USVI-On-Line

I've seen pictures, but I still don't REALLY understand the mystique.

Can somebody please tell me more about the Caves at Norman Island? I've seen pictures where you snorkel in and then 15' later are standing in water 3 feet deep. Is that it?

Please tell me there's more to it! What's the real deal?

Thanks!

VI

We snorkeled the caves on our last boat trip and I don't know if we went on a bad day but it was pretty uneventful...I guess I'm glad we did it but now that its scratched off my list I probably will skip it from now on. Unless someone convinces me otherwise on here!

I've been there on a boat trip as well. It was cool but not something I would consider a MUST DO.

I am a little afraid of getting banged up so I didn't explore as much as my husband did. He enjoyed it.

Again, nice to do but not a must do.

How "far in" do the caves go? If it's just 30 feet, then there's much better things to do with our limited time. If it's further (and I've already bought an underwater flashlight) then it might be worth it.

We've only got so much time with our Powerboat rental. I just don't want to waste it with something that only rates a "scratch it off the list" checkmark!

Thanks - please keep your comments coming!

VI

We did it once, it was kinda cool but have no desire to go back. It would be a good stop if you are in the area but would not plan a trip around it.

Hi, neighbor. We did the Caves a couple years ago, and the day we were there it was crowded. I tried going into one of the caves, but once I couldn't see it sort of creeped me out. IMO, it is one of those "glad I did it, but wouldn't do it again things. The Indians is a much better stop, especially if you are lucky enough to be there when it's not crowded. If you can only pick one stop, I recommend the Indians.

The caves are kind of interesting, but not as cool as I thought they'd be. The Indians were outstanding, though. I wish I had had twice as much time at the Indians as I did, and half the time at the caves as I did. I recommend putting the Indians at the top of your "must do" list, and the nearby caves on your "if we have time" list.

vi lover wrote:How "far in" do the caves go? If it's just 30 feet, then there's much better things to do with our limited time. If it's further (and I've already bought an underwater flashlight) then it might be worth it.

We've only got so much time with our Powerboat rental. I just don't want to waste it with something that only rates a "scratch it off the list" checkmark!

Thanks - please keep your comments coming!

VI

Some guides will have an underwater camera on their boats. Check with the guide your going with, maybe you can return your light if you are just buying it for this one trip.
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As others have said, the caves are OK to do once but their not as great as I had anticipated they might be. I wouldn't go so far as to say they were a let down. You really can't go very far into them and they are shallow so if there are lots of tour boats there can be lots of other snorkelers there all wanting to get into a small space (not fun IMHO).

The Indians, however, are worth the trip and certainly are worth return visits (provided that the seas are reasonably calm.

I agree with Diana2 in that they were a let down to me. I thought they would have gone in much more than they did.

The first one was very shallowed, and I got annoyed with the obnoixious snorkelers that could see were were coming out but rather than wait for us to swim a few more strokes just barged their way in past us. It reminded me of when I am in a museum looking at something and some idiot steps in front of me to look at the same thing I am looking at...ugghhh! So if you do go to the caves and someone is coming out, let them out first cuz it is cramped in that first one.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts!

Looks like this one will fall in the "Go to the Indians first, and if there's time then go to the Caves" category.

We have several things we want to do - probably won't make this a priority - so much to see in the BVI and a single day gets taken-up quickly!

VI