Dawn,

The ferry doesn't arrive in Virgin Gorda before 10am, often later. Then you'll have to go through immigration, often quick but not always. Once you factor in a taxi ride to the Baths, a taxi ride back and a 3pm ferry departure you will have precious little time to snorkel.

Thank you. That answers my question. Waiting to here from Limnos charter.

Limnos Charters are great. What they do is take you to Spanishtown on Virgin Gorda, then land-taxi you over to the Baths for a couple of hours, then feed you a big lunch on board, then take you snorkling at Norman's Island on the way back to Cruz Bay on STJ. We went with them in Nov and highly recommend them. They have a very roomy boat, lots to drink if you want to drink, great service and its a chance to see some of the island itself on Virgin Gorda. The other charters take you to the cove at the Baths and you swim in more or less, and don't see any of the island by car or taxi.
The open air taxi/shuttles on STJ drive by alot of the beaches and will drop you off by the side of the road or maybe in the parking lots. YOu can let them know when you want to head back and maybe they'll come by around the time you need them, otherwise just flag any old taxi/shuttle going by and they'll pick you up for a very small fee. Alot of the great beaches are off the beaten path but if you are sold on Trunk Bay, as many newbies are, you should have no trouble finding a taxi (the buses are real busses and i have no idea where they go or when) to take you by there.
There is no downhill really, the beaches run along the edges of the island but the entries leading to them are definately flat land. If you want to go to Trunk, you should ask the taxi drivers if they'll drop you off at Francis Bay too which is gorgeous and is just down the road a piece from Trunk. Also Big Maho-these two have no facilities (there's an outhouse at Francis I think) but you can walk up the goat path from Big Maho to little Maho at the Maho Bay Campground and they have basic services. Even better, Cinnamon Bay Campground has a decent beach, closer to Trunk Bay. Look at a map and you'll see how many beaches there are on that side of the island.

I haven't heard from Limnos yet. How much was it in Nov.?

As far as the beaches go in St. John I actually want to see the entire island. I originaly was going to take the car bardge but have read on this board that it is a hassle. Since I will probably already have a rent a car I don't want to have to rent one for the day while in St. John. I was under the impression that taxis were expensive and that they also wait until they fill up before they take you anywhere. I would be just my husand and me.

Hi Dawn. I called New Horizons II a few months ago and they quoted me $125 before the Budget rental car coupon. Their rates may have gone up since then because of gas prices. As far as I know the coupon book only comes from Budget rent a car. Here is their web site: http://www.budgetstt.com/reservations.html

You have to use the web site to make reservations for the rates they have posted. If you call them they do not give you the same rates over the phone as they have online. Budget did not give me any type of confirmation email or page to printout they just said my phone number would be the confirmation number. I called the main corporate number a few days later to get it all worked out because they ended up with two reservations for me. You are also waisting your time trying to get Budget to tell you about how much the coupons are for and for what businesses. Call the business directly. One side note, Budget has a place called Rush Hour listed for a BVI trip. Rush Hour's web page is old and they are no longer doing their trip.

Hertz gives a AAA discount but no coupon book and they do not let you take the car on the ferry to St.John.

In case you didn't know Secret Harbor is listed in my AAA book as giving a discount for members.
The condo we are staying in is just down the road from Secret Harbor and the owner said airport pickup was $90. For that price you may consider finding your way in the dark. Here is a neat web site that will give you a map and directions to all kinds of places.
http://usvimaps.com/stthomas/Map.asp?Mode=ZoomIn&L=-16.627029&T=1394.575843&R=-0.381545&B=1382.396813

Go to find directions button and put in your starting location as airport and Secret Harbor is listed in their Hotels/Resorts drop down. I would still have Secret Harbor give you directions with land marks that may be lit up. Not all of the roads have names.

Here is a web page with taxi rates for the BVI but I don't know how old or reliable it is.
http://www.bvivacations.com/Taxi_Rates.html

I did read a couple of reviews where people went to The Baths on the ferry and did the taxi thing to and from the ferry dock. They said they had plenty of time to explore, snorkel and eat at the restaurant. You may want to ask the question in a BVI travel forum to find someone who has actually done this. Try this one: http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/postlist.php?Cat=0&Board=bvi

I have a note in my book that said Limnos was $95 plus $20 for customs plus gratuity for tour guides. I don't remember if I called them or if I read it off the board.

You might want to consider registering on this board so people can send you private messages.

We paid about $93 or so each, definately cheaper than the other boats, and WELL worth the money as Virgin Gorda is a good distance away and probably not a great idea for someone to boat it alone if they don't know the waters. Also, we left them a very healthy tip, some people didn't but its something that should be done as these are young kids (sorry, my age is showing) who deserve good tips for good service.
If you want to see the whole island, your best bet is to rent a car for the day once you get to STJ. There are a bunch of rental companies a stone's throw from the ferry and we have, in the past, been able to rent for the day. We use Conrad Sutton's (who have a website) and have gotten great small Suzukin type cars for about $50 or so a day, with great friendly service. Its the only way you're gonna see the whole island at your own speed, although good luck to 'ya- as small as it is, the driving is slow and there's ALOT to see, so trying to see it all is a dream only, by the time you factor in food breaks etc. If you are balking at the $50 or so, plus about a half tank or more of gas at over $3.00 a gallon to rent a car, rather than barge over the STT rental, think again about vacationing on the VI's - it isn't cheap but its well worth it!

First let me say, I appreciate all the info from everybody.

I do have one thing to say about renting a car for St. John. It does seem like a waste to pay for a car for a week and have to rent another for the day while I have one already. So my question is has anbody not have a bad experience with taking your rental from St. Thomas over to St. John on the car bardge?

Actually it looks like the cost of the car bardge would be about the same as another rental.

Well, I have plenty of time to decide what to do. My trip is not until the last week of May.

Thank you all again for the info.

dawn,

we've done barge 5 times r/t in last year & half. never had a real problem but on one occassion had to wait for next barge. HOWEVER we always arrive in stt late afternoon and go from redhook to stj 5pm or later and unsually return to stt before noon for afternoon flt home. normal daytripper would go stt to stj in morning and return late afternoon which i've never done BUT i understand mornings to stj and afternoons back to stt are heavy with both trucks and workers (and day trippers) so much more confusion and harder to make desired barge.

if you try barge 2 suggestions, be sure your rental company expressly allows stj trips (hertz and maybe others prohibit) and do one way fares, while more expensive you are open to take first available return barge without waiting for same barge company.

you can really see so much more on stj with a car, thta is the way to see island; but for a few bucks more, leave your car on stt, take a early ferry to cruz bay, rent a jeep there, $80 w/o discounts, keep till 5, spend the evening in cruz bay where you can walk everywhere and take last ferry back to red hook. you can extend your day by several hours that way and have a jeep on stj that'll get you to many places a car won't. i assume you'll have a car on stt which is much cheaper than jeep and gets you to most of stt.

happy motoring.

papabou

Dawn: A ferry is public transportation. You get a seat and that is it. The day charter boats have snorkel stops, a mate to look out for your needs, usually some form of open bar, someone to explain what you are seeing, a lunch stop, etc. I believe the extra money is well worth it. There is no way you can see everything, but the charter will give you a brief introduction to most of the BVI!

I guess it is the difference between Grayhound and a limo!

Yea, it looks like I am going to go with Limnos Charter. Still waiting to here from them.

Is there a large parking lot at Red Hook to leave your rental car?

Dawn,

Have you tried calling Limnos? (340-775-3203) Their trips from Red Hook to the BVI usually leave at 8:00 am. and return at 4:30 pm.

What are the open air taxi/shuttles in St. John? Like a golf cart?

Not golf carts, pick-up trucks with bench seats.

In the bed of the truck?

Yes.

With a roof over them. For a first timer, they're fun! Here's a picture of one.

crickett : )

Those are the large ones. I have most often ridden in these on STJ...