Day trip from Tortola: St John or Jost van Dyke? (Been to VG already)
 

We have only two days on Tortola and want to do a day trip. We will be coming from a stay on Virgin Gorda. Am considering either St. John or Jost van Dyke. Another question: Am also considering a day trip from VG to Anegada. Is it worth a day or should we go somewhere else?

caneelbay.com

maho.org

prefer St John better vibe more to do

take the cute little jitneys around

have a tonne of fun.

Well, I have never been to Anegada but have always wanted to go. We always stay on St John and it is not possible to day trip to Anegada from there so if it were me, I would go to Anegada while you have the chance because of the degree of difficulty getting there. As for picking between St John and Jost, it just depends on what you like to do. We have been to Jost roughly 13 times on day trips and always make it a point to go there from STJ. White Bay on Jost has many bars right on the beach including the famous Soggy Dollar Bar. You can easily get away without having a rental vehicle there. Taxi to White Bay is $5 per person each way. If you enjoy the beach bar thing and an absolutely gorgeous beach then Jost is great. If that is really not your cup of tea, then go to St John. You can either rent a vehicle for the day and explore the island or simply taxi to a couple of the North Shore beaches and shop/look around Cruz Bay a bit. No quaint little beach bars on St John. Just depends on what you like to do.

Having been to both I would suggest St. John and consider renting a car to tour the lush island or go to snorkel, some of the best. Anegeda used to offer good snorkeling but it now is not even fair, based on 2 trips over the past 9-10 years. The 3 lb.lobster lunch for a about $35+ is worth it and fun but that and a wide lovely beach but very..very..little shade. the trip over can be nice if the waters are reasonably calm but overall I give it a "B".

If we rent a vehicle on St. John, which company (or companies) do you recommend using?

As to your question about spending one of your days (you did not say how many days you have on VG or what else you plan to do) going to Anegada or going "somewhere else"- I have been to Anegada but only stayed 2 days- I just wanted to see it. It would be a pretty long day trip though especially using ferries.
What I would highly recommend while you are on VG, if you have not already made plans to do so, is to take a day trip with Double D charters to snorkel the Caves, the Indians, the wreck of the Rhone and have lunch at the Willy T- a great day trip with good snorkeling and an interesting history/commentary along the way about the islands you are passing. I think perhaps StanKase has been out with them as well and can add his thoughts. I would go out with them again in a minute on any of their trip offerings.

Not sure why JVD got the snub but the wife and I spent a very nice morning/afternoon at Jost before heading back to Tortola for our flight home.

We made stops and Roxy's and at the Sand Castle - the Soggy Dollar is not to be missed.

Definitely a day trip to JVD -- two of the most famous beach bars in the world (Foxy's and Soggy Dollar), and White Bay is insanely beautiful.

I absolutely love love love Anegeda - an afternoon on the pink sand of Loblolly Bay, and lobster dinner on a beach, is my idea of fabulous. However, I agree that the snorkeling sucks there, so I wouldn't be going for the snorkeling. If you have NOT yet done a day trip to either Norman Island or Cooper Island, some of the best snorkeling is in those areas and I would probably recommend a day trip to Norman (with the Indians and the Caves, plus a stop at Willie T's) above all of the other day trip possibilities (it can be done from either Gorda or Tortola, although Tortola would be a much shorter trip). Since you didn't mention that as on of the options in the mix, I assume you have already done it or already have it planned.

Hmmmm....

Haven't been to Anegada (though I hear it's STUNNING), but I've lived on St. John and LOVE Jost. It's really a toss-up, if you want to see several world-class beaches (Trunk, Cinnamon, Hawksnest, Caneel, Maho) and beautiful scenery by car (btw, rental prices are almost identical with all STJ rental companies, so take your pick) with occasional stops at the places you deem to be the most beautiful, go to STJ.

If you want to be a beach bum and drink the day away at one of the most jaw-dropping beaches in the world (White Bay), then go to Jost van Dyke. I'm not a huge fan of Foxy's (personally, think it's a bit overrated), but Soggy Dollar and White Bay will make you question what you do for a living and why you would ever spend a moment working when you could be drinking a painkiller in the most beautiful setting in the world.

Rest assured, you can't screw it up either way. St. John is old-time Caribbean, and Jost van Dyke is old-old-time Caribbean. If you're a snorkeler/boat-lover, the Caves, Bathes, Indians, trip recommended above might be for you.

Yes, we are definitely planning to snorkel at Norman/Indians/Caves! And we are staying close to the Baths on VG, so will go there too. If we go to St. John is it necessary to rent a car or can we do without? Any ideas?

As I mentioned in my previous post, you can certainly get away wihout a car for one day on STJ. There are a multitude of taxis right by the ferry dock. You will just be limited to the North Shore beaches and there are plenty of them to entertain you. The taxis charge per person and you may have to wait a bit for them to fill up. Make sure that you allow yourselves enough time to get back to the ferry. Either way, you would have to back to Tortola in time to clear customs before they close. I think STJ closes approx 5pm. I'm sure Tortola would be similar. Here is a link to the beaches and other info about STJ.

http://seestjohn.com/beaches.html

Here is the link to the ferry schedules.

http://www.vinow.com/general_usvi/in...nd_ferry/#Cruz Bay to West End

Thanks for all of your advice. Now I have some planning to do....