Southern Caribbean Shore Excursions

[pezgirlroy]

Since everyone has been so helpful already on these boards, I thought I would reach out about shore excursions. My husband and I (leaving kids at home/with grandparents/sleepaway camp ) will be on the 7 night Southern Caribbean leaving San Juan on July 28. We stop at Oranjestad, Aruba; Willemstad, Curacao; Kralendijk, Bonaire; and Philipsburg, St Maarten. We need some advice on what to do at each port. Are there any RCL sponsored excursions that people have done that they loved? Is it possible at any of these ports to just explore easily on our own. Anything we shouldn't miss. We may just briefly get off in St. Maarten as we were there two years ago. We don't want to spend a ton of money on excursions but also don't want to miss things. Any advice is welcome. Thank you as always.

 

[starvenger]

St. Maarten has some lovely beaches that you can go to if you're just looking to relax. I think there's a stingray excursion there, but not sure how good it is.

If you have time in San Juan exploring old San Juan is nice. Visiting the forts is inexpensive.

 

[moericus]

On St. Maarten we've tried a couple excursions and been disapointed. If we go back, we will just buy a day pass at a beach resort. Without the kids? Probably just hop off for a walk and enjoy the empty pool.

I heard Aruba has a nice casino. We did an off-road jeep excursion that was fun and different (for us anyway).

Curacao has some of the most amazing small quiet beaches in the Caribbean. We used a tour company to find them and avoid the crowds. It was probably 10 years ago but I'd use this company again: https://www.curacao-actief.com/

 

[Laz]

We were at St. Maarten this past spring. The hurricane recovery is going VERY slowly. We took a cab to Maho beach (spelling?) and watched the jets come in. For Aruba, we had a blast taking a tour with Trikes Aruba. Check them out: https://trikes-aruba.com/

 

[crabbymom]

In Curacao this past September I did a tuk tuk tour. It was great. I was able to customize it since it was private. And it was only $25 so not very expensive.

http://www.curtuktuk.com/index.html

 

[nancy drew]

We are doing a similar itinerary next year and I have heard Woodwind snorkel in Bonaire is not to be missed.

 

[crossfitmama]

In St Maarten we did a great ATV tour that took us around the island, with https://stmaartencruiseexcursions.com/ we saw some of the hurricane damages but the island is still beautiful and they are rebuilding a lot. I love the island and the people there