Tortola Escape to Jost Van Dyke - Rebel Yell

[kackles]

We signed up for this excursion. Is there any opportunity to snorkel once at the beach? If so, is the snorkeling any good?

[Sotermarler]

We signed up for this excursion. Is there any opportunity to snorkel once at the beach? If so, is the snorkeling any good?

 

 

I'm gonna say no to that. It's the most beautiful white sand beach, I don't think there is much to see there. It's great for swimming and running your toes through the sand.

There was not much to see where we were swimming. I don't know if anyone else saw anything.

 

 

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[chloemonkey]

We did this excursion back in February when we stopped in Tortola on the Escape. It was just 3 adults, so we didn't really think about the kid-friendliness factor, or lack there of when we were on Jost. We are going on the Escape again in April, there are 12 of us which includes twins age 12 as well as a 14 & 16 y/o. What is your opinion on JVD with kids?

 

My only thought would be to walk PAST the Soggy Dollar....and stop at one of the places that charge to rent lounges. It is SO much quieter there....cannot remember the name but there is a restaurant, bar and cute shop with some nice items too. And the Pina Coladas were the best! Freshly grated nutmeg if you want.....just a really wonderful day.

 

Of course if you like the more loud music and party atmosphere...then the Soggy Dollar is for you! We did stop there on our short walk to the Rebel to buy a tee shirt....and were SO glad that we did not choose to spend the day there as it was too crowded and loud for us. I think that watching the younger ones would also be much easier as they swim in the ocean in a spot that is not FULL of other swimmers.

 

I believe the charge was $10 per person.....shade trees if you like......truly our favorite spot out of the 14 days we spent this past trip!

[kackles]

I'm gonna say no to that. It's the most beautiful white sand beach, I don't think there is much to see there. It's great for swimming and running your toes through the sand.

There was not much to see where we were swimming. I don't know if anyone else saw anything.

 

 

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Great. Thanks for the info.

[buckeye rob]

That might be Gertrude's. Check post 17 of this thread. Little less "noisy adult" content. Regards, Gerry.

I'm gonna say no to that. It's the most beautiful white sand beach, I don't think there is much to see there. It's great for swimming and running your toes through the sand.

There was not much to see where we were swimming. I don't know if anyone else saw anything.

 

 

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My only thought would be to walk PAST the Soggy Dollar....and stop at one of the places that charge to rent lounges. It is SO much quieter there....cannot remember the name but there is a restaurant, bar and cute shop with some nice items too. And the Pina Coladas were the best! Freshly grated nutmeg if you want.....just a really wonderful day.

 

Of course if you like the more loud music and party atmosphere...then the Soggy Dollar is for you! We did stop there on our short walk to the Rebel to buy a tee shirt....and were SO glad that we did not choose to spend the day there as it was too crowded and loud for us. I think that watching the younger ones would also be much easier as they swim in the ocean in a spot that is not FULL of other swimmers.

 

I believe the charge was $10 per person.....shade trees if you like......truly our favorite spot out of the 14 days we spent this past trip!

Edited September 13, 2016 by buckeye rob

[starfishee]

I'm gonna say no to that. It's the most beautiful white sand beach, I don't think there is much to see there. It's great for swimming and running your toes through the sand.

There was not much to see where we were swimming. I don't know if anyone else saw anything.

 

 

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I agree, it's definitely all about swimming, lounging, taking in the incredible view, checking out all of the little bars/restaurants on the beach and certainly a few painkillers. Agreed, definitely the most gorgeous beach, and that water:eek:

[starfishee]

My only thought would be to walk PAST the Soggy Dollar....and stop at one of the places that charge to rent lounges. It is SO much quieter there....cannot remember the name but there is a restaurant, bar and cute shop with some nice items too. And the Pina Coladas were the best! Freshly grated nutmeg if you want.....just a really wonderful day.

 

Of course if you like the more loud music and party atmosphere...then the Soggy Dollar is for you! We did stop there on our short walk to the Rebel to buy a tee shirt....and were SO glad that we did not choose to spend the day there as it was too crowded and loud for us. I think that watching the younger ones would also be much easier as they swim in the ocean in a spot that is not FULL of other swimmers.

 

I believe the charge was $10 per person.....shade trees if you like......truly our favorite spot out of the 14 days we spent this past trip!

 

Thank you!

[kchiumento]

We did this excursion back in February when we stopped in Tortola on the Escape. It was just 3 adults, so we didn't really think about the kid-friendliness factor, or lack there of when we were on Jost. We are going on the Escape again in April, there are 12 of us which includes twins age 12 as well as a 14 & 16 y/o. What is your opinion on JVD with kids?

 

 

We had our 3 kids with us. It was fine. They were able to swim and snorkel (the snorkeling is not that great as it is just sand), they were able to eat at soggy dollar and my daughter got her hair braided at Gertudes. Here is a pic of my 2 oldest playing the game with the ring on the rope and trying to get it on the hook. It kept them busy for about2 hours. And then a pic of my husband on the hammock. You can see just how busy it was that day. There were 2 Rebel Yell excursions there, a few people

Actually staying at the soggy dollar and 2-3 couples that chartered a boat on their own that were staying the week on one of the other islands. .

 

 

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[volk904]

We have been to St Johns several times the last few years. We have done both the Red Hook Ferry and the ships excursion for self guided St Johns. From the Havensight dock the Red Hook Ferry is not bad. About a 20 min cab ride to redhook and the Ferry Ride is about 15 min. It will be on time. Don't cut your return to close because the afternoon traffic going back by cab makes the trip take about 30 min. The ferry runs every 30 minutes I think. From Crown Bay that cab trip is much longer so we took the excursion rude. Also a note their is a public Ferry from Havensight to Cruz but it only runs several times a day. You might check the schedule.

 

As for St Johns the water is great everywhere. We actually like Cinnamon Bay better. The last trip they were renting chairs at the beach which they did not have 2 years ago.

 

 

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[volk904]

Truck Bay is a national Park they do have great shower and changing areas. The Snorkel trail is not that good in my opinion but there is some fish. Nothing special.

 

 

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[SuiteCruiser]

When visiting Gertrude's, have an early lunch. Her Roti is amazing. Freshly made skins and amazing curried chicken. Best I've had!

[Jenjer]

We did this excursion back in February when we stopped in Tortola on the Escape. It was just 3 adults, so we didn't really think about the kid-friendliness factor, or lack there of when we were on Jost. We are going on the Escape again in April, there are 12 of us which includes twins age 12 as well as a 14 & 16 y/o. What is your opinion on JVD with kids?

 

We did this in June with our 12 and 14 YO kids they loved it. We wore shoes, have to have shoes super sharp and climbed over the hill to Ivans( to the right then come to the beach), which never opened (its on island time)but was a mostly private beach day. Then we headed back and got a few drinks kids swam and hung out in hammocks. Yes there are drunk people. One guy I thought was going to drown in front of us. My DD is a water polo player and I almost had her swim him to his boat but he had friends with him.

 

If you don't want to climb the hill head to the left away from soggy dollar lots of other beach vendors and fewer boats in the water.

 

This was my kids 9th cruise and they will tell you it was their favorite excursion. They just wish they wore goggles on the way back. If you sit in the front of the boat you will be soaked to the bone. I sat up in the captains area with the bags. You can always stow your bag up there and ride the waves up front if you want. Another couple on the excursion with us who where also in the Haven said their water proof bag failed and they lost 2 iphones and a kindle.

[starfishee]

We did this in June with our 12 and 14 YO kids they loved it. We wore shoes, have to have shoes super sharp and climbed over the hill to Ivans( to the right then come to the beach), which never opened (its on island time)but was a mostly private beach day. Then we headed back and got a few drinks kids swam and hung out in hammocks. Yes there are drunk people. One guy I thought was going to drown in front of us. My DD is a water polo player and I almost had her swim him to his boat but he had friends with him.

 

If you don't want to climb the hill head to the left away from soggy dollar lots of other beach vendors and fewer boats in the water.

 

This was my kids 9th cruise and they will tell you it was their favorite excursion. They just wish they wore goggles on the way back. If you sit in the front of the boat you will be soaked to the bone. I sat up in the captains area with the bags. You can always stow your bag up there and ride the waves up front if you want. Another couple on the excursion with us who where also in the Haven said their water proof bag failed and they lost 2 iphones and a kindle.

 

Excellent, i'll have to share this info with my family & friends traveling with kids! Thanks for sharing.

[falkensmaze]

Hi we are looking at this for May and noticed there are 2 departure options as mentioned 7.15 and 9.15. Does one have an advantage over another? like more shore time? I guess if we get the early one there would be some time back at port before all aboard.

[brookie848]

Hi we are looking at this for May and noticed there are 2 departure options as mentioned 7.15 and 9.15. Does one have an advantage over another? like more shore time? I guess if we get the early one there would be some time back at port before all aboard.

 

 

The advantage of the 7:15 trip is that you get your pick of chairs when you arrive at Jost Van Dyke. I believe we left the island around 11:15 or 11:30. By the time the Rebel Yell returned with the second group, there were no chairs available near Soggy Dollar, but there were plenty available at the other bars.

 

The disadvantage is that if you want to drink, you have to be okay with drinking early. But, if you want to avoid really drunk people, the earlier trip may be better for you. Also, Soggy Dollar doesn't serve lunch until around 11:00, so food options are a bit limited if you want something to snack on.

 

We're on the Escape again in 2018 and we plan on doing the same excursion at the same time.

 

By the way, don't count on the top of the boat staying dry. One of the people in our group sat there on the way back and she was completely soaked. She said the captain would aim for the swells and then duck. The water was really rough the day we were there, but the ride to and from was a blast.

[falkensmaze]

The advantage of the 7:15 trip is that you get your pick of chairs when you arrive at Jost Van Dyke. I believe we left the island around 11:15 or 11:30. By the time the Rebel Yell returned with the second group, there were no chairs available near Soggy Dollar, but there were plenty available at the other bars.

 

The disadvantage is that if you want to drink, you have to be okay with drinking early. But, if you want to avoid really drunk people, the earlier trip may be better for you. Also, Soggy Dollar doesn't serve lunch until around 11:00, so food options are a bit limited if you want something to snack on.

 

We're on the Escape again in 2018 and we plan on doing the same excursion at the same time.

 

By the way, don't count on the top of the boat staying dry. One of the people in our group sat there on the way back and she was completely soaked. She said the captain would aim for the swells and then duck. The water was really rough the day we were there, but the ride to and from was a blast.

 

Excellent info thanks! The availability of chairs is definitely a bonus then, and i'm sure we'll manage a couple of early painkillers, we'll just have an early night b4 hand. And getting back to base about noon gives us a little time to walk around port. I will be booking this tonight. Thanks once again :)

[beerman2]

The advantage of the 7:15 trip is that you get your pick of chairs when you arrive at Jost Van Dyke. I believe we left the island around 11:15 or 11:30. By the time the Rebel Yell returned with the second group, there were no chairs available near Soggy Dollar, but there were plenty available at the other bars.

 

The disadvantage is that if you want to drink, you have to be okay with drinking early. But, if you want to avoid really drunk people, the earlier trip may be better for you. Also, Soggy Dollar doesn't serve lunch until around 11:00, so food options are a bit limited if you want something to snack on.

 

We're on the Escape again in 2018 and we plan on doing the same excursion at the same time.

 

By the way, don't count on the top of the boat staying dry. One of the people in our group sat there on the way back and she was completely soaked. She said the captain would aim for the swells and then duck. The water was really rough the day we were there, but the ride to and from was a blast.

 

Just came back from JVD doing the 9:15 trip and didn't notice any real drunk people.

 

We were fortunate to have calm seas . Chairs at Soggy Dollar were scarce for the first hour but once the first group left the 2nd group had plenty.

[TSUmom]

This is one excursion I have been looking forward to since I booked this cruise. Thank you to all for posting great information.

 

We have the early group but I am not sure we had an option when I booked it. Maybe because we are only in Tortola until 3:00. I am fine with the early time though because as another poster mentioned we will get back to port with time to look around. As far as drinking early? I don't think that will be a problem either, we will just eat a good breakfast and ship and maybe an early night the night before....

[starfishee]

When we did this excursion back in February, we took the 9:15. We absolutely loved it, we didn't care about getting chairs as the water was to beautiful to not be enjoying your drink in. We started at Soggy Dollar (of course), walked down to One Love, stopped at Gertrude's on our way back, then over to Ivan's (loved this spot). My one big recommendation is that if you plan to go to Ivan's, bring water shoes! Depending on the tide, the rocks can be wet and slippery. Definitely one of the most beautiful places we've been in the islands, the whitest sand and the bluest water. We are on the Escape this coming April 8th and we are booked again for the Escape to Jost, looking forward to it. I hope those of you that are booked that are first timers fall in love with it the way that we did!

[LOWTYD]

I have been watching, and this excursion just showed up for our February cruise. I have heard great things about it. Out of curiosity, does anyone know how many people the boat holds?

[rascaldog]

The Rebel Yell catamaran holds 60 people.

[eatdrinkfly]

we're doing the early departure on our cruise. figured it'll give us a bit of time in Tortola to explore after instead of just sleeping in. early drinking is not a problem ;)

[Sotermarler]

I just saw Jost Van Dyke and the Rebel Yell on the latest episode of Below Deck. In case anyone watches that show.

 

 

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[perkydebrajean]

I just saw Jost Van Dyke and the Rebel Yell on the latest episode of Below Deck. In case anyone watches that show.

 

 

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I saw that too. Makes me want to go there!

 

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[samiam0403]

I just saw Jost Van Dyke and the Rebel Yell on the latest episode of Below Deck. In case anyone watches that show.

 

 

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I saw it last night! DH was not impressed when I exclaimed, "I'll be there in January! RIGHT THERE!" Especially since he's not joining me. :D