Things to do in St. Thomas and St. Maarten

georgiapeach115 · July 13, 2008

Any suggestions on Must-Sees and Must-Do's on these two islands? This will be mine and my mom's first trip to either one on our upcoming cruise in September. Would love your insights, suggestions and pics of these two places!

MrsAmanda7 · July 14, 2008

My DH and I went to both islands last summer. We will be visiting St. Thomas again in a few days as well. Many people think opposite, but we like St. Maarten better than St. Thomas. Seemed like there were a lot less people heckling you to buy their stuff. Perhaps I can't explain why I like St. Maarten better.

In St. Thomas, we went to many stores including the Coach store and I bought a purse. After that, we took a bus to Magens Bay Beach. Before you get on a bus there, ask how much it will be to get to your destination. The beach was beautiful and full of people by the time we got there. Don't-I repeat-don't eat there! We waited in line for food for 1 1/2 hours there and still didn't have food. A couple next to us gave us their packaged, just bought food. They needed to catch a bus back to their ship and didn't have time to eat it. They were so nice! Anyway, besides from not eating there, don't use the bathrooms there either. We liked the beach and the sand was so soft. It was worth going there. We've decided we'll do the same again this time. However, we'll eat on the ship before we go shopping and then to the beach. If you decide to go to the beach, be sure you bring your own beach towel from the ship.

St. Maarten was beautiful. We really liked the people there. We visited That Yoda Guy's Shop. He was the person who created Yoda for Star Wars. He decided to get away from it all and moved to the islands with his wife. They sailed the ocean and have lived on the islands for a while now. My DH and I went to the shop hoping to purchase an island print he drew. We picked out the most perfect print and was about to check out when the Yoda guy came out from the back to talk to us! He personalized our print and signed it as well. It was really amazing. We'd love to visit St. Maarten again just for that experience. By now, it was pouring outside and wouldn't let up. We visited the Guavaberry shop. This is a shop that sells liquor with guavaberry in it. This is a berry that only grows on St. Maarten. Don't drink the stuff without it being blended frozen. (If you drink it alone it tastes like cough syrup.) We brought back 3 bottles. We only have a little left over.

I'll post some pics of each island. Hope my post helps give you an idea of some things to do there. I'm sure others have different ideas for you as well. You will have a great time!!!!!!

MrsAmanda7 · July 14, 2008

These are all pics of St. Thomas. It was raining too hard in St. Maarten to take pics.

georgiapeach115 · July 14, 2008

Thank you for sharing your observation of both islands and the pics! I am getting so excited about my trip.

gogetter · July 16, 2008

Hello,

I have been to both 2 different times.

St Thomas, we wnet to Magens Bay both times and had a great time. I had a good experience at the bar and with the food. Never a problem for me. I find it rather offensive that someone would state do not eat there becuase it took so long. If that was the case they would be outta business food wise anyways. Again never a problem for me.

St Maarten......we went to the shops along Front Street. great prices on jewlery, then just picked a beach bar along the way. Had fun.

Don't ever take the first price they offer, you can haggle with them and get them down in price.

Good luck and best wishes on a fun time.

DebbieandJerry · July 17, 2008

We love both places and have been there many times and return many times. Both places offer wonderful restaurants, places to shop, beaches to visit (with or without clothes), snorkeling, etc. We have rented our own taxi drivers in both places and have asked the drivers to take us to the places where the locals go. We never felt unsafe or in harm's way.

One time, we "hit" a flea market in St. Thomas. I loved it. Most people, however, buy (expensive) jewelry in St Thomas. The ship will even tell you that it is the place for the diamond/gold bargains.

That being said: What do you and your mom like to do? We prefer the water sports. St. Thomas has a marvelous aquarium/'zoo' where you can spend all day. It's right next to a beach where you can sightsee, snorkel, swim, eat, whatever. St. Martin has excellent snorkeling and diving locations. Our favorite is Rhino riding. St. John's is another island with fabulous snorkeling and/or scuba diving. St. John's is very close to St. Thomas. Some people have even taken the ferry to Tortola (BVI).

It is all very exciting and overwhelming. Go to the excursion pages on the ship's itinerary page. Read the little paragraphs that the ship talks about. Weigh your options inside vs. outside, water sport vs land activity, city tour vs own your own.

All in all, I think you will find both of these islands to be charming and wonderful.

swom · July 22, 2008

If it were my first visit I would take a tour with one of the many tour companies in St Thomas.

We are going again in April and again we hired Luen for our tour. He takes you into town to shop for a couple of hours, then sightseeing all over the island, then to whatever beach we want to go to. If you don't want to do the beach, he will take you back to the ship.

It's only 25.00 pp, so you can't beat that deal.

Enjoy St Thomas, it's a beautiful island.