kellybeaches

Hello! We'll be on St. John for a week and Tortola a week this June. We haven't been to Tortola before and I was wondering if you could tell me if Smugglers Cove gets crowded? Also, does Little Bay on the northeast end of the island get large waves - big enough that you can't swim there? And do you have any recommendations on things to do on the island or your favorite restaurants? Is Sky World worth the trip? I've seen mixed reviews on it. Thanks!

RoamsAround

It's never is very crowded anywhere on Tortola in June - that's why it's called "Low Season".

Impossible to predict wavy conditions at Smugglar's Cove this far in advance. if you do a simple google search for "Photos of Smugglers Cove, Tortola" you'll find links with plenty of pictures - you'll notice in some the water is dead calm and in others it's wavy - you can judge for yourself if it's too wavy for you.

I found Sky World to be nothing more than restaurant sitting on top of a hill. On a clear day, the view is amazing. If it's hazy, the view disappoints. Since you don't have to actually go inside the restaurant to enjoy the view it's worth a stop if you are in the vicinity. Food is OK but not great so I wouldn't make a special trip just to dine there.

There's lots of restaurants and things to do on the island. Here again try googling "Tortola Restaurants" and/or "Things to do on Tortola" - you'll find tons of information.

ejcrowe

Being crowded is relative. I thought Smuggler's Cove was crowded by noon or so when we were there, and that was in July. We were glad we hit there early morning for the best snorkeling and empty beach, and then we left to have a late lunch someplace before heading on to another beach.

We didn't do SkyWorld. We liked snorkeling out on Long Bay EAST, which is by Beef Island. Other than a few locals who were cleaning up the beach, we had the whole stretch to ourselves. Water was very calm on the day we were there. We liked the Sugar Meal for fine dining and a little green shack on the water on the north shore for a casual night, whose name eludes me at the moment.

blamona

I do think that coast can be prone to waves.

I'll sound like a tourist, but my favorite restaurant is Pussers, especially the one in Soper's Hole, and the one at Marina Cay (very cool, you drive to Beef Island-airport-and a boat picks you up and takes you over.)

The best excursions are from Soper's Hole, Sandy Cay (postcard!) Jost Van Dyke (my fav) and of course take excursion or ferry over to Virgin Gorda.

kellybeaches

Thanks everyone! I'm having a really hard time with choosing a villa for the second week of our vacation. We've already spent a week in Virgin Gorda and have spent the day at Soggy Dollar/Sandy Spit (and will most likely do a day trip to both during our week in St. John this June) so that's why we're leaning towards Tortola or another BVI island for the second week of our trip.

We'll have an amazing view/villa in St. John at www.islandstonesstjohn.com the first week, so the second week we really want to be on or a short easy 5 minute walk to a nice beach on an island we haven't been on before. Tortola definitely seems like an option. We're eyeing up Limeberry House (http://www.limeberry.com/Limeberry_House.html) which is a short walk to Long Bay/Smugglers Cove. EJ, our son has us up at 5:30 on trips so getting to the beaches early shouldn't be a problem-but it's good to know Smugglers gets crowded by noon. My husband likes Little Bay on the north east coast (seems totally remote), but I'm concerned about large waves as we'll have our kids with us.

We just found a villa today on Great Camanoe (which I've never heard of before!) which comes with a boat and is walking distance to the dock/beach, which also look nice.
http://www.vrbo.com/348507?similarlisting=true
We would have to take the boat anywhere we go but it's a 1 minute boat ride to Pussers on Marina Cay, 5 minutes to Trellis Bay on Beef, and 20 minute boat ride to the baths and the other smaller islands in that area.

So I guess the question is, do we stay on Tortola for the week and check it out, or go w/the boating type of trip and visit the beaches/bars of the small surrounding cays and islands in the BVI? What would you do?

Decisions, decisions...

blamona

Just my opinion, and I'll probably get grief for this, but for me, Tortola is just a central location to day trip to the other islands, I much prefer the other islands.

dtstahl

Smugglers is popular and can get crowded. Its a crap shoot but an early start is a good idea.

Little Bay is situated to receive any large waves that may develop, but in June it should be calm

Sky World is under new ownership and is now Sky. they're getting great reviews for their Indian, sushi and overall good food.

I'd stay on Tortola and enjoy the island.

Callaloo

Whatever you do, look at the cruise ship schedule. With the exception of Cane Garden Bay, most of the beaches on Tortola are pretty quiet on any given day -- but all bets are off when there are cruise ships in port. I second the vote for Long Bay on Beef Island, as well as Brewer's Bay. Smuggler's is gorgeous, but can get busy -- not just with cruise ship daytrippers, but also on the weekends. (If you go early, you should be OK).

All of the north shore beaches are prone to heavy seas, especially during the winter. This is less an issue in the low season. But the seas and the weather can be completely un-related, so you have to go with the flow.

Finally, if you are staying on Tortola, do the hike to the top of Sage Mountain, the highest point in the BVI. The hike is a fairly easy one (but make sure to wear grippy shoes), but you'll get a look at interesting rain forest-y flora. At the top, the view of the neighboring islands is stunning.

kellybeaches

Thanks so much everyone for your advice! We've finally found a villa after much research and debate, and have booked Villa Taino above Long Bay beach.

http://villatainobvi.com/

http://www.bestofbvi.com/tortola_vil...oto_gallery.ht

Things we'd like to do on Tortola for the week:
-smugglers cove /long bay
-sopers bay (harbor) /pussers for lunch one day
-beef island /long bay east /marina cay /pussers one day
-drive along ridge road -sage mountain and sky (how long is the hike to the top of Sage Mountain? Think our almost 4 and 7 year olds will be okay doing this hike?)
-road town
-cane garden bay (where would you recommend eating lunch here? There are quite a few beach bars)

Is there anything else that shouldn't be missed (keeping in mind we'll have our kids with us)? Is it worth trying to grab a ferry over to one of the other BVI neighboring islands (ie, Scrub, Cooper, Norman, Peter, etc -it looks like ferries run daily to all of these, but are they worth taking a morning to do)?

And great advice on the cruise ship schedules-that may have to be a "villa" day when they're in port!

Callaloo

Your 8-year old should be fine on Sage Mountain (or is it Mt. Sage? I've seen both...), but I don't know about a 4-year-old. Worth a try -- worst thing that will happen is that you'll have to quit and turn around. Since the journey is half the fun, you'll at least have gotten something out of it.

As for ferry trips, the biggest must-do is probably The Baths (Virgin Gorda), but you have to get there either very early, or late -- otherwise the cruise ship excursions can clog the site up.

kellybeaches

Thanks Callaloo! We'll give the hike a try!

We've spent a week on VG before so we've done the Baths -you're right about it getting very crowded by about 10am w/all the day trippers. We're planning on doing a day trip during our first week (on St. John) over to the Baths and Soggy Dollar, but we may hop a ferry from Tortola to either of those if we decide to go again the second week of our trip. Thanks again for your recommendations!