Islander asked that I post the details of our day trip to Tortola, so here goes. I'm sure I'm providing waaaaaay to much information, as that is a problem I have 🙂

We were up early (6:00 am on vacation - ugh!) to walk from our hotel (Hotel Caravelle) to the seaplane terminal, about a five minute walk. Check-in for our 7:15 flight was easy. It turns out we knew our pilot and he was great. There were very few tourists on this early flight - mostly business travelers to STT. We loved the quick flight to STT and the low altitude, as I said previously - it's like driving into the islands. One thing that surprised us - absolutely no carry-ons - I had to gate check my very small back pack style purse, but this was no problem.

The fast ferry terminal is right next door to the seaplane terminal in STT, so the transfer was easy. Although the lower deck is enclosed and air conditioned we hadn't come all this way to be inside, so we elected to ride on the upper deck and view the passing scenery from all angles as it was truly spectacular. We arrived in Tortola around 9:10 and cleared customs quickly. There was a cruise ship in town and some shops were already open, but they were strictly for tourists and not very imaginative. As I mentioned earlier, we elected to partake of a toddy at Pusser's before pursuing our real purpose - to get Sebastian's rum.

After making clear that we were not with the cruise ship and did not want a tour (although narration of any sights we happened to pass would be nice) we arranged a taxi for $18 to Little Apple Bay and Sebastian's By the Sea resort. It would have been much easier if we had arrived initially in West End rather than Road Town, but that had not been an option. The drive along the water was beautiful, as were the incredibly steep climbs over the hills to cross the island. I was surprised to learn that the primary employer of the island is not the maritime industry but instead off shore banking.

We arrived at Sebastian's around 11:00 AM and, since lunch was not served until noon, took advantage of the beach. This is one of the prettiest beaches I have ever seen, with beautiful sand, gorgeous water and a lovely view of the other islands. After a wonderful lunch we returned to the beach until it seemed prudent to purchase our rum and head back. We cleared customs and immigration quickly again and departed for STT on the 2:30 ferry. On the return trip my sister saw the donkeys on the beach on STJ. Cleared customs and immigration easily again in STT and hopped our flight back, arriving around 4:30.

Although we only had about five hours on Tortola we had a ball - it was a great adventure and we now have the precious rum that we've been dreaming about since our first "taste" about six years ago.