St. Thomas to Virgin Gorda
 

Hi,
My husband & I will be heading to St. Thomas for our honeymoon in mid-December. :)
We'll also be going to Virgin Gorda for a few days. :) :)
Any suggestions for the best way to get there from St. Thomas? The ferries don't have the most accommodating schedules (at least not on our travel days) and we'll need to leave from Red Hook (ideally) on a Friday to VG and then to Charlotte Amelie on a Wednesday.
Would a day sail allow us to stay in VG at the end of the trip?
For the amount some resorts are charging, I really wish they had ferries back and forth.
Any recommendations for things to see and restaurants for VG? We'll be there four full days and the hotel food seems v. pricey.
Also, we need a reasonably priced hotel our last night in St. Thomas, either in town or near the airport (not certain if they are near).
And any suggestions for St. Thomas, day trips, restaurants, etc. - we'll be there 5 days - would also be great.
Thanks in advance!

My favorite restaurants in St. Thomas are Havanna Blue, elegant, romantic on Moringstar beach, outstanding cuisine. Herve's hilltop, Charlotte Amalie, outstanding view, excellent food and great wine list.

Air Sunshine provides daily, ( I believe 4 times servie from St. Thomas to Virgin Gorda - 15 minute ride with scenic view of the islands

Most people take the ferry between STT and VG. If you don't get a response to your question regarding travel between STT and VG try posting your question on the BVI forum at www.traveltalkonline.com There are hundreds of "experts" there who can give you all kinds of hints.

While on Virgin Gorda plan on visiting the Baths, explore the ruins at the Copper Mines, hike to the top of Gorda Peak for incredible views, while away the hours on some of the island's many beaches most of which offer very good walk in snorkeling, go to Liverick Bay for watersports, go scuba diving, go sailing - the list goes on and on.

For restaurants,try, the Mine shaft, the Top of the Baths, the Flying Iguana, Chez Bambooo, The Rock Cafe, the Bath & Turtle, Liverick Bay Restaurant, Saba Rock,

Thank you for your responses, I really appreciate your advice. RoamsAround, I will check out the traveltalk website. Thanks again.

good advice - ttol.com.....they're the experts!

I want to travel from St Thomas to Virgin Gorda but the ferry only goes on Tues/Thurs. How do I get there on other days of the week?
Take a ferry to Road Town (Tortola) and then continue the journey from Road Town to The Valley (Virgin Gorda).

Above copied from a FAQ page about getting to The BVI's. You should be able to get there any day of the week. It requires a little more footwork, but can be done.

You can use these two ferry schedules to coodinate times.

http://www.bviwelcome.com/ferries.html

http://www.vinow.com/general_usvi/interisland_ferry/

wvillagegirl, you don't say where you're staying, but one resort does indeed offer its own private ferry service. Little Dix Bay has a ferry that connects Caneel Bay on St. John directly with their resort on Virgin Gorda.

Otherwise, there are three ferry services that I know of that go to Virgin Gorda directly from St. Thomas, and there is service every day from St. Thomas to Tortola and from Tortola to Virgin Gorda. You're right, however, that the timing doesn't always line up the way you might want. That'sw hy most people have to spend at least one night in Tortola or St. Thomas on at least one end of their trip when they are going to Virgin Gorda.

My husband and I recently stayed at Little Dix Bay on Virgin Gorda back in October. We flew into Tortola, but when we were leaving we were transfering to St. John. We booked through the hotel a private air taxi. While it was on the pricey side it was the highlight of our trip. One of the staff members from LDX drove us to the little Virgin Gorda airport and we were greeted by our pilot. We paid the $15 per person departure tax and were on our way. The take off was a real thrill!! We flew over all the surrounding islands and the pilot gave us an over view of what the different islands and cays were. It was beautiful. We landed into St. Thomas where were taken through customs and then headed to the ferry to St. John.

We usually stay on St. John and wanted to try something different - Virgin Gorda. We really loved it there. People were so warm and friendly. We dined at the Mine Shaft and the Rock Cafe while there. We heard great things about Leverick Bay but it was closed as it was low season. Be sure to visit the Baths - if you are staying at LDX they offer complimentary boat rides from the resort to the Baths (this was a great plus vs. doing an entire tour with a large group of people). Enjoy your honeymoon, you picked a beautiful place! - Susan

Thanks for your replies everyone especially Susan - loved hearing about your stay at Little Dix which is where we'll be staying. :)
Doug - We called Little Dix but they told us that we wouldn't be able to take the ferry from St. John to VG. I don't understand why not? Perhaps because we haven't yet entered British territory?

You will love Little Dix Bay! I posted several Trip Reports if you want to read about our experience:

Day 1
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.co...hlight=#168143

Day 2, 3 and 4
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.co...hlight=#168139

Day 5 and 6
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.co...hlight=#168312

You wouldn't be able to take the ferry if you weren't staying at Little Dix Bay, but it's also possible that the ferry isn't available on the day you're traveling. But I'm a little confused about whether you are or are not staying at Little Dix Bay.

Hi. Thanks again for all the replies and for the trip reports Susan!
Doug - yes, we will be staying at Little Dix but it turns out that the ferry isn't running on the day we arrive from St. Thomas. C'est la vie.
I think Brenandg's advice might work best - take the ferry to Tortola and then figure it out from there. Thanks!

Little Dix private ferry will pick you up from Tortolla. I would arrange Tortolla departure with them

Since you want to go from VG to Charlotte Amalie STT, I'm assuming this is your departure day? I would leave early to provide for extra time for any ferry mishaps. They really are quite reliable but "stuff" happens. We were on the Jost Van Dyke ferry from St John and met a couple honeymooning on their way to Virgin Gorda. Well, that ferry wasn't running for whatever reason. They were re-routed through Tortola and I'm sure did just fine (ferry stopped there after our drop off on Jost). Just saying, don't press the time. Also, get to the St Thomas airport at least 2 hours before departure. It shouldn't be too bad on a weekday, but I wouldn't take any chances. American Airlines is one of the particularly strict ones there. We haven't been since May, but apparently they now have self serve kiosk check in. Hope they ironed out all of the kinks. They do have a cafeteria style restaurant with a small bar at the airport, but seriously, the food is pretty bad.

One more mention. Make sure you are at the right ferry dock if you end up leaving St Thomas from Charlotte Amalie instead of Red Hook. The BVI ferry's have a small terminal on the Charlotte Amalie waterfront. The St John ferry leaves from the waterfront as well, but there is no terminal. They are walking distance from each other. I know someone who almost missed their ferry because they were at the wrong dock.

Have a great honeymoon!

Some of my favorite things while at Little Dix that you may enjoy are as follows:

Spring Bay Picnic - You are boated to Spring Bay which has a sea water inlet surrounded by giant bolders, ( it adjoins the Baths), on one side and a lovely beach on the other. Huge blue umbrellas are arranged on the beach to provide shade for guests. Upon arrival you will hear the strains from the provided steel band and enjoy the aroma from the grill where the delicious picnic foods are being prepared. It is a great way to meet 'your neighbors.

Sunset cruise - scenic tour and naration of many of the islands with a brief stop over. Appetizers and drinks included.