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Westin St. John [Master Thread]

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carpie99 said:
Actually can you snorkel off any of the BVI islands without doing a customs clearance if you don't dock?

Just wondering what my options are.
Click to expand...

I highly doubt it. Your captain will certainly know, as it's his boat that will be impounded if he doesn't follow protocol.

Your captain will also offer suggestions on where to go, based not only on your preferences, but also on the weather and ocean conditions on the day you travel. He'll definitely have a few generic itineraries that he's done a hundred times before, that minimize travel time, customs wait, and gas consumption, while maximizing your chances of seeing diverse marine life with the clearest visibility possible.

If you want to know what some of your options are if you stay stateside, visit the website of your charter. Most list their common itineraries. Or scroll down to the "Staying stateside?" section of this website for some ideas. Or call and chat with a captain.

http://piratesparadiseadventures.com/plan-yer-day/
 
We did most of our snorkeling on the north side beaches, from Hawksnest to Leinster Bay. Many nice places there.

The only south side beach we went to was on the eastern end of the island, at Salt Pond, near Coral Bay.

You are not legally allowed to go anywhere in the British Virgin Islands without clearing customs, for which you'll need passports for everybody. There should be nice spots on the USVI side of things. I'd probably rely on the charter captain to suggest places to go.

We met a couple that has a house on St. John, and they highly recommended Palm Tree Charters to us. I haven't tried them.

PS: I see Lisa posted as I was writing my response. Ditto what she said.
 
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carpie99 said:
Is there any good snorkeling on the south side of the island? My fiancee and I are taking our 4 kids (not all have passports) so we were going to rent a private charter to snorkel only US spots.

Actually can you snorkel off any of the BVI islands without doing a customs clearance if you don't dock?

Just wondering what my options are.
Click to expand...

No - you cannot. Well... You can, but at risk of having boat confiscated and being fined. No way a charter captain would take this risk. BVI is hurting themselves financially with their policies and processes.
(Unfortunately they do not see it that way)
IMO
 
Just a quick note about the owners updates... The $125 in "sand dollars" that you receive can also be used at several off site facilities. Zozos and Bad Kitty being a couple of them. Decided to use for our bad kitty trip tomorrow. Well worth my 75 minutes that I kept them at today. :-0


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
DavidnRobin said:
No - you cannot. Well... You can, but at risk of having boat confiscated and being fined. No way a charter captain would take this risk. BVI is hurting themselves financially with their policies and processes.
(Unfortunately they do not see it that way)
IMO
Click to expand...

Correct....

And if you leave St John, check-in at BVI customs, when you return to St John you have to clear US customs before snorkeling or setting anchor again.
 
OK - time for a bump, but due to issues of this thread being too large (most viewed on the SW forum by far - proud to say that this thread has great info and has lead to changes/actions for WSJ Owners and visitors ) - I am going to start a Part 2 and link this thread up-front as well as trip report links. Hope that is okay with everyone...

Here is the link to Part 2:
http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=213071
 
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