Old question....STJ to BVI for snorkel trip...

[Iluvstjohn]

passport or just birth certificate? Or does it depend on the company? My friends are actually going down the same time we are....for their 10th anniversary...and they asked me this. I know I've heard confilicting reports....and we have passports, so I didn't know the answer...

I knew somebody here would though!

Holly
Boston

[Teresa_Rae]

I'm copying and pasting this from yesterday:


You can still do a boat trip to the BVIs without a passport...arriving by air is a different story and you must have a passport, but not if you arrive by water:


April 02, 2008

COUNTRY DESCRIPTION: The British Virgin Islands (BVI) are a British overseas territory, part of the British West Indies, lying about 60 miles east of Puerto Rico. There are about 50 islands in the BVI, many of them uninhabited. Tortola is the main island; other islands include Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke, and Anegada. Tourist facilities are widely available.

ENTRY/EXIT REQUIREMENTS: For information on travel to the British Virgin Islands, travelers should contact the BVI Department of Immigration at 1-284-494-3471. Visit the Embassy of the British Government web site at http://www.britainusa.com for the most current visa information.

All Americans traveling to and from the United States by air must have a passport. This requirement will be extended to sea travel, including ferry service, by the summer of 2008, except on cruises and other sea trips originating and ending in the United States. Until then, travelers returning from the British Virgin Islands by sea must have government-issued photo identification and a document showing their U.S. citizenship (for example, a birth certificate or certificate of nationalization). Further information on upcoming changes to U.S. passport policy can be found on the Bureau of Consular Affairs web site at http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html. We strongly encourage all American citizen travelers to apply for a U.S. passport well in advance of anticipated travel. American citizens can visit travel.state.gov or call 1-877-4USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778) for information on how to apply for their passports. The U.S. Department of State recommends traveling with a valid U.S. passport to avoid delays or misunderstandings. A lost or stolen passport is also easier to replace when outside of the United States than other evidence of citizenship.


So they're changing it somewhat in the summer of this year...but it does say:

This requirement will be extended to sea travel, including ferry service, by the summer of 2008, except on cruises and other sea trips originating and ending in the United States.

So it sounds like once they make the change you'll need a passport to take a ferry to the BVIs but you will not need a passport if you are on a "sea trip" that begins and ends on STJ...that seems like it would include daysails, etc.