Tortola...Is it worth getting off the ship??

[JimmyV]

Even if you do not want to snorkel, who wouldn't want to go to one of these beaches!!!

I went back and checked my notes. Most of the snorkeling that we did off of Tortola was done from our sailboat, where we would anchor offshore in a good spot. We went to Jost Van Dyke, Norman Island, "The Indians" and Salt Island among other. But we did go to Brewer's Bay one day, and coupled that with some time at Cane Garden Bay. Many of the places that I mentioned (other than Brewer's Bay) can be accessed through ship excursions from what I saw on the DCL website. Such as Jost Van Dyke and Norman Island. But they are pricey. And Cane Garden Bay will always be a "Beach Day" option as it is the most crowded, famous and developed beach on the island. Thank (or blame) Jimmy Buffet for that! But the snorkeling at CGB is not very good. Brewer's Bay will be a lot less crowded and is probably the best beach for snorkeling on the island. So if you want a beach-based snorkel day, that is where you want to go. And all it will cost you is a cab ride. Here are a couple of pictures. As is the case with most half-moon bays, the snorkeling is best at either end.

By comparison, this is what Cane Garden Bay looks like, and then you have to picture it with 2,000 people from a ship!

If off-shore snorkeling is your thing, you can look into a trip to Jost or Norman's, or one of the other "Catamaran Snorkeling Adventures" either offered though the ship or privately. They will be the most expensive option. Or, you can get in a safari cab and ask to go to Brewer's Bay. Odds are that you will share the taxi with a family headed to Cane Garden Bay because they are very close to one another. Those folks will get dropped off first and then you will be on your way. And at your appointed pick-up time, the process will be reversed. You would get picked up and either taken to Soper's Hole, or make a stop at CGB to pick up more people.

Good luck with your choice!

p.s. Just to let you know that I'm not full of $#@!, here is a link to a Tortola Travel website with their suggestions: http://www.vacationtortola.com/Best-Places-To-Snorkel.html

And yes, The Baths really is a "bucket list" destination, even though I really don't like doing it from a cruise ship. We usually check the cruise calendar and go when the cruise ships are not in port that day. But if that is your only chance to go, then go. The path on the left (as explained in the earlier post) is longer, but less steep. Stay on the path and you will be fine. It isn't rock climbing. It is trail walking.

 

[papertraveller]

Could you do the walk in sandals? Or is something with a good tread recommended?

 

[Muskegon78]

Does anyone have a recommendation on who and how to book a virgin Gorda day directly (not through DCL due to child's age)?

 

[JimmyV]

Does anyone have a recommendation on who and how to book a virgin Gorda day directly (not through DCL due to child's age)?

Your best option is to travel on your own, without a "tour". You can book with Speedy's. It is a ferry service that will take you to Yacht Harbor, Virgin Gorda, and from there you will find safari cabs to take you to The Baths, or anywhere else you want to go. And you can arrange for a specific pickup time for the return trip.
http://www.bviferries.com/index.html

But if you want a pre-packaged excursion through a third party, they are available. (These are excursions to The Baths. But island tours are also available.)
https://www.shoretrips.com/excursio...a/tortola-bvi/our-deluxe-tour-of-virgin-gorda
http://excursions.shorefox.com/shore-excursion/547/fat-virgin-baths-escape

 

[Muskegon78]

Your best option is to travel on your own, without a "tour". You can book with Speedy's. It is a ferry service that will take you to Yacht Harbor, Virgin Gorda, and from there you will find safari cabs to take you to The Baths, or anywhere else you want to go. And you can arrange for a specific pickup time for the return trip.
http://www.bviferries.com/index.html

But if you want a pre-packaged excursion through a third party, they are available. (These are excursions to The Baths. But island tours are also available.)
https://www.shoretrips.com/excursio...a/tortola-bvi/our-deluxe-tour-of-virgin-gorda
http://excursions.shorefox.com/shore-excursion/547/fat-virgin-baths-escape

Perfect, thanks!

 

[Muskegon78]

So with this ferry schedule and a schedule 9am arrival, would our best bet be the 10:40 ferry there and the 3:30 ferry back? Wondering if the schedule ever changes and if it needs to be booked in advance as well

Road Town, Tortola - Virgin Gorda
Departure Time Departing Arriving Arrival Time
7:45 am TORTOLA VIRGIN GORDA 8:15 am
9:00 am TORTOLA VIRGIN GORDA 9:30 am
10:40 am TORTOLA VIRGIN GORDA 11:10 am
1:30 pm TORTOLA VIRGIN GORDA 2:00 pm
4:30 pm TORTOLA VIRGIN GORDA 5:00 pm
6:00 pm TORTOLA VIRGIN GORDA 6:30 pm
Virgin Gorda - Road Town, Tortola
Departure Time Departing Arriving Arrival Time
7:00 am VIRGIN GORDA TORTOLA 7:30 am
8:00 am VIRGIN GORDA TORTOLA 8:30 am
10:00 am VIRGIN GORDA TORTOLA 10:30 am
12:40 pm VIRGIN GORDA TORTOLA 1:10 pm
3:30 pm VIRGIN GORDA TORTOLA 4:00 pm
5:00 pm VIRGIN GORDA TORTOLA 5:30 pm

 

[JimmyV]

So with this ferry schedule and a schedule 9am arrival, would our best bet be the 10:40 ferry there and the 3:30 ferry back? Wondering if the schedule ever changes and if it needs to be booked in advance as well

Yes, the schedules can change, so re-confirm a week or two before you travel. Here is a link to some FAQs about the BVI ferrys.
http://www.bestofbvi.com/info/info_bviferry.htm

As for reservations, the site says the following:

Do I need to make reservations?
Reservations are generally not required except for the following:

• Between Virgin Gorda - Anegada (Road Town Fast Ferry)
• Between Beef Island - Virgin Gorda (NSX)
• Between Tortola - Cooper Island

None of these are the ferry that you would be taking. That said, my personal practice with virtually everything in life is that if reservations are an option, then I make them. If reservations are not accepted, then so be it. But if it is possible to make one, I do, even if it turns out that I am the only sap who did so. One less thing to worry about.

 

[january9]

Another vote for The Baths at Virgin Gorda! We did this on our own because DS was too young to book with Disney. We also saved quite a big chunk of change doing it on our own.

Our other stop on the cruise was St. Thomas. The Baths were by far our favorite

Can you give me some info on how you did this on your own? I'd love to skip the boat ride over and was thinking a taxi if available. Any details would be appreciated!

 

[dcassetta]

Can you give me some info on how you did this on your own? I'd love to skip the boat ride over and was thinking a taxi if available. Any details would be appreciated!

Virgin Gorda is a separate island from Tortola, so taxis will not be an option. If you do not want to take the Disney excursion or a public ferry, you might look into chartering a private boat tour.

 

[january9]

Virgin Gorda is a separate island from Tortola, so taxis will not be an option. If you do not want to take the Disney excursion or a public ferry, you might look into chartering a private boat tour.

whoops! I meant skipping a boat like a catamaran and doing a ferry. Wondering if the ferry and doing a taxi is a good way to go and skip the group tour.

 

[dcassetta]

This is absolutely fine. There are several ferry services to Virgin Gorda, but we went on http://www.bviferries.com/. When you arrive on the island, cabs will be available. Make arrangements with the driver to return and pick you up.

 

[SonicGuy]

Never been there - going in January - but for whats it worth, a survey of Conde Nast Travel magazine had Tortola in the Top 5 most beautiful islands in the world.

 

[cdoc29]

If you are looking for a scuba excursion then Tortola has one of the best in the caribbean, the RMS Rhone. It is constantly listed as one of the best wreck dives in the caribbean. It lies in about 40 to 80 feet of the perfectly crystal clear water. On our dive we saw so many fish, turtles, even a barracuda. We even got to swim through the ship. We didn’t book through the ship just found an independent operator for half the price (just look on trip advisor) as the cruise ship. Ironically the operator we used also had three cast members from the boat including the ship's doctor. The dive site is only about 30 minutes by boat from the docks and we got back in plenty of time. If you are a scuba diver do not miss this dive, it still ranks as one of the all time best I have ever been on.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

We used Eggbert, who has a boat to take you over to the Baths. He left us off at the beach. No walking down from the top. It was also a very nice boat ride, we enjoyed it. Gave us a contact number of 284-443-5288. Can't tell you if that's still valid since it's been almost 2 years.

Eggbert is still there! Gotta ask, how many were on the boat with you, what type of boat was it, and how long was the boat ride? We did the ferry on our own last month. Getting to/from was the pits but I won't say it wasn't worth it. It was the most beautiful place I'd ever seen.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Could you do the walk in sandals? Or is something with a good tread recommended?

I did the path down to the cave trail in flip flops. It's steep for a walking path with a few steps down but it's not like rock climbing hard. My inlaws could easily do the walk down (FiL has had cancer 3x, back surgery, blown knees a few times, etc). Keep in mind hubby & I are in our 40s, not in our best shape, and I have both bad knees and plantar fasciitis. I took off my flops and traversed the cave trail (little bit of ladders, stooping down, & a rope you hold to steady yourself as you walk up a rock). We did fine. It was incredible. We are planning to go back twice in May!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

So with this ferry schedule and a schedule 9am arrival, would our best bet be the 10:40 ferry there and the 3:30 ferry back? Wondering if the schedule ever changes and if it needs to be booked in advance as well

Road Town, Tortola - Virgin Gorda
Departure Time Departing Arriving Arrival Time
7:45 am TORTOLA VIRGIN GORDA 8:15 am
9:00 am TORTOLA VIRGIN GORDA 9:30 am
10:40 am TORTOLA VIRGIN GORDA 11:10 am
1:30 pm TORTOLA VIRGIN GORDA 2:00 pm
4:30 pm TORTOLA VIRGIN GORDA 5:00 pm
6:00 pm TORTOLA VIRGIN GORDA 6:30 pm
Virgin Gorda - Road Town, Tortola
Departure Time Departing Arriving Arrival Time
7:00 am VIRGIN GORDA TORTOLA 7:30 am
8:00 am VIRGIN GORDA TORTOLA 8:30 am
10:00 am VIRGIN GORDA TORTOLA 10:30 am
12:40 pm VIRGIN GORDA TORTOLA 1:10 pm
3:30 pm VIRGIN GORDA TORTOLA 4:00 pm
5:00 pm VIRGIN GORDA TORTOLA 5:30 pm

Definitely keep rechecking the ferry schedule. Ask the day of. Ask as many people as you can. We asked an employee as we got off the ferry if there was a 12:30 back. Yes. Great. (We were on another cruise line with a different/more limited port schedule.) We cut our time short at the Baths to get back to the ferry for the 12:30 return to Tortola. That's when we found out that, no, the schedule had changed. The next ferry was 1:30. Great. That's an hour we could've still been at the beach rather than sitting on a stone wall in the shade. For an hour. Ugh! We even showed the guy the schedule online that said 12:30. We had about 6 people with us who were also told 12:30. He said, "The schedules change." Nice.