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st. thomas to Tortola things to do on Tortola?

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Old Oct 21st, 2004, 10:06 AM
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st. thomas to Tortola things to do on Tortola?

We are arriving in St. Thomas around 4pm on a Wens from NYC and I can't find any ferries that run past 4 from st. thomas to Tortola-- any suggestions on what ferry companies to look into or what companies may run after 4 pm?

Secondly, I want to take my signifigant other out on a sail/snorkel trip once in tortola and would love suggestions on good companies to look into..
Are there groups that take you out and let you swim with dolphins, sting rays etc?

As you can tell, Ive never been and cant find much on the net about tortola, so any information is VERY appreciated
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Old Oct 21st, 2004, 02:33 PM
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You can check the ferry schedules at www.bviwelcome.com. A quick glance shows that, indeed, there don't appear to be ferries after 4 p.m. There may be alternatives -- like a water taxi. To that end, I would suggest posting your questions on the very active BVI message board at www.traveltalkonline.com. You'll get your ferry questions, as well as your sailing charter questions, answered in short order.
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Old Oct 21st, 2004, 04:45 PM
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Hmmm . Thats strange , from my info there are ferries that run past 4 . Where were u looking ? We leave on Nov .3 Faithie
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Old Oct 21st, 2004, 05:25 PM
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Faithie, there are ferries after 4 pm, but not on Wednesdays, which is when addwag is arriving.
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Old Oct 21st, 2004, 05:55 PM
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Oops -- sometimes the keyboard is faster than the brain. addwag and faithie, if you look at the ferry schedule on www.vinow.com, you'll find that there are ferries after 4 p.m. on Wednesdays (which is different than what is shown on www.bviwelcome.com). Given that two sources show two different schedules, your best bet is to call each of the companies and get the schedule directly from the source -- some of the services will even send a van to the airport to take you to the ferry dock if they know to expect passengers. (Since you are on a 4 p.m. flight arriving in STT, I can't imagine that there wouldn't be an available ferry, but it never hurts to make sure.)
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Old Oct 22nd, 2004, 01:54 AM
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SMITH Ferry Services schedule shows a ferry leaving (daily) 5:30 pm Redhook/St.Thomas, but you should doublecheck with them, call #1-340-775-2569. Another option might be to go via plane, for example on Air Sunshine, leaving STT 5:30pm www.airsunshine.com

Ref.snorkeling trips: contact any dive shop in Tortola, most of them offer snorkeling trips or contact Dive BVI on Virgin Gorda, www.divebvi.com
There is a very good snorkeling and diving guide about the BVI: Lonely Planet: Diving and snorkeling British Virgin Islands, ISBN 1-86450-135-9

Enjoy your stay in paradise!
Regine/KATITCHE POINT GREATHOUSE
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Old Oct 22nd, 2004, 10:23 AM
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There's also a new "swim with the dolphins" adventure in Tortola. Haven't been, and can't remember the name (sorry!) - but have heard from others that it's worthwhile. I believe it's right near Road Town.

Also, you may want to consider going over to Marina Cay. They run a shuttle (it's literally a 5, maybe 10 min. ride) by the airport. It's really nice. Has some decent snorkeling (lots of sting rays) and a fun bar and not too painful to get to. They also run a dive shop there, although I haven't used them.

Enjoy!
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Old Oct 22nd, 2004, 10:30 AM
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I just looked re: the dolphins. The site is http://www.dolphindiscovery.com/tortola.asp. While searching I discovered that there's a lot of people protesting this place because of the way that they treat the dolphins, and how they've set up the environment for them. Just thought I'd pass that along. If some of what they are saying is true, then I can't say that I would recommend them. But I'll get off my soapbox ;-)
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Old Oct 22nd, 2004, 10:32 AM
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thanks!
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Old Oct 22nd, 2004, 11:26 AM
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We took a family trip to Tortola a few years ago and had a great time on Patouche for a daysail/snorkeling trip. Julie and Joe are super nice and we went to some great snorkeling spots. Their website is www.patouche.com.
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Old Oct 23rd, 2004, 02:57 PM
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I would ask that you reconsider doing any swim with the dophins program, at least until after you have read some of the posts left here by Diana and others. If you do a search with "Swim with dolphins" on this site, lots of info will come up.

Most, if not all, of these places don't seem cruel, but in reality the lifespan of these magnificent creatures is more than decimated in captivity. I don't have the facts at my fingertips, but a quick search will give you lots of info.
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