Jost Van Dyke

[battweb]

We did a lot of research in the last few months on what to do in Tortola and ultimately decided upon a private excursion to Jost Van Dyke. We were on the Carnival Freedom and there was a ship excursion to JVD, but it was pretty expensive and they were only at JVD for 2 hours. No thanks, so we opted against that.

 

We got off the ship around 7:30ish and met our group with BVI360 Sam Henry was there and took great care of his. After a 20 minute ride to the marina, he introduced us to Frank, our captain for our small boat ride to JVD. Frank went to school at the University of Florida and is U.S. Coast Guard certified and certified in the BVI as well. He is good people and took care of us through the rough seas there. Yes, the seas were rough enough that day that people who booked the Virgin Gorda ship excursion got cancelled b/c of the rough seas. We considered this trip, so we were glad we made the right trip. I say they were rough, but it wasn't a bad trip on this boat. I was with my wife and 6 and 9 year olds and they loved the trip there on the boat. Kind of like a ride at Disney World for them.

 

There were 12 of us on this private excursion. We took one boat, but Frank's son followed in another boat to make sure we got to shore ok. Again, the seas were rough, but they were able to drop us off in a foot of water. As a comparison, the ship's excursion was on a catamaran that dropped them off in about 5 ft of water. Some people complained about Jost Van Dyke drop-offs, but remember - there are no docks on this side of the island and it is weather dependent.

 

We had a great time on the beach with much of it spent at Soggy Dollar Bar. If you go there to Soggy Dollar, be sure to tip Mic the bartender well. Also, go for the jerk chicken sandwich. Good stuff! We spent time with the great people on our excursion and had a very good time. We did get nervous that we wouldn't get picked up on time ... but, low and behold we were back with an hour to spare. Kudos to Sam and Frank. Great time.

[blue_water]

Thanks for the report! Hopefully you can return for a longer stay and enjoy more of Tortola and Jost!

[tces4]

We did a lot of research in the last few months on what to do in Tortola and ultimately decided upon a private excursion to Jost Van Dyke. We were on the Carnival Freedom and there was a ship excursion to JVD, but it was pretty expensive and they were only at JVD for 2 hours. No thanks, so we opted against that.

 

We got off the ship around 7:30ish and met our group with BVI360 Sam Henry was there and took great care of his. After a 20 minute ride to the marina, he introduced us to Frank, our captain for our small boat ride to JVD. Frank went to school at the University of Florida and is U.S. Coast Guard certified and certified in the BVI as well. He is good people and took care of us through the rough seas there. Yes, the seas were rough enough that day that people who booked the Virgin Gorda ship excursion got cancelled b/c of the rough seas. We considered this trip, so we were glad we made the right trip. I say they were rough, but it wasn't a bad trip on this boat. I was with my wife and 6 and 9 year olds and they loved the trip there on the boat. Kind of like a ride at Disney World for them.

 

There were 12 of us on this private excursion. We took one boat, but Frank's son followed in another boat to make sure we got to shore ok. Again, the seas were rough, but they were able to drop us off in a foot of water. As a comparison, the ship's excursion was on a catamaran that dropped them off in about 5 ft of water. Some people complained about Jost Van Dyke drop-offs, but remember - there are no docks on this side of the island and it is weather dependent.

 

We had a great time on the beach with much of it spent at Soggy Dollar Bar. If you go there to Soggy Dollar, be sure to tip Mic the bartender well. Also, go for the jerk chicken sandwich. Good stuff! We spent time with the great people on our excursion and had a very good time. We did get nervous that we wouldn't get picked up on time ... but, low and behold we were back with an hour to spare. Kudos to Sam and Frank. Great time.

 

Sounds great! Can you tell me how you booked that? Website?

 

Thanks!

[battweb]

Sounds great! Can you tell me how you booked that? Website?

 

Thanks!

 

Susan,

 

I don't think CC lets me put the web site on here, but do a search for BVI 360 and send them an email. Sam Henry will get back to you, but it can take a few days sometimes.

 

Mike

[Lily429]

we booked one of the smaller catamaran sails to JVD and could not anchor or moor due to rough seas......it's always a crap shoot as to whether or not you will be able to get to the beach when doing any trip over by boat. I strongly encourage anyone making this decision to take that into consideration. We were disappointed but still had a great time....just another excuse to go back to Tortola.

[claroquesi]

This was the worst excursion I have been on. They are very unprofessional. See my other Tortola posts for details.

[hladygirl]

have always taken the ships trip to jvd and have always been more than satisfied, great time always.

[Tak8]

hladygirl: How much time did you have on JVD with the ship excursion? That's my concern. I want to get enough time on the beach and I can't decide between ship or private.

[scperk]

google Kuralu Tortola and check them out...Dennis

[blue_water]

kuralu is excellent as is Joe at patouche but stops on Josts as part of a snorkel tour so if TAK8 wants to spend most of the time on Josts it's better to get a water taxi out of CGB or take the WE ferry or even bvi360.com

[SomewhereBeyondTheSea]

we booked one of the smaller catamaran sails to JVD and could not anchor or moor due to rough seas......it's always a crap shoot as to whether or not you will be able to get to the beach when doing any trip over by boat. I strongly encourage anyone making this decision to take that into consideration. We were disappointed but still had a great time....just another excuse to go back to Tortola.

 

I was told by BVI 360 - if they are unable to anchor at White Bay, they will take you to the other side of the Island, where you will then take a short taxit ride to White Bay. And that's only if you can not anchor at White Bay because of the seas.

[blue_water]

Normally they will motor around to Great Harbor (Foxy's) and drop you there and you can taxi over to White Bay. But that's dependent on how long your ship is docked of course.

Actually we've had great days in GH enjoying Foxy's entertaining songs!