Hello Diane,

The St. John to Virgin Gorda ferry runs on Thursdays and Sundays. It leaves St. John at 8:30am and returns from Virgin Gorda at 3pm. It takes about 1 hr. 15 min. each way and cost $50 round trip. So yes that would be cheaper per person to go that way and then figure you can do Virgin Gorda on your own time, take a taxi to the Baths, have lunch, do an island tour.

--Islander

We are staying on St.Thomas and interested in seeing the baths, but also going to Foxys or the Soggy dollar bar. Can you do both of these things by taking the ferry or is a charter the best way to go.

I'd be really interested in the answer to this one too. Someone back in Texas contacted me about a group wanting to go to Willy T's, the Indians, Jost and a few other destinations in one day (seems like alot for one day to me). Don't know how many folks yet but it could be some business for someone.

Take care,
Tom

Hello AnnMarie and Tom,

The ferry option would not work for seeing both in one day. Baths are on Virgin Gorda. Foxys on Jost. You could ferry to either island from St. Thomas, so you can make day trips to either. I don't know of a ferry between Virgin Gorda and Jost and in any case with about 5 hours play time on Virgin Gorda you would make the most of your day by exploring it rather then trying to catch another ferry to Jost and then getting back from there to St. Thomas.

You might want to take a charter that can stop into both/multiple places.

--Islander

Thanks for the info, any certain company you would recommend for a day trip to the baths/foxys. There are so many, we are a group of 4 adults. We would prefer a sailboat. Thanks in advance.

Ann Marie-

A sailboat would be nice for sailing...but would not have the power/speed to get you any substantial time on both islands.

I did VG and Jost in one day about four years ago.....like this.....

rented a twin engine powerboat from NautiNymph (with a captain)....
set out first thing in the AM from Sapphire Marina on STT for VG (the Baths). We wanted to arrive at the Baths early to beat the crowds. The boat pulled in near the baths and we swam in to shore (we used fins to make it faster and easier) while our captain took our passports to customs (wherever that was). We stayed at the Baths for the morning and then swam back out to the boat to get to Foxy's on Jost for lunch (we docked the boat in Great Harbor where Foxy's is). After lunch at Foxy's we motored the boat to White Bay on Jost (we were able to anchor the boat in very shallow water at White bay so that you could stand in the water when you exited the boat) for swimming/lounging for the afternoon and left in time to get back to Sapphire on STT by 5p. I don't recall going back through customs to get back into USVI as some have stated must be done. The rules may have been tightened since 9/11. This was pre 9/11.

Just returned from st john sunday-we used new horizons went with dave and lauren on new horizons II. This is retrofitted go fast boat seats about 15-20. Included the Baths early, left st john at 730 am, went to customs, then onto the baths, a beautiful cay for snorkeling with small fish by the zillions to tarpon darting in and out, pusser's for lunch which was great then onto the soggy dollar. price was 108 with another 20 for customs plus luch at pussers ( worth it ) this includes snorkel equip and all u can drink if u wish.
Would do it again in a minute 0h yeah, returned just in time for reggae at rumbalaya-what a day!

john

Hello Ann Marie,

John's suggestion is a good one, New Horizons - you can check them out at http://www.newhorizonsvi.com

Also look at www.sailvi.com its a Catamaran taking out a smaller group.

--Islander

I went to the baths and willy ts with snorkel stops at the caves and an additional stop on the "Breakaway" the captain "Calvin" was excellant and the trip worth more than the $100 it costs. Sometimes the local knowlege and a capt that clears customs for you can make the trip more pleasant than wingging it on your own

Sounds like the chartered day trips are the way to go. Any other suggestions of companies/people that provide the charter day trips? I have found a few on the internet and in the 'Explore the Virgin Islands' book but would like a few other options. Snorkling and lunch stop would be best.

Thanks!

Just back from a week on St. John, had a wonderful time. Rented a villa, a car, the typical day was a different beach each morning where we could sit and snorkel, lunch out, afternoon in the pool, and dinner was something involving the grill (so that I cooked instead of my wife), and prepared side dish/salads so she didn't have to deal with much of anything on vacation. We had a great view and couldn't see going out to dinner when we could eat on the deck overlooking the caribbean and St. Thomas.

The one day exception to that routine was our trip to the BVI. We were staying on the southwest side overlooking Chocolate Hole near the Westin. Since my wife has experienced seasickness in the past and I was the one who REALLY wanted to do the trip, she said she'd go if we chose a larger/more stable boat.

We chose to take Island Time out of the Westin dock run by Cruz Bay Watersports. The boat is allowed to hold 72, they limit it to 50, we had about 40-45 the day we went. Still room to sit comfortably, though I think 72 would've been quite crowded. Captain and two mates, all great guys, very friendly and helpful. Trip was $110 plus tip, included continental breakfast, deli type lunch on board, beverages all day (including alcohol, I had a few beers in the afternoon but did see rum if you wanted more). Runs MWF - at least last week. They will provide snorkeling gear if you need it.

We went to to Soapers to clear customs in Tortola, up to the Baths for about 1 1/2 hours, then had lunch while motoring to the Caves on Norman Island, where we stayed for about an hour, then back to Cruz Bay to clear customs before heading back to the Westin. Left somewhere around 8:00-8:15, returned around 4:15-4:30.

We really enjoyed the trip, was a good compromise for us. I can handle the smaller boats no problem, and I totally understand why some folks say it's the only way to go, but for us this made sense. We mainly chose this trip due to proximity to our villa and easy parking.

Can't say enough about the two mates, Joel (who said he was heading back to the states soon to allow his better half to pursue school), Tim, and the captain Mark. They were very patient with the numerous inexperienced snorkelers, took time to chat when they could, and since we ended up on the 2nd deck we appreciated the two of them running up and down the stairs fetching drinks, think decent sized power boat moving at 20 MPH or so bouncing, and young guy running up stairs with 4 plastic glasses filled with soda in his hands trying to splash over the edge - saw numerous runs without a spill. Very nice guys, I left them a good tip, found myself thinking that folks who just spent $110, had them run up and down several times, and left a single or two were about the cheapest MFs I'd seen. You tip 15-20% at a restaurant, even if it's not quite the same, is 10% unreasonable?!?!? Like you're gonna miss it? These guys are working for crying out loud! Off soapbox now...

The Baths and Caves were more crowded than anything else we saw all week, but I think that's to be expected since we made a point to avoid crowds when possible. Arrived with crowds, still, it was not so much to be a problem for us.

Depending on your preferences, I would give the Island Time trip a thumbs up, and certainly however you go suggest a visit to the Baths is pretty interesting, very unique.

Questions? I'll try to answer.

irbgolfin

irbgolfin-

In which villa did you stay? Can you describe it? I am on the villa hunt myself.

Also, how did you get from your boat to the baths?

We stayed in Time Out, rented through McLaughlin Anderson. While staying in a villa is not cheap, it was a great place, very well equipped, would do it again. Pics on their site are very representative, no surprises. Cathy, our on-island contact, was great. Couple of homes nearby had some work going on, nothing outrageous. Biggest excitement was the concrete pour late one afternoon. There is a planned resort not too far away, however - Pond Bay Club, I think - supposedly going to be starting anytime. Since that's a big project I wonder if it might get loud, hard to say.

All boat trips to the Baths require either a "tender" in a dingy or swim/snorkel in (not sure how far, maybe 100 yards?). No dingies allowed on the beach. Most folks on our boat swam in, the guides ran the dingy in briefly to take a "dry" box so you could have a camera on shore. They did offer to give anyone a ride who wanted, a couple of people took them up on it.

irbgolfin

On our last trip to St John we did the day trip to the Baths with Limonas (not sure if that's spelled correctly). The crew was great, they even let me drive the boat for a while.

We're coming down again next week and are looking into a day trip to Jost. We'll be on St John Friday-Friday. Is there one day out of the week that better to go over then another. Just wondering if they have activities that change each day that would make one day better then another.

Counting the days down!!!

Thanks for the wonderful review and suggestions, irbgolfin!!! Sounds like you had a blast. Will definately check out the charter group you used - sounds like a wonderful trip. My fiance and I were looking at Time Out but decided on another villa 'near' the same area (actually on Maria Bluff). How was the Chocolate Hole area? I cannot wait for our trip - less than 2 months!!!!

Really enjoyed the trip, can't emphasize that enough, ready to go back again! 😉

Having a villa with a waterview, and in our case we could also see the lights of St. Thomas at night (depending on which side of Maria Bluff you're on will determine whether you will), was wonderful. You can also see the cruise ships leaving St. Thomas in the distance. We didn't explore the Chocolate Hole area, per se. It's not that obvious how to get around on roads, there are just maps of the main streets, and some of the roads warn of no turnaround. It was our first time staying on St. John, and we had more than enough places we wanted to go to with north shore beaches, so we stuck to that. Time Out is on the south side of the main road, but high on a hill. Didn't want to walk around too bad. Matter of fact, we could see joggers most days on one of the roads on Maria Bluff, very steep, looked like tough work.

We had intended to go out to eat more, but the first night in we were tired from traveling most of the day, we went to the Simple Feast (it's on the main road between Cruz Bay and Chocolate Hole, just before the Westin) to get dinner. That night we got a pre-cooked meal that we just zapped, and sat out on the deck. Each night we'd say, hmmm... what's for dinner... and only once did we go out, that was because we wanted to do some shopping in Cruz Bay. Parking is such a pain there, we'd have spent more time there if it was easier to deal with. A main item to throw on the grill and some prepared deli side items/salads and dinner on the deck - we couldn't beat it. Most everything is expensive, but we figured it was convenient and still cheaper than eating out. Also got some fish one day at Starfish market, wasn't so good, not very fresh - preferred Simple Feast. We did eat lunch out several times. Did Skinny Legs, it's the standard, alright, but crowded. Preferred Island Blues and Shipwreck Landing in the Coral Bay area. Also didn't stop at Columbos (intersection of the north shore road and centerline road) until late in the trip. Should have gone sooner. They had some sandwiches, we just stopped for a smoothie, tasted great after a hot morning at the beach. There are places to sit that we didn't notice until we stopped.

Since you have some time, I'd suggest you get a vacation pack or at least a beach guide or off the beaten path book, links are available here, we had a couple of the books, good references and helped us decide where to go.

As for the boat trips to the Baths, there are numerous offerings, similar prices, some variation on size and what other stops they do, I'd let those two factors determine which trip I chose.

If you enjoy your time half as much as we did, it will be a success! 😉

irbgolfin

We're staying at The Retreat on the east side of the island. We haven't been yet, but it looks incredible with a private pool and the sides of the villa are garage doors that open completely to the ocean. If you book directly through the owner, you may be able to get a discount. Her website is www.the-retreat.us. It can also be found on www.vivacations.com and pick the villa called "Retreat".