Barbados, Tortola, and Dominica

[marybeach]

Since I've never been to Tortola and Dominica and it's been a long time since Barbados (hence, this choice of ports), we would like to see as much of the overall islands as possible. What are your experiences with taxis, vans, etc. We usually like to use the locals at the peirs, and have found that to save $$. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[jcike1980]

keep doing what your doing! I agree with all your points. we do the same as well. jcike

[marshacher]

I spent a week on Dominica. My husband was teaching at the Medical School so we thought it would be a great vacation. Wrong!! Worst week of my life. You can't drink the water, you can't eat salad, fruit with skin, etc. There are open sewers everywhere you go. I would not go off on my own. Roads are mountainous, narrow and very winding. Take a tour. Go to the waterfalls. It is beautiful. It's a beautiful island, just a 3rd world country. There are no beaches, at least what we consider beaches.

Marsha

[michmike]

mary - volendam itinerary? when do you sail? We are on her 11/6. In Tortola you might try contacting elroy fahie.. phone (284) 495-2598 or e-mail elroy@surfbvi.com he gave us a great tour of the island back in January. If he is busy I am certain he can fix you up with someone else.

 

In Barbados give Randy a call at (246) 230-5890. We used him in '99 when in Barbados and have booked him again for our stop in Barbados on 11/12.

 

No experience with Dominica. We've booked the whale watching tour with HAL only because I couldn't find a local operator. We much prefer taking off on our own as that gives us greater flexibility and is cheaper.

 

Had to laugh when the snorkel charter we have booked in Tortola referred to the ship excursion boats as "cattlemarans".

[marshacher]

I forgot to address Tortola. It's a beautiful island with beautiful beaches. Hire a taxi and let the driver give you a tour. Ask to go to Cane Garden Bay if you want to sit on a lovely beach. Set a time and he will come back for you.

Roadtown is a typical island tourist town. Nice shops with lots of island souvenirs, etc. Stop at Pussers and get some Rum, bring back some Caribbean seasonings and spices. It's relaxing to sit by the harbor, have some lunch and a glass of wine and watch the sailboats and yachts come in and out. I love Tortola.

Marsha

[HeatherInFlorida]

Marsha, since I was asking about Tortola on another thread I really appreciate this info! Would you say that the taxis in general will come back for you? I'm hoping to go to Long Bay-West End which looks amazing, but was concerned about returning to the ship.

I've read a lot of negatives about Cane Garden Bay recently and HAL has now cancelled its tour there. Evidently there is a problem with "dumping" from the various boats moored just off the beach? Have you heard about this?

[marshacher]

HeatherinFlorida

No, I haven't heard anything. It would be a shame if they are allowing this. It's a beautiful beach and I'd hate to see the BVI Government let it go this way. Have you considered going to the Baths? It's a beautiful snorkeling place on Virgin Gorda and you can hire an operator at the docks. The ship excursion is expensive. If you go privately be sure to watch the time. The Baths are really a must.

Marsha

[HeatherInFlorida]

HeatherinFlorida

No, I haven't heard anything. It would be a shame if they are allowing this. It's a beautiful beach and I'd hate to see the BVI Government let it go this way. Have you considered going to the Baths? It's a beautiful snorkeling place on Virgin Gorda and you can hire an operator at the docks. The ship excursion is expensive. If you go privately be sure to watch the time. The Baths are really a must.

Marsha

The story about Cane Garden was on the Boards under "Ports". I was so disappointed, but when I saw on HAL's website that they no longer offer the tour there, I suspected the story was true.

Yes, I love the Baths. But we have stayed at Little Dix Bay on Virgin Gorda and been there many times. Since it gets more crowded all the time, we've decided to keep our memories of it the way it once was. But you're right that it's a wonderful experience and I would definitely go if we hadn't already been.

[anngie]

We spent 2 weeks on a chartered sailboat out of Tortola and none of the boats have holding tanks. They all dump right into the water.

We did not know this til we were already on the boat. Pretty gross.:eek:

[marshacher]

Things have changed. We were on a chartered sail boat in the BVI in 1979 and our boat had holding tanks. The captain would have been heavily fined if he dumped. He took care of it every time we were in an area that had a dump station.

I agree it is gross and should not be allowed. Cruise ships are fined if they dump so why not charter boats? We have to keep our waters clean so our children and grandchildren can enjoy what we've enjoyed.

Marsha

[stanjj111]

I suggest that you hire an outside tour guide to see the island. Several are listed in CC under the port. We have a tour scheduled with Reyno Tour for Dec. Good Luck.

[OCruisers]

Here's the post Heather's telling you about:

 

Cane Garden Bay Beach WARNING (click here)

 

My business friend (with family home on Tortola) had a "fit" when we told her we were planning to spend a beach day there! :eek: To back her STRONG warning she sent a BVI Gov.Report ....

 

If you haven't already, do take a couple of minutes to check The Ports Of Call Board under Caribbean Other. You'll some helpful threads there in addition to "The Warning". Tortola is one of our favorite islands!!!!!

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[Sage]

Thank you so much for the information regarding Cane Garden Bay. It was such a gorgeous place, but I won't step foot in the water now.

[anngie]

It is not just Cane Garden Bay. It is the whole area. Those sailboats go from island to island with no holding tanks.

[HeatherInFlorida]

OCruisers, thanks for that link! I was sure I didn't dream it. Now I see HAL does still include a quick visit to Cane Garden in one of their tours, but not the day tour they used to have.

 

Still, I'm staying away. What a darn shame.

[anngie]

Heather, this kind of explains it all.

 

 

The major problems with the current sewage disposal system are its limitation to the Road Town area, the lack of treatment of the effluent and lack of use of the facility in areas where it is provided for example Purcell, Lower Estate. At present there are a number of areas where there are problems with reference to sewage disposal, there are:

1. East End where there are problems with respect to water pollution from boats as well as subsurface conditions which do not permit septic tanks and soak-away pits to function efficiently.
   
2. Spanish Town in Virgin Gorda where there is pollution in the harbour largely created by boats discharging into an enclosed harbour.
   
3. Cane Garden Bay where it was found that the acceptable limits for fecal coliform bacteria were exceeded.
   

[HeatherInFlorida]

So basically ..... YUCK!!!:(

[marshacher]

Double Yuck and gross.

The one thing I remember about our 1979 sailboat trip was being able to jump off the boat when we anchored, swim and take our "Joy" bath. I wouldn't do it now. It's a shame the small boats are ruining these beautiful waters and beaches. Is there nothing the BVI government can do?

Marsha

[marybeach]

Thanks for the responses. I was reading some travel books this morning, Fodor's Caribbean and Caribbean by Cruiseship, as well as my trusty AAA Caribbean guide and making notes. They mention the local buses on several islands. We took a local bus in St. Maarten back from the French side and found it interesting talking to the locals. Have any of you used the local buses on any of these islands in this thread? They also say the buses on St. Thomas and St. John, Vitran, are dependable. We are ported a long time in St. T, and are planning on ferrying over to St. John, since neither of us have been there. What experience have you had with the ferry from Charlotte Amalie....it saves the taxi fare to Red Hook.

[HeatherInFlorida]

I've not taken the ferry from Charlotte Amalie, but it sounds like a good idea to me. If you haven't been to St. John, by all means go. It is a magnificent island and since it is a National Park, it's not built up at all. We rented a jeep type car and drove all over visiting Trunk Bay and Cinnamon Bay among others. Definitely worth the trip over!

 

St. Thomas is lovely and if you want a beautiful beach Magen's Bay is the place to go. We stayed on St. Thomas once for 2 weeks so we were all over the island, but that was many years ago. So I've left that to memories also because now everything has changed so much on St. Thomas ... partially due to the cruiseship influx and partially due to other influences.

[marshacher]

Hi Marybeach

The ferry schedule from Charlotte Amalie is not as frequent as from Red Hook. Also the ride is longer and the waters a little choppier. It's a fixed rate taxi ride. However, be careful of schedules coming back. Give yourself plenty of time as the road from Red Hook to Charlotte Amalie is very, very busy in the late afternoon. It's called rush hour traffic.

We spent our winter vacations on St. Thomas for 17 years. We love the island. We've been to St. John many times, renting a jeep and having fun visiting all the beaches. We've also done many day sails to other islands from Red Hook. We did a 1 weeks charter out of Charlotte Amalie. That's how I find out about the rougher waters.

Enjoy whatever you do. The Virgin Islands are beautiful.

Marsha