Jost Van Dyke

[cappy09]

Looking for information on Oasis excursion to Jost. Anyone who has done this please let me know what your impression of this was. Did you dock at a pier or did you have to swim into the beach ? What restaurants did you go to for lunch etc. I am booked to do this in May with 5 other people and really need some imput. Some of us snorkle and some of us are not strong swimmers but love the beach. So any help will be appreciated.

[GMoney]

Thanks for posting this. I think I'm going to do this shore ex when I'm on Oasis next week. If I do, I'll let you know how it goes.

[tiggerman101]

Please come back with impressions. I usually don't book a lot with the cruise company, but this sounded like a unique opportunity. I have it booked for our Feb 20th oasis cruise.

[LLindaC]

We spent our honeymoon in the BVI and loved Jost. I did a bit of research and found that you can do this excursion on your own. However, it will cost $77 per person and that doesn't include your gear plus the extra island. You will also have to get from Great Bay to White Bay which may be too much of a walk for some. If you want to skip the other spot, you can reserve a spot using Dolphin for $110.

 

I usually shun the ship's excursions, but this may be your best bet with limited time and the occasional late ferries in the islands. It's going to be a pretty long sail over fairly choppy waters. Let's hope it isn't overbooked and you don't feel like a sardine! I imagine you'll have to wear a life vest as well. My guess is that you will put down anchor in the shallow waters of White Bay ( knee deep) and wade in. Thus the name Soggy Dollar Bar ( the most popular place). You HAVE to have the famous painkiller drink- it's the official drink of the BVI and that's a VERY lively spot at lunch. There are also a few other beach bars and restaurants there and a couple of shops. It is an easy walk or taxi over to Great Bay where they have some very good beach restaurants as well.The water is beautiful at Jost- even prettier than St John, IMO. We are thinking of doing this excursion if we don't charter one on our own. Honeymoon memories! We are there in 3 weeks, we'll check back.

[Ken Greco]

Many years ago my wife and I took a spped boat from St Thomas Red Hook to Jost Van Dyke. You did have to clear BVI customs but it was easy. The water is calm most of the time and clear sometimes 60 feet down. Week swimers can stay close to the shore and still see a great deal of marine life.

[Ken Greco]

Many years ago my wife and I took a spped boat from St Thomas Red Hook to Jost Van Dyke. You did have to clear BVI customs but it was easy. The water is calm most of the time and clear sometimes 60 feet down. Week swimers can stay close to the shore and still see a great deal of marine life.

[LLindaC]

I have spent a couple hours working on this. Yes, you can take the Fast ferry, but it is still an hour ( 15 min cab to Red Hook ANd traffic) plus the fast ferry stops in St John.

 

Here's the scoop:Feery schedules show you 2 departure times from Charlotte Amalie. The 2 companies (N Sun and Smith's ferry)offer ferries exchanging times and weeks.The ferry to West End is about 45 min. You must clear customs, then take the ferry from West End to Great bay. That is 20 dollars and takes 15 minutes. You can eat there, but the prime beach is at White bay which is a 15 min walk in full sun up a large hill, or you can taxi.

There is a departure tax leaving West End.

 

In a nutshell, you need to depart at the 8 am ferry to go to West End and leave on the 2 pm ferry back.Again, we stayed in the BVIs for 2 weeks- we often saw ferries delayed and even cancelled (no problem, mon!)

 

After much consideration, we booked the Jost trip through RCCL. That is the first excursion I've booked in 12 years. and 16 cruises I hate ship excursions. However, the price and timing of this one can't be matched, IMO. we leave in less than 3 weeks and I will be happy to report our satisfaction with this excursion.

[tiggerman101]

Your research seems to show that we both made the right choice in going with the ship. I am not a fan of ship excursions, but I felt this one was warranted. Thanks for your posts and I look forward to hearing your impressions.

[Cruise Gopher]

What's the excursion name called? I want to see if it is available on our Freedom cruise.

[LLindaC]

It is only available on the Oasis at this time.

[Chari910]

How long is the boat ride each way? How much time do you have at the island?

[DEIx15x8]

We did it on the Jan. 2nd sailing. It wasn't what we had expected. The crew was young, friendly and helpful but it seemed to turn into a bit of a booze cruise. We even got tailed on the way back to the ship after going too fast.

 

When you go to the beach you have to swim from the boat. Getting to the beach was fairly easy but getting back to the boat was exhausting. We booked it mainly because of the comments from others about Jost Van Dyke and the "Oasis Exclusive" label. Having done it I don't think I would do it again. The booze cruise atmosphere wasn't to my liking and we didn't learn any information about anything. Next time we'll do a standard tour of the island with a beach stop.

[Chari910]

How long was the boat ride?

Was the snorkeling good?

Hmm, I just booked this tour. Can we change tours and get refunds?

[tiggerman101]

Oh wow. I really appreciate your response, but can you give some more details? What exactly was Christmas Cove? How long was the boat ride? Did you really have to "swim" to the shore or was it just knee high? I ask because my partner does not swim. I really don't want to spend the day with a floating party either (not that I have anything against that). Thanks for any reply you might be able to give.

[melmich]

We have booked this on the Serenade and would love more details. How long is the excursion, what time do you get back to ship? Is it unlimited drinks? Do you have a lunch included? I think ours leave at 8:00 and it says it lasts about 4.5 hours? Is snorkeling gear included? How is the beach there?

[LLindaC]

I am surprised about that, as there is a dinghy which scuttles people from the boats to shore. Hmm. Anyway, the water isn't deep until you walk very, very far out and is very calm. I don't understand what you mean about touring the island. It's basically just 3 small towns on a very tiny island- not much to see or do but beach and swim and drink! No, lunch is not included, but they have lobster roasts and conch fritters at the various places.

 

I'm not surprised that it turned into a booze fest. Jost is known as the party island in the BVIs and I guarantee, there's a party going on no matter what time you arrive. Foxy's at night gets way crazy (note all the underwear hanging off the ceiling) We also had the pleasure of attending a Full Moon Party at Bomba shack in Tortola, lol. What you will find is a pristine little island surrounded by the most beautiful water and wide white beaches. You won't have the crowds on Trunk Bay or Magen's Bay and if you want to walk up the hill over to Great Bay, the scenery is amazing.

[LLindaC]

hey....do any of you have Google Earth? If so, pull up Jost. You'll see the harbor where the ferry comes in, then the road over to White Bay where you can see how shallow the water is and all the boats moored there. You'l l also see that there is virtually nothing there but beach and some beach places!

[Emdee]

DEIx15x8

 

I am booked on this tour but cannot swim. Did the boat have a dinghy to ferry the non swimmers.

 

Thanks for your help.

[LLindaC]

I'm sure you'll have a life vest.

[DEIx15x8]

DEIx15x8

 

I am booked on this tour but cannot swim. Did the boat have a dinghy to ferry the non swimmers.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

They did have a dinghy that they used to get the crew on show with the passports to enter the island but they did not use it for transporting passengers when we then moved to the cove. If you ask they may be willing to help but during our trip it was never used. The water is definitely too deep to stand. I was not to far from the coast swimming and often could not reach the bottom (shallow then a quick drop off). For the swim too and from the boat their is not way anyone could reach bottom and swimming out is against the current which made it really tiring.

 

For the information we were hoping for some history on the island and information about we were passing on the way too and from their. They never even said the names of the city we stopped at or any of the coves. Beyond Jost Van Dyke their were no other names mentioned, I'd have to go back to the excursion description to even know where we went to stop.

[tiggerman101]

Has anyone done this recently that can give another report report? I am still having a hard time trying to realize what exactly this excursion entails. My partner doesn't swim and actually does not like deep water at all. If anyone can en;lighten me on how this excursion is run I would greatly appreciate it.

[zaku290]

Has anyone went on this excursion with kids? We are there early March and the trip sounded cool and relaxed but after reading that it can turn in a booze fiesta, I would like to know if it is recommended for a family...

 

Kids are 13, 10 and 6 :confused:

[LLindaC]

We just returned from the Jost excursion. It was a REAL trip! First, there were a couple people who couldn't go because the BVI requires a visa for some nationalities. Best to check ahead!

 

We got down there about 7:30 and did the required paperwork and gave the crew our passports. There were only 18 of us, a small group. The boat can hold 100. They only run this excursion on Tuesdays for the Oasis only. The boat is the Bimini Breeze. It was very choppy that day and we were FLYING and bouncing HARD over the waves. I was afraid of getting sick, but instead had a blast. No booze until after snorkeling. We went to a cove near Jost and snorkeled an interesting reef. 2 crew members went with us and identified fish and coral. They had a "pet" barracuda that shows up for a treat when the boat arrivves. They took us to deeper water where we saw 5 rays.

 

After a really nice snorkel, we got back to the boat and the Painkillers started flowing. They also have beer and soft drinks. They even had chips and salsa - nice. We made a 1 hr stop at Great Bay ?...shoot, the one where the ferry stops. There are a couple restaurants and bars. We ate at Foxy's.

Next, we sailed over to the beautiful bay where the Soggy Dollar is. Yes, you must swim to shore. Yes, it can be a bit rough, but you can wear a life vest. If you fear water, don't go.

 

The crew of 3 guys and one gal are American, darling and probably all in their 20s.The captain has a lot of experience as he was a charter sailor for years. They are funny- swinging from the rafters, bouncing up and down to the waves, etc. The music is loud...all Buffet, Bob Marley, Beach Boys, etc. very festive. We were an older crowd, but not stuffy. We were all singing and dancing and one girl was pole dancing, lol.

 

It was a really really fun excursion and what I describe sounds like your cup of tea, do it. It's a good bargain, imo. We got back aroud 2:45

[tiggerman101]

Thank you so much for the review. Due to the fact that my partner can't swim and is terrified of water over his head, I am going to have to cancel this. Personally, I think it sounds great, but I don't want to put him through that. Glad you had a good time.