Caribbean

[Tina.w12]

We (OH and me) are off to the Caribbean for a B2B for xmas and new year on the Dream.

I am trying to work out how many dollars to take with us. I have booked some trips with Thomson, some online i.e. Colsol tours St Lucia and plan on some days on the beach.

 

Is for instance $150 for a beach day in Tobago enough? too much? This should include taxi's both ways, sunloungers etc, drinks on the beach and a snack for lunch.

 

Also for the likes of St Kitt's where we have booked the Railway with Thomson which is a half day what would be a reasonable amount for the rest of the day? We are not ones for buying souveniers except the fridge magnets!!

 

I know it's all relative to the individual but it would help if anyone could give me an indication of what they have spend in the past.:confused::confused:

I am planning on taking Euro's for St Barth's, so it's just all the other islands

[geomagot]

ok so its relative:

 

beer on the beach between 2 - 5 dollars depending on island, cocktails same

 

sunbeds, going rate about $20 for 2 maybe $25 maybe $10 depending on island sometimes you will get an umbrella thrown in

 

some islands are v dear for taxis Grenada $20 each way to mourne rouge beach (grand anse is nearer and the water taxi will take you there for about $5 each and back) curacau also about $20 each way to sea aquarium beach dominica $10 taxi virtually anywhere

 

st martin water taxi to beach $7pp

 

local buses are cheap and easy to use, usually a couple of dollars pp each way (curacau $2pp ew to sea aquarium beach....visit to sea aquarium/swim with dolphins also much cheaper than the ship if you make your own way there ditto aruba de palm island)

 

as a rough guide (I usually allow myself).....about $40 for taxi both ways, $20 for sunbeds, $20 for beers.....$80/100 a day usually covers me

 

tours are easy to book in ports (prices vary according to how long/far) cheaper than on the ship....taxis and tour guides line up as soon as the ship docks, the tour buses/mini buses are usually better value (about $5pp for an island tour with about 12 others on an open top safari bus)

 

if you have any specific islands in mind I can let you know prices a little more specifically (if I can remember)

 

hope this helps

[kruzseeka]

Hi Tina - it's hard to quantify as you quite rightly say as each person will have their own idea of what a good day out represents and whether that involves eats/drinks etc.

 

In general we usually allow up to 20$ for beach furniture, perhaps 20$ for two of us to try the local cocktail, plus taxi/bus fare, often in the region of 10 -20$ each way for taxis, much less if you use local buses. I'd say that was a minimum round-about figure but that would be well inside your estimate of 150$ per day. It does depend on the island though and the proximity of the beaches also if you want to try the local fare and have lunch out or more drinks, you would have to add on more.

 

We didn't do a beach in Tobago so can't help with that one. At St Kitts we went to Cockleshell Beach - it's a bit basic but has some charm if you like that sort of thing. DH liked it - me not so much but on the way back the taxi driver called in at Carambola Resort to pick up another couple and we loooked round. It was a nice place with good beach furniture and what looked like a man-made beach. Don't know how much that costs to get in but it would be my choice in future and has the benefit of being closer to the port. A couple who worked in the beauty salon went there so they appeared to have sussed it out as their preferred beach.

 

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=carambola+resort+st+kitts&client=firefox-a&hs=Fb3&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=CCNMUovEDsa40QWhj4CoBQ&ved=0CJUBELAE&biw=1262&bih=582&dpr=1

[Jakanne1]

ok so its relative:

 

beer on the beach between 2 - 5 dollars depending on island, cocktails same

 

sunbeds, going rate about $20 for 2 maybe $25 maybe $10 depending on island sometimes you will get an umbrella thrown in

 

some islands are v dear for taxis Grenada $20 each way to mourne rouge beach (grand anse is nearer and the water taxi will take you there for about $5 each and back) curacau also about $20 each way to sea aquarium beach dominica $10 taxi virtually anywhere

 

st martin water taxi to beach $7pp

 

local buses are cheap and easy to use, usually a couple of dollars pp each way (curacau $2pp ew to sea aquarium beach....visit to sea aquarium/swim with dolphins also much cheaper than the ship if you make your own way there ditto aruba de palm island)

 

as a rough guide (I usually allow myself).....about $40 for taxi both ways, $20 for sunbeds, $20 for beers.....$80/100 a day usually covers me

 

tours are easy to book in ports (prices vary according to how long/far) cheaper than on the ship....taxis and tour guides line up as soon as the ship docks, the tour buses/mini buses are usually better value (about $5pp for an island tour with about 12 others on an open top safari bus)

 

if you have any specific islands in mind I can let you know prices a little more specifically (if I can remember)

 

hope this helps

 

That sounds fun and VERY good value! :)

[geomagot]

yep...it is....a fun way to see a bit of the landscape and good value.....tortola is $5pp they drop you at cane garden beach and you get a great drive over the mountain on the way :eek: with commentary….. although most people are too busy screaming to hear much of the commentary (they will pick you up from the beach at a prearranged time...they always turn up)

 

they also have them in aruba....full circuit of the island dont know how much that costs as we always get the public bus to the beach

 

dominica (portsmouth) was 2 dollars!....strangely he struggled to fill his bus up??...people were suspicious of the price? we had to join in the touting for business before the bus filled up and we could leave:cool:

[dronnygirl]

Cosol tours in St Lucia is a brilliant day out. They met us at the dock gate and we had a full day which included lunch at one of his relatives cafes. It was all local food and was delicious and good to try. Drink was included all day as they took a cool box full (included soft drinks) and we weren't allowed to leave the mini bus until all the rum punch had gone:D

St Kitts - google Rose & Jim - we got a tour with them for the day but they do different trips. Rose is from Leeds and Jim is from St. Kitts, they are really knowledgable and the tour was excellent.

Don't need to book any other trips as you can get mini buses/taxis in each port and they are so cheap compared with the trips. They are used to getting people back in time for the ships and they will also drop you off at a beach and then return later (you pay them when they return)

Enjoy your trip.