NCL Tortola Baths excursion

[Mr and Mrs C]

I have a group of 18 that will be stopping on the Gem from 7-1 pm in Tortola. My family has went ahead and booked the baths tour with NCL, but some of my friends are not water people - will this trip be a waste of time for them? Or will they be able to see plenty from shore?

 

 

 

 

 

Also on the NCL website it says: "The footpath to The Baths is rough, consists of uneven terrain and goes through small spaces" The small spaces part has some of my friends concerned! So do you have to go through the tight spaces or is that only if you are out exploring the baths?

[luvtheships]

😄

 

 

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Edited August 31, 2015 by luvtheships

[HarpHarp]

I have a group of 18 that will be stopping on the Gem from 7-1 pm in Tortola. My family has went ahead and booked the baths tour with NCL, but some of my friends are not water people - will this trip be a waste of time for them? Or will they be able to see plenty from shore?

 

Also on the NCL website it says: "The footpath to The Baths is rough, consists of uneven terrain and goes through small spaces" The small spaces part has some of my friends concerned! So do you have to go through the tight spaces or is that only if you are out exploring the baths?

 

Here is a video:

 

The Baths are a very special place. The best parts can be seen by walking or wading, swimming skills not required. The beaches are lovely & can be enjoyed without dipping a toe in the water, but I can't imagine not wanting to wade around the rocks

[rochelle_s]

This is not a tour for people who are not getting in the water. To see the caves the minimum you must do is wade through the water. You need to climb up and over wet rocks sometimes with the aid of a rope. You will get wet. The beaches on either side are quiet small and there are no chairs or anything to rent.

 

When you go on the tour you will take a large ferry boat to the island, then you will load up into safari trucks which will drop you off closer to the Baths. There are a couple of restaurants at this point. You will then walk down to the beach and cave area where another, much smaller, restaurant bar area is. At the tours end you have to climb back up and wait for the safaris to take you back to the ferry dock.

 

When I did this tour there were 250 people on it. That made for a lot of time sitting and waiting while all 250 people got to the next point. When heading back our ferry was dead. There were many of us stuck in uncovered seats in the noon day sun. There was no beverages available and we had no toilet facilities. We were three hours late getting back to the ship. It was a tender operation when we were there so while technically not runners there was a huge crowd of passengers outside awaiting our return.

 

With a group your size you should think about doing it privately. You could check out http://www.divebvi.com You can charter a boat through them and customize your itinerary to appeal to everyone. They also supply snorkeling equipment for those interested.

 

Another option for those not interested in a 'wet' excursion. Friends of mine were able to book an island tour at the pier for $10 a person. They had a tour of the island which included a beach stop which they used to have a drink and a bite to eat. They were very pleased with the tour.

 

Hope this helps a little.

 

 

Rochelle

[Tricialy]

My husband isn't a "beach" person, though water doesn't bother him - we did the NCL tour in July and loved it. Everyone kind of mills around at the top, we headed right down the path and were the first to the bottom, so no waiting to climb through the rocks - that being said, it was a bit of trial and error figuring out how to go, but that was part of the fun. There was some wading through water, maybe thigh deep at the deepest (when we were there in July) - we both really enjoyed it. You can take the trail to the Baths or the Devil's Bay trail (which is how we returned to the parking lot) - if they don't want to crawl through the rocks.

 

The only thing I'd say is don't bring too much "stuff" with you - the people who were struggling were doing so because they were hauling snorkels, fins, beach bags, etc. Mostly parents carrying everything for their kids. We had a small beach bag with two towels, our cheap camera (in case we dropped it in the water - not knowing what to expect) and some water. The beach at Devil's Bay was really nice and there were maybe 10 people there - not sure where everyone else on our full ferry ended up.

[Mr and Mrs C]

So am u understanding this correctly that if you don't want to crawl through the rocks you take the trail to Devils bay?

[rochelle_s]

So am u understanding this correctly that if you don't want to crawl through the rocks you take the trail to Devils bay?

 

You can take the trail but you won't experience the caves.

 

 

Rochelle

[Snowrose]

DH and I are not really water people or beach-trip people, but we do love unusual places and rock formations - and we LOVED The Baths!!!

 

There are no actual tight spaces on the trails to the beaches. But there is a bit of a squeeze if you go through the caves. Still, honestly, if you're agile you could make it through even up to a weight of 250 lbs or so. Several of us weren't skinny and we still made it fine. The hardest part was climbing up a small rock using the short rope.

 

We didn't have any problem with waiting for long lines of people to go through the caves. At most there were about 8 people ahead of us, and you could pass them in the open areas if you walked faster than they did.

 

One of the most magical things about the caves was walking through and going from beach sand to water and back to beach sand.

 

We really did enjoy the beach at the other side of the caves. It was much nicer than the beach at the cave entrance. I do agree, though, don't bring a lot of things with you. DH and I wore our bathing suits and he carried a light backpack with our towels and sunscreen. That was pretty much the total of what we brought with us for the trip.