Excursions in San Juan and St Martin

Hi! I realize that there are boards dedicated to excursions but I’ve come to really appreciate the opinions and experience on this board. I see such good consistent advice here. So any insight would be so appreciated. This is our first cruise. We have elementary school son and are cruising to San Juan and St Martin. Anyone feel strongly about certain excursions? We are thinking of beach day in St Martin (but the ports of call boards don’t seem to really recommend any one beach. They reviews all seem kinda negative) and maybe a tour of San Juan ( I was thinking pirate one seemed fun. But saw negative review of it). Any thoughts? Thanks

We just returned from visiting those two ports and here's what we did:

We booked a private tour with Bernard's Tours in St. Martin (there were eight of us, so it was cost effective). For that we got to go exactly where we wanted, which included a stop by Orient beach, which basically cost us $20 to use the port-a-potty (2 margaritas and 2 bottles of water), feeding iguanas, sight seeing (so sad how much of the island's buildings were just gone), lunch at an amazing restaurant, and an hour at a private beach (with the softest sand and most gentle waves... we almost had the water to ourselves). It was a great day. They have regular tours that I suspect are less expensive than Royal's.

Our stop in San Juan was very short, so we just grabbed one of the free trolleys and took it up to the Fort and then made our way back to the ship through Old San Juan. The fort and castle and Old San Juan are great and well worth a stop, but you might want to see if there are other things specifically for younger kids.

Have a great cruise!

Maho Beach on St. Maarten is a great place to spend some time. If you've never heard of it, Google it. It's the beach at the end of the runway for the international airport on the island. Planes that are landing fly 100 ft. or less over your head. I think your son would get a thrill out of watching the planes. There are bars at both ends of the beach on the Sunset Beach Bar has a good menu.

I second a tour with Bernard on St. Martin and visiting the forts and Old San Juan. We have done these several times and always enjoy.

Son will like the forts in San Juan. They often sell kites up there to fly. My guess is that you are going to St Maarten (Dutch side) rather than St Martin (French side). Several good beach and boat excursions there. We like the Ultimate Beach and Snorkel trip - high speed boat, snorkeling, Mullet Beach, airplane watching and they allow kids 8 and over. Kids really like the ride when boat is doing 50 mph.

Agree with the recommendation for Bernard's tours in St. Maarten! We've done it twice! It's a great way to get a little taste of several different spots on the island.

I HIGHLY recommend the Old San Juan Food Tour from Flavors of San Juan. It was one of my favorite island experiences ever!

Totally agree about Bernard's tours in St. Martin. You can reserve it on line with a very small deposit, then when ported simply walk to their tent and pay remaining amount. We found them to be among one of the best tours and always highly recommend them to our friends. They have a selection that you can choose from.

http://www.bernardstours.com/

We haven't taken any tours in San Juan for several years now so I can't really recommend any. It is a very easy city to wander about and the free trolley is great to get you from one location to another.

In St. Maarten we really really loved the Golden Eagle catamaran excursion we booked through the ship. It was one of the best excursions we’ve ever done and one we still talk about years later. Life vests, snorkeling gear, floating noodles. The catamaran stops in a beautiful bay with a beautiful beach. You can swim up to the beach where they have a cooler with complimentary sodas. It was amazing. You don’t need to be a strong swimmer for this excursion. On the way back the catamaran stopped by Maho Beach just in time for a plane to fly right over head and land. It was perfection!!!! I would do it again in a heart beat.

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The best ATV tour in St. Maarten with splash n sun. I have been with them twice now. Just got back last week. Our favorite tour on any island. All day, get to stop at beaches and watch the planes land, get to go to the top of mountain with great views. Just can’t tell u what a great day.

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we adored the Golden Eagle catamaran excursion we did in St. Martin...

one of my favorite excursions of all time and one i would do again if i ever find myself in st. martin!!

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We enjoyed this:

http://sanjuanfoodtours.com/

Good info...

https://www.spoonfoodtours.com/

Really awesome and fun walking food and drink tour of Old San Juan

Agree with the recommendation for Bernard's tours in St. Maarten! We've done it twice! It's a great way to get a little taste of several different spots on the island.

 

I HIGHLY recommend the Old San Juan Food Tour from Flavors of San Juan. It was one of my favorite island experiences ever!

I second this.

Hand's down book Bernards in St. Marten. Did this the first time we were there, and it gives a good overview of the island.

Anybody have any RECENT feedback on St. Maarten/Bernards? I don't think Orient Beach is even open yet. What is the condition of Maho?

We have elementary school son

I'm questioning whether your young son would enjoy walking around San Juan tasting food... great adult activity. HoweverI do not feel this is a worthy 4 hour activity to drag around a kid into restaurants for the day in my humble opinion.

I believe in San Juan you and your son would love visitng one of the two major forts , El Morro or San Cristobal... or both.

Just outside the port is a free trolley bus or a smaller "little train" bus that take you through old town to the forts. Both forts are 15-20min walk from the Old San Juan pier if you are mobile and enjoy walking.

What ship are you on? And how much time do you have in port? If time is limited, and you want to get an overview of the city, and you want to see a few things (not just one thing), and likely most importantly you wish to enjoy your time with your son and family, consider the bicycle tour offered by RCL. I've done it on my own as an adult.... quite fun and I was with a couple of other families with kids. I've also done the Segway tour and that was a total blast!!! I don't know what the min age and/or height requirement (if any). You'll need to look that up if you consider this.... the Segway tour gets you into El Morro fort as well as a ll around Old Town

In St Marten, #1 excursion as voted by the public for many years on tripadvisor is Soualiga Boat Tours

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g147347-d2083816-Reviews-Soualiga_Destinations_Boat_Tours-Philipsburg_Sint_Maarten_St_Martin_St_Maarten.html

I've done this twice. Many others here on CC have mentioned this tour as well.

Very kid friendly, extremely well run, and awesome beach day mixed with beaching, snorkeling, turtles, and a great lunch

For a photo review of what happens on a day out with Soualiga, here's my personal experience

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=52091320&highlight=soualiga#post52091320

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=45026794&highlight=soualiga#post45026794

You can also click the "SEARCH" button at the top right of this page and type in "Soualiga" to see what others have to say here on CC

Hi! I realize that there are boards dedicated to excursions but I’ve come to really appreciate the opinions and experience on this board. I see such good consistent advice here. So any insight would be so appreciated. This is our first cruise. We have elementary school son and are cruising to San Juan and St Martin. Anyone feel strongly about certain excursions? We are thinking of beach day in St Martin (but the ports of call boards don’t seem to really recommend any one beach. They reviews all seem kinda negative) and maybe a tour of San Juan ( I was thinking pirate one seemed fun. But saw negative review of it). Any thoughts? Thanks

No need to pay for an excursion in San Juan. Just walk to Fort San Cristobal National Park. Lots of history and great information. You can then walk to Castillo Morro or take the tram or get a taxi. You can do them in either order. Both are neat for an elementary student. Make sure to be on deck as you sail past Castillo Morro it is beautiful from the sea. Most beaches are great in St Martin. I am not a fan of the Airport Beach it is to narrow and the surf is very rough.

We did the Spoon Food Tour in San Juan and loved it but it's not for young children.

In St. Maarten we really really loved the Golden Eagle catamaran excursion we booked through the ship. It was one of the best excursions we’ve ever done and one we still talk about years later. Life vests, snorkeling gear, floating noodles. The catamaran stops in a beautiful bay with a beautiful beach. You can swim up to the beach where they have a cooler with complimentary sodas. It was amazing. You don’t need to be a strong swimmer for this excursion. On the way back the catamaran stopped by Maho Beach just in time for a plane to fly right over head and land. It was perfection!!!! I would do it again in a heart beat.

 

 

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Did the Golden Eagle in April from a Princess cruise. Boat is owned by the same company that owns the Ultimate RHIB that we like. OK tour, but snorkeling was at a new location just across the bay from the ship that the tour companies created. Lots of fish and a midget sub and helicopter sunk there. Visibility no where near as good as locations on the north shore they used before the hurricane and water is quite deep. The each is Mullet Beach, just north of Maho. Both tours are good but we are going back to the power rafting tour in a few weeks. Hope we don't get the same snorkeling location.

Depending on how long you have in San Juan I would recommend along with others that you take the walk to El Morro! You will see many impressive sites along the way. I've been to OSJ so many times and it never gets old. I love it there. If you already have National Park memberships here in the states, they are good in Puerto Rico considering it's a territory, same for any other US Virgin Islands. Just writing this and seeing OSJ in my mind pulls at my heart! Enjoy!!!

Depending on how long you have in San Juan

If it's an Oasis cruise, you've got all of about 5 hours to see San Juan. Unless the itineraries have changed since last year...

we adored the Golden Eagle catamaran excursion we did in St. Martin...

one of my favorite excursions of all time and one i would do again if i ever find myself in st. martin!!

 

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Totally agree. We did the all day tour with Golden Eagle years ago when we spent the week in SMX. By far the best Cat trip we ever took. So if they offer an excursion off the ship, I am sure it will be just as wonderful!

I will say, I just looked at it and IMO $90 for a 4 hour trip is pretty pricey! But that is what you get when you have to book them off the ship. It is a great Catamaran though, we loved going on it but it was a long time ago that we did it for our all day trip