shore excursions

[anley]

My BW and I are on the Noordam March 15 to eastern Caribbean and would love to hear about which are the best shore excursions to the following.

Grand Turk/ Caicos , Road Town /Tortola. Phillipsburg/St Maarten,

St, Thomas and San Juan.

Would appreciate info on excursions through HAL or Independant. Just no

parasailing or bungee jumping .

Thanks In Advance

Stan:cool:

[Stevesan]

In Tortola take the Patouche boat/snorkel trip to Virgin Gorda that includes one other snorkel stop.

 

http://www.patouche.com/

 

St Thomas/St John both have beautiful beaches and good shopping. No need to take a tour. You can do most on your own. Coki Beach is a good family destination with a seaquarium, Coral World:

 

http://www.*****/

http://www.cokidive.com/

http://www.coralworldvi.com/

 

San Juan is a good do it yourself port. A visit to Fort Morro is wrthwhile. The fort is part of the U.S. National Parks system with excellent and knowledgeable staff. Take a taxi to the fort, it's uphill. Walk back stopping in one of the plazas for a coffee (it's top quality) and a little people watching. Don't miss The Butterfly People on the way back (Bring a fully loaded credit card!) We've often wanted to take the Rain Forest tour, but so far no luck with times in port:

 

http://www.nps.gov/saju/morro.html

http://www.butterflypeople.com/index.htm

 

Philipsburg is good for shopping, probably the best prices vs quality for jewelry in the Caribbean, but you still have to be careful and know what your looking at. Avoid the shops at the pier - purely tourist traps hoping you know absolutely nothing about jewelry.

Beautiful beaches. Many enjoy Orient Beach. We took a good island tour that included a glass bottom boat on the French side. Snorkeling around the island is mediocre to poor, but there are some fun catamaran trips, including an Americas Cup type tour.

 

We haven't been to Grand Turk.

 

Whatever you do it looks like a good itinerary. Have fun and ignore the no nothings who knock San Juan. Old San Juan is delightful and the island has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world with major resort hotels and casinos.

[Krazy Kruizers]

St Thomas - agree - go to Coki beach - on your own - get a cab - we were just at Coral World in May. It had to be rebuilt adter a hurricane destroyed a few years ago. You can also take a Sea Trek walk from Coral World. Lots to see there. Coki Beach is right next door - lots of good snorkling. Plan on spending a few hours there to see everything.

[Krazy Kruizers]

St Maarten - lots of good shopping here.

 

There is a tour that includes a bus and a boat that lets you see both the French and Dutch sides of the island. We have been there so many times that now we just go to Orient Bay and spend time there on their beautiful beaches.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Tortola - definetly go the Virgin Gorda and the Baths - have done it and loved it!!