5 Must-Have Shore Excursion Tips For Toddlers | Island Reviews

Cruising has easily become me and my husband’s favorite way to travel! Some may wonder how it’s possible to really explore when cruising to destinations where you only get eight to twelve hours ashore. I learned just how possible it was during my recent excursion on a twelve-day southern Caribbean cruise with my family. This was our first experience with Royal Caribbean, as we had only cruised with Carnival before, and never with little ones. Some of you may cringe at the thought of cruising for almost two weeks with three toddlers, but we survived and enjoyed our experience to the fullest!

In part 1, I’ll cover a few essential tips for exploring with toddlers, along with reviews of the first two islands we visited; St. Johns, Antigua and Castries, St. Lucia. Both were absolutely beautiful and unique in their own way. I must say that the right tour guide makes all the difference when it comes to getting an authentic tourist experience, and we had some pretty great ones.

5 Shore Excursion Tips

1. Take a good tent/umbrella stroller- These are so lightweight and work really well for folding down quickly when getting on and off the ship, and not taking up a lot of space in taxis when touring.
2. Dress in Beachwear- if you’re planning to head to the beach during your excursion, it’s best to have your beachwear on under your clothes so that you can save time and head straight for the sand. Be sure to pack a plastic bag in your backpack for wet clothes unless you plan on drying out before leaving (taxi drivers don’t like wet passengers)
3. Eat a big breakfast- make sure you take the little ones to eat a good breakfast before leaving the ship. It goes a long way while you’re out exploring later. We also utilized the single serve cereal boxes from the dining room as snacks during our excursion. We only ate lunch on one island, and we  were able to tour the others without eating until we made it back to the ship.
4. Let your hair down- remember you’re on vacation. Nap schedules will be off, little ones will be cranky, melt-downs are bound to happen, but the positive memories will outweigh all of that.
5. A backpack is the best substitute for a traditional diaper bag so that you can easily carry it without taking up extra hands or trying to store it with the stroller while on your excursion. Only take the essentials that you’ll need…diapers, wipes, snacks, water cup, soothie, sunscreen, and extra change of clothes.

St. Johns, Antigua

Antigua is an island highly dependent on the tourism industry for survival, and it was evident from the moment we stepped off the cruise ship onto the pier. We were greeted with street peddlers selling everything from handmade bracelets to pieces of aloe vera. One of our first stops was with this lively bunch who drew a crowd of tourists as they allowed you to join them for a picture in an authentic headpiece as long as you left a tip. My girls were a little scared, but I was able to get at least one to join me! 

Following my godmother’s lead, I opted to buy souvenirs from the locals instead of going to the gift shops. One thing is for sure…these vendors are very territorial when it comes to trying to sell to tourists. As we visited a local pharmacy in search of nausea patches for my god mom, she was approached by a lady trying to convince her to come look at t-shirts inside a gift shop. After a few attempts to turn her down, she finally caved in and 10 minutes after being trapped inside and begged to buy specific shirts in a size medium, she escaped! By the time she joined us outside, my 1 year old had had the most epic blowout of all my girls combined. Let’s just say it was quite the experience cleaning her and the stroller on the side of the road in Antigua.

Moving on to more positive experiences…the beach we visited was absolutely gorgeous! It was a little rough to maneuver with our double stroller but we wouldn’t have been able to tour the island without it. Almost as soon as our feet hit the sand, we were right on the tide. We rented a lovely cabana, which was $20 for the whole day, and there were restaurants sprinkled along the shore. The beach itself was a little rocky so we had to be careful with the little ones when walking to explore other areas. I pretty much took advantage of relaxing in the cabana while the girls played in the sand, and I splashed about a bit with them in the ocean too.

The peddling was in full effect here too, but the people were so sweet. They offered us horseback riding, dresses, hats, shirts, and plenty other souvenirs. My godmother even took a local lady up on a beachfront massage…although she had to borrow someone’s beach chair to do it, it was an experience we will never forget. 

This was one of the islands we opted not to do a full tour of, but we were able to see how the people of Antigua lived during our excursion to the beach. This was the least developed island of all the places we visited, but it was beautiful in raw form. While it’s not a destination I plan on returning to, at least for a while, my hope is that the people of Antigua are able to progress over the next 5-10 years.

Castries, St. Lucia

I was anticipating St. Lucia the entire time, and when we finally arrived I fell in love! It was one of my favorite islands by far with it’s warm and friendly locals, rich history, and breathtaking views. Our tour guide was so amazing, and the excursion he took us on made all the difference in our experience. The cruise lines strongly suggest that you book each excursion through them instead of dealing with local taxi services, however most of their options couldn’t accommodate our family. If you’re traveling with smaller children, you’ll most likely have to find your own excursions. We enjoyed touring the island this way much better and it was way cheaper.

The taxi services and street peddlers were still pretty aggressive in St. Lucia, but a lot friendlier. We found a taxi tour guide (Kevan) who approached us nicely with a detailed map of the island and pointed out all the landmarks he would take us to see during a two-hour excursion. He was willing to negotiate the price for all 6 of us to join him in his van for the next few hours, and we were so glad we did. Though our tour guide was in his early thirties, he knew the island’s history very well, and we gained a wealth of knowledge during our time with him.

We were nervous at first climbing all the steep and narrow hills of the mountain side to see the beauty of the island, but Kevan knew the roads like the back of his hand and put us at ease with his expert driving skills. We made several stops in addition to the main landmarks as he allowed us to get out and take pictures, explore, and admire the amazing views.

One of St. Lucia’s major sources of revenue were banana plantations, which exported to several buyers before hurricane Thomas struck and devastated a huge amount of crop in 2010.

Since then, the island has become more dependent on the tourism industry to survive. We were so excited to get to visit and taste bananas from some of the existing plantations that still actually export crops. Our tour guide took us by a friend’s roadside gift shop where she greeted us with complimentary bananas, banana ketchup, banana bar-b-que sauce, and banana chips. We purchased souvenirs as we tasted her local goodies before heading further up the mountain to the view the famous twin peaks of Soufriere.

I scored my favorite souvenirs at a roadside gift shop from a man known as “the jewelry guy”, along with a very informative lesson on the volcano and twin peaks during one of our stops. I fell in love with this gorgeous magnetic jewelry made from the local volcanic ash, and could be worn several different ways!

As we traveled back down the mountain, we detoured to make a pit stop at this beautiful natural waterfall. Just as we arrived, it started pouring down rain!! Luckily my husband was able to get a few shots and snippets of video for us to see. If I haven’t mentioned it, be sure to pack a small umbrella or ponchos when touring the southern Caribbean because the rain comes and goes, sometimes in huge downpours.

Our tour came to a close, but not before our new friend walked us to a local vendor selling smoked chicken and local beer. The chicken was delicious, and my husband gave the beer two thumbs up.

I left St. Lucia feeling so warm and appreciative for all it gave to me. I can’t wait to get back and stay a while. I have my sights set on a resort in Marigot Bay where Dr. Doolittle was filmed for our next stay. If you’re planning to travel to either of these locations any time soon, feel free to drop me a line for more info.