Torn in Tortola

[Bluedevil]

I am Torn. Our ship arrives at 7:00 am and leaves 6:00 pm

I really want to go to the Baths BUT I also want to hit

some beaches and tour the island a bit. Is this even possible??

I think we could do the Baths and then leave about 12:30, with a 45-50 min trip back putting us at around 1:30. Do I have enough time to hit

Brewars Bay AND Smugglers Cove for some snorkeling? Do you think a taxi would take us to one beach, pick us up say 1 hours later then take us to another beach for 1 hours and return us to the ship?

I am soooo confused.

[vicocala]

Bluedevil,

 

Not sure of what line you are on but I had a good time going on a ship tour in the morning to the Baths and taking a "Secrets of Tortola" excursion in the afternoon. The second one was a riding tour over the mountains with a great view of the various harbors and surrounding islands and a stop at Cane Garden Bay.

 

A nice day overall, seeing two islands. This was on HAL but other lines may have a similar day.

 

My only gripe was that Cane Garden Bay was silty when we were there but the area had had a lot of rain the three weeks prior, but it was pretty deserted.

 

I also had an hour and a half between tours so was able to walk into Roadtown and pick up some things from Sunny Caribbee I wanted to get.

[Bluedevil]

Thanks for the info. We are on NCL Majesty. I might have my sights

set too high ( seeing, doing etc) Guess I will have to go BACK to Tortola

again LOL

Have a great day.

[CaribbeanBound]

I vote for Virgin Gorda, it is an AWESOME beach, but do it yourself.

 

There is no need to prearrange any excursions here. Taxis line up at the pier to take you anywhere you want to go. Several passengers hopped into taxis and got the exact same tour that other passengers paid double for through the ship. Our sights were set on visiting Virgin Gorda. We got off the ship just after 8:00 am and walked 15 minutes to the red-roofed ferry terminal off to the left of the pier. Speedy's and Smith's both offer service to Virgin Gorda. However, only Speedy's could get us back before our 3:00pm departure. So we caught the 9:00 am Speedy's Ferry over and the 12:30 pm ferry back. Cost was $25 per person roundtrip, including roundtrip Speedy's Taxi service from the Virgin Gorda docks to The Baths. (You will not want to attempt to walk to The Baths from the dock). We brought our mask and snorkel with us. Rentals are available at The Baths. We sat upstairs in the open air seating atop the ferry. Cool winds and great views. 30-35 minute ride each way followed by a 10-minute taxi to The Baths. There is a $3.00 (adults) and $2.00 (children) entrance fee to The Baths which are part of the BVU National Parks Trust. The 5-minute walk down to The Baths was rocky and uneven. At the bottom, single-use-only lockers can be rented for $2.50 each. They are large enough to hold a beach bag or backpack. The Baths are an incredibly fun experience. Here is a detailed map of The Baths at Virgin Gorda. The Baths were really fun to explore. Highly recommend water shoes, a water camera, and a swimsuit. A beautiful beach with crystal clear waters awaits visitors on the other side of the rock maze. While not the greatest snorkeling site for fish, the coral formations were interesting. The water was nice and clear. We would have liked to stay another couple of hours, and look forward to another visit. Highly recommended!

 

If you have an interest in our entire Eastern Caribbean trip, here are the details... http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/easterncaribbean.html

[Bluedevil]

thanks for the tips

The more I think of it the more I feel a trip to the Baths is necessary.

I believe it is said to be 1 of 100 things you should see in your lifetime......

[mafiadon]

Would this be a good tour for someone that is not a good swimmer? I can float to China on my back but turn me over and I sink like a rock. I realize that I can stay on the beach but was wondering about the treck through the bolders is the water deep? I really don't know much about the Baths so any help you could give me would be appreciated. Linda

[CaribbeanBound]

The trek through the bolders is knee deep at most. There is not enough water to "swim". You might be able to find it deeper in spots, but those areas would be off the main path.

 

So I do not confuse people, I am only referring to hike through the bolders. Of course there is plenty of water in the ocean which is accessed via the beach.

[scottlyn]

The neat thing about the Baths is that it has something for everyone. You can walk through the boulders (lots of fun) to a beautiful white sandy beach. There is great snorkeling, and jumping from the boulders. One of my favorite things is to take the trail directly behind the info. booth and bathrooms. It leads to the top of the mountain (easy climb for all) and there is a great restuarant there with shops. From the restuarant, the view if breath-taking of the other islands and all of the sailboats!! There is even a fresh water swimming pool there.:)

[hylasgirl]

Thanks for all the great info on the Bath's. My husband and I are going next week, and we have been wanting to see The Bath's forever! I bought my own snorkel gear for this cruise... but I don't have water shoes... I wonder if we can find some in Fort Lauderdale before we leave? Nothing like that in Utah in the winter.

 

Thanks again for all the great info