Fundy -- some of the best and I have done whale watching in many places.

Kayla's mom, I just received a reply from Fundy Tide Runners and there is one thing that we didn't account for. St. John's is on Atlantic time which is one hour ahead. I remember reading somewhere that Princess does not adjust the time while in port. Therefore, we really are in port 9-6, not 8-5. The whale watching does not seem doable. They mentioned taking the 1pm tour, but that might be cutting it close and there are no refunds once you reserve. I'm going to check with princess about the time change or if anyone else on this boards knows, please confirm this.

Bonnie

Kayla's mom, I just received a reply from Fundy Tide Runners and there is one thing that we didn't account for. St. John's is on Atlantic time which is one hour ahead. I remember reading somewhere that Princess does not adjust the time while in port. Therefore, we really are in port 9-6, not 8-5. The whale watching does not seem doable. They mentioned taking the 1pm tour, but that might be cutting it close and there are no refunds once you reserve. I'm going to check with princess about the time change or if anyone else on this boards knows, please confirm this.

Bonnie

Check here to get your official arrival/departure times:

http://www.cruisesaintjohn.com/visitsaintjohn/cruise_printer.asp

Re: Whale Watching - how do you plan to get to where they begin the excursion? I am also interested in whale watching - don't know how to get there on my own. If renting a car, it would seem awfully close time wise to get there, do the watch, get back, return the car, get on board ship. Not relaxing at all.

Does your ship have a whale watching excursion you could take? The ship we are on does - it is more expensive but now I see why -- it includes the cost to transport passengers to where the excursion takes place.

Seems like there would be a better way???? Anyone figure it out? :confused:

AND... wondering if anyone has taken this trip and has actually seen whales???? :confused: