DIY IN THE CARIBBEAN

[arrbee]

On our recent cruise to the Caribbean we only did one P&O excursion and thought maybe others out there might be interested in doing the same. Some ports we just wandered round but thought I'd post ideas for ports where we used local transport etc.
First one is Antigua

Buses run fairly frequently on weekdays and Saturdays from early morning till around 6pm but on Sundays there are very few buses, if any at all. The buses don’t run to a timetable, but they leave when they are full, or when the driver decides!
To get to the West Bus station from the dock, you walk straight up the road beyond the ship gates till you come to Market Street where you turn right. Then it's a short walk and you'll come to a fork in the road where you bear right (by the statue) in front of the public marketplace. Just after that, you’ll come to the bus station on the right. The walk probably took 10 minutes. You need to find the stance for bus 17 which is clearly numbered. We waited about 5 minutes for it to leave and there was only another two tourists on the crowded bus. We paid $2 each way so $8 in total for both of us but didn't pay till we got off. We stayed on till the last stop at Nelson's Dockyard and had a leisurely wander round for a while, had a snack and drink, enjoying free wifi then just went back to the gates where a bus was waiting. We again got off at the last stop which was the bus station. Easy peasy!!

We didn’t do the climb up to Shirley Heights but took directions with us just in case. For anybody interested, apparently you take the water taxi from Nelson's Dockyard over to Galleon Beach, about 5 minutes. [The water taxi leaves from the far right corner of the dockyard.] Go out through the entrance of Galleon Beach Resort and walk about 200 yards. Take the signposted Lookout Trail which goes off to the right of the road and walk up the hill to Shirley Heights.

It was also very interesting to have a look round the various markets when we got off the bus in the town again and all in all it was a great day out…. and very inexpensive.

More to follow for other ports!
Rhona

[Kendhni]

Thanks for that Rhona, very interesting

[HK phooey]

Thanks Rhona, this is brilliant info for those like Jacksparrow who has booked the caribbean. Now if only I'd have sat next to you at the cc meet!

[arrbee]

ARUBA

The bus station in Aruba is almost opposite the port exit- just slightly to the right. We were doing a private tour with Aruba Trikes so we had to take the local bus to the pick-up point. If somebody can tell me how to post photos, I'll show you what the Aruba Trikes tour involves.

Anyway, on the way to the pick-up point we passed some absolutely beautiful beaches, so for $2.30 return bus-fare, plus $5 dollars for a lounger you can have a day on a beautiful beach. BTW, P&O charges £29 for a similar beach break. We were told to ask at the bus station for the bus which took us to the hotel zone and we discovered this was the same bus which US cruisers were using to get to the beaches.

Tortola and Cozumel in my next post tomorrow!

Sorry we didn't get the chance to chat at the CC meet Helen, and felt sorry for Brenda that NT let her down so badly with the arrangements

Rhona

[JohnTheDog]

TIP...do take care when quoted prices, ensure which dollars you are being quoted in..as an example for instance, in Barbados the local dollar $BDS is worth about half of the $US...so if a cabbie says $50 from the port to say Holetown/West coast make sure it's $BDS

[arrbee]

Good point. We didn't have any local currency with us - although got some change in ECD- but always asked for the price to be quoted in US dollars, even local buses, so that's what I used in these reviews.

[JohnTheDog]

Barbados buses only take Local currency. Or did the last time we used one which was a while ago. The local bus can be a good way of getting around but can take ages & if you have a ship to catch.....

[Kendhni]

One of the downsides of DIY is that not every activity is available. The cruise lines may book all spaces available at a particular venue. I believe this applies to the likes of the St Kitts railway, some of the Dolphin encounters etc.

[arrbee]

Barbados buses only take Local currency. Or did the last time we used one which was a while ago. The local bus can be a good way of getting around but can take ages & if you have a ship to catch.....

I know some people worry about about being delayed and not being back in time, but it's all about research and planning before you go and knowing that there's always a taxi back to the ship, As a last resort, we have our copy of Horizon (or similar on otehr lines) with us!!

I'm pleased to say in all our years of DIYing we've never missed the ship, nor have we ever had any close misses and I think we've had opportunities to experience the local culture and way of life in lots of different ports of call.

Rhona

[arrbee]

One of the downsides of DIY is that not every activity is available. The cruise lines may book all spaces available at a particular venue. I believe this applies to the likes of the St Kitts railway, some of the Dolphin encounters etc.

Perhaps not every activity available as an excursion will be available but lots and lots of other activities usually are, so very ofen DIYers have a great (better?) choice of activities/places to visit etc.

[JohnTheDog]

The Caribbean is probably a good place to do it though, apart from some places like Ken says can be booked up by the cruiseline or have a contractual arrangement to prevent DIY'ers booking, some of the turtle trips in Barbados do this I think. Some islands though require more care than others...like Jamaica.

[gfwgfw]

Consider using the local Taxis

The drivers is so enthusiastic to show off his Island, and family businesses

Use the credited Taxis at the cruise terminals, and your would be very unlikely to have any problems . . . and they will get you back to your ship on time

Perhaps Jamaica sadly is the exception

We just lubs the Carib - Bermuda being our favourite with it's tailor made, at a price gentleman's shorts

[arrbee]

TORTOLA AND JAMAICA

In Tortola, we got off the ship and jumped on one of the open-sided buses waiting by the port gates. Apparently they're called jimneys. We toured the town then along the coast to a marina where we had a 20 minute or so stop. From there we climbed up over the hills down to the other coast, with some really spectacular views over te coast-line and other islands. Back on the coast, we stopped to view all the photos and read the messages at the adult-only Bomba Shack. Built with drift-wood and odds and ends it's supposed to be the place to go at night for those who are a good few younger than us!! Our next stop was the Rum distillery where we were able to taste 4 different rums for just $1. Our final stop was at Cane Garden beach where we spent 30 mins relaxing with a lovely walk before getting back onto the bus (with chickens clucking all around) and heading back to the port. On the way back we again enjoyed spectacular views. The trip cost $20 (US) for 3 hours and it was EXCELLENT value.

As others have said, Jamaica is not a port where DIYing is recommended, but then the excursions don't look that attractive either. We did the beach break to Negril last year with P&O but it is quite a long way on the coach and we wouldn't really do it again. I know some of the hotels nearby offer day passes including transport so if we have the misfortune to be back in Montego Bay, we'd probably do that. This year we took the shuttle to the so-called Hip Strip, popular with American tourists, but not really our cup of tea at all so we spent a short time there before heading back to the port in a taxi with a driver who was one of the friendliest, happiest people we met all cruise. It's an ill-wind!
Rhona

[Redrosegirlie]

I hope I'm not hijacking this thread...

We booked some independant tours for the first time for our last cruise. All companies are highly rated on tripadvisor.

BARBADOS
Elegance catamaran picked us up at the ship and we spent most of the day on a beautiful catamaran snorkelling with fish, at a shipwreck and with the turtles. A fantastic lunch was provided and drinks were free flowing. There were only twelve of us on the trip so it was more exclusive than the ship's excursions. This cost $100 each.

DOMINICA
We used Sheppee's fun tours here costing $65 each. There were 8 of us. Sheppee took us snorkelling in Champagne Reef, swimming in Titou Gorge, we saw Trafalgar Falls and bathed in sulphar spring pools. This was a fantastic day out with a brill guide and drinks were included all day.

ST MARTIN
We hired Bernard's Tours here for $45 each with only the 4 of us in our van. We went on a brilliant tour of the whole island including Marigot, Orient Beach, Maho Beach an iguana farm and had drinks all day.

All of these private tours were far better value and fun than P&O's excursions and also more personable. The only island that we visited on the cruise that doesn't have any activities listed on tripadvisor was St Vincent

[arrbee]

I started the thread Redrosegirlie and I'm really pleased somebody else is contributing with their good ideas. The catamaran sounds fab and we'd love it. Did the twelve of you all book together? I thought $100 sounded good for a trip like that. We'd heard about Bernard's Tours and thought about booking them but we were there on a Sunday so we'll probably do that trip when Marigot will be open.

ST LUCIA
The last couple of times we've been in St Lucia we've done Cosol Tours. Like the tours Redrosegirlie suggested, they're an independent company with air-con minibuses holding about 10 passengers. We were taken on a tour down the west coast, through lots of pretty little villages, with a late breakfast of local delicacies at a farmhouse. We stopped numerous times for photos of the fabulous views as you'd expect and we visited the Toraille Waterfall, the drive-through volcano, botanical gardens and a banana plantation. We took a water-taxi from Soufriere to a private beach at Jalousie Bay where we spent a couple of hours relaxing / snorkelling etc. It was beautifully situated between the two pitons. On the way back,we stopped for bread straight from the oven which we enjoyed with cheese. We got back to the ship in plenty of time to browse round the shops in the terminal and laughing with those who'd spent all day drinking and singing in the karaoke bar!! All in all, it was a great day and again a trip we'd recommend

[Redrosegirlie]

There were 4 of us from the ship on the catamaran and the other 8 people were hotel guests Rhona so we didn't need to fill it.

In Marigot we only had time for a quick walk around the market and a good value leisurely lunch so you may still find it a good trip on a Sunday.

[wolfie]

I have always advocated taking SOME local currency in the Caribbean and often have been decried for it and told that $US are universally accepted. Well, not always it seems.

As for private tours in Jamaica, we did one and it was one of the best days out we have ever done. Of course we read up on the person beforehand and the reviews were spot on.

Great thread with many ideas for DIY in the Caribbean.

I almost forgot the best tour ever............helicopter over Monserrat! Fantastic.

[JohnTheDog]

Where would you say $US were not accepted & it's better to take a currency that may well be worthless elsewhere?

[Redrosegirlie]

All the tours we did were in US dollars including the lunch in Marigot. Because we eat where our tour guide recommended the meal for 4 of us came to €54 / $54 so we paid in dollars of course. Bargain!

[JohnTheDog]

Just be careful of which currency you are quoted in & make sure you pay in the same currency or ensure they quote you in $US & you are aware of the rough exchange rate.

[Kendhni]

I have always advocated taking SOME local currency in the Caribbean and often have been decried for it and told that $US are universally accepted. Well, not always it seems.

The ones I have read reports about that people have had issues with are
- the French side of St Maarten
- Martinique

However we have been able to use US dollars on both these. The big issue however is that the exchange rate you will get will be pretty awful.

[JenniC]

We had no problem using USD in Marigot last week or on any of the other islands, the exception being the local bus in Barbados which does require local currency.

on the DIY subject - we had a brilliant trip in Barbados. Walk out of the port and then stay on the main road (sea on your right), for about 6 mins and then just past the Pelican Craft Centre is the bus station. make sure you get the government run bus (blue with yellow strip) as opposed to the licensed ones (yellow and smaller) as the private ones are all vying for trade and are manic drivers!

We got the Speightown bus and went all along the west coast to Josy Hill and then back along the same route, getting off a Holetown for lunch and an hour on the beach - that cost $2 local each. Getting the bus back to Bridgetown was easy and they are very frequent (another $2 each) so a very cheap and easy way of seeing the west coast.

[JohnTheDog]

We had no problem using USD in Marigot last week or on any of the other islands, the exception being the local bus in Barbados which does require local currency.

on the DIY subject - we had a brilliant trip in Barbados. Walk out of the port and then stay on the main road (sea on your right), for about 6 mins and then just past the Pelican Craft Centre is the bus station. make sure you get the government run bus (blue with yellow strip) as opposed to the licensed ones (yellow and smaller) as the private ones are all vying for trade and are manic drivers!

We got the Speightown bus and went all along the west coast to Josy Hill and then back along the same route, getting off a Holetown for lunch and an hour on the beach - that cost $2 local each. Getting the bus back to Bridgetown was easy and they are very frequent (another $2 each) so a very cheap and easy way of seeing the west coast.

The Barbados bus service is very good, cheap & reliable, just allow plenty of time! Car hire is expensive but we usually have a car especially if on a 2 day turnaround.

[DianaM]

We went to the Caribbean on Azura in January, and these were our diy experiences:

St Maarten - got the water taxi to Philipsburg Beach, which we really enjoyed. You can walk along the prom and go to the shops.

St Lucia - we had booked online Spencer Ambrose Tours to Jalousie Beach - absolutely fabulous, and highly recommended.

St Kitts - we took a taxi (with others) to South Friars Bay. The taxi driver kept trying to persuade us to go to a different beach of his choice, (Dickensons Bay, I think), but we held out and insisted on South Friars bay, which turned out to be a very good choice. The Carambola Beach Club there is immaculate, and although the food and drink is a little expensive, the facilities, especially the toilets are worth it.

Antigua - We shared a taxi to Valley Church Beach, which was beautiful. We were met by a very bossy but lovely local lady called Claudia, who got us organised with sunbeds, umbrellas etc, and nothing was too much trouble for her. She wasn't looking for a tip either, but we used the beach cafe she recommended, and we had a great day. When we left she made sure we were ok, and that we had had a good time.

Barbados - We were flying home and had to leave the ship at 2.30 pm, so were determined to make the most of our time. We got a taxi at 9.00am to Carlisle Bay. The taxi driver wanted to wait for others, but we insisted we wanted to go straight away, and he took us to Harbour Lights, only about a 10 minute ride. We then approached a guy on the beach who got us a boat to go snorkelling on the wrecks and also we swam with the turtles. We were out for about 2 hours, and for just the 3 of us he charged $25 each! Still had plenty of time to get back to the ship, change, have lunch and be ready to disembark at 2.30pm. A very memorable last day.

Hope that helps others. Would do it all again tomorrow if we could

[Peter D]

Diana

What is Philipsburg Beach like for swimming, sun bathing and how close to the town.