NH II would be my first choice. The Caves at Norman aren't all that spectacular...don't get me wrong, they're nice and all ( I usually go there when I go boating), but NH II is smaller, faster, more personalized. If you are a family, with kids or older folks, then Limnos would be the one...but, snce you didn't mention either, I'd go NH II....Jost is great, Marina Cay is a nice place for lunch (vs. the on-board lunch with Limnos). NH II will cost a little more than Limnos, too, but it's worth it. When I have visitors from the States, I suggest NH II if I'm not gonna take 'em out myself...

Now to really confuse you...have you checked out Captaoin Nautica? Choosing between CN and NH II might be difficult, but I'd still stick with NH II....

Samantha

Marty's assessment of both is correct but you started by saying you wanted to explore the other islands. Depending upon your definition of "explore" you might want to re-think them both. They do what they do very well by exposing you to the various sights. The key is expose versus explore. If you want to see different places (~ 1- 1.5 hour) and have someone do the work, etc. then both are good as Marty explained. If you want to spend any time at one and really explore then you might want to consider a ferry to VG or a charter to Jost. The ferry will be more work while the charter will cost more but it really depends on what you want.
Don't mean to confuse by adding yet another option. NH2 and Limnos are both very good.

I agree with Chris at Work. All of the BVI day trips will give you an overview of the BVI- nothing in depth. You will circumnavigate Tortola, stop a couple of places to snorkel, eat , have some libations, etc. If you have never done one of these tours, it is a great way to see the lay of the land- and water! Limnos is a larger power catamaran- a few more people, a little less luxury. They serve cold cuts for lunch on board- saves money, but you don't get an island lunch expreience. Some of the boats stop at Marina Cay for lunch at Pusser's (New Horizons?) and Pirate's Penny/Stormy Petrel stops at Cooper Island. Don't know where Captain Nautica stops. Each one has a slightly different itinerary., ah competition!

My suggestions is try one of these, then you can pick where you want to go back and visit for exploring the next time you are in the neighborhood! 😉

I think that we will book New Horizons II. Then go next year, to the other islands and explore on our own. thank you for your input.

Samantha

I think you'll be happy with New Horizons II. I've been to the Norman Island caves, and they're great, but the baths is really something not to be missed. NHII doesn't give you nearly as much time at the baths as you'd like, but it's better than nothing, and for a first-time visit, you'll see plenty to be impressed. The crew couldn't have been more helpful. We took kids with us - including one with swimmer's ear - and they helped her get into the islands and keep her head above water. Pusser's at Marina Cay was a lot of fun and a cool place to visit, and White Bay at JVD became my favorite place in the world after taking the NHII trip. (Although I just discovered Honeymoon Bay on St. John last week, and that might have taken second place.) Have fun!

cg,
when you went on new horizons II did you book the trip before you got to the island or did you go to the docks to book this trip? just wondering, cause they told us to wait till we got to the island that it's not usually filled up during this time of the year.

20 days till we leave, I just can't wait!!!!

Samantha

Samantha

I would book before. Although they might be correct and it is slower, that will be little consolation if you go to the dock and they are all booked. If they have you on a listing, they are responsible to accommodate or contact you about changes, etc. If you're not on a list, they don't know anything about you.

I booked before, and it was fairly full, so I was glad I did. And this was during the summer. I think I had a 10% Internet discount, but this was two or three years ago.

I found another captain that were considering "Palm tree charters"....

has anyone done a day trip with him? will we like this better than traveling with a lot of other people?

any feed back is great.

thanks
Samantha

booked the trip with Captain John this morning....I think that our family will like this a lot better.

samantha

Samantha...i don't know alot about Palm Tree Charters, but if you go to youtube.com and type that in, there are some videos you can watch. The best one was the dolphins that were swimming with some of the people from the boat.

Go look, it's pretty cool.

I saw that this morning, i loved it....how much fun would that be? I'm not sure if i would be brave enough to jump in like they did, but i know for sure my husband and my mother in-law would be.

Samantha: Limnos, Pirate's Penny/Stormy Petrel, New Horizons/Breakaway and Captain Nautica are all established businesses. I have never heard of Palm Tree Charters, I suspect that it is a newer company. That is not necessarily bad, but, without a history, difficult to vouch for.

Did NHII and loved it. Not much time spent at each place but I never felt rushed either. They call in your Pussers order so when you get there it is ready. No lost time there. Very efficient at Virgin Gorda doing passports - 15 minutes. Just enough time to go to the bathroom & stop in the little shops. Bath tour was great..I would have got lost for sure. Snorkled for an hour or so...enough for me. Had 90 minutes on Jost..chilled/shopped at Soggy & sat on the beach to people/view watch. Breakfast & snack was also good. Worth the money for a full day trip. We game back & slept for 3 hours...rough day on the water:)

We have done New Horizon and Limnos, the public ferry and Pirates Penny, and a private charter a few years ago. Believe I have posted here before that IMHO the larger day boats do not spend much time actually at the Baths--they just do a quick "follow me" climbing tour and then those who dont go all the way to the top of the rocks have a few minutes to swim or snorkel before heading back to the boat and on to the other snorkel stop and lunch. If you want to spend more than an hour at the Baths--go with the public ferry or a private charter like Palm Tree. We have heard many great things from people who have used them and just today we contacted them about a charter for mid-November.
We want to snorkel at Waterlemon without the hike along the shore, and also want to visit Sandy Spit and White Bay. We would book a second day charter with them to the Baths, but they take 6 and you split the cost. It would be a little too expensive for us to do just four of us to the Baths, and then another charter the foll wing week. If they cannot come up with 2 additional folks to go to the Baths with us, we will be very happy taking the public ferry and spending the day at the Baths and Devil's Bay.