Tortola Excursion Reviews

[Spart02]

It was a giant slanted rock. You held onto a rope and pulled yourself up the slant. I'm a pretty big girl with no arm strength and I did just fine. It took effort, but I had shoes with pretty good traction and that helped. One of my kids and my husband struggled a little on that part b/c they had less traction on their shoes and were slipping around a bit. I think the key is good shoes!

Thank you for the detailed review.

I'm curious about the part where you said you had to climb a 12-foot rock with ropes -- did you have to sort of walk up the side of the rock while hauling yourself up with your arms? I walk a lot every day, but my upper body strength sucks. Could you tell me more about this part of the trek?
Thanks!

 

[papertraveller]

It was a giant slanted rock. You held onto a rope and pulled yourself up the slant. I'm a pretty big girl with no arm strength and I did just fine. It took effort, but I had shoes with pretty good traction and that helped. One of my kids and my husband struggled a little on that part b/c they had less traction on their shoes and were slipping around a bit. I think the key is good shoes!

Thanks. Yours is one of the best descriptions I've read on here about the Baths, and certainly helps us be prepared!

I'm assuming that due to the narrow passageways that you were just carrying a backpack? And since you mention good shoes, what were you wearing? Water shoes? or did you change into runners once you had waded through the water?

Cheers,

 

[Spart02]

Thanks for the kind words! I am attaching a picture of the shoes that I wore throughout the entire thing as well as a few pictures of the area and paths. And yes, we carried backpacks with us. Anything that fits on your back should be fine.


Shoes

Path leading to the Baths. Rocky and dirt trail. Not real difficult for most people.


One of the tight spaces you go through.


This is the incline. Hard to tell how steep it is in the picture, but it was a bit difficult. This is a good example of why I wouldn't wait for the guide next time. Go on your own away from the big herd!



Another tight space.


This is the second beach. Notice the boats...that's where the private charters drop the guests off and the guests then swim in.

Thanks. Yours is one of the best descriptions I've read on here about the Baths, and certainly helps us be prepared!

I'm assuming that due to the narrow passageways that you were just carrying a backpack? And since you mention good shoes, what were you wearing? Water shoes? or did you change into runners once you had waded through the water?
Cheers,

 

[kddlm]

We were on the 3/26 Fantasy Eastern Caribbean. We did not book an actual excursion, but traveled by Taxi ($12 pp each way) to Brewer's Bay. It was perfect! Beautiful beach and crystal clear turquoise water with little to no rocks at bottom. There is a snack stand for drinks and you can rent lounge chairs (we got 3 for $10). There are bathroom facilities which are a little undesirable, but fortunately we did not have to use them. Beach was not crowded at all! Very relaxing!

 

[swimfin]

I took my family on the tour with Aristocat Charters and can easily say it was the best day of our vacation. We were on the Aristocat with Scott ( I think that was his name :-( ) and Luke. These guys know exactly what they are doing. They take care of EVERYTHING; Food, Drink (Rum Punch ) equipment. Nothing to worry about. You will have a great day.

This is WONDERFUL to hear! As others have chimed in on another post, Aristocats seems to be an AMAZING experience! We are THRILLED to have the opportunity to sail with them in June! THANK YOU for sharing your experience!

 

[papertraveller]

LOL! Only on the Disboards would we be grateful that someone could show us a pic of their shoes!

Thanks -- your photos are terrific and very helpful!

 

[kkayluvsdis]

I would highly recommend booking with Aristocat charters. We booked a full day charter with a couple of other families during our last cruise, and it we had the best time. We sailed to the Norman island caves, Pirate Bight, and the Indians. The snorkeling at those sites was phenomenal. No crowds of the Disney excursion and the price was very good. I would say that this was possibly the best excursion we have ever done in all of our travels. The staff is very friendly and professional. They took care of everything. There was rum punch, plenty of soft drinks, and a good lunch. Don't skip on this, I promise you will have the time of your life. Enjoy!

Norman Island and the Indians. I know nothing about them (the locations that is). I just can't wait to be on the water.

That's what we're doing as well, based on the recommendation from Aristocats! Looking forward to it, but such a LONG wait!

HI There,

I know this thread is a bit older but was wondering if any of you were willing to update about your experiences with this excursion with Aristocats? We are traveling on the Fantasy for the first time in February of 2018 and we are interested in this adventure. Any info you can provide would be great. We are a family of 5- kids ages 11, 8 and 6 at time of travel and all of us would be new to snorkeling.

Thanks!!
-Kelly

 

[Katykins14]

HI There,

I know this thread is a bit older but was wondering if any of you were willing to update about your experiences with this excursion with Aristocats? We are traveling on the Fantasy for the first time in February of 2018 and we are interested in this adventure. Any info you can provide would be great. We are a family of 5- kids ages 11, 8 and 6 at time of travel and all of us would be new to snorkeling.

Thanks!!
-Kelly

We just did this two weeks ago - it was the highlight of our trip! We did it with our 9 year old daughter. She ended up not wanting to snorkel, but had a great time anyway just hanging out on the catamaran and swimming. They provide all of the snorkel gear, life vests, swim noodles, and even paddleboards. We loved the snorkeling, the sail, a bit of beach time at Pirate's Bight, and the crew was absolutely fantastic. I would highly recommend it! Reserve early, as they limit the excursion to 20 people.

 

[kkayluvsdis]

We just did this two weeks ago - it was the highlight of our trip! We did it with our 9 year old daughter. She ended up not wanting to snorkel, but had a great time anyway just hanging out on the catamaran and swimming. They provide all of the snorkel gear, life vests, swim noodles, and even paddleboards. We loved the snorkeling, the sail, a bit of beach time at Pirate's Bight, and the crew was absolutely fantastic. I would highly recommend it! Reserve early, as they limit the excursion to 20 people.

Thank you so much for the response! It really sounds amazing and after reading more about the Baths at Virgin Gorda I'm thinking this sounds more our speed. AristocaT's has been really responsive to questions so far which is so nice. May I ask did you feel rushed/anxious to get back to the ship in time?

 

[Bsmitty]

Has anyone done the jeep cruise tour? We're on a 7 night eastern cruise in January & will have a 4 year d with us. It's one of the only ones that goes down that low in age.

 

[Katykins14]

Thank you so much for the response! It really sounds amazing and after reading more about the Baths at Virgin Gorda I'm thinking this sounds more our speed. AristocaT's has been really responsive to questions so far which is so nice. May I ask did you feel rushed/anxious to get back to the ship in time?

Not at all! The excursion will be open only to people on your cruise - and they will know what time the ship is leaving, and make sure you're back at least an hour before all aboard. The dock where we met them is a very short walk back to the ship, so there was no rush at all. I cannot say enough great things about Aristocats and the crew!

 

[Chrislyn11]

We just did this two weeks ago - it was the highlight of our trip! We did it with our 9 year old daughter. She ended up not wanting to snorkel, but had a great time anyway just hanging out on the catamaran and swimming. They provide all of the snorkel gear, life vests, swim noodles, and even paddleboards. We loved the snorkeling, the sail, a bit of beach time at Pirate's Bight, and the crew was absolutely fantastic. I would highly recommend it! Reserve early, as they limit the excursion to 20 people.

HI There,

I know this thread is a bit older but was wondering if any of you were willing to update about your experiences with this excursion with Aristocats? We are traveling on the Fantasy for the first time in February of 2018 and we are interested in this adventure. Any info you can provide would be great. We are a family of 5- kids ages 11, 8 and 6 at time of travel and all of us would be new to snorkeling.

Thanks!!
-Kelly

Did you end up going on Aristocat? We are considering it for July but I wondered if 7 hrs was too long? Did you feel stuck? Anyone get seasick on the boat? Thanks

 

[Katykins14]

We did Aristocats last month. We loved it! 7 hours did not seem to long. We sailed to 3 different spots, got out and snorkeled or spent some beach time at each of those spots, and had lunch on the boat. We never felt "stuck" on the boat and no one got seasick!

 

[minniemouse1]

We did Aristocats last month. We loved it! 7 hours did not seem to long. We sailed to 3 different spots, got out and snorkeled or spent some beach time at each of those spots, and had lunch on the boat. We never felt "stuck" on the boat and no one got seasick!

Wow this sounds excellent! We are going on the Fantasy in April 2018 and I would love something like this. thank you for the info.

 

[pezgirlroy]

To piggyback on this thread, we are doing the 7 day on the Fantasy next April. It will be myself, husband, 7 year old, 2 year old and my parents. I have told my husband that he can go scuba diving (he is certified) while the rest of us do something else. Has anyone done the adventure that is offered for scuba? Any suggestions on things to do for the rest of us? Thanksm uch.

 

[minniemouse1]

To piggyback on this thread, we are doing the 7 day on the Fantasy next April. It will be myself, husband, 7 year old, 2 year old and my parents. I have told my husband that he can go scuba diving (he is certified) while the rest of us do something else. Has anyone done the adventure that is offered for scuba? Any suggestions on things to do for the rest of us? Thanksm uch.

We are going on the Fantasy in April 2018 as well. I have read about many enjoying a beach day at Brewer's Bay. Just get off the boat and take an open air taxi. We may do this since the kids really just want to sit on the beach and play in the sand.

 

[gary4jenn]

Subscribing

 

[Rob1872]

Subscribing

You are signing up to follow a post last updated 20 months ago. Fully endorse the concept of searching old posts for info; however, not necessarily resurrecting the dead.