Tortola Excursions

We will port in Tortola during our next cruise. I see lots of posts about how great the Virgin Gorda baths are and also Jost Van Dyke, but I don't see a lot of suggestions as to what to do if we want to stay on Tortola. It's our first time at Tortola so we would like to spend time on the island. Any suggestions?

We did thru NCL the sea and land tour. We very much enjoyed the sea part, and it was a great beautiful ride around the island. Crazy, crazy roads.

Since you want to stay on the island, do consider Brewer's Bay Beach. It's so very lovely there. :)

LuLu

Get off the ship and there are open Safari buses there for about $15-$20pp, nice island tour and then a few hours at the beach. Great first time visit tour! We are doing it again this time my 4th time there.

I'm eager to see what excursions DCL will be offering when they start sailing to Tortola!! So far they have nothing listed on their website. :/

We will port in Tortola during our next cruise. I see lots of posts about how great the Virgin Gorda baths are and also Jost Van Dyke, but I don't see a lot of suggestions as to what to do if we want to stay on Tortola. It's our first time at Tortola so we would like to spend time on the island. Any suggestions?

You don't need to look at the ship excursions for Tortola, she is a naturally beautiful island with gorgeous beaches, and taxis are plentiful. As judy said you can take a great island tour for a really reasonable price, and stop at a beach after. The beaches are the main draw so just hop a safari taxi and head to the beach of your choice. Taxi fare to Brewers and CGB is $16pp round trip, a little more to the others.

Here's a thread with brief beach descriptions in the first post and helpful opinions from other folks -

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1877491

For $16-$20pp to do a safari taxi ride to one of the 2 beaches, it seems like a much better deal than going through NCL for the escape to jost van dyke at $99pp...is Jost Van Dyke that much better/different?

Different experience, but unfortunately over the past several years it's become too busy for most of us to enjoy, especially White Bay

http://www.soggydollar.com/webcam.aspx

Thank you, Blue Water...

I have heard that you can also get an island tour w/beach break right off the pier. Any idea what a ~ 1hour tour with a beach stop would run per person?

Sorry we haven't done that and I can'r remember the rates. I know others have posted what they paid and perhaps someone will have an answer here...

I do knoe they're very reasonable as compared to other destinations

We are also on the DCL stopping in Tortola next year. Our group ranges in Age from 11 to 80. Ideally we would all like to do the same excursion. 80 is pretty mobile and doesn't mind just sitting out and watching the action. Any suggestions?

Get off the ship and there are open Safari buses there for about $15-$20pp, nice island tour and then a few hours at the beach. Great first time visit tour! We are doing it again this time my 4th time there.

So Judy, did you enjoy your most recent day on Tortola? It sounds like you like Tortola too, are you thinking of going there for a land vacation yet? :) It is nice being able to spend more time on the island and exploring Jost, VG, and Anegada as well.

We are also on the DCL stopping in Tortola next year. Our group ranges in Age from 11 to 80. Ideally we would all like to do the same excursion. 80 is pretty mobile and doesn't mind just sitting out and watching the action. Any suggestions?

Are you thinking about an island tour with a beach stop, or a ship excursion like spidybabe mentioned? Both are great options.

Thanks, Blue. I think a land/sea might be the best. I personally would like to see the sights, but I think the younger ones might be bored.

I was just at Tortola last week and it was beautiful! We spent the day at Brewers Bay. The water was lovely and it was amazing me to me that you could snorkel right off the beach and see an amazing reef and tons of colorful fish!

Timetaffy 89, we will be visiting Tortola in 2 weeks while on the Getaway. There are 8 people and 4 are children ages 4-17. Can you please tell me how you got to Brewers Bay and how much the transportation cost? I'm looking for a beach we all can enjoy and we really live snorkeling. Thanks!

There were taxis waiting right outside the pier and we were easily directed to a taxi going to the area we wanted to go. It was $8 a person one way and we just told the taxi driver when to pick us up. I will say when I first got there I was a little skeptical just because there was one dinky beach bar and old loungers to use but when we got in the water it was so nice! Great snorkeling and there were also pelicans diving into the water for fish so that was pretty cool! When I make it back I would definitely stop in town for some snacks to bring to the beach.

Thank you!!

Oh and the beach bar did rent snorkel masks and fins for $10 but they did sell out after about 15 pairs. If you guys do want to stop for food to take to the beach, I heard French Deli (previously known as La Baguette) is a great place to stop!

Yes you will be directed to a safari taxi heading to Brewers and the fare is $16pp round trip for adults, $8 round trip for kids ages 4 - 12, and free for kids ages 3 and under. You can also take a private taxi for full fare ($24 RT for adults).

Another option is a very reasonably-priced island tour which includes a beach stop. But for a nice relaxing day at a beach the taxi there is the way to go, and you'll have a 25 minute tour each way.

Brewers is your best choice for a nice snorkeling beach with just the one beach bar as mentioned. Most people will be heading to Cane Barden Bay which is a much larger bay with several beach bars/restaurants and a Watersports rental company. But Brewers will usually be much less busy.

And yes we always recommend LaBaguette in Wickhams Cay II for a wonderful lunch if going to Smuggler's Cove or Long Bay (Beef Island) since there are no amenities at those beaches. Their imported foods are amazingly good. But if going to Brewers Bay or CGB just eat at Nicole's beach bar there, great burgers and you'll get to the beach earlier. Taxis generally return to pick up folks but you can ask the driver if and when he will return, or call from Nicole's.

Thank you blue water and time taffy!!

Oh and the beach bar did rent snorkel masks and fins for $10 but they did sell out after about 15 pairs. If you guys do want to stop for food to take to the beach, I heard French Deli (previously known as La Baguette) is a great place to stop!

How are the chairs and umbrellas at Brewers or should we go to Cane Garden bay for the chairs. We have our own snokel gear so dont need that.

How are the chairs and umbrellas at Brewers or should we go to Cane Garden bay for the chairs. We have our own snokel gear so dont need that.

No snorkeling at CGB...

No snorkeling at CGB...

Thanks we were just planning to hang out on a beach and was trying to clarify that we didnt care about snorkeling gear rental. We do want chairs with umbrellas so we can have shade and thats probably more important than snorkeling.

Sue I'm not sure if Nicole's in BB or Myett's or Glenn's Watersports in CGB rent umbrellas but perhaps someone here can answer that. Smuggler's Cove offers natural shade but no amenities, and BB probably has more natural shade than CGB if umbrellas aren't an option.

Long Bay is $8pp more round trip than BB and CGB and is a nice, long, picture postcard walking beach that few cruisers go to. The Long Bay Resort rents loungers and there is a restaurant nearby, this beach has the nicest views in our opinion. You can contact the resort with questions about umbrellas, just google the Long Bay Resort on Tortola.