Gleece

My wife and I, our 1-year-old, and my mother-in-law (need a babysitter at least some of the time!) are visiting St. John for a week in March. It's the second trip to St. John for my wife and I, and the first trip there for my mother-in-law. We are considering taking the ferry from St. John to the BVI for a day trip while we are there. I have a few of questions.

1. Is it worth making the trip? In other words, we are much more likely to make the trip if there is something unique to see or do rather than just another version of something we could do on St. John.

2. If we go, would you recommend Tortola, Virgin Gorda, or Jost Van Dyke?

3. Would you recommend bringing the baby, or leaving the baby back at the villa with Grandma?

Any thoughts, advice or guidance would be appreciated. Thanks for the help.

virginia

2 options.
all of you could take the ferry to virgin gorda. then get a taxi to the baths: http://www.paradise-islands.org/virgin-gorda-baths.htm
there is a restaurant on the hill above this beach where mil could hang out if she/baby got tired of the beach.
or leave mil/baby on st. john and take limon tours excursion or my fav: http://newhorizonscharters.com/ which will pick you up on st.j take you to virgin gorda/baths and tour you all the way around tortola so you get a look at most of the bvi's.

mrssparky

I agree w/virginia. Leave mil/baby on St. J and do New Hor tour. VG (baths), snorkeling, and JVD. It is a blast.

RumRita

Don't forget you will need passports to go to BVIs.

Gleece

We already have them, including the baby. But thanks for the reminder

soboyle

We considered the trip to the BVI, but once on St John we decided it was to beautiful to miss a day. That is my take, don't spend a day traveling if you are only there for a week, enjoy st john, it is such a unique place!

KVR

I definitely agree with the trip on New Horizons. It was a great day trip. You're that close to the BVI's don't miss it, and it's just a day out on a beautiful boat, sipping cocktails, exploring and snorkeling. It's not like you are actualy enduring the hassles of "traveling". Yes, leave the baby with grandma, it's not really an excursion for children.

wiley1827

Not worth the hassle and shake-down by BVI customs goons. Getting around BVI with car is a lot of work. Towns are basically dull. Ferry is hot, stinky, noisy, and no joy. BVI has done almost nothing to entice/attract US visitors and I find no reason to go to great lengths to drop in. Hotel and retail folks are nice enough but once you hit St. John, you have a month worth of beauty and fun - no don't need for more
abuse from half-baked infrastructure and often surly people.

lpetrenko

We just returned from a trip to Jost Van Dyke and we had a BLAST!! We stayed a couple nights on St. Johns and then took the ferry over to Jost, and found the people here to be much more pleasant than the locals on St. John's who just seemed annoyed by the presence of tourists. It's definetely a "grown ups" island, so I wouldn't bring the baby. If you are just going for the day, the beach, food and atmosphere at the Soggy Dollar Bar is great. You can also walk from there over to Ivan's Stress Free bar, where Kenny Chesney filmed a video, and Ivan and his family will give you a true taste of laid back island life. There isn't a whole lot to do on this island besides eat great food, and drink (Try a Painkiller!), but like I said, for an adult day away it could be fun! Have a great trip!