Private tours on St. Thomas

[ILoveScotland]

I'm sure there are posts about this somewhere, but I couldn't find them, so I'll start a new thread.  I will be in port of St. Thomas next January on the Allure of the Seas and would prefer to take a private tour rather than a ship's tour.  I know that's almost a year away, but I like to research early.  I've been there a couple of times but don't remember taking a tour.

 

I will be with a friend who has a few walking problems.  We would prefer something that would a) allow us to see the island, b) allow us to tour Charlotte Amalie or perhaps c) go out on the water.  She and I cruised together a couple of years ago and took ship tours, but having been on several cruises I found the local guides are so much better and often less expensive.

 

Anyway, recommendations for specific tours or tour operators?

 

Edited March 2, 2021 by ILoveScotland

[blue_water]

Yes there are a lot of threads with recommendations, it’s been a year so you just have to go through them. I had attached a few below but deleted them because I have some questions for you - 

When you say “a private tour rather than a ship's tour”, do you indeed mean a private tour for just your group? Or a non-cruise ship excursion with one of the cookie-cutter independent excursions? 

And your 3 options are all very different so you’d need to decide on whether you want

a) an island tour with a beach stop or shopping, or

b) a nice day in the water.

 

For the first option there are private taxis/guides as well as the group tours, and for the second there are small, private powerboats as well as monohull and catamaran sails available that are less expensive.

Thoughts?

[O2B@Cagain]

You might want to wait until cruises are actually underway. There is no way right now to know how excursions could be different post-covid.

[blue_water]

Yes - Cruise lines are defining, redefining, and preparing potential protocols which will need to meet CDC requirements. This may include requirements for passengers to use only cruise line-approved excursions with no self-excursions allowed, and specific safety criteria that those approved operators must meet and maintain. 

So yes you may have to choose a daysail or an island tour from a cruise line-approved list. At least for the foreseeable future...Obviously those restrictions or limitations on your freedom of choice should go away before too long. And of course visiting a destination by air gives you so much more freedom...

[blue_water]

Meant to add you should follow the cruise line updates as they release them, O2B is correct in that things will indeed be different...

[FLcruisergrl]

We’re booked with Sunfari for our June land vacay to St Thomas. They have a few different options and each one can be customized. We’re doing the Jeep & Beach, which will take us all over the island and stop at different beaches. They also have a Jeep & Reef, which includes some boat time.

 

[blue_water]

Just curious, are these some of the cruise line-approved excursions available only through the cruise line?

Thanks