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Best excursions in Tortola and St. Thomas

grannyshell

By grannyshell,
in St. Thomas/St. John

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sansterre

sansterre

Posted
Posted

 

I am wondering what to do in St. Thomas too.  There are several possible locations to dock there.  Does anyone know where Disney docks in St. Thomas?

*If close to downtown, we will shop.

*If close to the tram, we will take that for a view of the islands.

*Otherwise we will get a taxi to a beach, probably Maegan's Bay on the other side of the island.

 

Regarding Tortola, Cane Garden Bay is lovely on the other side of the island, downtown Roadtown is interesting and walkable.  The Baths on Virgin Gorda are amazing but require a way to get to the island, then a taxi to the baths.  I'm not sure we will have time to do all that.

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OhState1

OhState1

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Speedy’s has day excursions to the Baths.  https://www.bviferries.com/the-baths-excursions

 

They have other excursions as well, but most people go for the Baths.  We stay at a resort next to the Baths (Spring Bay) and generally avoid the Baths the days the cruise ships are in town.  Spring Bay is a lovely beach, popular with locals. For little tykes, the Crawl at Spring Bay is a small boulder enclosed shallow area - good for a dip when the northern swells make swimming difficult (high surf advisories occur - they fly a red or yellow caution flag when conditions are rough). The Top of The Baths has a pool (it’s a pretty good restaurant/bar).  A few feet away is my favorite lunch spot - Mad Dogs.  Very good drinks and famous for the BLT.  New owners after Hurricane Irma, but we still love it.  

 

CB98C82D-E713-4E9D-9FB7-E146070BE785.jpeg

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blue_water

blue_water

Posted
Posted (edited)

>> Not much helpful info there and posts are very old. <<

The posts on the STT and Tortola boards are current, is that what you are looking at? 🤷🏼.

 

And the number of ships in port, especially on STT, and your time in port helps to give you good choices…so if you can provide your ship and date that would help!

Edited by blue_water
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blue_water

blue_water

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 3/9/2023 at 9:09 AM, sansterre said:

 

I am wondering what to do in St. Thomas too.  There are several possible locations to dock there.  Does anyone know where Disney docks in St. Thomas?

*If close to downtown, we will shop.

*If close to the tram, we will take that for a view of the islands.

*Otherwise we will get a taxi to a beach, probably Maegan's Bay on the other side of the island.

 

Regarding Tortola, Cane Garden Bay is lovely on the other side of the island, downtown Roadtown is interesting and walkable.  The Baths on Virgin Gorda are amazing but require a way to get to the island, then a taxi to the baths.  I'm not sure we will have time to do all that.

Disney should dock at WICO (Havensight) which is east of Charlotte Amalie and closer to the nicer east end beaches like Sapphire, Lindqvist (Smith Bay), Coki and Secret Harbor. The tram to Paradise Point is across the street from the dock.

 

Magens Bay is the most-touted STT beach, like Trunk Bay on STJ. It is beautiful, but in our opinion Sapphire is nicer and offers pretty water colors and island views. But you have choices! Maybe stop at PP after the beach for the view and a cocktail before walking back to your ship!

 

For Tortola the number of ships, and more importantly your time in port will dictate whether the Baths are a great idea, or a terrible one…

Edited by blue_water
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Emmabelle

Emmabelle

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Posted (edited)

I've been to most of the popular beaches on St Thomas, we did a land vacation there.  I enjoy Sapphire the most. It has some waves and snorkeling, I think your 11yr old would like that one better.  Just bring water shoes if you go because the tiny shells at the edge of the water can hurt. 😜

Edited by Emmabelle
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blue_water

blue_water

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Emmabelle said:

I've been to most of the popular beaches on St Thomas, we did a land vacation there.  I enjoy Sapphire the most. It has some waves and snorkeling, I think your 11yr old would like that one better.  Just bring water shoes if you go because the tiny shells at the edge of the water can hurt. 😜

Yes we’ve stayed at the Sapphire Beach Resort & Marina which is oceanfront and an amazing spot to stay. Sapphire is also our favorite beach on the island. Lindqvist may be the most gorgeous, but Sapphire has the island views and water colors, and there is room to find a nice spot on the beach…

 

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ccheng6401

ccheng6401

Posted
Posted
11 hours ago, Emmabelle said:

I've been to most of the popular beaches on St Thomas, we did a land vacation there.  I enjoy Sapphire the most. It has some waves and snorkeling, I think your 11yr old would like that one better.  Just bring water shoes if you go because the tiny shells at the edge of the water can hurt. 😜

Did you rent a car to visit those beaches? It seem car rental is tough now. Many don't do 1 day rental...Any recomendation? 

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blue_water

blue_water

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, ccheng6401 said:

Did you rent a car to visit those beaches? It seem car rental is tough now. Many don't do 1 day rental...Any recomendation? 

Curious why you think renting a car is tough now? Are you in port long enough to enjoy multiple beaches? Or are you thinking of just stopping for a short visit to compare them?

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Ms411

Ms411

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Posted

Bluewater, ccheng6401 may have read the many posts on other forums that say renting a vehicle for a day is tough. For St Thomas, I think that information is outdated.

 

There are so many new rental car agencies on St Thomas now, and most deliver to your location, so day rentals are much easier now. However, I find that only a small fraction of the rental car companies are ever recommended online so people unfortunately don't know about them. And, even the ones that may not be recommended online can give excellent service.

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blue_water

blue_water

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, Ms411 said:

Bluewater, ccheng6401 may have read the many posts on other forums that say renting a vehicle for a day is tough. For St Thomas, I think that information is outdated.

 

There are so many new rental car agencies on St Thomas now, and most deliver to your location, so day rentals are much easier now. However, I find that only a small fraction of the rental car companies are ever recommended online so people unfortunately don't know about them. And, even the ones that may not be recommended online can give excellent service.

👍 Yes I had assumed that but wanted to ask…
It was very convenient having the Budget office right at Sapphire years ago…Condo owners and renters could rent for a day or two as needed…
 

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grannyshell

grannyshell

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On 3/10/2023 at 1:28 PM, blue_water said:

Disney should dock at WICO (Havensight) which is east of Charlotte Amalie and closer to the nicer east end beaches like Sapphire, Lindqvist (Smith Bay), Coki and Secret Harbor. The tram to Paradise Point is across the street from the dock.

 

Magens Bay is the most-touted STT beach, like Trunk Bay on STJ. It is beautiful, but in our opinion Sapphire is nicer and offers pretty water colors and island views. But you have choices! Maybe stop at PP after the beach for the view and a cocktail before walking back to your ship!

 

For Tortola the number of ships, and more importantly your time in port will dictate whether the Baths are a great idea, or a terrible one…

Could you explain further about Tortola? If we have all day (7:30-5:00) is there a best time of day to go to the Baths, considering we'd do it by going with a local company instead of a ship excursion? Many thanks.

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EatonDoolittle

EatonDoolittle

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, grannyshell said:

Could you explain further about Tortola? If we have all day (7:30-5:00) is there a best time of day to go to the Baths, considering we'd do it by going with a local company instead of a ship excursion? Many thanks.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/202-tortola/

 

Here is the Tortola board. Scroll through and read a bit, as your questions are probably already answered there.

If not, that is the place to ask. 

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grannyshell

grannyshell

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3 minutes ago, EatonDoolittle said:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/202-tortola/

 

Here is the Tortola board. Scroll through and read a bit, as your questions are probably already answered there.

If not, that is the place to ask. 

Sorry to offend. There is just so much info on CC to plow through, which I'm doing, but it takes awhile to read through every single post.

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Ms411

Ms411

Posted
Posted

Grannyshell, the most current information is posted on the first page of all Cruisecritic.com forums. If you don't see anything you're interested in on the first page, I suggest you ask a question specific to your expectations of a good time during your stay, and hope for responses.

 

The BVI (British Virgin Islands) forums aren't nearly as active as St Thomas forum, but BVI gets fewer ships, and hasn't been getting cruise ships as long as St Thomas.

 

You may get more responses on the TripAdvisor Tortola forum. Some people post their questions on both.

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