THe Baths are stunningly beautiful. I recommend it if you can find a good trip over. I stayed in V.Gorda and found it amazing. Don't miss the long walk through the boulders to the other beach.

I'm sorry I didn't get to enjoy the Baths more. Our charter boat arrived just as 100 people were just settling down on the beach. We had to walk quite far to find a private stretch of the beach and we bagged walking through inside the giant boulders because of the crush of people. Note, there is about a 5-8 minute walk down to the beach which can be a little treacherous if wet or muddy. There is a small bar there with some t-shirt merchants. Better merchandise and food can be found just off from the parking lot.

John
I went in Dec on the "Breakaway". The Capnt Calvin was great and the trip was more than worth it.the baths were awesome. had lunch on the Willy T and a couple of snorkel stops including the caves. enjoy!

Just remember,,,these are ways to get to Virgin Gorda other than the expensive charters.....you can simply take the public ferry over.....I think it costs $40 round trip. My daughter is 6 and I have yet to pay for her......so I guess small children are free.

You can also do this to get to Jost Van Dyke.

I know it isn't like saving a million dollars...but saving the $60 + per person is a big deal when you travel with 5-6 people, as I do.

Does anyone know if a picnic basket and alcoholic drinks of food can be transported between STT/STJ and the BVIs?

Just read your reply about the baths & taking ferry from Red Hook.
How far from the baths is the ferry dock? What is the cost of ground transport from the dock to the baths? Any places to eat near the baths?

Trying to arrange for a group of 20 persons to the baths & frankly don't want to pay $100 plus for a charter.

I don't remember exactly how long it was from the Virgin Gorda ferry dock to the Baths...not long...but we stopped for lunch along the way and had lots of drinks so my sense of time is skewed 🙂 My guess is 5-10 minutes. Cost? I have no idea...another alcohol related incident:) There is a restaurant at the top of the Baths. But, we have never eaten there. We ate at another place that I can't remember the name of....LOL...sorry......I guess the fact that I can't recall how much things cost or how much time they took are a sign that I had a good time on the island, right? I laso remeber that there were two paths down to the baths....a long one and a short one.

it's good 30-40 minute walk to the baths from the ferry dock and a taxi is around $3 per person. Apart from the shack on the beach there's a restaurant at the top and another bar - Mad dogs which does really good pina coladas. If you have time go to Spring bay next door - less crowded and still has those magnificent boulders! Hope this helps and you have a great time.
Emma

Anyone know the ferry schedules from STJ to Virgin Gorda? Sounds like a less expensive alternative. Are there other things to do around the ferry dock if we get tired of the baths?

Not sure what days the ferry goes from STJ to VG, we honeymooned at both and had to ferry to Tortola and THEN VG as the ferries did not go on the day we travelled (Monday). It was a nice trip though. There is a little bit of shopping and restaurants near the dock closer to town. I recommend giong further north to Spring Bay and especially Little Trunk Bay.... it was BY FAR the most beautiful beach I have ever seen in my life!

someone please explain...we leave on Sat for a week in St. John...

I have been thinking/assuming that the Baths and Virgin Gorda and Jost Van Dyke were uninhabited, small islands only accessible via boat. Are these bigger, commercial type islands? We've rented about one day from Naughty Nymph...should these places be on our itenerary or should we just go around St. John.

Thanks!

They are not uninhabited. They are quiet and very scenic, certainly worth visiting. So whether you include them in your stops is up to you. They are not completely isolated or anything, but I wouldn't call them "commercial type". The baths is an area on the southern tip of Virgin Gorda.

Cadillac-

I, like you,. rented from Nauti Nyph in the past. DO NOT limit your Nauti Nymph experience to STJ...you can see STJ in a Dinghy!!! Take your Nauti Nymph to Jost and Virgin Gorda! Yes, they are inhabitied.....but barely. There are still mostly dirt roads and the local traffic jams are caused by a cow or goat crossing. Electricity came to Jost only recently...(last 15 yrs or so)...DEFINITELY NOT commercial islands....very primitive by our standards. IF you rent a Nauti Nymph and miss Jost and VG then you wasted your money! I say this as someone who spent a good portion of her childhood on STT and went to Jost before there was a dock and you had to jump off the boat and swim in....not much progress in 30 years.

Did you hire a Captn or are you bareboating your Nauti Nymph?

Hi where do you rent the digny from and how much are they and is it safe for a person alone to go? Thanks Yolanda

hi Steff....we are captaining ourselves....we live near the coast of nc and have a lot of boating experience....anything we should know about the local waters?

thanks so much for your response!

Cadillac,

While it's possible to do Jost and Virgin Gorda in a single day, you'll be pressed for time. It'll help if you've rented the twin-engine instead of the single-engine Nauti Nymph boat. Although Nauti opens at 8 a.m., it'll be 8:30 or 8:45 before you're underway because of the paperwork and boat-checkout that is required. You're required to have the boat back to the Westin Dock by 5:00 but you'll have to refuel first in Cruz Bay. Nauti Nymph personnel will tell you to be at the fueling station in CB by 3:30 or 3:45. This is in case the line is long for refueling. You could probably get away with being in CB at 4:00 and still have time to get back to the Westin Dock by 5. The charges are hefty if you fail to make it back on time.

Personally, and I rent from Nauti Nymph at least once a year, and sometimes twice, I like to hit Jost(Soggy Dollar), Norman Island (the Caves and Willie T's for lunch), and the Indians(one of the best spots in the V.I. for snorkeling). On the way back to St. John I may stop at Waterlemon Cay for some more snorkeling or for a swim at one of the other secluded beaches on St. John.

If you plan on going to Virgin Gorda, that'll take up most of your day.

Cadillac,

Sounds like you are going to be there close to same time as we are. Did you go ahead and rent from NN prior to getting there? I had planned on waiting until there to be sure I rented on a good weather day..but maybe its hard to get a boat on short notice (didn't check on that).

Steve

Caddy: The navigation is pretty straight forward. You will be warned about the major rocks, etc, and bays to avoid. There are some cruising guides if you need more detail, but they will give you a fairly detailed chart. The biggest problem I see is at White Bay on Jost- people seem to avoid the channel markers and go over the reef...not real cool.

east ender - thanks for info....and you're def right about the reefs...not cool at all...especially in a rented boat!

steve - we did go ahead and rent a 29 ft. Fountain (built in Eastern NC !!) for a day...guess we'll just have to hope to get lucky on weather.

Also thanks for the suggested itenerary...that sounds great!

We will be traveling with about 30 people, or more. We will be in St. Thomas from 8am until 10:00 and would like to go to the Baths. Are there snorkleing trips that include this stop?