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Tortola with young children


KBSimbaMom
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Hi all,

I'm new to this forum.

 

We will be traveling on Disney Fantasy in May with stops in Tortola and St Thomas. By we, I mean hubby and I with 3 and 5 year olds.

 

Disney's excursions seem pretty limited for us. Most of them the kids can not even go on.

 

So, how safe is it to just venture out on our own in Tortola? From the research that I've done, it seems like Cane Garden Bay looks like a good fit for us but the only excursion through Disney only includes 1 hour there. I think we would want more time there as my kids are beach bums! Are there plenty of open air taxi safaris to grab at the port and then at Cane Garden Bay for our return? I'm assuming car seats are not required?

 

Are there any other excursions that we could go on? I've seen a few snorkeling with sea turtle adventures but my kids are not great swimmers just yet. I'm not sure if any of those excursions would be worth it to just see the turtles from the water, although my younger daughter loves sea turtles. We have pretty much decided we are visiting Coral World in St Thomas to experience that.

 

Or should we head over to Jost Van Dyke? It kind of seems silly to go to Tortola for a day just to head over to another island. We really liked this itinerary because we have thought about just visiting the VI on a vacation some day and island hop. This cruise will give us a good idea of if we would rather go to the BVI or USVI!

 

Any input is appreciated!

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Welcome to Cruise Critic Mom!! First off, the term “on your own” doesn’t feel the same to me on Tortola as it does on, say, Jamaica or Roatan. The people on Tortola are of the finest sort and I never felt like I was an outsider. It is as safe as any port and much safer than many. We took our kids to Brewers Bay but Cane Garden is also a great choice. Plenty of transportation. I wish I could go with y’all.

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Yes CGB is the easiest option and is a large bay with a nice beach, restroom facilities, and several choices for lunch and drinks. You can just hop a safari taxi and go on your own rather than on a ship excursion. Actually anything you choose to do on Tortola you can do on your own. Taxis will return to pick you up, they do this everyday.

 

Taxi fare with a safari taxi is $8pp each day for adults, 1/2 price for 4 - 10 yrs, and free for your 3 yr old. You can also take a private taxi for a little more if you feel safer with the kids.

 

CGB is typically very calm, it can get rough with sea swells but when we've stayed in CGB the water was like glass and there is a nice, gradual entry. Would recommend going to Myett's for lounges/umbrellas and having lunch there or at Tony's next door.

Enjoy!

 

[EDIT] Returning to the VI/BVI for a longer visit is a great idea as you can easily visit different islands on day trips as you mentioned, and there are also excellent day sails. We actually split our time between Tortola and St Thomas. We spend most of our time in the BVI and the last couple days we rent a condo in Sapphire Beach on STT because it's just easier to get to the airport.

You can do a lot of research on both areas on the Tortola and St Thomas/St John Trip Advisor forums, and TTOL is a great source for anything BVI.

www.traveltalkonline.com

 

Check out Sapphire Beach for STT, Taxi is $10 - $11 each way

 

Welcome to CC!

Edited by blue_water
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I'm so glad I found this thread! We are also going in May, Probably on the same cruise, Disney Fantasy May 5-12... I too have had issues finding something to do with our kids in Tortola. Me, DW and our 3 kids will be going, ages 10,7,4.5 and almost all of the excursions listed by Disney have a minimum age of 5. My wife is already staying on board with our daughter (4.5) in St Thomas so I can take the boys snorkeling with the turtles (wife and I were there 4 years ago and loved it and the boys want to go now) so we don't want to not do something as a family in Tortola too!

 

Any other suggestions I would also appreciate. CGB is tops on our list as of right now.

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Thank you so much for the responses everyone! That makes me feel better. I mean, just the fact that English is the primary language in both Tortola and St Thomas made me feel more at ease. Hubby and I traveled out of the US quite a bit before kids but we are just SUPER paranoid about keeping them safe. When they get a little older, we'll ease up a bit!

 

Sounds like Cane Garden Bay is a winner!

 

Jaoran - yep, that's our cruise! It's our first one and I can't wait! Maybe your wife and daughter can check out Coral World with us? We knew our options would be limited due to the age of our kids but I was expecting better offerings. I booked through Costco and they offered a catamaran excursion with snorkeling that they could go on but I thought the price was too high considering that my kids can't snorkel yet (or swim without assisting devices). If your 4.5 YO is a good swimmer and you would consider letting her snorkel, there are more options out there besides the ones offered from Disney. There are a few listed on Viator for Tortola that did not have a minimum age.

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They were looking to maybe do the Royal Tea while I took the boys since the boys have no desire to go have tea with princesses lol.

 

You should go join the roll call, there's only two of us so far lol!!

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There are lots of choices for Tortola and the other BVI islands, CGB is just the easiest for a family. For jaoran you may want to consider the Baths on Virgin Gorda. Really depends on what you are interested in, and just as importantly how long you are in port. Also keep in mind many of the cats and resorts of the BVI and STT were destroyed recently by Irma but some did survive.

And no need to look at Viator or excursions through the ship unless you need that. There are several excellent independent operators in both ports. If you decide to just have a nice beach day with the younger kids while the other adult and kids do something else that opens more options.

And checking your roll call is a good idea for any port, especially if you are new to those ports. Do s bit more research on this forum and you'll find many threads with questions on what to do with kids and helpful replies.

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This is really helpful as we will be on the Fantasy at the end of April. My husband will be scuba diving in Tortola so I was looking for something for my parents, myself, my 7 year old and my 2 year old to do. So we can just grab a safari taxi at the port? Any advice on places for lunch that might be open. I realize that they are very much in rebuilding mode so would want to have our dollars go to help.

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This is really helpful as we will be on the Fantasy at the end of April. My husband will be scuba diving in Tortola so I was looking for something for my parents, myself, my 7 year old and my 2 year old to do. So we can just grab a safari taxi at the port? Any advice on places for lunch that might be open. I realize that they are very much in rebuilding mode so would want to have our dollars go to help.

 

Yes a great way to experience Tortola is on an island tour with a beach and/or lunch stop at one of the out of the way spots. Drivers at the pier offer great 2 - 4 hour group tours at very affordable prices ($20pp and up). Some will drop you at Cane Garden Bay with time to lunch at Myett's or Tony's on the beach. You can also hire a private driver if you want a more personalized experience and a driver at your beckon call, prices are $55 - $70pp/ hour.

 

After there are some shops by the port like Sunny Caribbee, a great little spice and rub shop. You can also enjoy an English-style lunch at Pusser's Road Town Pub, and they have a great clothing store.

 

Another option if you have 5 hours or so is going to Marina Cay off Trellis Bay for lunch and the beach. Not sure if Pusser's is open there , you'd have to check their site. But probably no other cruisers there...

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  • 1 month later...
  • 1 month later...

Cane Garden Bay was beautiful, I loved it in Nov 2016, however, I wouldn't take young kids on the charter "bus" that I took to the location. It was a (newer) Ford F350 with the bed replaced with what were very much like aluminum bleacher seats, open on all sides, no seat belts, and a canopy top. The roads (pre-hurricanes) were, shall we say, exhilarating as you climb up, cross over the mountains, then descend to CGB - one person fought back barfing lol. I'm going to Tortola with family and 7 & 3 year old grandkids in October, and I took this location off our list as an option. Perhaps a cab ride would be better, but like others, looking to this thread for options. Also, I read recently the sea turtle excursion was disappointing as the hurricanes also stripped ocean vegetation away, and the turtles have moved on.

 

Will continue to follow this thread for enlightenment,

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Cane Garden Bay was beautiful, I loved it in Nov 2016, however, I wouldn't take young kids on the charter "bus" that I took to the location. It was a (newer) Ford F350 with the bed replaced with what were very much like aluminum bleacher seats, open on all sides, no seat belts, and a canopy top. The roads (pre-hurricanes) were, shall we say, exhilarating as you climb up, cross over the mountains, then descend to CGB - one person fought back barfing lol. I'm going to Tortola with family and 7 & 3 year old grandkids in October, and I took this location off our list as an option. Perhaps a cab ride would be better, but like others, looking to this thread for options. Also, I read recently the sea turtle excursion was disappointing as the hurricanes also stripped ocean vegetation away, and the turtles have moved on.

 

Will continue to follow this thread for enlightenment,

 

Yes there are the safari taxis that hold 12 - 20 ppl as well as sedan and van taxis. The rates are based on 1, 2, or 3+ ppl, the safari taxis are $8pp each way to CGB and Brewers Bay.

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