# British Virgin Islands - help me plan a trip



## Sandy (Mar 17, 2015)

I would like to go to the BVI and stay in two or three different places. I don't need the fancy stuff (like the westin) and I believe that the islands are close enough that might be possible.  

I would like some advice on how to put together such a package.  I tried expedia and tripadvisor, but they do one hotel at a time.  Perhaps this is the only way. 

The catamaran cruises are also an option but my travel mate is a little cautious about these.  I have been on two of the cats years ago: Tradewinds and Elite Island Yacht club. Both were great, but I am flexible. Maybe a land-based trip is the best and we can take day cruises around the islands.

Is there any advice on how to put together such a trip?

thanks.


----------



## DeniseM (Mar 17, 2015)

Just to clarify - do you specifically mean the "British"  VI, or just the VI?  The Westin is on St. John which is in the USVI.

This might be a good job for a Travel Agent.


----------



## GregT (Mar 17, 2015)

Sandy said:


> I would like to go to the BVI and stay in two or three different places. I don't need the fancy stuff (like the westin) and I believe that the islands are close enough that might be possible.
> 
> I would like some advice on how to put together such a package.  I tried expedia and tripadvisor, but they do one hotel at a time.  Perhaps this is the only way.
> 
> ...



Sandy,

I can't really be helpful for the BVI -- the only place on Tortola that I have stayed was the Long Bay Beach Club -- and we were there for on 18 hours (of a 7 day vacation).   We didn't love it.

We did love the Elysian, which is over on St. Thomas and might be a good spot.  It is near Red Hook, with lots of excursions from there, so it is worth checking out.

Good luck!

Best,

Greg


----------



## DavidnRobin (Mar 17, 2015)

I would strongly recommend doing the BVI by Cat.  The weather and seas are generally great - only an issue if people can't handle being on the water.  We did the BVIs for 2 weeks (1991 - before the internet and GPS) - and it was fantastic.  You can charter with a Captain and a Cook - and see things you will never see staying on-land.  You can now even charter easily out of St Thomas, instead of Tortola (BVI). Recent rules changes by the USVI are trying to bring back charter industry  Friends of ours did this last year…

http://youtu.be/6zdUAYgphfg

From what I have seen - you can find accommodations relatively easy on Tortola and Virgin Gorda - and even Jost (there is a hotel associated with The Soggy Dollar in White Bay).  But, generally nice accommodations are pricey.  Tortola is a relatively large island - and will need a 4WD to get around.  I stayed at the Sugar Mill (Long Bay on Tortola) for a few nights and it was wonderful (but nothing to do).

Again - go with the Cat - much more to see.  The BVI consists of many small islands and great (and calm) spots to moor.


----------



## ailin (Mar 17, 2015)

We did a trip staying in St. Thomas (Bluebeards Beach Club) and Tortola, with day trips to St. John, Virgin Gorda, and Jost van Dyke.  The ferry system is very easy.
http://www.bestofbvi.com/info/info_bviferry.htm

I would love to go back and stay in St. John and Virgin Gorda.

In Tortola, we stayed at two places (found via VRBO):
www.kerensabvi.com
www.cootenhouse.com

Kerensa especially, had gorgeous, gorgeous views.  Access is by a dirt road (at least it was when we went 5 years ago), so you do have to be a little adventurous, and there are mosquitoes.  It's not cheap, but I think I would be hard pressed to find that kind of view for that price anywhere in the world.


----------



## Sandy (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi Denise, 

I did mean the BVI thinking that most day trips would originate from this side.  but the entire area is surrounded by water, so the USVI should have some of the same offerings. 

I can never get into the Westin anyway, except if I paid full price. Local establishments would work. Don't need all of the fancy-schmancy type rooms for this trip.

Good suggestion to connect with a travel agent.  thanks. 
sandy



DeniseM said:


> Just to clarify - do you specifically mean the "British"  VI, or just the VI?  The Westin is on St. John which is in the USVI.
> 
> This might be a good job for a Travel Agent.


----------



## Sandy (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks for the links, and especially the ferry info. Good start for planning.



ailin said:


> We did a trip staying in St. Thomas (Bluebeards Beach Club) and Tortola, with day trips to St. John, Virgin Gorda, and Jost van Dyke.  The ferry system is very easy.
> http://www.bestofbvi.com/info/info_bviferry.htm
> 
> I would love to go back and stay in St. John and Virgin Gorda.
> ...


----------



## ailin (Mar 18, 2015)

Here's more information about our itinerary, hope it's useful for your planning.

- We flew into St. Thomas and stayed at Bluebeard's Beach Club.  It's about a 15 minute drive to Red Hook Harbor, where there are frequent ferries to St. John (20 min ferry ride).  We did 2 day trips there.  I would have preferred to stay in St. John, but I wanted to use our Wyndham points since the Tortola lodgings were so expensive.

- From St. Thomas, we did a day sail to The Baths at Virgin Gorda and Jost van Dyke with Stormy Petrel & Pirate Penny.
www.piratespenny.com
It would have made more sense to go from Tortola (closer and don't need to pay custom fees to get into the BVI), but our schedule just worked out this way.  It was a great tour.  The guide led us on a hike of the boulders at The Baths (IMO it's a must-do in the BVI).

- We then took the ferry to Tortola.  From there, we did 2 day sails with Aristocat Charters.
www.aristocatcharters.com
The Norman Island and the Indians one was great, the snorkeling is wonderful at The Indians.  We also did the Jost van Dyke one, but only because I saw pictures of Sandy Spit and really wanted to go there.  It's probably just the ocean conditions that day, but it was a little rough and it was tiring to swim to the island and back.

- I really wanted to make it to Anegada too, but it was too much to fit in.  Guess I'll just have to go back.

Have fun planning!


----------



## lynne (Mar 18, 2015)

ailin said:


> Here's more information about our itinerary, hope it's useful for your planning.
> 
> - We flew into St. Thomas and stayed at Bluebeard's Beach Club.  It's about a 15 minute drive to Red Hook Harbor, where there are frequent ferries to St. John (20 min ferry ride).  We did 2 day trips there.  I would have preferred to stay in St. John, but I wanted to use our Wyndham points since the Tortola lodgings were so expensive.
> 
> ...



Anegada is a really rough trip, would not recommend it.  An option we did one year other than sailing the BVI was to spend a week at Bitter End Yacht Club.  A bit pricy, but well worth it.


----------



## ailin (Mar 19, 2015)

lynne said:


> Anegada is a really rough trip, would not recommend it.  An option we did one year other than sailing the BVI was to spend a week at Bitter End Yacht Club.  A bit pricy, but well worth it.



The boat ride was really rough?  I remember looking into flights to Anegada from Tortola, but I couldn't find any day trip per person cost type options.  They were all charters for the entire plane.

For future reference though, how was it once you got there?


----------



## lynne (Mar 19, 2015)

ailin said:


> The boat ride was really rough?  I remember looking into flights to Anegada from Tortola, but I couldn't find any day trip per person cost type options.  They were all charters for the entire plane.
> 
> For future reference though, how was it once you got there?



We took a boat from Bitter End on Virgin Gorda.  took about 2 1/2 hours to get there.  Once there, it was a bit of a disappointment.  Very flat terrain, okay restaurant.   Did not know about flights from Tortola.  That would be a better option.


----------



## Tia (Mar 19, 2015)

Must depend on what your wanting/expecting as a friend of mine told me that Anegada was her favorite from a sail trip a year ago. Maybe also depends on how rough the sea is on any particular day.


----------

