Surfing Tortola at Josiah's Bay, a hidden jewel!

We returned from our cruise on the NCL Escape a week ago and had so much fun in Tortola at Josiah's Bay! Our oldest son really wanted to surf while on this cruise and I told him it would be doubtful because the beaches in Caribbean are generally very flat. Before sailing I googled and found great reviews of Josiah's Bay for surfing so we decided to give it a try. We took a taxi (about 20 minutes) from the pier to the beach. We were just about the only ones there when we arrived to the beautiful beach in the morning, besides the resident chickens and kitties, and it never got crowded. There is a surf shack that rents surf boards for $10/hr. and boogie boards for $5/hr. The waves were about 4 feet which was plenty challenging for my husband and older son, who are both beginners. Myself and my youngest son had a great time on the boogie boards! This was also a pretty good beach for shelling. There is a small restaurant and bathrooms on the beach. Be sure to arrange a pickup time with your taxi driver as this is a quiet beach and not routinely serviced by taxis. We made it back in plenty of time to catch our ship.

Yes, Josiah's is a good surfer's beach, just be aware that, reportedly, at times the undertow there can be pretty strong. Another beach on Tortola known for surfing at times is Apple Bay.

Any photos? I too had no clue there would be any good surfing out there..and I have been to the VI's many many times

Yes both Josiah's and Apple are popular bays for surfing, both northside beaches and not well protected. You can find pics and videos on youtube and by googling them.

Thanks for the report Hawks! ;)

yeah looked it up last night. awesome. I will have the fam with me on this trip but a majority of the time I travel alone so on my next solo trip I will have to make my way over.

Spoke with the surf rental place for our Disney cruise and learned that the summer months are not good for surfing. Waves get too flat.

Spoke with the surf rental place for our Disney cruise and learned that the summer months are not good for surfing. Waves get too flat.

That's obviously the case anywhere. Sea conditions are typically much better for surfing in the winter months. But we've seen extremely rough conditions (read high waves) while staying on Tortola in May and in summer months. So you just have to check the conditions the day you arrive.