st thomas and tortola excursions

[skivy]

Hi NCL'ers! Looking for people that have tried the excursions and found favorites in st thomas and tortola. Heading out on the Pearl in December and would appreciate any favorite excursions. thanks :D

[Grandpaul]

At ST. Thomas I love going to Trunk Bay on St. Johns which is right next to St. Thomas. They have a beach excursion from the ship or you can do it on your own. Absolutely beautiful beach. Not a great picture of it but it gives you an idea.

[bakerintn]

Trunk Bay has a national underwater park complete with guide signs and an underwater path.

 

Here is a link to more pix

http://www.terragalleria.com/parks/np.virgin-islands.3.html

[Grandpaul]

Great pics. I never get tired of going there. Very relaxing. My wife shops on St. Thomas and I sleep at Trunk Bay.

[flashdog_1]

Remember that when Columbus first saw this group of islands he exclaimed something on the order of "it could be Ursula and the 10,000 virgins." So he called them the Virgin Islands.

 

If you take a tour on either island be sure to go to the top so you can see the other islands, perhaps as Columbus saw them. In St Thomas this would be Drake's Seat or Mountain Top, or at sea level, Sapphire Beach. Now Magan's Bay is also a glory to behold from heights, too. Most tours will take you to some of those places. In Tortola it could be Sky World, or actually, from ground level, or from the heights in getting there, Cane Garden Bay would do it.

 

But if you expect to return to both islands, or you already have seen them, you might want to branch out and go to the "next door" island. In St Thomas that would be St John, the 3rd US Virgin Island after St Croix. The Caneel Bay Rockefeller Estate/Resort with ruins of a sugar plantation is there. Trunk Bay as has already been mentioned, with its underwater scuba trail is gorgeous, as are the public Hawks Nest and Cinnamon Bay. Some of the excursions that take you to a beach or to snorkle will include any pristine beach in St John. From Tortola, you can take a ferry to another British V.I., Virgin Gorda which is home to the Baths. These huge boulders have absolutely no reason for being there. Probably settled there after some prehistoric cataclysmic event. Also from Tortola you might go to Jost Van Dyke or Norman Island. Any of the "side" islands will not have the traffic or population of the big islands. But please don't forget the main islands as noted on your itinerary!

 

P.S. I lived in St Thomas for 7 years from 1965-72.

[weare3]

Taking a local taxi to Megans Bay (St Thomas) at $8 a person (each way)and then $4 to get into the beach area is a great thing to do (no charge into beach for kids 12 and under). This beach is absolutely beautiful. It's about a 20 minute ride.

 

Tortola...we got into a bus/taxi and took a 2.5 hour tour. Going to the top of the island and looking at the sea was amazing. The views are incredible. They stop along the way to take pictures and then a quick visit to beach area. Great tour (Godfrey was his name). $20 per person.

 

We decided not to book excursions with cruise line and took advice of people here on CC. It saved us $$.

[skivy]

Holy cow, I am amazed at the responses already. Grandpaul your itinerary was too funny. Baker thanks for the link and pics. Flash and Weare3 what great info. I love stories that give me a little more insight and trivia. Thanks again and I hope this helps a few others. ;)

[daring]

First of all I'm not sure what kind of things you like but scuba diving in St. Thomas - I love the peace and serenity of being under the water and being part of the sea world.

Next, the Virgin Gorda is hands down, the most beautiful place I have ever visited. :p I love anything that has water, sand, and smooth stones.

[watchdiva]

Here's my picks for both. Tortola - book a catamaran trip with Patouche to the Baths at Virgin Gorda (www.patouche.com) which ranks right up there with our all time favorites. Limited to a max of 20.

 

In St. Thomas we booked a 1/2 day private sail on Highpockets (www.highpockets.com) which is owned and skippered by Capt. Kathleen. One of the most fantastic excursions of all time and well worth the expense.

[Ms belp]

Trunk Bay gets our vote as well; absolutely beautiful. It wasn't crowded when we there either. It's within the national park system too.

 

Tortola we did Virgina Gorda the "Baths" on our first cruise and enjoyed it. We wanted to do Cane Beach this time but the ship excursion was cancelled.

[romrai]

We took a Sunny Liston tour. He picked us up at the ship, took us into town for a couple hours of shopping and then a tour of the island. We ended at Sapphire beach (you could choose Coki or Meagens as well) It was only about $25. My only complaint was that he hit the brakes to the beat of the music and I became motion sick.....but other than that it was a good tour. There is Godfreys as well for a similar price and tour. The ship offers similar, but at a higher price.

[Grandpaul]

Last time I saw Sonny Liston he was getting knocked out by Cassius Clay in Lewiston, Maine. Oh, it's Sunny Liston.

[Ms belp]

Last time I saw Sonny Liston he was getting knocked out by Cassius Clay in Lewiston, Maine. Oh, it's Sunny Liston.

 

 

Ha!:D I laughed at that too!:)

[rasta]

St. Thomas Island Girl and Jolly Mon moor right in Havensight and pick you up at the pier. Both woudl be great day sails...do the full day if possible.

 

I liked Breewers Bay in Tortola because it was not crowded and had good snorkeling. I could have stayed there all day. LOVED Tortola by the way!

[skivy]

I really like the responses, partly because it shows that people had memorable times. sounds like many Kodak moments. Sunny (hahaha) Liston, I may be a little Polish but I get it. Can't wait til December. Thanks for the info on the independent tours, used one (happy fish) in Guatamala and it was the highlight of my last cruise. Thanks again for your responses, you are helping a lot more people than you know. What a great site.:D

[ken85121]

Hi NCL'ers! Looking for people that have tried the excursions and found favorites in st thomas and tortola. Heading out on the Pearl in December and would appreciate any favorite excursions. thanks :D

 

Skivy, my partner and I are going on our first cruise in December on Pearl too! 12/5 to be exact (I'm so excited). I am having a really tough time trying to pick something in Tortola. Nothing is really jumping out at me so I'm glad you posted this. It is the one place I had never even heard of before booking. :)