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St Thomas to BVI?


PrincessE
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We are taking a 14-day cruise to the Caribbean with Princess in March 2018. We will be in St. Thomas from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm. Is it possible to take a water taxi to Jost Van Dyke and back during that time frame? We absolutely love White Bay and JVD and would love to visit again. A Painkiller at the Soggy Dollar Bar is on our wishlist too!

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I understand your desire to go to White Bay as it is very nice there!

It's always possible to hire a private charter for a price, there are small 6-pax powerboats that have excursions to White Bay like lionindasun, sonic charters, rockhoppin and others. We haven't taken these excursions, but they look great and I seem to remember them being priced $600 - $700 for 1 - 6 ppl, not sure if that includes gas. There are water taxis like dolphin shuttle and st thomas water taxi that you can contact for availability and pricing. You do need a valid passport of course.

Good luck!

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  • 1 month later...

Hi there -

 

I just now found your reply...had to go looking for it. Strange I wasn't notified there was a reply to my original post. Anyway...thanks for the information. I really appreciate it!

 

I understand your desire to go to White Bay as it is very nice there!

It's always possible to hire a private charter for a price, there are small 6-pax powerboats that have excursions to White Bay like lionindasun, sonic charters, rockhoppin and others. We haven't taken these excursions, but they look great and I seem to remember them being priced $600 - $700 for 1 - 6 ppl, not sure if that includes gas. There are water taxis like dolphin shuttle and st thomas water taxi that you can contact for availability and pricing. You do need a valid passport of course.

Good luck!

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You have to pay departure tax when you leave BVI even for a day sail in addition to the cost of the charter and tip. Paid in cash only. Not sure how much it is.

That is the fee for customs that they all charge. You would obviously contact the operators to get their current prices, most list the cash-only fee on their site...

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  • 4 weeks later...

The ferry service can be somewhat "unreliable" - you are on island time. And to places like Jost Van Dyke their schedule is very limited and takes about an hour travel time so plan accordingly and have a backup plan (like hitching a ride back with a local).

 

Private taxi's are more money. Upwards of $200 plus the processing fee and can require a minimum number of people. (Dolphin Water Taxi, St. Thomas Water Taxi, Dohms)

 

Don't forget to add on your time it takes to get from the cruise ship port in Charlotte Amalie to wherever you are taking your taxi from also.

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The ferry is quite reliable, but the schedule generally doesn't work for day visitors (cruise passengers).

But for someone with enough time in port (9+ hrs) and really wanting to go to Jost, the smaller powerboat charters mentioned earlier that take 6 ppl max are a viable option because they are private and work to your schedule. They can also be an affordable option when the cost is split between 3 couples.

 

Along with the Dolphin Shuttle there is a new (to us) Jost Boat that is making the trip -

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147404-d7276055-Reviews-The_Jost_Boat-St_Thomas_U_S_Virgin_Islands.html

 

Not for everyone, but certainly doable, the private charters make runs to Jost every day with land-based tourists and as mentioned you'd just need to budget your time accordingly.

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(n) No way we would do it on a cruise line port stop from St. Thomas.

Hard to easily arrange and too much can go wrong. :(

 

 

Exactly my thoughts....unless the cruise ship is doing the excursion I would be very apprehensive going out on my own to another island in the hopes I would make it back on time.

 

Save the island hopping for when you can fly over and stay for a long weekend or week. Then you can enjoy what every island has to offer and not be rushed to make it back onboard in time.

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Exactly my thoughts....unless the cruise ship is doing the excursion I would be very apprehensive going out on my own to another island in the hopes I would make it back on time.

 

Save the island hopping for when you can fly over and stay for a long weekend or week. Then you can enjoy what every island has to offer and not be rushed to make it back onboard in time.

 

Per above ... Exactly! (y)

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Yes, obviously taking a land-based vacation affords more opportunity to visit other islands and not be on a tight schedule. While staying on STT I've talked to two of the private charter operators that take up to 6 ppl to White Bay every day and we wouldn't have a problem taking one of these to White Bay. I know how reliable they are, and I know there are also a couple return options if needed. And it's not all that uncommon for day visitors who have 9 hrs + in port to use these independent and private operators to go to STJ and Jost. I'm sure we have more confidence in this because we spend time between Tortola and STT and we're more comfortable with this and have confidence in the public and private transportation options. Ergo my feedback to the OP.

 

But everyone is different of course, and I respect Lulu's advice 100%! Another huge benefit of being on a land-based vacation is you can schedule your visits around the cruise ship schedule to avoid the biggest crowds.

 

But if you want something badly enough, as PrincessE who has been a CC member longer than I, with 9 hrs in port she can definitely have a nice day on the water, and relaxing at Seddy's or the Soggy $. And with the private charter she could even stop by the B line on Little Jost!

Edited by blue_water
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And I doubt the OP is even looking at this now, just want to show that there are options if someone really has a desire to do this. For others who want a nice day on the water but also want to stay a little closer to port taking one of the independent day sails like High Pockets or Yacht Nightwind is a "safer" or more comfortable option because they just go to STJ. They are very experienced in dealing with the cruise ship schedules, just as the smaller powerboat outfits are. These operators work with day visitors and land-based tourists daily and have excellent reviews from both.

But enough of my opinions!

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I would not try to go on a day in port. One time on a land vacation in St Thomas, we took a day sail to the BVI. Someone on the boat with us had trouble with his passport and customs when we were returning. We waited on the boat for over an hour while they tried to "clear things up" (luckily the day sail group served us bushwhackers while we waited ;p). They eventually asked the man's girlfriend to come inside and we left without them. Thank God we were staying at Sapphire. If we would have been on a cruise, we would have missed the boat.

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Yes there is definitely the potential for delays, especially when on a shared excursion with others. But the benefit of a private charter is there are no others to worry about, just yourselves. You're still at the mercy of potential mechanical problems and adverse weather conditions which can also be a problem. But in this case, if you are stuck on Jost or Little Jost another option can be found for a timely return.

Or if your next stop happens to be Tortola you can enjoy a night at the Sandcastle and ferry to Tortola the next day! ;)

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