the baths, on your own or with NCL?

[MsAllie]

visiting Tortola on NcL , I definitely want to go to the Baths but I'm thinking it may be better to do it on my own and not on an excursion... thoughts? Thank you!!

[POA1]

We chartered a boat on our own to go to the baths. The boat took us in at the far end of Virgin Gorda, so we had a good half hour in the baths before the cruise ship passengers arrived. We also got to have lunch on Peter Island at the restaurant at Deadman's Beach, which was really nice. We had 5 people, but most of the small boat charters can take 6. Price it out if you have 6 people. It might not be that expensive per person.

[lisamacaroni]

We did it with NCL. A great day but fairly expensive for 5 of us. Either way you choose, don't miss this spot. Beautiful!

 

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[zqvol]

IMO it depends on how long you are there. If you are on Tortola for at least 8 hours go on your own. If it is 6 or less take the ship's excursion. I also think the best tours are ones where you swim ashore and back to your transport instead of having to walk down and then back up the hill.

[sanger727]

We did it on our own and recommend it. The baths are narrow and difficult to navigate and we saw large groups going through and they were constantly stopping while the guide went back to help others through. Plus it like the people towards the back of the group were having trouble passing by - small groups and come and go easily but getting people to stop entering long enough for a train of 15 people to get through is difficult.

[NoDayButToday00]

Agree that the length of time makes a difference what you do. When we go on the Gem the port time was like 7:00 - 1:00. There wasn't a lot of activity at the cruise port at that time of day and with the short window I would be nervous about making it back to the ship.

 

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[Minoushka]

If you can walk without problems you can do this ...make sure you have all day to enjoy Virgin Gorda ....if not go with ship .Speedy is the ferry you will want to get on before 9 am

The latest resturn should be 2 pm to be safe

Speedy is to your left leaving ship ...red roofed d building about 8 minutes walk

Not sure about price ...was 25$ years ago .you will get into open air bus to get to Baths ...there is an admission fee was 3$ when I went

You walk down over rocks etc to beach figure 20-30 minutes ...wear running shoes ..no flip flops ..they will break

Bring water shoes for swimming ...great snorkeling just watch currents ....

Walk thru caves ..to other side ...hard on back but doable

MKe sure you are on top of hill before your designated departure ..it will take 15-20 minutes to get back up

Its an amazing place but not recommended if you have mobility issues ...bring your own snorkeling gear ...there is nothing there ...no food , no water , bring your own ...towels etc

Small restaurant at top of hill only

 

Have fun

Michele

[caddykid12]

Ive read bad reviews on NCL excursion. Its rushed and have little time at the baths becuase how long it takes. 50 min each way..

 

I still need to figure out what im doing and how to get there with as muvh time to spend there

[zqvol]

Nothing at all cramped or difficult about the Baths. The worst part of the excursion is getting up and down the hill. The times involved are pretty much the same for NCL tours and tours you do on your own, if the ship is in port for 6 hours or less. If the ship is docked longer you can maybe get longer at the Baths, but it is often dependent on the ferry schedule, unless you pay a fortune for a private boat to take you there. The transit time is the about the same no matter what craft you take because the Sir Francis Drake channel can be very bouncy at times.

[bahamaman]

I booked through the cruise line and good thing because there was an issue with the ferry on our return trip. The good news is that we had an extra hour or so on the island and received complimentary beverages all while the ship awaited for our late return.

 

 

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[Zeno]

Take the local ferry - WAY cheaper.

Just be sure to allocate plenty of time to get back. In other words don't take the last "possible" ferry.

 

NOTE: there are TWO ferry companies - Speedy and Smith's - pick the one with the best

schedule. Check their websites for the latest schedules.

There will be transport available to The Baths at the ferry dock.

 

We have done this a couple of times with NO problems.

 

However if your time in port is very short, take a ship excursion.

 

http://www.bestofbvi.com/info/bviferry_tortola_vg.htm

[MrsAllie]

Everyone -Thank you SO much !!!! :D

We are going to do it on our own!! Thanks again for all your help

[cranel]

We we were there in Jan. people were only allowed to one direction through the Baths because of congestion. Best check before you go down the hill if there is a restriction on direction.

[MikeBTN]

It depends.....

 

If you are on Escape and doing the 7AM-2PM stop, do it through the ship.

 

If you are on Epic and there longer, on your own is fine. Very easy and much cheaper.

 

Speedy's Ferry is easy to find, just check out their web site and plan times. Just to be safe plan on taking the second-to-last ferry back before you need to be back on board, that way if there is a problem you have plenty of time to make it back. Also make sure you don't make the mistake I did and forget that Tortola is an hour ahead of ship time at some parts of the year.

[Barb Nahoumi]

I booked through the cruise line and good thing because there was an issue with the ferry on our return trip. The good news is that we had an extra hour or so on the island and received complimentary beverages all while the ship awaited for our late return.

 

 

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That was a win win situation.

[thatjoeguy]

Ive read bad reviews on NCL excursion. Its rushed and have little time at the baths becuase how long it takes. 50 min each way..

 

We had a great time with the ship excursion in January of '16.