what to do in St. Kitts and Antigua with a 3yo?

[dorito6778]

We're on the EOS next month for 11 days. Stops are Labadee, San Juan, St Martaan, St Kitts and Antigua.

 

We dont mind doing beach days non-stop but is that ALL there is?

 

Labadee is obviously a beach day.

San Juan is not, we dont dock until 2, so we'll just get off the boat for dinner in town.

Saint Martaan we'll prob just water taxi it over to the town and plant ourselves on some $10 beach chairs on the main drag, like we did last time.

 

But I'm lost on the other 2. We wont book excursions because being trapped on a bus with 50 other people and my 3yo is no good for anyone. Are there butterfly farms (like st thomas) or anything in either of these ports?

 

If we're calling it a beach day for both ports, which beaches/day passes do you recommend??????

[cb at sea]

Have you checked out a guidebook on those ports? It will give you an idea of all the things that each place offers. You may find things of interest that a cab ride will access! You don't have to make it an "either/or" thing....beach or excursion....lots of things are so easy to do on your own timetable, without a formal excursion. BUT...you have to do the research!!! Get a guidebook....libraries have them!!!

[dorito6778]

you have to do the research!!! Get a guidebook....libraries have them!!!

 

i am doing the research, by asking here! guidebooks are great, but they dont speak from firsthand experience like cruise critic members do.

[14ersco]

Our DS is older than 3, but last summer when we did these ports there was a German family with a DS about 3 who was on our ship and was doing the same things as us. It actually became quite humorous after awhile that even though our families were independently doing these activities we kept seeing each other at the rental car agencies, beaches, and other attractions.

 

On St. Kitts we hustled past the monkey people and walked a couple blocks south of the port and rented a car from Avis. From there we drove north to Romney Gardens (for Batik handcrafts) and Brimstone Hill Fortress. For the fortress you actually drive up the hill and into the fort, parking in the parade grounds. From there we circled the island around to the south to South Friar's Beach to go to the Shipwreck bar for lunch and beach time. For more beach time we could have retraced our route past the port to the beach. If you are not comfortable driving on the left with deep drainage ditches there are many private operators mentioned on the St. Kitts CC ports of call.

 

For Antigua you need to push through a gauntlet of aggressive taxi drivers and tour operators. If you walk straight ahead from the port 2 blocks, then go right on Market St for about 1/4 mile you will come to the local bus station on the right. The bus system is licensed independent mini-van drivers who follow designated routes. We went to Valley Church Beach which is about 30 minutes south of the port and recommended on the CC Antigua ports of call (also got these directions off CC). The bus cost about $1.50 p/p each, we just gave our driver $5-6. The driver drops you off in front of the church and across the road is a dirt path leading to the ocean. Follow that to the ocean and around to the right to the beach bar for food/chairs. When you are ready to go back to the ship walk out to the road and stand at the corner, the bus will be by shortly (remember Antigua drives on the left side so stay on the side closest to the ocean). Taxi drivers can also take you there for about $20 each way.

 

For both Antigua and St. Kitts the only locals we had problems with were in the general area of the port. Everyone else we met was gracious and very helpful. Plus having been under British rule they speak English.

 

For St. Maarten we rented a car from Avis by walking about halfway into town along the road outside the port. We drove to Maho Bay to watch the jumbo jets land in the afternoon. The 2 forts of San Juan were neat to visit, check out the National Park site to see if either of them are interesting to your family.

[JenAndDan]

Our son was 17 months old when we went on the Serenade (southern caribbean) and we booked excursions in all five ports based on ideas, recommendations, etc. from this board so smart move! One of our stops was Antigua. Our son loves boats so we did Eli's Eco Tour. There was another family with a young son as well (perhaps 2?). They were all very fair (our son is somewhat fair but this other boy was extremely fair) so we let them use the little shade there was on the boat. We had brought hats and were lathered in sunscreen and I also had a muslin wrap in case we needed it for my son (we did not). You take a little bit of a tour of the island via boat and then go to Bird Island. You are at Bird Island for quite a bit and have the opportunity to hike to the top (very easy hike - we were traveling with my parents and left my son with my mom but we could have taken him). He had fun playing in the water and the little bit of sand. The water there was perfect for that age - very calm, warm and shallow - he had his lifevest on and just floated all around us. Then they serve lunch and a little more time for swimming before you get back on the boat to stop at snorkeling stops. The snorkeling (to me) was not that great but there was plenty of time for one person to go out and then switch if you wanted to keep an adult on the boat with the child. We asked our son if he wanted to go back in the water but by then he was ready for a nap! He slept right through the Hell's Gate stop too. It's not 100% ideal for little kids but it is perfectly safe and they will have some fun on the boat. However, if you can find a recommendation of a good beach (one that has facilities), that would be perfect. There was one recommended to me but then it turned into a RCCL excursion and heard that it gets pretty crowded.

[dorito6778]

based on a friend rec, we're going to hit Turner's Beach on Antigua. I guess there is a restaurant and facilities there, so that's ideal for us.

 

still at a loss for st kitts. st martaan we'll prob just end up at Great Bay and then wander down front st for a bit. i also saw there is a zoo on st martaan. has anyone been?

[JenAndDan]

based on a friend rec, we're going to hit Turner's Beach on Antigua. I guess there is a restaurant and facilities there, so that's ideal for us.

 

still at a loss for st kitts. st martaan we'll prob just end up at Great Bay and then wander down front st for a bit. i also saw there is a zoo on st martaan. has anyone been?

 

 

In St Martaan we reserved Joyce Prince for the day. She is really reasonable if you want to go to multiple locations (when you add up taxi fare) and she can provide a car seat. We did a short tour of some highlights/photo ops, went to the shopping area for a bit and then went to the beach (we chose Orient beach because I really like that beach). She is super sweet and do whatever you want to do.