Please use this thread to post some of your favorite Caribbean places and experiences. No tour guide recommendations, please, just the names of places and what you did:
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I am the editor, but I also speculate, ask questions and play devil's advocate. I reserve the right to change my mind.
This place is a little hard to get to - because it is on mainland Mexico accross from Cozumel. But if you ever see a tour to Ixcaret offered on your cruise, I recommend going there. It is a great natural park where you can swim, see wildlife, swim with dolphins (extra cost), tube through caves, etc.
Also - if you can ever get to the Mayan Ruins Chichen Itza (near to Cancun) I recommend going there. In the old days you could get a plane there from Cozumel, but they dont offer that anymore. Too bad, it was a great tour offering.
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I am the editor, but I also speculate, ask questions and play devil's advocate. I reserve the right to change my mind.
If you have a choice, do NOT take the rainforest canopy tour. It is Boring and you will not see much wildlife. Instead, try to get on a tour that goes to the natural animal preserve. There you may see monkeys, parrots, tree frogs, etc.
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I am the editor, but I also speculate, ask questions and play devil's advocate. I reserve the right to change my mind.
Shopping is great in St Thomas, but there is also a lot of great snokeling there. There is also a very good submarinbe ride you can book on your own (not through the ship) and save some money.
I have done submarine rides in St Thomas, Maui and Curacao. I would say St Thomas was the best in terms of wildlife to se underwater.
By the way, if you want an authentic Caribbean wildlife experience with a nice beach nearby, there is a place called Coral World. You can get a taxi to take you there and pick you up for about $5 - $10 each way. Then to enter Coral World is about $15 per person. It is worth it to see wild sea animal underwater and in exhibits. One of my more favorite cheap shore tours.
Get there early, and you can exit the park and go swimming at the beach which is right next door for no extra charge. Forgot something (bathing suit, sunscreen), you can buy it right there at very cheap prices.
__________________
I am the editor, but I also speculate, ask questions and play devil's advocate. I reserve the right to change my mind.
One that does stick in my mind, is the America's Cup Regatta in St. Maarten...I had no idea what to expect, but it was both work and fun.. Also a very good learning expierence, I still recommend that one.
I've only done one Canopy tour, but I'd love to do that one again.
The regatta in St Martin uses real america's cup contender yachts and they "race" each other in teams. If you like sailing it is a blast.
When I say "canopy" tour in Costa Rica I am referring to one where you actually walk on a trail in the rainforest - it has a lot of bridge that put you up on the top of the tree level. But I had been to Costa Rica before and saw monkeys, parrots, sloths, crocodiles, etc... lots of cool things. When I went back I wanted to show my wife and i asked the tour desk which tour would be best - they said "the canopy tour,"
It turned out they were wrong. I asked our canopy tour guide about wildlife and he said "you should have gone to the nature preserve" - there was no wildlife where we were except ants. It was one of the most boring tours ever - we actually asked for our money back.
Donna - are you maybe thinking of a zip-line tour? That is different from a canopy tour but I have heard people get them confused before.
__________________
I am the editor, but I also speculate, ask questions and play devil's advocate. I reserve the right to change my mind.
Good, I am glad we caught that... I think some canopy tours include zip-lines, but technically a canopy is justthe word for the tree tops in a rainforest. So, I have seen tours (in Costa Rica) advertise a "canopy tour" but all it is is a hike along some trails with bridges that take you over the "canopy" of the rainforest (it starts at the top of a ravine and goes side to side and down). It was actually very boring and I was very disappointed after going all that way that we missed some of the cool wildlife you can see in Costa Rica.
A zip-line is an actual wire you hook up to and ride on rollers from point to point. I think one of the first zip-line tours was in Costa Rica, and they used the word Canopy in the tour, and that was where the confusion started. Now there are zip lines everywhere.
__________________
I am the editor, but I also speculate, ask questions and play devil's advocate. I reserve the right to change my mind.
We are NOT adventure people so zip lining is not on our bucket list
We did the Tortugero Canal Tour in CR from Port Limon
It was interesting & we did see a few animals but I think in mid day they are staying out of sight.
We stopped on the way to the banana plantation & some boys had a sloth ...you can get a photo of them holding it (for a fee of course)
pretty docile creatures.
We enjoyed the tour to the falls in Dominica.... very lush island
Tour to Antigua in Guatemala ...if you like historical buildings etc...it is a Unesco site
I have been to the falls in Dominica myself and that is an amazing journey. It is a pretty challenging hike, in truth as I recall. I am not sure how you got there since you say you are not that advernturous. Maybe they have something new since i was there back n 1993.
But they are an amazing sight to see.
__________________
I am the editor, but I also speculate, ask questions and play devil's advocate. I reserve the right to change my mind.
One of my all time favorites is the Golden Eagle Catamaran sail in St. Maarten, then of course we love to snorkel the Palencaar Reef in Cozumel, and we had a blast on a 4x4 jeep tour into the national park in Caracas,Venezuela
So if one has a choice, which most of us do...............Eastern or Southern Caribbean for beaches and snorkling. I have heard that Grand Turk was a waste of time, but if you had a choice between Barbados, Dominica, St. Lucia, Grenada, or Aruba, which would be the preference?
I have been to the falls in Dominica myself and that is an amazing journey. It is a pretty challenging hike, in truth as I recall. I am not sure how you got there since you say you are not that advernturous. Maybe they have something new since i was there back n 1993.
But they are an amazing sight to see.
I was there in 1994 ,that was the only interesting thing in Dominica aside from finding out that their psychiatric patient facility looked more like a prison
Sure Paul!
St Lucia is my favorite island so far. Took the Drive-In Volcano/Island tour. Felt like I saw a good part of the island. Travelled through a smallish fishing + village, narrow streets and houses all painted in pastels. I swear I remember a chicken--but that could be my imagination! Saw local ladies doing laundry in a river near the ocean, "hanging" their clothes on rocks to dry in the sun.
Our guide was very knowledgable and also a fun gal. The ship tour was supposed to be around 3 hours, but we spent 5-6 hours exploring the island, with several stops other than advertised stops. Not the best hot sulfur bath spot, but I cherish the photo of me "bathing" in it! Since I'll be there again 2 times (end Jan-Feb 2011) I'll buy a good supply of locally made sulfur soap--which I should have bought in 2009. Had a good view of The Pitons.
We're undecided about what to do for our upcoming visits. I'd appreciate any ideas.
Sure Paul!
St Lucia is my favorite island so far. Took the Drive-In Volcano/Island tour. Felt like I saw a good part of the island. Travelled through a smallish fishing + village, narrow streets and houses all painted in pastels. I swear I remember a chicken--but that could be my imagination! Saw local ladies doing laundry in a river near the ocean, "hanging" their clothes on rocks to dry in the sun.
Our guide was very knowledgable and also a fun gal. The ship tour was supposed to be around 3 hours, but we spent 5-6 hours exploring the island, with several stops other than advertised stops. Not the best hot sulfur bath spot, but I cherish the photo of me "bathing" in it! Since I'll be there again 2 times (end Jan-Feb 2011) I'll buy a good supply of locally made sulfur soap--which I should have bought in 2009. Had a good view of The Pitons.
We're undecided about what to do for our upcoming visits. I'd appreciate any ideas.
Dominica was the best.. we book privately and did the Dominica Most captivating tour with nature isle explorers.. We wanted to much of the island so we book that 5 hour tours.. it was amazing..
i would higly recommend them to you all.. Nature Isle Explores
they also gave us local beers and rum punch as complementary drinks
we were also in dominica and took a ptivate tai and go the falls. we paid the man who bring us too the taxi. we drive the tour it was great. but when we get back too the ship the driver ask us too pay the tour, and we say too him we paided the man who bring too his taxi. he ask also for a tip we told him ask the man he had no mony back so he can give you the money. after a wile he let us out the taxi and ask other taxi drivers who the man was. we turned too the ship and hope that it goos all well.
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Does anybody think Nassau has one of the best tours? I will go there for my first cruise in late October (top countdown in my signature), so I need to know what the must-sees are because I will have only 7 hours for two excursions. What tours aren't good to miss in Nassau?
Going over to Paradise Island and seeing Atlantis is worth a visit. Only takes a few hours and you can get a good tour of the dig/aquarium...What else did you want to do there?
Going over to Paradise Island and seeing Atlantis is worth a visit. Only takes a few hours and you can get a good tour of the Dig/aquarium. What else did you want to do there?
I really want to go to the waterpark, but not pay $135 for only two hours. We need a lot more time than that for a lot less money. So I need to figure out how to get a day pass.
Of course, I also want to do the Discover Atlantis tour, but $56 for two hours is way too much. I will look for an independent tour company that charges a lot less for it.
The biggest question after prices obviously is how much time we have for both places. I must allow time to take pictures, buy postcards, and wait for rides to both places.
Best Caribbean Tour Experiences
, just the names of places and what you did: 
Looking forward to cruising!
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