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Caribbean Tours & Things to Do
Tours are listed by area and activity and are just a sampling of the many tours available. Tour prices and descriptions, Website URL's, Phone Numbers etc are given by reviewers and may change. Please do not write us to ask for correct information. We do not know!
We did the Party Hopper to Cancun. They pick you up in a van and drive you to Congo, Senor Frog and Coco Bongo. The three bars were great and all drinks were included. Coco Bongo is sure something to see, the bar holds 3000 people and they put on a pretty good show with impersonators, balloons, bubbles, overhead trapeze artists, just awesome.
Three 9 hole courses, Dunes, Jungle, & Lakes. Four (4) sets of tees ranging from a rating of 75.6 and slope of 139 for Black tees to 71.1/129 for White tees. We played from the Whites all 7 days, they mix up the various nine's so you can enjoy the entire golf course. It is a Jack Nicklaus design, somewhat difficult. "Jungle" (nine) yardage 3,600 yards at tips to 3,100 for whites, Lakes 3,400 down to 3200, and Dunes 3,600 down to 3,150 for white tees. I am an 18 handicap and shot in the mid 90's each day. Not a great course for beginners, but definitely a great challenge for mid to low handicap. The service at the Golf Course is 2nd to none. The BEST I have ever experienced in the Caribbean. The staff at check-in (Laura) outstanding, very quick even for 18 guys every day, they store your clubs & shoes for free, clean them every day, give you a fresh ice towel at the end of the round to help you cool down after your game. Driving range, practice area, yardage books, tees, markers, towels all supplied and very good. The staff on the golf course with beverage & food carts cannot do enough to make your golf game enjoyable, plenty of selection of food & drinks, alcohol & non, bottled water, etc (all free) and if you want something from the restaurant they will be only too kind to take your order, go and get it and deliver it right too your cart one or two holes down the line. We asked for toasted bagels with smoke salmon, cream cheese, lettuce & tomato every morning from the golf course breakfast menu (very decadent) and the cart girls were only to happy to go and get the order, deliver it hot in packages with a big smile on their face. Every person you encounter at Moon Palace (golf course & hotel) always answer your thank-you with "It is my pleasure to serve you sir" without exception over 7 days in every bar, restaurant, including room maids, everyone you meet has this response. I have never seen better service and have stayed at 5*+ rated hotels throughout the Caribbean over the past 10 years and this is without doubt the BEST.
NOTE: If you are going for the Golf, book a golf package, we were told stand-alone golf cost $250.00 US$ per day. Incidentally if you were to play one day only you would find this price very reasonable for the class & style of golf course you will experience. Rental clubs appear to be Muzzuno. (Personal preference for 18 holes was the Dunes & Lakes combo).
Don’t book any trips with First Choice because they are too expensive. Also, you can get exactly the same trips with the locals at a fraction of the price and I prefer giving the money to local people. We went into c (only £1 in a taxi to the beautiful town) and in the square, or plaza, there is a tourist information booth. The man in the booth sent us to Teresa Lorenzano to book our trips. If you stand in front of the square facing the church, Teresa is down the righthand side of the square, situated in a booth in the front of a shop with tins of paint. She is a lovely lady and we booked all of our trips with her. She made sure that we had an English guide each time and even picked us up one morning to take us to the bay cruise. If you can’t find her, ask the Tourist Information man. When some of the others saw that we were going on the same trips but much cheaper, they also went into La Crucecita and booked trips with other agents. They were also very pleased with their trips and service and mostly the lower costs.
We did 4 trips with Teresa. Four of us went on the Crocodiles and Turtles trip. We had a private car with Teresa’s brother as our guide, and the trip also included a visit to Zipolite beach and Puerto Angel beach where we had lunch. We passed the First Choice crowd on the lagoon looking for crocs, and they had paid around £40 each including lunch, whereas we paid £50 for 4 of us in our own aircon car with guide. This did not include lunch, but it wasn’t expensive anyway. We saw lots of crocs and beautiful birds, and then went onto Mazunte to the turtle aquarium. They have big open tank laboratories at the back where they breed the turtles to preserve them and return them to the sea.
We also did the Waterfalls and Coffee plantation trip, and again we passed the First Choice crowd on the way. We went with a few Mexican people in a car with a guide who translated into English for us. He even made us sit in front so that he could talk to us. This trip was £15 each whereas First Choice was around £38. Also, it was really nice for us having our authentic Mex lunch at the plantation with the Mexican people, who showed us how to eat the food. We also got to visit the Butterfly House, which was really interesting, whereas First Choice people did not.
We went on the 7 bays cruise with snorkelling and a visit to Maguey beach for lunch (not included) at a cost of £7.50 and had a great day out. (First Choice £28!) We were the only English people on the catamaran, but one of the boat staff came and translated everything into English for us. The Mexican people love to party and they were line dancing on the boat to the music. It was great fun.
And Teresa arranged for us to go birdwatching one morning with a guide (£12.50 each, First Choice £25 each). He spoke excellent English and took us to a jungle area near La Bocana at 7 am, and we spent a few hours looking at wonderful birds. He provided binoculars, charts and fruit for breakfast, which we ate at a high point overlooking 2 wonderful bays and the Copalita River.
We visited La Entrega beach ourselves by taxi. This is a lovely beach, great for snorkelling, but try to go in the week when it’s quieter. The Mexicans descend on it at the weekend. While we were there we met GilbertoAlegria who told us about his boat for fishing and bay trips. We hired him to take us fishing one morning. It was £50 for 4 hours for just my husband and myself. This was the cheapest price as most of the locals were quoting £80-£100. He was very good and picked us up at our hotel in his brother’s old banger and took us to Santa Cruz where we picked up his boat. He provided the rods and bait, and he had a young lad to help him. I just went for the ride, and my husband caught bonita and mahimahi. Gilbert filleted the fish for us and dropped us off right on Tangolunda beach in front of our hotel. We took it straight to the restaurant and they agreed to cook our fish for us for lunch on that day and the next day free of charge. The kitchen not only cooked it to perfection but also presented it on the plate with vegetable flowers and small mounds of rice and it looked wonderful. Needless to say we tipped the cook who had really put a lot of effort into it. She did the same the next day too with a different presentation and it was delicious.
Neuvo Vallarta/Puerto Vallarta
We did two excursions, the city tour which included the tequila tour, and the Pirate ship. Both of them were great, however, the Pirate ship does not include your transportation to the Arena and does not include the fee to get into the Marina. Apparently, the taxi drivers don’t let buses into the resort to take guests places, another charm to this whole experience, We were never informed that the Marina would charge us admission to get to the Pirate ship, and luckily we all brought money with us, that is extra money after paying the cabbie to get there. We went on the Pirate ship at night and the view and fireworks were spectacular. A cool night out nonetheless.
Our next tour was the Tequila Tour. This is a tour to the town of Tequila, were they make tequila the modern way. It was an interesting tour with a few stops on the way. Unfortunately this tour was again with T.T.F. bus lines. This tour takes about 3hrs to get there and 4hrs to get back. It is a very mountainous and winding road. This would not have been a problem had the bus driver not tried to break the land speed record there and back. His speed was so excessive in the turns that I had to grasp my arm rest firmly to prevent me from pushing my wife into the wall of the bus. I was seated behind the bus driver and noticed the sign posting a 40 km speed limit on the next turn. He took that turn at 75 km. I asked the bus driver and the tour guide to slow down a little. The tour guides answer was don’t worry in Mexico we have no speed limits. I guess those speed limit signs were only there for the other vehicles we kept passing and the passengers comfort was not there concern. That was the worst bus ride I have ever had. And I have been in mountainous winding roads in a bus before.
TULUM RUINS
If you are in this area do not miss the Coba Mayan Village tour. It is a full day but is well worth the time. Our guide Louis was fantastic. During the 2hr bus ride he told us the history of the Mayan people and many many other interesting facts. We were able to climb the pyramid in Coba and then visited a family in the Mayan village. If you are thinking of doing this tour they ask that you bring pencils, books, or other supplies for the village children. They ask that you don't give the children money as that encourages them to beg.
The last excurion we did was the Tulum Extreme, it started with each of us doing three zip lines over the jungle ceiling, then swimming in an underground cenote, repelling down a cliff, then lunch, then they take you to the ruins of Tulum and give you a tour. I've been to Tulum before so skipped the history lessen and went right for the Tulum beach, gorgeous. Just something amazing about frolicking in the rough ocean waves and staring up at the grandeur of the Mayan temple. Breathtaking.
We did two excursions. One was the Tulum Extreme. This was well worth the $100 price. This included, swimming on the cenotes (underground water caves) propelling off a cliff, 3 zip lines across the jungle and the tour of the Mayan ruins. This is from 8 am to 3 pm. Then we did a parasailing trip to two snorkel spots. Very fun, that one was $50 a person.
EXCURSIONS: I know everyone has different experiences on tours and what they find interesting, so this is just my opinion on what's good to see & remember I've been here twice.
Xel-Ha - (less than 20 minutes from the Barcelo) awesome, worth seeing every time. I recommend doing a whole day here and not the half day in Xel-ha & half in Tulum. You can not see all of Xel-Ha in 1/2 a day.
Xcaret - (less than 30 minutes from the Barcelo) awesome, & here's a money saving tip - bring food from the hotel. Buying food there is expensive & to pay for it with your tour isn't worth it, pack some sandwiches, snacks & bottled water & save up to $60.00 or more.
The underground rivers are chilly but more than safe (you must wear a lifejacket), it's a relaxing float. Above ground it's like a big zoo, aquarium, and historical park all in one. My suggestion is opposite from the guides - I suggest you tour the above ground first & then do the underground river, that way when you're tired, hot & sweaty from the above stuff you can cool down & relax in the river. Just put you end of the day dry clothes in the supplied bag & it will meet you at the end of the river float. The guide suggests the river first but if you do that then you will be walking the park in a wet bathing suit. It's all up to you. The night show (2 hours long) is a must, 260 dancers/singers, it's wonderful & interesting.
Coba - (about an hour from the Barcelo) we took a large bus to Coba (amazing guide Geraldo) hiked 2km into the jungle, learning & seeing the Mayan culture along the way, then climbed the highest pyramid in the Yucatan. We then had lunch at a little restaurant (o.k. food-I brought some from the hotel just in case), our guide fed an alligator some chicken. Then we went to a small Mayan community where we gave the kids the presents we brought. If you want to bring stuff they love anything - when we go back I will bring crayons & coloring books, that way they have a gift & they learn. After the village we went to a cenote in the jungle, it was very green and "refreshing" (cold) water but it felt good after climbing the pyramid and being in the hot village. Definitely worth the money for the all day tour.
SeaLife Plus - ( less than 10 minutes from the Barcelo) Probably the most disappointing of all our tours & the one that cost the most money. Unlike the dolphin swim where you just swim with the dolphins, SeaLife Plus you swim with Manatees, touch a Sea Lion & swim with the dolphins (2). You also get to waste a lot of time sitting around while they set up their video of you swimming with these animals. This sitting around happens twice - once after the manatee/sea lion swim & once after the dolphin swim. Before you swim you also have to sit & watch a video about manatees & dolphins. If you want to buy your video it's $60.00 and if you want to buy the pictures they take they are between $12.00 &
$15.00 per picture. NO UNDERWATER CAMERAS ALLOWED. It also seems like the staff are very disorganized (do not get separated from your group) - although the trainers are very good. Another money saving tip the Catamaran is included/free if you do the tour on Wednesday otherwise you have to pay extra & for how much the tour originally costs, the free catamaran eases some of that. Please take motion sickness pills if you even think you'll be sick, we had to come back early because people were sick. You can also drink lots on the Catamaran but the lunch is just a sandwich & a bag of chips. Although it was a wonderful experience swimming with the wildlife, overall it was an extremely overpriced, nickel & dime you, poorly run tour.
This is only a 20 minute walk from the hotel (Riu Playacar) or a 5 minute, $5 taxi drive. We walked it the first time during the day. It is a great walk, you can look at all the pretty houses and it is very safe. 5th Avenue has lots of shopping, bars and restaurants. Since the hotel is all-inclusive we didn’t eat out anywhere. We did stop at a Cuban bar and Senior Frogs for some cocktails. Both bars had a great inviting atmosphere! We shopped at 5th avenue 3 nights. This place is a must!!!
Playa De Carman – we went to the famous 5th avenue in Playa de Carman and it was a GREAT spot to haggle prices and find souvenirs for family and friends. If you are buying silver SHOP AROUND I bought a chain that was 85 USD at one store and I finally got the exact same chain from another vendor for $25 USD. Don’t be afraid to make them an offer they are expecting it. Haggle and bargain with them and know that you could possibly be getting ripped off but if you like it and pay the right price for it who cares.
Getting to Playa from the resort was simple and very cheap. Take the Collectivo, this is a form of Mexican public transportation that runs along the highway from Cancun to Tulum. Since you are in the middle you can just walk to the highway, the collectivo will flash its lights at you and you just waive it down it will stop and you tell the driver where you are headed. The Collectivo does not leave the highway and you have to walk short distances to get to the areas that you want to go. It was a 2 minute walk from the Collectivo depot in Playa De Carman to the shopping area. And it only cost us 20 pesos each which was 2 bucks each each way. It was going to be 26 USD each way for a taxi.
Chankanaab Park/Dolphin Encounter
Tours are expensive but are very structured and take the worries away. We did the sights ourselves. For example, a tour may cost you $85.00 US per person, but the reality is that the entrance fees to the sights can be quite cheap, like $4.50 to see Tulum or Coba. We preferred doing it ourselves as we did save a lot of money, and we weren’t on someone else’s clock. If you do the math, 3 of us X $85.00 = $255.00 US. (Coba tour price). 3 X 65.00 = $195.00 US (Tulum tour price). Total is $450.00 US. We rented a car for $100.00 and paid a total of $27.00 to see both Tulum and Coba ruins, a savings of $320.00 dollars or more. Another worry with booking the tours is you have to book when you first arrive and if it’s raining on the day of the tour, you have to go anyway. Let’s say your going to Xel-ha ( water park – a must see). It wouldn’t be much fun in a down pour. It did rain 4 of 14 days were there and there are always high clouds each day with frequent afternoon storms. By renting a car, you can see what the weather is going to be the next day or so and rent the car at the best time. The Bell Hop stand at the very front entrance of the hotel has a Miami / Cancun paper each day so you can check the up coming weather reports there. Also, if you do a tour and are expecting a nice comfy tour bus, you may get a white van instead. Ask which mode of transportation they will be using.
To see Cozumel, you will take a 35 minute ferry ride from Playa. There are 2 different operators. One is regular boat and the other is a huge catamaran We took the regular boat if the wind is blowing it does get tossed around a bit and we got a bit sea sick on the return trip. I would recommend the catamaran as it is wider and more stable. It is a little bit more money but worth it. Sit up top if you can, as you get a much better view and it will lesson any sea sickness. Go a few blocks into town to escape the tourist area. This is a whole day trip and you can rent mopeds if you don’t want to walk anywhere. The town by the ferries is quite a busy little place but to really get a feel for Cozumel you have to rent a moped and travel around the island. Driving in the town may look intimidating because it’s so busy but I’m told it is much better once you get away from the main area.
A must see is Xel-ha. If you buy the all all-inclusive day package, please note that you will still need to provide a $20.00 US deposit once you’re in the park, in order to get your snorkel gear (you get to keep the snorkel). Also, when you enter the park, stop at the information desk to swap your sunscreen. You cannot (well your not supposed to but there is little control) wear your own sunscreen as the park is eco-friendly, so they will hold your sunscreen until you leave, and will provide you with eco-friendly sunscreen at no charge. It’s a small packet, but it goes a long way. Get a locker and put everything in there. The park supplies large towels but don’t bother to get one until you get out of the water. They are readily available in the locker areas. Take the ride down the river early as it gets pretty busy in the afternoon, it’s really fun. You can take a tube down, or just wear a lifejacket. Skip the tube, it’s too much work and we heard a lot of people complaining about how hard it was – way more fun floating down with just a lifejacket. Part way down the river, watch for the photographer to take your picture. If you stop and pose, you will end up with a great photo which you can purchase at the end of your day ($12 US for photo and optional $8.00 US for frame). Also, make sure you go across the floating bridge and look on the sea word side to see some really big fish as you cross. Don’t forget your underwater cameras. Snorkeling is great here. They provide you with the equipment (deposit necessary) but the snorkel isn’t that great. You get to keep it when you leave but if I were to do it again I would have brought a better snorkel from home that doesn’t continually fill with water.
Coba is where the big ruin is. If you drive, make sure that when you get to the fork in the road where the Coba signs are, you stay left. That is, you will approach a large turn circle in the road. Keep to your right and go all the way around the circle until you exit to what would have been your left as you approached it. Most of the sites in Mexico are not marked well. Tulum is a good example. There is no large sign that says “Tulum Ruins” you just have to turn left at the junction of Tulum and follow the road down a block and its there. You will drive right through the small town of Coba. Watch out for more killer speed bumps here. Follow the road to the lake and go left. 1 block down on the left is a large gravel lot with a small sign that says “ruins” or “historical sight”, there will also be some vendor stalls there. Again, there is no large sign or advertisement and we actually drove right past it twice before realizing that it was the right spot. You will pay 15 cents to park your car and $4.50 per person to get into the ruins. It’s quite a hike to get to the big ruin, so rent a bicycle or bike taxi (believe me it’s worth it) If you rent the bike taxi, the driver will stop at all of the smaller ruins on the way to the big one. If you are not afraid of heights, climb to the top, as this is the only significant ruin that you can climb in Mexico – and the government is going to ban climbing of this ruin in a few months. I’m told it is the highest point in the Yucatan, a must see. Remember to look down frequently as you climb. It’s easy to go up but really scary coming down. Many people were doing the bum slide on the way down.
Tulum is only $4.50 US per person. You can take the $2.00 collectivo and it’s an inexpensive day. The ruins and beach are beautiful. You cannot climb any of the ruins. Bring mosquito repellant as there are a few bugs when you walk through the jungle to the main property.
We did two independent trips one to Cozumel and one to Tulum. Just go to the Hacienda and go outside the resort. There are the Collectivo buses waiting or at least come along very frequently. They cost $2 usd each way and take you to Playa del Carmen one direction and Tulum the other. If you fancy going to Cozumel get the bus to Playa del Carmen and then the Ferry which is about $20 return trip. Once there we caught a taxi to the national park and did some fantastic snorkelling. The taxi costs $10 each way. It was a great day out and a change of scenery. Tulum – get the bus and go to the ruins and take a costume for the lovely beach there. We also went to Xcaret which was a fantastic day out. Snorkelling in underground caves, dolphins, Mayan village, and best of all the fantastic show in the evening. What ever you do do not miss this show. It was awesome and truly spectacular. It was worth paying the entrance fee for alone. See the Mayans playing their ball game and see them playing the ball game with a flaming ball up and down the arena, the singing and dancing were fantastic. Highly recommend this. Every night there is a show in the hotel but nothing like this one!
We only took the included tour to Isla Mujeres-- we were going to go to Tulum but instead decided to stay at the resort and take the 90-minute sales pitch tour so I could get a discount for the spa. We took this vacation to relax, and didn't feel like being herded around. The trip to Isla was okay. We took a tour bus down to Cancun, which is really devastated from Hurricane Wilma--most of the hotels were still closed, and the ones that are open are still under construction. From Cancun, you get on a party boat to Isla that takes about 40 minutes. They have beer, water, and soft drinks on the boat, and a very enthusaistic and entertaining crew, although they were a little over the top on the jokes about homosexuality, especially with so many kids on the boat. I was a bit offended, but not enough to complain about it to anyone other than here. Once at Isla, the herding began--we were told that we'd have to register for snorkeling right away, so my husband and I ran over to the little booth to wait a poorly-organized line. All of the various mini-tours and activity registrations were out of that booth, so it was hard to tell which of the 7 lines we should be in. Eventually we got checked in and told where to go, but we didn't really have time to stop for towels. The snorkeling was fun--it was the first time I'd ever been. I'd like to try it again with my own gear, in a place a little less crowded. When we got back, we stuffed ourselves with taquitos. They had a buffet with some other foods on it, but none looked as good. There was no really good beach there for swimming, sadly--the water was very seaweedy and dirty looking close to shore. We just sat around and drank beer and ate until it was time to board the boat to go to the shopping area. We ended up getting 3 t-shirts for $10. Don't bother--out of the 3, one of them got ruined the first time we washed it. They're not very good quality. The shopping was boring--I'm just not a big fan of tourist traps. Luckily we only spent an hour or so there. On the boat ride back, the tour guides put on a crazy show. Part of it involved some sort of crazy mix of tequila and fruit punch that they ran around squirting into people's mouths. It was fun watching other people do, let's just put it that way. I was getting tired and wanted to get back to our resort. Back in Cancun, we had to wait for the buses, and then I found out that the bus we were on didn't have a bathroom. I ran back to the bar we were at and used the public restroom there, but other people didn't, and it had to stop halfway back. About 10 minutes after we got back on the road, the bus almost got into a wreck and something went thump when we swerved. Next thing I know we get pulled over. The driver has a 3-minute conversation with the police officer and then restarts the bus, and the transmission is obviously ailing. The low gears just weren't working...and the trip had a lot of stop and go traffic. By the time we got to Playacar Palace to drop off a few people, we were wondering if we were going to make it back. We ended up getting back about two hours later than scheduled. After that, I figured I'd go to the spa instead of Tulum.
Xel-Ha (pronounced shell ha) – we took the collectivo to this spot as well. WE paid $59.00 USD each for the all inclusive package which included drinks, food, lockers, park admission and towels. This was the way to go and the collectivo was only 1 dollar each to get there so it was economical. The walk into the park is long but along a very shaded path so it is not a bad walk at all. We were going to go to Xcaret but our tour rep suggested it was an extremely long day and by going on the colletivo we would have more control of when we went and when we came back. This park is beautiful and we would recommend it to anyone as long as you like swimming as that is the main activity at this park.
Next we went to Xel-Ha (pronounced Shell Haw) which is a large snorkeling lagoon (expensive) where cool underground fresh water meets warmer sea water. We had heard so many glowing reports about Xel-Ha, that our expectations were high, but it was really windy & that stirred up the water, which made for poor visibility. The water seemed polluted & stagnate to me (like a swamp with green moss) & I ended up with a sore throat from snorkeling at Xel-Ha for 2.5 hours. Being January the water was also cold enough to be uncomfortable (even though I was wearing a 1/8" shortie wetsuit) the fresh water on top being much colder than the sea water on the lower layer. We saw a small barracuda which is NOT amongst the fish species they advertise. We were quite disappointed with Xel-Ha compared to the beautiful snorkeling available from the shoreline on Cozumel Island for free (& warmer because it's ocean water).
Xel-Ha is a must see. It is an eco park where you will see all kinds of beautiful marine life and snorkel. For the more adventurous try the cliff jumping or the snuba (extra cost), or just drift down the river in an inner tube! There are trails to walk along, hammocks to sleep in and quiet spots to sit and relax. It is an adventure noone should miss. Lunch, transportation, snorkelling equipment, towels and lockers are included in the all-inclusive price of $74 US/adult, $42/child. If you already have snorkelling equipment you get a day pass and transportation for $54/adult $39/child. Passes are available at the gate $26/adult (or $20 on weekends) so if you can split the $33 taxi ride with someone, you may come out cheaper. You can buy lunch at one of the restaurants or you can bring some food from the resort ;)
The other trip we did was to the Mayan ruins of “Chichen Itza”. It’s a long bus ride but the bus is air conditioned and the seats were very comfortable. The ruins were unbelievable! You have to see them for yourself! One thing we do recommend is to buy the Chichen Itza guidebook in the hotel shop and do a little reading before you go and bring the book along with you. You only have around 2 ½ hours at Chichen Itza. They provide a wonderful guided tour but this really cuts in to the limited time you have to explore. We wished that we had a guidebook so we could have skipped the tour and had the whole 2 ½ hours to explore on our own as there was much that we did not get to see. The ruins are fantastic and are endless! It’s awesome to see them and imagine what life was like back then! We strongly recommend this trip but we strongly recommend getting a guidebook and reading about it ahead of time then going to see what you want to see on your own. Be sure to grab all the bottled water from your room before you go on either trip as its very hot in Mexico and you need to replenish your fluids constantly! In fact, we brought insulated water bottle holders to Mexico with us and it was definitely good to have them so you didn’t have to walk around looking for bottled water. We filled them with the bottled water in our room and we took a couple of extra bottles too! Get the kind that have straps so you can sling them over your shoulder or the kind that are attached to fanny pack belts so you don’t have to carry them in your hands.
My husband choose to come to Mexico because he had always wanted to see the Mayan ruins. So we booked the full day trip to Chichen Itza. . We met in the lobby at 8:30 am and we did not return until after 7:00 pm. But is well worth the money. We took 4 bottles of water and ended up buying 4 more because it is very hot and there is no shade here. We also booked swimming with the Dolphins. We went to Puerto Adventuras ( a resort about 10 minute down the highway) Our tour guide operator recommended it because the people to dolphin ratio is very small. There were 5 of us in the water with 4 dolphins. Truthfully the most amazing experience of my life. I think everyone else felt the same way. We got to take our camera but the pictures and video they take are so much better. However they want $50 USD dollars for the video and $15 per picture. You are also given a free day pass to the Xcaret Park which is attached to the resort. Be prepared to spend the entire day here. There are amazing under ground caves that you may snorkel through at no extra cost.
Best part of staying at this resort is the free tickets to the park. You must get tickets the day of or day before from the X caret office in the lobby. It’s a 5 min walk to the park side entrance. Make sure you go early. This is good to avoid crowds in the underground river and the blistering heat. Went to the underground river with my 3 yr old and 5 yr old daughters. Initial a little concerned if they would be able to do it. But it turned out the 3 yr old loved it. You get a large bag to but all your belonging in and this will be given to you at the end. I wrapped my camera in there, as I didn’t want to walk back to get the camera. The bag is locked so it’s ok, just pad it well. Go to the river on the right side (natural). It’s much better and is where everyone goes. The water is cool. If you have your own flipper it helps you move faster and float.
The park opens at 8:30 am, we arrived a few minutes after it opened which is a fantastic idea. Bought the tickets at the hotel for $49 US per adult and both of my kids were free. Took a taxi from the lobby (just ask the bell boy to get you one) and it cost us $10 US each way. It was cheaper for us to buy our tickets and take a taxi because the tour package price was $65 US. We liked the idea of just leaving whenever we wanted from Xcaret, and the taxi's are just waiting to take guests back to their hotel in the parking lot. I took one stroller but my 3 1/2 year old still likes to be pushed around so I rented a large stroller for him, it cost $12 US and you need to leave a $30 US deposit. The stollers were awesome with 3 huge rubber tires that would run over anything. My kids did love to walk around too, but be very very careful, there are some spots that they could fall into water (ie/ the turtle area and manatee lagoon), I was surprise not to see someone fall down in there, it's easy to get bumped. The beach area was deserted early in the morning and we had any choice of spot to pick, we chose some chairs in the shade and played in the water. This is the perfect place for young children to play in the water. It's really like a large swimming pool with little fish the kids can chase. My kids didn't want to leave after hours of playing. My husband and father in law put on the lifevests and floated/swam down the underground river......they had a great time. There is also a boat that you can take down a river for those of you who don't want to get wet or for young kids. I would recommend this excursion to anyone, they even had wheel chairs to rent, the pathways are easy to get around and early in the morning wasn't busy. We left the park around 3pm. I also packed up our drinks from the minibar and made the kids jelly sandwiches at the buffet before we left, Xcaret charges $2.50 US per pop and hotdogs were $4.90 US, so I was glad to have packed up lots of water, pop and food. We left around 3pm after doing some t-shirt shopping (only $5 US), it's less than 10 minutes from the resort. I've been to Mexico before and had already done Xelha and Tulum, I knew the kids would enjoy Xcaret and we also enjoyed going for a second time. My father in law said it was "awesome".
A must do trip is to “Xcaret”. It was awesome! It’s a huge facility located on the Caribbean. It’s a short bus trip from the resort and you can leave in the morning and stay only until 1:30 PM or you can get a bus back at 5:00 PM or stay through until 9:30 PM!!!! The park has all kinds of attractions and exhibits, a Mayan Village replica, Mayan ruins to explore, an Aquarium, an underground river you can float down, a beautiful boat ride through the jungle, many wildlife exhibits and many swimming lagoons and beaches right off the ocean. There are places to eat and lockers to keep your stuff in and lots of outdoor showers to rinse off in and places to change etc… At night they put on a fabulous show with over 200 performers in a covered open air theatre. It was great fun and lots to see and do and many beautiful places. A MUST visit!
As a guest you get one free pass for a day at the park- a $50 US value per person. If you like zoos/aquariums/ history- GO. What a great park- but- go early – it does get hot and busy. I would advise that if you’re going to do the underground river snorkel then go once you get there as it will be less busy (the tour buses arrive in the afternoon it seems) You can put non-fragile items in a lock bag that they provide that you pick up at the end of the river but for items like cameras you will have to put them in a rental locker that is at the END of the river. This will require some back tracking. You don’t see a lot of fish in the river but it’s neat to go through the caves. Be smart and take snorkel equipment from the resort along so you don’t have to rent it. You can enter and exit the park as you like during the course of the day- it’s only a 5 minute walk from the resort along a designated path only used by resort guests. You can return to the resort for meals this way. The show at night is awesome- really interesting- starts at 7:00 PM and goes for 2 hours. Go up in the aerial tower for a 10-minute rotating view of the surrounding area- really neat to see.
With the hotel, we got a free pass to Xcaret. We did go early as we had read to do, and that helped out a lot. We went down the underground river and it felt like we were the only ones there. That was very cool and refreshing. There weren’t too many fish to see, so I felt like I wasted my energies on lugging around my snorkel gear. The exhibits were nice, and we really liked the butterfly area. Beautiful butterflies fluttering about in a flourishing garden—made us feel like we were in the Garden of Eden! We also liked the beach area. There were plenty of tubes to go around. It was nice up in the tower, too. We liked being able to see our hotel and everything else around. The crowds started to come, so we left before it got too crowded. We returned that evening to watch the show. Unbelievable! I am a Spanish teacher, so it was just awesome to “see” the history of Mexico! I just wish that I could take all my students here! We left at intermission because we wanted to get back and walk around a bit.
The advantage is the free pass. But, be warned, if your kids aren't 'walkers' (which ours are) you may have a miserable time of it! It's HUGE! Allow two days to see/do everything. We tried to cram it all in in one day, but it was too much ! We must have walked at least a mile (if not two - cuz the place is so huge and we got lost!) just to reach the beach to rent our life jackets for snorkeling. The snorkeling pales into comparison with Xel Ha and next year we will definitely go back to Xel Ha where the snorkeling is absolutely brilliant. But at Xcaret the other 'wildlife' is great. The giant turtles, the aquarium, the manatee, the jaguars, the macaws (the noise at the aviary is simply deafening!) - we are sorely disappointed at missing the butterfly gardens, which are supposed to be the best in the world. There's so much to see at Xcaret that the 'free' day pass makes it worthwhile staying at this resort alone - you can just walk to it! We just wish we'd gone back for a second day. The night show is absolutely brilliant but long. Dad & son stuck it out and really enjoyed it, but I was kind of glad when my daughter asked to leave !
This was the highlight of our trip .Tulum is about 45 minutes away we contracted with Lomas to provide the transportation, it was a huge European Bus
the tour guide Manuel spoke so many languages that I lost count. Both of our parents were born in Mexico so to us it was a chance to visit our ancestral past. The ruins are more breathtaking, totally stunning then the many internet pictures that are available. Word of caution: It is "mucho & I mean mucho caliente !!" (very very hot) take or buy bottle water, sun glasses , bathing suit ,your most comfortable walking shoes, sun tan lotions, mosquito spray sun hats/ caps, & dress appropriately for extreme heat conditions. The bus will unload you approximately a mile and 1/2 from the actual Ruins entrance & next to a souvenir shopping center, you have a choice if you feel like walking up a dusty gravel road or pay 20 pesos each to ride a tram . Considering my heart condition & extreme heat we chose the Tram . At the Ruins entrance there is a "last chance" potty break & bottle water is sold at the book store or from a little old man with a cart the guide will wait. Once you get past the main entrance there are no restrooms or water fountains & limited shade except near the ocean where there are palm trees The tour is approximately 1 hour (if you last) , You will be given a chance to jump in the ocean next to the ruins. We also saw a skinny snake so watch where you step your invading their territory.The following is very important: Be sure to remember the pick up time AND PLACE , bus number & description , bus color, license plate etc. and start looking for it about 30 minutes or more before your departure. We almost were left there because we couldn't find our bus and guess what by pick up time there will be a lot more buses in the parking area then when you arrived. One couple on our bus was left at Tulum after a good faith search by the bus crew failed to locate them.
We did the Coba Jungle Tour ($85 US) which includes a visit to a Mayan Village, Cenote swimming and the Mayan Ruins of Coba. My husband thought the village was a waste of time, but I liked it. The cenote swimming was fun although you’re not there very long. By the time we got to Coba’s ruins it had clouded over and was threatening rain. We started off on the walking tour (about 3 miles but you can rent bikes or get rides), and it started to pour. We were 1/3 of the way there and there was no place to take shelter from the jungle downpour so we all decided to keep walking. By the time we got to the pyramid we were all soaked but some people still wanted to climb it. All in all it was a good tour, but having done Tulum we were a little disappointed. We thought that Chitchen Itza was too far but maybe we will do that next time.
For about $60 to $100 CDN per person, the hotel offers various tours including an active volcano, several cities and an especially adrenaline generating trip to what is called the Mombacho Canopy Tour. You are suspended high in the trees to a wire cable by a harness outfitted with a clamp and pulley contraption. You jump off the platform and ride the cord to the next tree, hundreds of feet away, using your left hand as your brake. My claim to fame is that I will be forever known as the Canadian Pollo (chicken) because I insisted they get me the he_ _ down from there after four of these harrowing runs. (Trust me, that’s the only tree available to do it on and it’s not easy!) This trip also included a nice lunch, and a stop at a scenic view of a massive lagoon.
Tours
Anton Valley-takes you to a crater of an extinct volcano. You visit the El Chorro Macho waterfall, walking through the rainforest. The walk is pretty uneven so make sure you wear shoes with a good sole and can keep your balance. Not for somebody who can't walk well. You also go to a zoo and botanical garden. Lots of animals and birds. The "Golden Frog" is on display there. We didn't see it...I guess it was vacation. They stop in a little town that has a couple of good shops. Most of the women went shopping while the men went to the bar next door. The beer is about $1.00 but if you go across the street to the grocery store, it's alot cheaper.
You leave around 8:00 AM and your back at the hotel around 2:00 PM.
Old Panama City & Panama Canal-I really enjoyed this tour. Seeing the Panama Canal in action was great. There was a freighter going through the first lock and in the second lock was a submarine. The freighter was suppose to have covered it going through the locks but the ship was too slow and the submarine was already down at the other end. The 15 minute movie giving the history of the canal was interesting. We got to see "Old Panama" and some historical sites throughout the city. We had a great lunch at a Lebanese Restaurant that was included in the package. Our guide was great and gave a very realistic view of life in Panama. Bring your passport. They stop at the end of the Amador Causeway which has a duty free shop that is excellent. None of us has our passport so we couldn't buy anything.
Embera Indieginous Community-this was very neat. You drive about 2 hours from the resort. When you get there you are picked up by the Embera people in piraguas (canoes) They have motors attached and you take a beautiful ride through the river to the waterfall. Keep your camera out as there is lots of beautiful scenery and birds to photograph. You go to the waterfall
first. It's about a 15 minute walk to it. There is a lot of climbing
over rocks and going through shallow streams to get there (wear wet shoes or old shoes because of the mud & water and wear your bathing suit) The waterfall is beautiful and you can have a great swim. After the walk back, you are taken to the village where you are greeted by the Indians. They are dressed in native attire. They serve lunch of fish and plantains, perform a dance and have a craft area set up where you buy their hand made items. The guide will take you on a tour of the village and then you head back to the bus. You leave around 8:00 AM and are back around 7:00 PM.
ATV Tour-they have a number of different tours set up. We took the 2 hour tour that went down the beach, up the air strip and through the back fields of the area. You went through streams, up and down hills etc. It was a lot of fun and the guide made sure everybody kept pace and enjoyed it. It was the first time I actually drove an ATV and it was a lot of fun. It was around $50 USD per person but worth it.
Deep See Fishing-my husband and his buddy went on this. They left around 7:00 AM and returned around 12:30. The cost was $150.00 USD. It included food, drinks, guide, equipment etc. They only brought back 1 fish but the day before 4 fish were brought in.
There are a number of side trips that are available, quite a number of them revolve around the Panama Canal. We took three trips Jungle Boat, Partial Canal Transit and the Panama Express and all three involved the Canal. We saw the canal three different ways, we crossed it on a small boat at the bottom end of Gatun Lake (a man made lake which feeds the canal with water) on the Jungle Boat excursion, we went through two sets of locks on the Pacific side on a boat in the Partial Canal transit. Our boat was late in coming for us so we made a stop at the Gamboa Rainforest hotel, an absolutely beautiful hotel laid out on a hill overlooking the Chagres River (one of the main rivers feeding the canal) but because this hotel is in the rainforest it does rain there constantly. We were fortunate that the day we went was very sunny and hot. Then we traveled by train from the Atlantic side to the Pacific along the side of the canal. This tour is very long and you travel by bus to the Atlantic town of Portobello, then on to Colon, the largest Duty Free zone after Hong Kong. This is followed by lunch at the Melia Panama Canal, a tour of the Gatun Locks and then you board the train at 5:15 pm.
Stayed at Royal Decameron Costa Blanca
Lastly, after being at a resort for two weeks you may get tired of the food. No matter how well it’s prepared or how many choices you have sometimes you need a change. And if you are a seafood lover, the Decameron does not serve lobster and very limited shrimp and crab. There are two choices, there’s Pipa’s Beach Bar (about 35 minute walk down the beach near the Barcelo Hotel) and they will come and pick you up. Or there’s Restaurante La Fogata about a 5 minute walk from Lobby 2 past the spa and again Jurg will come and pick you up.
Pipa’s is owned by a lady from Costa Rica named Sonja. It’s a very casual restaurant and you eat right on the beach (bring bug spray, mosquitoes can be bad) the service was good and for $25 you get a Pacific Lobster, rice and salad. Pacific Lobster is much smaller than its Atlantic cousin, the meat is not as firm and is a little darker. Overall a very good meal. The beer is $1 and wine is $2 a glass or you can bring your own.
Restaurante La Fogata was my favourite. Swiss born Jurg and his Panamanian wife Luz own this restaurant and Luz does all the cooking herself. She is still in the process of perfecting her English and will come out and have a chat. Jurg is fluent in French (his native tongue), English and Spanish and is a fountain of information. The specialty of the house ($25) is a four course meal starting with an appetizer, your choice shrimp cocktail, clams in garlic (Panamanians love their garlic) or ceviche (marinated seafood in lime juice), the appetizer also comes with garlic bread. Then comes the salad in a very nice home made dressing, followed by half an Atlantic lobster, three large tiger shrimp and a dozen or so of the smaller shrimp accompanied by coconut rice (house specialty). Then dessert (I never made it to dessert, too full).
We enjoyed this restaurant so much we went back the next day (last night) this time my husband had Caribbean King Crab for $35 (cousin to the Alaska King Crab) weighing in at 5 lbs., Jurg tells us that often they can be closer to 10 lbs. The shell is very hard so they provide you with a wooden board and a covered rock but the reward is a very sweet tasting meat that just melts in your mouth and Luz makes her own garlic butter sauce, that has no match and is so good you could eat it on it’s own with bread (as long as you’re a garlic lover). I had a large bowl of Clams with the garlic sauce and a large helping of bread. We both thoroughly enjoyed our meal. We made it to the restaurant on our own power Jurg drove us back both times, Thank you, Jurg.
Thanks to previous reviewers, we did not have a bad meal in St. Kitts. Marshalls (a $6 cab ride from TBR) was by far the best. The food, the scenery, the ambience were superb. Make reservations and request an ocean-view table. Entrees are priced from $15-35. The Marshall’s Delight was an excellent drink. Eat there early in your stay, because you’ll want to return! Mr. X’s Shiggidy Shack (right on the beach next to TBR) was the other place we ate at twice. The fish was excellent ($12), the lobster good ($20). Wear shorts, go barefoot, eat at picnic tables 10 yards from the ocean. We got an excellent pizza and calzone at PJs. PJs is halfway between the Timothy Beach Resort and the new Marriott (an 8 minute walk from either one). We did have to change tables because of many tiny bugs on our first table, but it is an open-air restaurant. The Garden Restaurant at Frigate Bay Resort ($6 cab ride from TBR) was just a bit disappointing. The entrees ($15-20) were good, but nothing special and the side dishes were so-so. Their Cherry Blossom drink (a cherry colada) was excellent! A trip to Turtle Beach Bar & Grill at the far SE tip of the island is well worth the long ride ($32 roundtrip cab fare). Entrees are $12-25. Go before dark, so you get to sightsee on your way. This restaurant is nicer than the beach shacks, but not as fancy as Marshalls or The Garden Restaurant. Ask to see the pig. If you like sweet frozen drinks, you must have their Turtle Colada. We tried to go to the Sunset Bar & Grill (a beach shack) one evening, but it closes at 3 p.m. If you want to try their lobster, go for lunch!
My fiance and I visited St. Kitts while on a Caribbean cruise. As soon as we exited the ship we were awestruck by how beautiful the island was. Our only regret of the entire trip were the plans we made to visit Turtle Beach. Everything I read about Turtle Beach praised it for how beautiful it was. This turned out to be completely untrue. We arrived at Turtle Beach with high expectations that were soon crushed. The beach was incredibly small, crowded, and disgusting. Cigarette buds, bottle caps, and other debris littered the beach. We were harassed the entire time by locals attempting to sell us all sorts of things. I felt uncomfortable and wanted to leave from the moment we arrived. The only highlight of the trip was the huge pig that wandered around drinking everyone's beer. I would never recommend anyone to visit turtle beach. There are so many other beautiful places to visit on St. Kitts. Please don't make the mistake that my fiance and I made by going to Turtle Beach.
Turtle Beach - secluded beach out of the way at the far southern tip, past the Marriott and Allegro up and over the last peak- ask how to get here, there is a small restaurant on the beach with great food.
Nevis - you should really take either the ferry or a Cataraman tour to Nevis - the ferry is cheap and runs frequently. When you're on Nevis head to the right, which is right in front of the Four Seasons Nevis resort and say hi to all the people paying $600US a night lounging. Then proceed to the legendery Sunshines Bar on the beach. Sunshines is known world over for his secret recipe for the "Killer Bees". The recipe is closely guarded - you can ask for it, but they won't give it out. There are hundreds of pictures of past customers there including Wayne Gretzky and other celebrities.
Town - the centre town is nice to visit with shops and restaurants but will only take 1-2 hours to visit, or less depending on if you shop or not - it's not that big.
Brimstone Hill - a must - the old fortress that protected the island has been preserved and is now a museum with tours
They only thing we really wanted to do was to go see the Pitons. They have catamaran tours, fishing, land tours. Not interested. We’ve done too many like this were you spend an hour picking everyone up and then your stuck to a schedule so we just hired a taxi with another couple to take us down to the Gros Piton because we wanted to climb it. The road from Castries to Soufriere was a roller coaster, 10 times worse that the other side of the island. I had thought of renting a car but I’m so glad I didn’t. They drive on the left side(UK style) and I’ve never been on a road with so many elevation changes and hairpin turns. I was starting to feel sick. And like most Caribbean countries the driving is a little crazy.
We didn’t quite know what to expect at first, we’d heard different things like you couldn’t climb to the top etc so we said we’d just go as far as we can. It is US$25 per person to go up with a guide. Ours was called Marva, nice girl, really quiet but she would answer any questions we had. The trail starts off easy enough but then it gets steep pretty quick. It turns into a worn path that is not even and you’re stepping over rock, on rock, tree roots etc. It is challenging to say the least. I know you’re thinking I’m a wuss but I’m 37 and I work out 3-4 times a week and I was sweating really hard. If you think you can climb 40 story’s two or three steps at a time you should be ok. Seriously not for out of shape people or small children. There are 2 viewpoints at the top. The view from the top was incredible. You can see St Vincent and the Grenadines to the south and the Petit Piton from the north view. It was very satisfying to wave to a helicopter tour after we spent 100 minutes to get up. Once at the top we drank a Piton beer on top of the Gros Piton. Our guide said she had never seen anyone do that. The trip was 1:45 hours up and about he same down, BRING WATER AND A SNACK. 2 liters of water per persons.
We chose to do the Canopy Zip Line. This was fantastic! It's a thrill and very cool to see the rainforest from a different point of view. This is a do not miss! We even had a woman with us who was affraid of heights, and she loved it!
Pigeon Island - The first day we went to Pigeon Island (which isn't really an island). We spent a few hours there hiking up to the fort ruins and over to the highest peak. Afterwards we stopped at the bar/restaurant at the bottom of Pigeon island for a drink before heading back to the resort.
Smugglers Cove - We went to snorkel at Smugglers Cove which is a little bit north of Rodney Bay. Smugglers cove has a nice little beach and the snorkeling is very good here, on both sides of the cove you can see all types of colorful fish around the rocks, I definitely recommend checking this place out.
Gros Piton Nature Hike - The next day we embarked on the Gros Piton Nature Hike, this was quite the adventure for us.
La Soufriere Drive-In Volcano - I suppose this is a place everyone visits when going to St. Lucia, a very neat place to check out, the smell is not as you may think, at least it didn't bother me that much. Also check out the natural hot tub which is near the entrance/exit of the Drive-In Volcano area.
Touraille Waterfall - A beautiful little waterfall, worth while to check out in my opinion. The water is a little bit cool and it is shallow there but its still nice to get close to the waterfall, makes for some nice pictures.
Tour of the Island - We used Philip Tours to see the island and go to many of these places as well all of the island
You can find many pictures of these places in my photo album at:
Vieux Fort - small, you can buy the usual trinkets and sit and have a Piton with the locals. You will not need lots of time so when making arrangements with the cab drivers keep this in mind. We were there only for
2 hours and that was time for shopping, bar stop, more shopping and ice cream stop.
Snorkelling Tour (booked through the hotel) Absolutely breathtaking! We are only novice snorkellers so not sure how it compares to other place but the trip was great! Snorkelled at 2 different places and were fed lunch in between aboard the boat. The crew was great and we saw some wonderful creatures down below.
Soufriere Experience (booked through travel rep for Air Canada) - this is a full day tour and you see tonnes. Arts and crafts centre, a working cocoa plantation for lunch, the Pitons, sulphur springs, a waterfall and then stop at Jalousie for a swim! It was great and definitely worth the money!
Castries Shopping Trip (booked through travel rep for Air Canada) - you are taken to a boat and then brought by boat from Soufriere to Castries for some duty free shopping. It was great and I think everyone visiting the island should see Castries and all the cruise ships. We also found some wonderful deals in the markets too! On the boat ride back, the stop in at Marigot Bay and at the foot of the Pitons so make sure to bring your camera
- we got some truly awesome shots.
Martinique Splendour (booked through travel rep for Air Canada) - definitely worth the money even if it seemed pricey when we were booking!
You get it all on this trip - a 90 min. boat ride from Rodney Bay to Martinique while you eat breakfast, a walking tour of Fort de France, time for shopping, a big BBQ lunch back on board, then snorkelling and swimming off the boat and the boat ride back - all the while with a fully stocked open bar. While making the crossing we saw dolphins, a whale and flying fish, the captain also took us to see a vampire bat cave were we saw them sleeping (from a safe distance still aboard the boat) It was fabulous! The only warning with this trip is that the crossing can be rough and several people were feeling a little queasy (myself included) but a dramamine or gravol will solve this!
Don't hold me to this but I think this old fashioned sailing ship was the one used in the making of the mini series Roots. This two hour cruise is fun. When you step on the ship you get handed a rum punch drink which is mostly rum. Three of those and you will be chasing the parrot up the crow's nest. The only negative point about this excursion is that they use diesel to get you out into open water where they can unfurl the sails. Diesel is not my favourite essence. I think if you had some wind in the harbour it may not be a factor as that would serve to exhaust the fumes. It was not a major problem -and it was temporary but methinks you should be aware of that mute point. The crew was very entertaining. The brochure stated you could dance on the ship. After boarding my wife and I looked at each other and said, "I don't think so!" Wrong! After an hour or so the rum punch kicked in and people were dancing all over. Entertaining! We encountered a big cruise ship all lit up. What a contrast! Our ship (The Unicorn) had one light and that was over the bar. One light vs. row after row of lights. The Unicorn has cannons on the side and we tried to get the captain to let the cruise ship have it broadside but he wouldn't go for it. However, on that note when we were sailing back to harbour they asked for volunteers to fire off a couple of cannons. The guy beside us went for it and since the cannons are at deck level he had to sit and straddle the cannon in order to fire it. I think he straddled it a little too close because after he fired the thing he spent the rest of the journey talking a little funny. Free drinks except for wine on the Unicorn. They do give you a sample of wine to try---in theory you could run around the ship in advance of the serving girls and hence have it complimentary if so inclined. My wife started singing "Deep Purple Sky" because that was exactly the colour on the horizon. We have never seen that colour sunset before. Actually the purple colour came somewhat after the sunset itself.(45 bucks pp Air Canada, 55 at the desk) Worth it!
There is a dandy one to get an overview of the island. The first part is by bus--lots of nice stops like the volcano, botanical garden, lunch at a cocoa plantation etc. Then--second part is on a catamaran that really whips along and stops so you can swim/snorkel. You also zip into Margot Bay--where Dr. Doolittle and other movies were filmed. We found this boat trip a good way to see some of the other resorts too. In fact after the catamaran trip you disembark at Windjammer so you get a peek at it--that resort because you walk through it to grab your bus back to Almond Morgan. Drinks included on the boat. Lovely scenery. Again booking the trip through Air Canada saved us ten dollars each. (Paid 85 pp)
Shopping for jewelry in St. Maarten can be very rewarding. I highly recommendation Trident and Shivas on Front Street. I have made purchases from this family run set of stores. They carry high end and modest pieces. I made some precious stone purchases and had them appraised when I returned home. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the appraisals came in at 25% more than I paid. So there. Ask for Jay (in either store. Stores face each other on the street.) Tell him Susie sent you. Top of Page
The shopping in Phillipburg (which is a five min walk) was absolutley fantastic. From gorgeous jewellery to designer clothing to t shirts to electronics and everything in between. We had no idea that the shopping was this great. We spent a lot more money than we had planned on. My husband even bougt me a ring! The prices are very good and all merchants will barter (especially the jewelers). On the French side of the island they will not barter. Top of Page
We just got back from St. Martin (January 18, 2005) with this trip marking the 20th Anniversary of our 1st visit. St. Martin is an Island of superlatives and we're foodies, so it's not often that we get knocked out in a place we've been to so many times but it happened this year, twice! Having eaten at most of the Grand Case standards we wanted to be sure to seek out one or two new places, if just to enjoy the thrill of the hunt. We read about La Marine being run by two young owners who had grown up in the restaurant biz and, since it is on the water side of Grand Case Boulevard (all the way at the end, by Rainbow), we figured it was worth a try, WOW was it worth a try. Almost without question the most comfortable room we've eaten in on the island. We were greeted by the valet who took our car and we walked past the art gallery at the entrance and up to the brightly lit ,yet still warm and inviting, bar that sits before the dining room. We were just looking around, sort of drinking it all in, when the person at the barstool closest to us turned around and said "You picked the best place on the Island", I'm not sure he was stretching it. To say the young owner grew up in the business is like saying Prince Charles grew up in England, it's true but doesn't convey the full story. His father, Dominique, opened La Vie en Rose when it was a paragon of haute cuisine on the Island and then moved on to La Calanq (sadly, long gone), one of the most memorable restaurants we've ever eaten in (we remember the entree and desert 20 years later - do you remember anything you ate that long ago?). The menu (which by the way is encased in varnished sections of wine cases - the one they gave me happened to be my favorite white Graves) is a little closer to the nouvelle French food we see in the states. Various influences were present not seen in many of the more traditional places up the block. Each course delivered as promised and we were thrilled to have found this gem. The service was both attentive and friendly with the answers to 'which of the this or the that would you choose' being carefully considered before a response was uttered. The wine list was clearly carefully assembled and was very reasonable. The big bonus was that our waiter turned out to be the owner who told us where daddy had set up shop. We went there the next night and had another outrageous meal but I think our meal at La Marine was every bit as strong as what we were served by Dominique. Either way when there are grandchildren in this family, we're going to try to eat whatever they cook! Tell them Bari & Ken sent you. It may not help but I told him we were so impressed that we'd try to get the word out (he's at the lonely end of the block) and I'd like them to know we were true to our word. Oh yeah, daddy's place. You didn't think we'd leave you guessing, did you? Great chefs have to be supported so they stay around. Le Saint Severin is a little French Bistro that you would never ever stumble into unless you were sent. Located in Bellevue (on the main road out of Marigot) the first thing you'll notice as you approach the restaurant is that the kitchen is way bigger than the dining area. The room is adorned with tons of bullfight posters and art. Many were for bullfights in France. Did you even know they had bullfighting in France? Me neither. We sat down and noticed that everyone knew everyone. Staff, diners, everyone. I got the sense if you come there once you keep coming back. Amen to that brotha! With shellfish and Dover Sole flown in from France at the end of the week we had no choice but to have the Sole which was outrageous, Shredded Oso Bucco was a twist on the dish we've never seen and was wonderful. Our fois gras appetizer was also a different interpretation of the dish and great. A similar wine list (a little beefier) to that at La Marine was also reasonably priced. Now I've eaten my weight in warm chocolate cake deserts and have never been knocked out but the one here is not to be missed. I finally understand what everyone else is trying to do, he does it! We avoided L'Alabama having heard a truly disquieting story of how they treated patrons on New Year's Eve (we ate there last year and the experience was unremarkable anyway). We were treated somewhat coldly and friends came back with a story that made it clear they don't need our want our business. That type of arrogance requires much better food! It's almost as basic as breathing but since you may be first timers reading this make sure to go for breakfast at Zee Best. They have two locations- one near Saratoga in Simpson Bay and one in Marigot. Top of Page
Aside from the excellent cheeseburgers at SSBB, we did our share of dining around the island. Overall, we much prefer the food on the French side; we don’t come to St. Martin to eat American-style food, but I guess it all depends on what you like.
VERY GOOD:
GOOD
FAIR TO GOOD Happily, I can say I’ve never had a truly, flat-out lousy meal on SXM. That proved to be true again this trip. Top of Page
There is little information currently available about Saint Maarten on the internet, so we will do our best to describe some of the restaurants we visited. After Hurricane Luis in the mid-1990s, it appears many restaurants relocated to an area near the airport, which was good for us because it was near our resort. Unless otherwise indicated, all of the restaurants below are on the Dutch side of the island, in the Simpson Bay area (west of Phillipsburg).
Lynette's - Phone: 52865 Description/Review
Pepe's
Goodfellas Cafe - Phone: 43176
Sambuca - Phone: 52633
Coconuts - Phone: 53331
Arawak - Phone: 87 99 67 Lori and Keith - posted April 2001 Top of Page
One of our favorite eating establishments is Ms. B's on Dawn Beach, $7.50 for a plate of the best ribs on the island along with a bag of chips. You also get 2 chairs, an umbrella and 2 rum punches for only $10.00. On most of our other Caribbean travels we did not have the luxury of renting comfortable lounges, tables and umbrella's but it's standard on St. Martin, lots of beach vendors offer this service and are very polite. If you bring a towel and don't want their service they are ok with it. We discovered another small hotel next to Dawn Beach called Captain Oliver's. Had dinner there once and lunch twice. What a lovely romantic spot right on the marina. A great pool with a Plexiglas infinity wall. They call it a "people aquarium." The first trip we took a catamaran over to Anguilla's Shoal Bay East. Beautiful beaches. Had ribs at Uncle Ernie's. Very good but not as good as Ms. B's. On our first stay back in March we were at the Divi and it was to remote for us. Very close to Philipsburg but we found no allure there. Not big shoppers so location did not have any appeal. We like to have a few cocktails and driving up and down the mountain every evening was a little scary. We can also recommend dining at Rainbow in Grand Case, Bar de le mar in Marigot, Hot Tomatoes, Uncle Harry's, and |
