I have done it both ways. I enjoy the hike in. For some reason you get a better effect of the big stones when you come upon them from the hike down. I thought it was much more dramatic.

Now that being said, I'm kind of confused on how you were getting their. Ferry from where? Cruise stop? That may in fact determine whether or not it's even feasible timewise. So if you fill that info in, maybe more info can be given.

If you take the ferry, you will take a taxi to the top of the Baths and hike down. The swim-in option is on chartered day boats. Are you on a cruise ship stopping on Tortola? If you are on a cruise ship stopping on St Thomas, you won't have time to do this.

The weather the end of November is usually nice.

Actually there is a charter that goes in from the top. I want to say Limnos, but it's been a few years.

Sorry, I should have given more details. Our cruise ship is stopping at Tortola. So I guess hike in is the only way to go, then?

I am not in the know about Tortola day boats, but suspect that some do drop you off to swim in, like Limnos. Limnos leaves from St Thomas, though. Check the shore excursions for your cruise ship or a BVI site like traveltalkonline.com.

Our party of 8 have privately chartered the Pirates Penny or Stormy Petrel in St. Thomas. We get the day in USVI and BVI's and open bar for day as well as a stop for lunch (at our cost).

The nice thing is that it is a private tour.. no strangers 🙂

Your best bet is to check with the cruise excursion desk on your cruise ship. They'll more than likely have a few options for a trip to the Baths. Trying to do something independently on a cruise ship stop of just one day isn't usually recommended, particularly if you're a first-time visitor.

Historically there have been many instances of cruise ship pasengers on their first visit to STT who, rather than take advantage of the options offered on board, decide to do it alone and end up missing the sailing. The port agents are sometimes but rarely able to get them onto a harbor pilot boat and catch the ship before it goes into open sea, but the majority end up having to stay locally for a night and then fly out the next day to join the ship at its next port of call, at their expense. Such happens all over the world at various one-day cruise stops.

Take advantage of what's offered on board is my suggestion, get a taste of what the Virgin Islands have to offer and then come back for a more extended stay to truly enjoy more of the little you were exposed to but which titillated you. Cheers!

Marcy,
Interested in doing the same thing you have. Can I ask a couple questions?

How much did it cost you per person and could you take more than 8 people (we are think maybe 10)?

How long will the trip to and from the BVI take?

Did they pick the locations you would stop at or did you have input on that?

Was the open bar an option? We are not much for drinking and would hate to pay for what we would never. Would rather eat than drink. LOL

Thanks, Carla 😉

You can arrange your own trip to the baths with a private charter and your own itinerary stopping where ever you want for as long as you want.. To go to the baths you'd have to go via power boat rather than sail - a sail can take you to places like Jost van Dyke. There are many charters available that limit the passengers to 6, include lunch and bar or not - if you eat lunch at a destination, the captain's lunch is on you if it is a day sail/trip. There are also water taxis that will take you and retrieve you
There are other trips that are prearranged like the New Horizons where you squeeze in the baths, jost - 4 stops, I think, but you don't spend as much time at each place.
If you are relying on ferrys, things do go wrong sometimes and they don't run every day between STT and
VG but. a tight schedule may leave you at the dock waving bye to your fellow cruisers but a charter that will work with you, would make a schedule that is appropriate and help pick appropriate destinations. This is a good option for those staying on STT.
You'll also find the same scenery at the Baths at either Spring Bay or Devil's Bay without the crowds.

We haven't take the private tour yet, but we have done it with this company as a public one and it was a blast. We have determined our own stops and have made some special requests.

You may want to talk to them directly. Here is their website: http://www.charterboat.vi/stormypetrel.html

There is also another one for larger groups: http://www.motoryachtcinnamonbay.com/privatecharters.html

We wanted the day to be under $1300 total. The Charter Boat Center was able to do that for us!

Carla, just checking that you're coming in as a visitor of more than one day into STT and not on a cruise ship stop. The OP wasn't specific in her post but fortunately her agenda got all sorted out before everybody started chiming in. Just checking!

The majority of charters include beverages in the cost and there's usually not an optional price reduction if you drink sodas or bottled water versus alcohol. Reason being that the price of alcohol is very low here while the price of soda and juices is relatively high, so it evens out.

As has been pointed out, some private charters offer an on-board lunch and others will arrange lunch at a shore location where you pay as a regular customer. With over 6 passengers your options are limited to a small extent because of the "six-pack" rule but there are many options. Captain Nautica boats (www.captainnautica.com) do a great BVI trip limited to 16 people but also offer private charters which you can research. Their regular charter excursion doesn't go to The Baths on Virgin Gorda at this time but they do a great BVI trip to Jost Van Dyke, etc., Oh just check out their website!

If you do a basic search on this website you'll find loads of options and opinions, so get those fingers moving. Cheers!

STT Resident,
I didn't want to say that we were coming in by cruise ship because another thread on here was not so kind. I think the exact wording used was pigs......

Thank you for the post. I really appreciate finding out we won't be able to make it to the BVI before I did too much research into it. 😉 I guess I will just have to wait until the VI books I ordered come in to make a new game plan. Thanks again! Carla

I just did this last week and it was gorgeous...I was on a cruise ship that docked in Tortola (arrived 8 am) and shopped in town then took the ferry over ($25 round trip) at around 12:45. It is only a 30 minute ferry ride to the island, then a $5 cab/shuttle fare (round trip) to the baths. I booked them together at the ferry station. It's only a 15-20 minute ride to the baths themselves, you can walk to the beach, explore the area, hike the rocky part & trails and be back to the shuttle/ferry/cruise ship whenever you want. There are several times to catch it. For example, I had to be back to the ship by 4:30, left the baths at 3 and had plenty of time to spare.