best tour/things to do in tortola?

[andychris]

We will be in port from 7am to 2pm. We have children 10 & 12. We are planning on going to the beach in st thomas. We wouldn't mind going to see another beach for a few hours in tortola. What else is there to do? Since we will not be there for a long time, we would like just to get a quick look at the island.

Thanks

[Leo Jay]

We will be in port from 7am to 2pm. We have children 10 & 12. We are planning on going to the beach in st thomas. We wouldn't mind going to see another beach for a few hours in tortola. What else is there to do? Since we will not be there for a long time, we would like just to get a quick look at the island.

Thanks

 

Any of the suggestions on these boards interest you?

[andychris]

thanks, I am looking around and do not see anything exciting for us. Maybe I am not looking at the right things.

Are there any other tours besides the carnival ones. I see in st thomas there are other tour companies. How about at tortola?

[Leo Jay]

What about Virgin Gorda? I've never heard anything but raves about that experience. It would help to get a better sense of what you're looking for, and what questions or concerns you have about some of the specific options discussed here. There are private tour companies available, but again, it depends what kind of things you want to do and see.

 

Virgin Gorda can be fun, because there's a 40-min ferry ride over there, which is scenic, and a fun experience in itself, then once you get to the beach, there's sun and snorkeling, and you can also explore the caves, pools, and magnificent rock formations at the 'Baths'.

[palmtre2]

We are having the same problem with this port - we would love to see the Baths but the short port time and long ferry ride really doesn't allow it. I wanted to do something besides sit on a crowded beach with the rest of the people on our ship. I found a little beach called Brewers Bay, that is supposed to be great for snorkeling. The beach has one refreshment stand that rents snorkel equipment and chairs. The beach is near ruins of an old distillery and is only 15-20 min from the port. CHECK OUT THIS LINK

 

http://www.bareboatsbvi.com/brewers_bay.html

[andychris]

thanks everyone. I am going to look into everything.

[Leo Jay]

We are having the same problem with this port - we would love to see the Baths but the short port time and long ferry ride really doesn't allow it. I wanted to do something besides sit on a crowded beach with the rest of the people on our ship. I found a little beach called Brewers Bay, that is supposed to be great for snorkeling. The beach has one refreshment stand that rents snorkel equipment and chairs. The beach is near ruins of an old distillery and is only 15-20 min from the port. CHECK OUT THIS LINK

 

http://www.bareboatsbvi.com/brewers_bay.html

 

Well, it's your choice, but despite the short port time, Virgin Gorda is very doable. Sure, I wish we'd had more than two hours to spend at the site itself, but the two hours was certainly worth the trip, and as I've said before, the ferry ride was fun and scenic in itself.

 

We've actually decided that since the cave exploring is the truly unique and special part of the experience, the next time around, a better use of our time will be to ditch the regular beach/snorkeling part of the experience and devote the entire two hours to the cave exploring. And I think kids would really love the caves -- after all, you can go to a regular old beautiful Caribbean beach anytime. :p

 

If you're really not all that interested in it, that's one thing, but I'd hate to see anyone pass this up just because they think there's not enough time.

 

:)

[kmmal]

We also were locked into the 7-2 time frame. A tour with Patouche worked great. We walked to their boat from the dock (about 20 minutes), rode the Extreme Machine to the Baths, snorkled using equipment they provided, then went on a guided tour through the rocks and formations. The crew was terrific and even learned how to make music ?? with a conch shell.

[4gomez]

We have been to the Bath's. FANTSTIC. The problem w\ the ship excursion is that once you get to Virgin Gorda they take you on a mini tour (it's nice but it cuts into the time at the Bath's) This time oct 29, we will try to go to brewers bay or the ship excursion to jost van dyke. Problem I see w\ Brewers Bay is that a returning taxi can be $$$ and not on time. Any sugessetions are welcome.

[lhall85917]

We also were locked into the 7-2 time frame. A tour with Patouche worked great. We walked to their boat from the dock (about 20 minutes), rode the Extreme Machine to the Baths, snorkled using equipment they provided, then went on a guided tour through the rocks and formations. The crew was terrific and even learned how to make music ?? with a conch shell.

 

Thanks for sharing - that is exactly what we plan to do next June. I've heard that they get you out there before it gets crowded - sounds perfect!:D