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We are traveling to STJ this November for the third year in a row and are considering venturing out to the BVIs one day. Our kids are 3 and almost 6 and we thought it would be fun to get out on the water and see more than the beautiful beaches of STJ. Can you help with what we would want to visit? For example, are the Baths too difficult to visit with small children or would they be able to see it? We would probably book a private boat with a captain and would want to go at our own pace. I just wasn't sure what we should plan to see and what should be saved for a future trip.
Thanks for your help!
Keri
If you do the Baths I would do the ferry or the water taxi - they stop in town and taxi you to the Baths. I like to hit the Indians, Norman Island, Cooper Island, Sandy Cay and Jost. We've gone out the last couple of times with John Brandi of Palm Tree Charters and had a blast. My daughters (11 & 16) said it was the favorite part of their trip. If you do a search for him on youtube you'll see a lot of his videos.
Cheers, RickG
Thanks! Anyone else with recommendations regarding small children?
I'm not sure where you are staying, but the Westin in STJ has fun activities for the kids. Crab races, trampolines on the water, dive in movies, usually other daily activities. You don't have to stay there to enjoy the activities. I'd take the ferry over to STT for a day and take them to the Wyndham. They have bumper boats, mini golf and a great pool area. Dinner is served buffet style, that always helped me when my children were younger, instant food!
I think that the kid's would do fine at the Bath's, you can be as adventurous as you want. I second RickG for his choice of islands. A private boat for the day sounds great. I'm not sure how good of swimmers that your children are, but our kid's always love to go to Norman Island and the caves. The water is fairly calm and easy to swim, lot's of interesting fish with big eyes that have adapted to the darkness of the caves.
Have a great trip!
Molly
Thanks for the info. I think I'll look into it and give it a try.
I second Palm Tree Charters. We've used him several times and had teenagers with us. All of us had a great day. Here's his website. www.palmtreecharters.com You can see from his videos where he goes and that he takes folks of all ages. He's great with the kiddos, too.
BVI authorities no longer allow boats to pull up to the baths. The boats now pull into the marina and transfer to a taxi, With that said, this means you have to access the baths via shore. This may be too much for young kids and older adults as well. You must weave thru the rock foundations to get to the beach. Some people consider it dangerous.
Thanks for the info on the Baths. I think we will save that for a future trip and go to Jost Van Dyke and Sandy Cay. I called John Brandi and talked with him and watched some videos. Thanks so much for the info, I think we'll book a trip with him, he seems great! This is such a great board, I really appreciate the info (and all the info I've gotten over the past 3 years.
Keri
