Pickles61 Posted August 1, 2006 #1 Share Posted August 1, 2006 Hi, I will be in Tortola from 7am – 2pm on the Carnival Legend, we are the only cruise ship in port that day. I contacted Patouche and they have a ½ day tour from 9am-12pm to the Baths. I’ve read such great things about the baths I’d love to go. Since the tour ends at 12 that leaves me 2 hours to get back on the boat, I don’t think that will be a problem but I wanted to know if anyone else has done the tour in this time frame. Would I be better of taking the cruise excursions (I usually do the excursions on my own). I would be going with my 6 & 12 year old boys and my 68 year old active Mom, is this a good place to bring them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zydecocruiser Posted August 2, 2006 #2 Share Posted August 2, 2006 The Patouche office is only a few minutes by taxi from the cruise ships. You can arrange to have one waiting to pick you up at the cruise ship and waiting to pick you up after the trip. They are just across a bay from the dock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaribbeanBound Posted August 4, 2006 #3 Share Posted August 4, 2006 We did it on our own. Tortola, British Virgin Islands 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! http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/caribbean-secrets.html These are our very detailed personal reviews, hints, and tips for ports of call that you will be visiting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles61 Posted August 5, 2006 Author #4 Share Posted August 5, 2006 Thanks for the info. I’d worry about doing this on my own since the ship leaves at 2:00pm; if we had longer then I think that would be the way to go. Patouche has a ½ day (3 hour) tour from 9-12 and Carnival’s is from 9-1 (I’m guessing the hour difference for Carnival is the waiting time to get everyone together). Is 3 hours enough time for the Baths? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CD & Family Posted August 7, 2006 #5 Share Posted August 7, 2006 Hi Pickles It's me - Cindy from roll call. From what I've read, I think we are going to do the tour on our own. If we can get enough folks it would put my mind at ease in terms of getting back in time. If we are the only cruise ship that day it should be easy to arrange. What do you think? My kids, Eddie (17) and Ronnie (14) and happy hubby who like me is 20 something at heart are all keen to do this. Cindy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green4me Posted August 7, 2006 #6 Share Posted August 7, 2006 My two cents would be to take the tour with patouch. You are time limited and will eat up precious water time by hiking down and back up to get to your taxi. Personally I would rather swim in and relax. That is what we plan to do on our trip in Decmeber. what ever you choose, smooth sailing:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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