Going to Virgin Gorda - will I miss out on Tortola

We are in Tortola all day. Been reading posts that looks like Virgin Gorda is a must do place. Thinking of the ships excursion (we seldom do those!) due to ferry timings.

However, will we miss out on all that Tortola has to offer - is it mostly beaches I'm missing? Not into history etc but don't really want to say I've seen something of BVI by seeing 1 beach either.

Will I have time to do both Virgin Gorda and Tortola?

All day? What are your arrival/departure times, and what day of the week?

We are docked 9 till 5 on a Friday. The ships tour is 4 hrs but it doesn't say what time, but I presume morning first thing.

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Yes you arrive late so the early ferries aren't an option for you. But 8 hrs is enough time to enjoy a trip to the Baths or a beach on Tortola but not both.

For VG we'd normally go on our own because you can generally get an earleir ferry by not waiting in the queue at the ship but in this case that's not the case because you aren't there early enough.

But if you do look at that -

Smith's ferry has a 10AM departure from Road Town and a 2:15 or 4PM return, the 4PM would be cutting it close so you'd have only 3.5 hrs on VG. WIth the 4PM you'd be back at 4:30 (if no problems :confused:) and that would give you 6 hrs there).

Speedy's has a 10:30AM departure from Road Town and a 3:30PM return, that would give you 4 hrs to explore VG.

You could also buy one-way tickets and take the Smith's 10AM over and the Speedy's 3:30PM back to get the most time there (5 hrs) burt that will add another $10pp.

If you decide Tortola here's a quick reference to the beaches -

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

Usually if you go partway through selecting the ship excursion or look at the details it shows the departure time. It is probably the 10:30 ferry, andid so you could "beat" that group there by taking the 10AM ferry, just a thought. If that's the case then it would be less crowded at the Bathsvehich is a big deal. There will be others going on their own but the majority will be on the ship tour.

Otherwise a day on Tortola is a nice day, perhaps some time at Brewers and then shopping and then lunch at Pussers or an island tour with a beach stop. Drivers at the dock give great tours at reasonable rates.