Tortola - Cane Garden Bay Water Problem ??

[djludwig@prodigy.net]

I have heard stories going back ten years that Beautiful Cane Garden bay has a water quality problem because Sailboats that visit Cane Garden Bay are allowed to discharge their seweage in the bay. I heard residents won't swim there.

Does anybody have an update on that situation ??. I notice HAL no longer offers a side trip to Cane Garden Bay.
I am visiting with my family in April and am looking for sugestions of how to spend my day in Tortola ( we love beaches ).

All comments are appreciated !!

[jaguarstyper]

We were there in April and the beach was pristine and beautiful. I have read the same, but saw no signs of polluted water. The water was crystal clear and I notice no odors or any scum. There were many colorful fish swimming around.

My guess is they saw a problem developing and took steps to mitigate it. Cane Garden Bay was one of the nicest beaches I have ever been to. And I have been to many. Fear not, go to the beach.

Tim

[JaniceB]

I have heard there are shops and restuarants there, is that true?

[jaguarstyper]

I'm not certain if there are shops there, I really didnt look for them. There are definately restaurants and bars right at the beach. There are even a couple teeny tiny hotels there.

Tim

[gorka]

We have a boat and go to Cane Garden Beach several times a year with our grandchildren.....its one of our favorite places. The shops our just t-shirt kind of places but you can always get good fish or lobster or ribs at just about any one of the resturantes. By all means make a day of it. Gorka.

[Mr. Boston]

We took a taxi to Cane Garden Bay last week and spent the day on the beach. It was absolutely beautiful! Tortola was probably my favorite island of all the ones that we visited. There was no sign of pollution in the water at Cane Garden Bay and there were no warnings posted.

Half Moon Cay on the other hand was experiencing a significant jellyfish visitation (Saturday) and in several of the swimming areas we noticed mini oil slicks on the water. When I mentioned the jellyfish to the guy working at the shore excursion hut he said the he had never heard of jellyfish at Half Moon Cay. Go figure.

Maybe Holland America stopped doing excursions there because it's much cheaper and easier for passengers to hop in a taxi without having to make advance plans.

Hope this helps.

[Pudgesmom]

The roads on tortola are winding and potholed. I would guess it would be difficult to operate a bus there. Taxis are easy; the island is very small.

Beth

[cruzingqueen]

[QUOTE=djludwig@prodigy.net]Does anybody have an update on that situation ??. I notice HAL no longer offers a side trip to Cane Garden Bay. QUOTE]

This tour makes a stop for about 1 hour at Cane Garden. Some of my fellow passengers last week booked some type of 3-4 hour tour that was hiking and ended up at Cane Garden at the end of the tour for a couple of hours too. I took the Highlights tour through HAL on 12/1/04. Last week, I just opted to take a shuttle ($6) per person to the beach and spent the entire day there. I think this beach is more beautiful than Megans Bay in St. Thomas. The water was clear and odor-free as well.