Either or- depending on funds and type of experience you want. Maybe a little of both. That's what we always do. Careful of the charters that take large groups. They can can feel crowded, unless a small group. Adventuring via ferries and open air taxi's can be lots of fun. Patience will come in handy of course.

If you've not already done so, go to "ferry schedules" at the top of this page which will give you current times and prices of the ferries. As tinab pointed out, a combination is a very good idea. The advantage to taking a charter over to the BVI is that apart from taking you from A to B, they'll also make stops at awesome snorkeling spots along the way such as the Norman Caves, the Indians, Sandy Spit, etc. St John is a great day trip which you can easily do under your own steam via the STT/STJ ferry. Have fun - cheers!

The only problem with the ferries is making connections. Ferry schedules are a bugger. I live here and have been trying to work out getting to Virgin Gorda and/or Jost for a day or two each. You often have to take a ferry from STT or STJ to Tortola, then from Tortola to wherever else you're going to go. This can be a serious hassle, then you are stuck with short days whever your destination is and will have the stress of trying to make it back to each ferry on time. I have a friend coming out next week and have decided to do a charter(www.limnoscharters.com is great!) for Virgin Gorda and Norman Island for a day, then brave the ferry system to Jost and stay overnight. Another trip I highly recommend is Anegada. Same deal with the ferries, but WOW what a beautiful place, and definitely worth the effort!

thanks everyone!
I think I found some ferries that will go from Red Hook to Virgin Gorda and Tortola. They go mainly in the morning and return in the late afternoon.
Larissa, I will check out limno charters and Anegada. I figure the chrters will get us into places we can't do easily on our own.

In Virgin Gorda, I was thinking of taking the ferry but it only runs 1 time in the morning and 1 time in the p.m. I don't know if being there all day is okay????

anyways, I will keep checking charters, some are sooooo expensive!

We took the ferry from STJ to VG several years ago and it worked out well. It's the least expensive way to get there, it got us the most time on the island and we'd rather move about on our own rather than be part of a group. We took a taxi from the ferry to the Baths. We had plenty of time to go through the caves, hang out and snorkel at Devils Bay, then go up and get a drink at Mad Dog's before going over to Top of the Baths for lunch. We took a taxi back to give ourselves time to look around Spanish Town before catching the afternoon ferry back to STJ. We liked it there so much that we spent a week on VG last fall.

We wanted to have a good bit of time on the island. Many charters run people through the Baths then hurry off to the next stop. We wanted to get a taste of Virgin Gorda. It really depends what you like to do. We wanted to get a feel for an island. Some folks want a snorkeling excursion with a few stops at places they can't get to on their own. Some folks are more interested in a booze cruise. Other people want to go to Jost and hang out in the bars there. Everyone can find something that will cater to their interests.