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Never been to Tortola. What to do?

ninel246

By ninel246,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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LrgPizza

LrgPizza

Posted
Posted

Most people who visit Tortola actually leave Tortola in favor of one of the other B.V.I, like Jost Van Dyke or Virgin Gorda. My favorite place on Tortola is Cane Garden Bay, which is one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen. However, I've never visited while cruise ships were in port so the beach was deserted except for my husband and me. I have no idea how crowded it gets.

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Macadian

Macadian

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The port itself is under construction and on our short walk round the smell of sewage was encountered more than once. As has been suggested, take an excursion, otherwise stay on board and enjoy the ship. IMHO, this port is not suitable at this time for large cruise ships.

Edited by Macadian
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2hearted

2hearted

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Cane Beach is nice, but very very crowded. My personal favorite is Brewer's Bay. Not crowded at all and has great snorkeling right from the beach. I'm not sure if you can rent gear or not, we have always brought our own. $8 cab p/p each way. Has a small snack bar with beer as well.

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Shelli

Shelli

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We were just there last Wednesday. Not much to do-- shopping is sparse at best. Lots of beaches, but we didn't want to do that. The first time we were there, years back, we took an island tour-- lots of offers at the port, and expect to pay around $20/pp. That was pleasant, but no great shakes.

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CamaCama

CamaCama

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We went to Brewer's Bay, the taxi driver suggested cane garden bay first but we said we wanted more low key since we were at magen's bay in st. Thomas the day before which was crowded. We got to paddle board, kayak and stuff there the day before so we wanted more of a relaxing (as relaxing as you can get with a 2.5 year old) day in Tortola. He suggested Brewer's Bay and it was perfect! Tons of pictures in my review, link in my signature.

Edited by CamaCama
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Daenerys T

Daenerys T

Posted
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We went to Brewer's Bay, the taxi driver suggested cane garden bay first but we said we wanted more low key since we were at magen's bay in st. Thomas the day before which was crowded. We got to paddle board, kayak and stuff there the day before so we wanted more of a relaxing (as relaxing as you can get with a 2.5 year old) day in Tortola. He suggested Brewer's Bay and it was perfect! Tons of pictures in my review, link in my signature.

 

Do they have food and beverages there?

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CP3o

CP3o

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I'm doing the earliest NCL baths excursion so back before noon. With a couple hours before all aboard, I was wondering if anything right at the port to do solo? (The rest of family will want back on ship, maybe me too if nothing much right at port.)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Showtime35

Showtime35

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All the cabs will try to take you to Cane beach. My BIL and family went and said it was crowded. My husband and I took a cab to Brewers bay Beach. Nice and quiet. lil snack bar and eatery. $8 pp each way. Beautiful!

Why do the Taxi drivers try to push everybody to Cane Garden Bay? Is there any specific reason?

 

We are planning to go to Josiah's' Bay on the North side of the island...my kids are interested in learning how to surf, or at least get to ride on some good waves into shore.

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CinAndTheCity

CinAndTheCity

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Does anyone know if you go to the Baths on your own if you will be on the same ferries as people doing the NCL excursion will be on? Also, if you do the excursion with NCL do you 100% have to go back on the specifically timed ferry for your group or can you go on a later one?

 

Thanks!

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boopsahoy

boopsahoy

Posted
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Most people who visit Tortola actually leave Tortola in favor of one of the other B.V.I, like Jost Van Dyke or Virgin Gorda. My favorite place on Tortola is Cane Garden Bay, which is one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen. However, I've never visited while cruise ships were in port so the beach was deserted except for my husband and me. I have no idea how crowded it gets.

 

I did Cane Garden Bay the past 2 cruises. Beautiful and not crowded at all.

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willise

willise

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We went to Cane Garden Bay last April, and will be going again in May. We did not find it crowded at all, quite the contrary actually. I'm not one for crowds, and I did not feel like I was surrounded by people.

 

Looking forward to going again, but we will not be taking the safari bus. We'll be taking a taxi this time - little more money but quicker since we are only there from 7-3.

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Rob0519

Rob0519

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We took a bus tour of the island that included maybe 2 hours at a beach. Which one, I don't remember. Our daughters did a zipline excursion in the treetops. They had a blast. If you're adventurous , you may want to look into that.

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tartan cruiser

tartan cruiser

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Posted

We took an island tour that we found at the pier($25/ pp) in Tortola on our 2/13/2016 Escape cruise. NCL Spirit was also in port with us. They said it was leaving immediately but took 30 minutes to fill the safari bus.(22 people) These tours are hit or miss as far as guides go, too. Our speakers only worked half the time (seems there was a short in the wiring) and our guide was very minimal with his commentary. Seemed like he was new at being a guide. When stopped at one of the look outs we could hear another guide talking for about 10 minutes about what we were seeing and ours shared about 3 minutes worth of information and then went to get a smoothie while we looked around. Would still recommend an island tour as the island is beautiful. Just be aware that the roads can be very scary. Narrow, steep and curvy. Stopped at Cane Garden Bay for 50 minutes as part of the tour.(Was suppose to be 1 hour) Beach was beautiful but very crowded. Down the beach seemed quieter than around the bar. Chairs were $5 and a coke $2. Shade was plentiful too. Would probably go to Brewers if more than 1 ship was in port.

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kathylynnt

kathylynnt

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Did you happen to notice if there were any little kids (who should be in car seats) on these island tours? We'll have 18 month old twins with us and I wonder how safe it is for them. I've read several posts about the scary roads. Thanks...

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LakeWobegon

LakeWobegon

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We're headed there for the first time next month. We booked Virgin Gorda and the Baths through NCL. Going into it knowing its going to be more active and running around. But if we were looking for more relaxing we'd opt for one of the beaches mentioned. Good luck.

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