Papa Bear Tour or Taxi Tour

[naples09]

I'm looking for advice on either setting up a tour through Papa Bear or waiting until we arrive and having a taxi give us a tour of the island. What does everyone recommend as the best option for touring the island....seeing the beaches and some shopping time?

 

Thanks!

[dz63]

I'm looking for advice on either setting up a tour through Papa Bear or waiting until we arrive and having a taxi give us a tour of the island. What does everyone recommend as the best option for touring the island....seeing the beaches and some shopping time?

 

Thanks!

 

I know that some people prefer to have a booked tour whereas others are content to just pick up a driver from the pier and go with the flow of things. Personally, I think if you are expecting a good sightseeing tour of the island, your best bet is to stick with a reputable tour operator. You never know what kind of an experience you will get with a regular taxi driver. You may luck out and get a really good taxi driver that will offer you a "tour guide" experience or you may get a taxi driver that is simply that--just a taxi driver whose job is to drive you around. This summer we took a land vacation in St. Lucia. We had booked two excursions through our hotel. Our drivers for these excursions where simply taxi drivers. They did not talk much or explain sights along the way. They were merely taxi drivers who were hired to take us back and forth from our destination. We noticed a considerable difference when we booked a private tour with a reputable tour operator and received a real "tour guide" experience!

 

When we were in St. Thomas we booked a sightseeing tour with Papa Bear. When we came off the ship, he was right there by the cruise ship pier waiting for us. It was nice to know that we had something planned with a reputable tour operator when we stepped off the ship. We also knew what to expect--good service from a personable, knowledgeable and friendly guide--afterall he has a certain reputation to live up too--a regular taxi driver does not. Our tour with Papa Bear also included 2 hours at Sapphire Beach. After the tour Papa Bear dropped anyone off who wanted to go shopping in Charlotte Amalie. If you didn't want to shop there, he would take you right back to the ship. The Havensight Shopping Mall is located right next to the cruise ship dock and since we arrived back by 3:00, there was plenty of time for shopping before our 5:00 departure.

 

If you are interested to learn more about our tour with Papa Bear, check out my review with photos and/or my youtube video in the links below:

 

My review (posts #37-40):

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...1038334&page=2

 

My youtube video:

[Ms411]

I agree with the previous poster. Since rates are set, they all charge the same, but knowledge, professionalism, and service vary depending on the guide. Papa Bear is one of the best. Why take a chance on getting one of the worst and having to pay the same fee?

[naples09]

Thank you for the advice.

[alicam]

I have to agree as well...Papa Bear was our guide in 2008 and we could not have asked for a better person than him