Getting to the baths a Virgin Gorda

[Crockett Man]

Does anyone know if there is a ferry service or ship excursion that will take you directly to the beach were the baths are? I've been reading that it is quite a hike both in and out to the baths from where the taxi's drop you off.

[oceanlov1]

yes...........there are 2 ferries, speedys and smith. we took speedys which i recommend. they charged us $20 which included taxi service to the baths, but we had to ask about the taxi, it was not volunteered. their ferries are in excellent condition. dont know about ship excursion since we did this on our own. speedys makes it really easy. from where your ship docks it is an easy 10 min walk. you will see the ferry dock if you look to the left when you get off the ship.

as far as getting down to the beach area.......it is quite rocky. its about a 10 min walk on a downward incline. i would not recommend it for someone who has difficulty walking.

have a great time..........the baths are wonderful!!

[Crockett Man]

oceanlov1,

 

Thanks for the info, but is it possible to avoid the hike? What I mean is, does anyone drop off at the bath site itself?

[oceanlov1]

no...........the only way is to walk down and walk back up............

[CaribbeanBound]

I understand you can book private tours which can basically drop you off on the shore. About $600 for the ship. Includes your entire family. No lunch.

[Guest tealady]

For those who have done both, could someone compare climbing through the rocks at Virgin Gorda to the climb at Dunns River in Jamaica? It may give us an idea as to the difficulty of the terrain.

[Laurab23]

Dunns River is much more diffecult. Virgin Gorda is walking down a trail and around a few bigger rocks. If you can walk on level ground with no problem and are fairly coordinated you shouldn't have any problem I didn't and I'm a big faller over my two feet!LOL

Laura

[Zeno]

I have arthritis in both knees and one hip. Managed to do the Baths with some help from my DH. Unless you are in very bad shape it is doable but challenging if you are like me. The walk down to The Baths was OK but going through the Baths was somewhat challenging. I am very glad I did it though. Dunn's River Falls was much more difficult (slippery and all uphill climbing).

[Laurab23]

Once we got down to the bottom,it was so nice we stayed there and never tried to go through the rest of the baths. Even right there,I managed to trip and stub my toe on a rock. Like I said,I'm not too coordinated.

Laura

[OCruisers]

Crockett Man .... Actually, there is another way!!! :)

 

Patouche offers tours totally by water ... after sailing to Virgin Gorda they take you by dinghy to the beach at The Baths. Certainly, the easiest and best way we've found! :)

 

:( PROBLEM .... On cruises ships our times in port never "work" with their time for this excursion ..... If your ship is there all day and you had rather sail than walk, it's certainly worth your consideration....

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[Lib0007]

For those of you who have gone to the Baths on your own, would we have trouble doing this on a short port day or should we stick with the ship's tour due to limited time? We are only in Tortola from 7-1. Not sure how long the ferry & taxi ride is. We are not interested in hearing any kind of talk, etc. We only want to climb around on the rocks & do a little swimming/snorkeling - and want to bring our son who is 5.

 

Is the ferry $20 each? I think our ship's tour is $49.

 

Thanks.

[Zeno]

It might be possible to do it on your own if you are there from 7-1PM BUT it will be tight time-wise. Personally I would go through the ship in this case just because of the time. We did it on our own but we had until 5PM to get back to the ship.

Times:

walk to ferry dock: 5-10 minutes

ferry ride is about 45 minutes EACH way

You MUST check the schedule to be sure one is returning to Tortola at a suitable time.

Taxi ride from the ferry dock on VG to the Baths - about 10 minutes

Costs: You can usually get a RETURN ferry deal (including taxi ride to and from the Baths) for around $20-$22) Be sure to get and keep until your return to the docks a taxi ticket (you give it to the RETURN driver). There are 2 ferry companies - your tickets is ONLY good for the one you purchased it from. There is little difference between ferries- pick one on the basis of it's schedule. Ask the staff to confirm your understanding of the return times (they do vary somewhat depending on day-of-the-week). They are friendly and helpful and will answer your questions.

Time to walk down to and go through the Baths - BARE MINIMUM: 1.5 hours - We were there for much longer.

[Lib0007]

Thank you Zeno. I was wanting to avoid the ship's excursion as I thought the tour included a talk which we aren't interested in hearing . . . but due to these tight time restraints, I think we will stick with it.

 

This is the one thing I'm looking forward to seeing the most on our cruise.

[Zeno]

The Baths are definitely worth the effort. I am sure you will like them.

[swoosh2005]

Even right there,I managed to trip and stub my toe on a rock. Like I said,I'm not too coordinated.

Laura

That is so funny-well not really-but coincidental- The black & blue on my toe is just growing out from stubbing my toe at the Baths in May! A souvenir that will be gone with my next pedicure.

[Laurab23]

Swoosh-what's even stranger-I was ther in May too. Must have been out to get both of us.LOL

Laura

[swoosh2005]

were you there on a cruise in May? I was staying in St Thomas for a week and took a trip over on "Pirates Penny"

[Zeno]

I feel your pain Swoosh. I had a "Baths" souvenir too (slightly scraped bum from inching my way through a low passage on my butt rather than on arthritic knees). Next time I wear OLD THICK shorts not a bathing suit.

[Laurab23]

Yes Swoosch-we were on the Legend in May.

[luv2cruise450]

Perhaps Laura, Zeno, OCruiser or someone who has been to the Baths can answer this for me...I understand that to get to the beach area...you climb down between and thru the rocks and boulders...is this a problem if one is carrying a totebag and towel? Or in my DH's case...carrying a good sized camera bag? Or do you really need to carry next to nothing to navigate it easily? And I was planning on wearing 'water/aqua' shoes for this...is that good enough or do you need sneakers? And per our documentation our ship will be in Tortola 7AM to 4PM...I trust that if we're off the ship by 8:30 - 9:00AM...that we should have enough time to do this as an independent excursion instead of booking a ship's excursion?! Thank you in advance for all your assistance.

Happy sailing to all!

[Zeno]

luv2cruise450:

First: layout at Baths:

Taxi drops you off at the Top of the Baths (a couple of little shops and restaurant) - The restaurant is a great place for a drink or a snack after your Baths hike - they even have a small pool for the use of restaurant patrons.

To get to the Baths - there is an obvious path going down the hill - it is not difficult (one or two steepish steps down)

At the bottom of the path (takes about 10-15 minutes) you will find a small beach (nice photo ops). There is a snack bar type restaurant with picnic tables, washrooms, and lockers.

The Baths - facing the ocean - the Baths are to your left and obvious.

What the Baths are like: LARGE Boulders (some the size of a car) in formations surrounding shallow pools of ocean water. The path through the formations has steps and landings in places. Acqua shoes are PERFECT for the Baths. Yes you can make it through carrying a tote bag and a towel. Your husband should be able to make it through with the camera bag (as long as he is careful about not dropping it in the water (which is NOT deep) and where he puts it down. There will be places where he will have to pass it up or down to you while he negociates a narrow or difficult spot. Personally I just took a water camera - so I did not have to worry about dropping or carting around a large camera (but I did see people with camera bags).

Once you make it through the Baths, there will be another beach with another set of large boulders on the other side of it. This is the beach most people swim and snorkel at. Here is a tip if you want to get back to the Top of the Baths parking lot from the 2nd beach without going through the Baths again, there is a path that turns uphill just after you get through the Baths (just before the 2nd beach). This path takes you back to the parking lot. We did that. Only 2 cautions about using this path - stay on the MAIN path (there are little side paths that meander off). It will save you effort doing this but not really any time - it takes you about the same amount of time as going back through the Baths and up the 1st path. The 2nd path ends just across the parking lot from the entrance to the path you took down to the Baths.

Timing: 7AM-4pm should be plenty of time to do it on your own.

I recommend taking one of the ferries that leave around 9AM (I think Smith's leaves at 8:50AM and Speedy's at 9AM) It will take you about 10 minutes to walk to the ferry dock. I would plan to be on the cruiseship dock by 8:30AM. Facing land - the ferry docks are to your left - there is a little tourist booth at the cruiseship dock - ask for directions from them.

Return: Don't plan on taking the very last ferry that you can (what if it is delayed !). Be sure to know EXACTLY when the ferries are returning on that day.

Times: walk to ferry dock (10-15minutes); ferry ride (40-50 minutes EACH way); taxi to Baths (10 minutes); If you get one the 8:50/9:00AM ferry, you should be at the Top of the Baths by 10:00 AM.

Bring water ! Afterwards you can get refreshments at the Top of the Baths. Have a great time !

[OCruisers]

Zeno .... Your reply was WONDERFUL! Should certainly give everyone the information they need for the ferry.

 

The only other thing I can even think to suggest would be to scrollto the thread with the info on the map (shows where all the baths are located and tells about each)The Baths with MAP info (or just Click Here). (I'm in love with that map! :p )

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[luv2cruise450]

Zeno...thank you so very much for taking the time to post such a detailed reply for me...it is very much appreciated. This is exactly the information that I was looking for. What brought it to mind was that earlier another poster asked for a comparison -in terms of difficulty to climb-between this and Dunn's River Falls. I did that climb about 2 years ago and on that one all I carried around my neck (inside a ziplock bag) was my camera...for that climb I definitely needed my hands to be free to navigate up the falls!

Again...many thanks for all your advice and to all the others who have shared information and experiences on these boards.

Happy cruising!

 

Betty

[hogwildcruzers]

ALL THE INFO ON GETTING TO THE BATHS IS VERY HELPFUL, THANKS TO EVERYONE. BUT I HAVE A GUESTION ABOUT DOES THE SHIP DOCK AT TORTOLA OR ANCHOR? OUR SHIP ZUIDERDAM IS THERE FROM 7AM TO 6PM. ANOTHER QUESTION, HAS ANYONE EVER RENTED A JEEP ON VIRGIN GORDA AND DONE THE BATHS AND HAD TIME TO SEE MUCH MORE OF THE ISLAND?:confused:

[zydecocruiser]

There is a cruise ship pier at Roadtown, Tortola, but don't know if your ship will use or not.

 

On the other boat rental question, under another port...

Not sure where Bull rental is, but from Cane Garden Bay, I think Jost van Dyke might be all you would get to. Don't know how much more you would get to. If Vrigin Gorda was in the plan, maybe rent in Roadtown.

 

You might think about paying someone to drop you off and pick you up later. An ex-GF and I got someone at Cane Garden Bay rentals to drop us off at Foxy's and pick us up a few hours and three sheets later for under $100 (not including the three sheets at Foxy's). I think a small boat rental might be $250+/day.

 

Here are some more:

http://www.bvivacations.com/Day_Sail_Boat_Rental.html#PowerBoat1