USVI-On-Line

Hi folks,

My wife and I are leaving next Wednesday for 10 days in St. John, I'm just about bursting! I live near Albany, NY, and it still feels like winter here, snow, slush, cold......
Anyway, this will be our second trip, and we're thinking about taking a day trip to the Baths on Virgin Gorda. What are the best ways to get there? Ferry, private captain? This will be a new experience for us, we're usually content just to lounge around wherever we're staying (which will be outside of Coral Bay). Our favorite places to swim & snorkel are Salt Pond Bay, Francis Bay & Waterlemon Cay. And many walks to Rams Head, what a magnificant (and humbling) place!!!

Congrats on joining us crazies here on the board! On our first trip to St. John, we rented a powerboat and captained ourselves to Virgin Gorda....wouldn't recommend that. We were lucky and had no trouble, but in retrospect....probably a dumb idea.

Since then, we've always taken the ferry. I think it's cheaper than a charter (not sure?). It costs $60 round trip per person, only runs on Sundays and Tuesdays. You catch the ferry at the government dock (you'll see a little trailer, etc. where you buy tickets) at 8:30 am. The ride is about 1 1/2 hours and leaves you plenty of time to see The Baths and have lunch at Top of the Baths or whatever. When you get off the ferry, you go through customs and then there will be taxis waiting for you. If memory serves, it's about $3 round trip pp for the taxi and they'll arrange to pick you back up to return you to the ferry. Ferry leaves for STJ at 3:00 pm.

A private charter will have more amenities, but may cost more. Depends on if you want cheaper or more amenities!

Have Fun!

I think it just depends on how you want to spend your day.http://www.vinow.com/general_usvi/inter ... in%20Gorda If you want a leisurely pace with maybe another stop, lunch etc then some kind of a day charter may suit your needs. If you just want to get to The Bath's and explore VG, then the ferry is the way to go. Nothing glamorous, just gets you from point A to B. We have done a day trip, now we prefer to use the ferry system for transportation. Much cheaper, but again, it depends on what you are looking for. Here is a link to the ferry schedules. Don't know why it pasted in the middle of the text though.

Thanks Brenda & Vicki!
Sounds like the ferry is the way to go for us, we'd rather get there as simply as possible, and then enjoy the day. What other islands would you recommend visiting, Tortola, Jost? We'll probably only do the one little jaunt this trip, it's just too beautiful on St. John to leave!

Once again, it just depends on how you want to spend your day. If you want to snorkel and The Bath's something that you really want to see and explore, then VG. If you just want to laze on one of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean and have lunch and libations, then White Bay on JVD. Haven't been to Tortola yet, but it is the largest island and would require some driving around or taxis to explore. Ferrys run to JVD Fri-Sat-Sun. VG Thurs and Sun. Tortola I believe every day. If that link didn't work, check out vinow.com for the schedules. I would pick VG or JVD.

Another vote for the ferry - beautiful ride - plenty of unrushed time at The Baths - which are awe-inspiring!

ENJOY!!!

It sounds like you may want to see more. If you have some flexibility in your pocketbook, contact one of the charters like Pirates Penny or Stormy Petrel or capt Phils boat. There are others, just can't remember them now.

The advantage of this is that they can tailor an itinerary just for you and make all the stops you want during your day. If you find you want to stay someplace longer, they can do that. The ferry of course won't. I've often heard people complain that they felt rushed by taking the ferry to VG. If you do a charter (usually around $400 or so) you can do everything.

If that's too dear for your pocketbook, then you can also consider asking someone else on this forum if they're interested. We've done that before and had a great time.

I also want to second the recommendation to avoid renting a bareboat on your own. We've been going down for a while (over 10 years) and I have a friend who was a very experienced captain and learned from him everytime we've gone out.

Each time we do I have a greater respect for the responsibility involved. That being said we are renting a bareboat for our December trip and I've let the folks on the board know that we're interested in splitting costs if anyone wants to go along. But I've also got charts and maps that I'm using to plan out our trip and making sure that it's a safe and productive trip.

I'm sure you'll have a great time no matter what you decide

We did the trip to the Baths at Virgin Gorda last October through Cruz Bay Watersports. The trip also stopped at the caves at Norman Island (which I thought were cool). They had lunch and free drinks on the boat and all in all it was a nice trip. It, however, did not lend itself to the aforementioned "unhurried trip to the Baths". Next time around I would like to be able to spend more time there.