tortola,advice

[les127]

im going to visit tortola (cruise ship,ocean village)on december the 6th.wife and i have planned to go to cane garden bay for a few hours sunbathing,what id like to know is can i get a taxi from the cruise dock,and if so how much will it cost(how long will it take)also on the way back is there anyone who can recommend a place to stop of for an hour or so.rum distillery,or anything to kill a bit more time before having to get back on the ship,thanks

[michmike]

yes you can get a taxi right at the dock that will take you to cane garden bay. The trip is less than 20 minutes. Not sure about cost. Worth a stop on the way back, esp if the weather is clear, to go up to sky world, a mountain top tourist attraction, which is pretty inexpensive. Great views from there of the surrounding islands and it is only about 10 min from Roadtown where the ship docks.

[purplebubbie]

Cabs are lined up at thr dock and the prices are posted on a sign - so you are sure not to be taken . A tour to the "other side" is a must- the roads are not to be believed. @! our cab driver - Wallah - was fascinating- he gave a lecture on the flora and fauna and had loads of native plants to identify in the cab - so we woudn't notice the very steep hair pinned turns!>

 

Purplebubbie

[SqueakyDust]

Hi Les, we're on the 29th November sailing for 14 nights so we'll maybe see you at the quayside on the 8th;)

 

We're planning on doing Virgin Gorda - as it is just awesome.

We went 6 years ago but this time we're taking the kids and rather than subject them to a twisty car journey (daughter gets car sick) we thought we'd go back to The Caves.

It is cheaper to do it yourself, compared to OV prices, and it's like something out of an old Star Trek movie set (the rocks that is), also the beach is beautiful and you can snorkel in fairly shallow water. If I remember correctly water shoes are a good idea as it's rocky.

 

Sorry, this doesn't really answer your question:rolleyes:

[les127]

thanks for replys guys.most appreciated.:) have you been on the ov,squeaky

[SqueakyDust]

Not yet Les.

 

A friend is doing the Med cruise in summer so I'm anxiously awaiting her comments.

We've sailed twice previously with Thomsons, doing the Med and the Caribbean

[les127]

ive never been to carib b4,looking forward to it

[jctraveller]

hi, just back from Tortola - we only had from 7am - 1pm there so we grabbed a cab to Brewer's Bay Beach (had read on the boards about the water pollution in Cane Garden Bay) - it took about 20 mins and cost $6 per person each way. Brewer's Bay was a beautiful beach, not huge, but a good size with lots of trees for shade, good snorkeling and a nice beach bar.

lovely views from the road en route.

 

Enjoy!:)

[ghgeckos]

I second that opinion of brewers bay our family of four went and paid $30 including tip for the cab ride over. The driver wanted to know when we wanted to go back to the ship and came back at 2:30 just like we wanted. We rented beach chairs for $5 and they have a bar where you can buy drinks and food. We orded sandwiches from room service the night before and took them along in a backpack cooler we have. We really enjoyed our day at the beach.

[vacationfun]

How was the snorkeling at Brewer's? Any reefs or just rocks? If there was reef, did it look alive or dead? Many fish? THANKS!

[tp n gp]

My husband and I hired a taxi (a SUV) for an island tour on our 7 am to 1 pm stop at Tortola (we exited the ship about 8 or 8:30). It was only the two of us and the cost was $30 each ($60 Total) for a tour for two (we didn't want to go with a large group). Our tour was a drive of entire length of Ridge Road with stops for terrific moutain top viewing of other islands and bays and many wonderful photo opts, past a fantistic moral wall of the history of the island painted on it, we stopped at Skyworld and then a drive along the northern coast thru villages at Carrot Bay, Long Bay circling around Mount Sage back to Road Town. Although we did not get any beach time, we did have a wonderful tour of entire island and learned alot about Tortola. We arrive back by the dock around 11:30ish and got drop off at the dock entrance so we could do alittle shopping. We stopped in at Pussers for a Pain Killer then returned to the ship. I recommend a taxi for a tour unless you are a skilled driver on the very steep and twisted roadways (a horn is a must too! as you find out it help navigate thru the sharp turns and some times one way areas), along with driving of the opposite side.