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Hello all,
This is a great site by the way...lots of good information. By far, the best I've found for VI travel. Heading to the VI in May. Caneel Bay on St. John for 3-4 nts. and the Ritz for 3-4 nts on St. Thomas.
I've done quite a bit of research so far (driving my wife nuts with information overload). But the one thing that I haven't locked down yet is a boat rental on the islands. Ideally, I'd like to rent a boat for her and me and cruise around to the different islands (BVI) for a day. I understand that the BVI's are a stone's toss from St. John??? Is this true? I'd like a ~20' (motorized, because I'm no sailor!) boat rental for 4-6 hours. Any ideas? About how much would that cost? And I guess we could do it from either island. What do you recommend?
Also, any recent visits to Caneel Bay? I've heard nothing but great things about the beaches, but a few conflicting reports about the rooms. Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks to everyone.
Robert P.
Robert,
I don't remember any boat rentals in St. John but St. Thomas has several. Not to far from the ferry dock in St. Thomas there is a few. You can try Nauti Nymph or See and Ski. I believe they both have 20'-27'. From experience-although the BVIs are close- it's not a nice ride on a small boat unless it is a very calm day. In this case the bigger the better(haha). It takes us about 45min.-1hour from St. John to Road Town Tortola- on a good day- in a 25' boat. There are many other little islands off of St. Thomas-St. John that are beautiful.It would be worth the trip to make to the BVIs. Expecially the Baths in Virgin Gorda. Make sure you check with the rental companys about any restrictions they may have for going to the BVIs. I hope you enjoy your trip!
Razor
Thanks Razor,
I will look these two up. Any idea on the price ranges for a 25' for a few hours? Would I be better off renting one with a crew, or maybe just one of those group cruises to the BVI's? I'm a little skeptical of getting on a typical "Booze Cruise" for a day, when all we really want is to cruise around St. John and the other nearby islands for a while.
Also, if I do rent one myself, do most people just "beach" the boat onshore if they want to get on dry land and sit on a remote beach for a while (versus anchoring)?
Thanks again for all your help.
Robert,
I don't remember the exact prices but I would say about $200-300 for full day rental- some have half day options. They usually ask about a $500. refundable deposit. There are many day sails that go to the BVIs. Most of them offer alcohol but depending on the crowd it may not be a roudy one. You might find a smaller crowd on a sail boat than a catamaran. Renting one with just a crew would give you the most privacy but the cost would be much higher.
If you feel comfortable with renting your own vessel I highly suggest it. There is so much to see. Sense St. John is mostly National Park you can not beach a boat of that size-they have restricted areas for you to anchor. The islands off of St. Thomas except Buck Island you can but the boat rental company may ask you not to. Depending on where you go you may not be able to get that close because of reef- but still close enough to swim in.
I hope this is of some help!
Razor
