Visiting the Baths with a Weak Knee
 

I had knee surgery recently and believe that my knee will still be slightly weak when I visit Virgin Gorda in early February. How much scrambling over rocks takes place at the Baths? Do you need to be sure-footed and have a good sense of balance to safely explore the area?

Also, for us snorkelers, are there a lot of fish at the Baths, or is it mostly underwater scenery to view?

You might want to wear a small neoprene knee brace just getting downthe incline to the water and slip it off. Once in the water there is no real navigating to do. The fish, based on my last visit in 2006, were pretty numerous and you see a number of small sea anenomes clinging to the boulders just underneath the water. It is one of the only pretty good snorkel spots left in and around VG the others being Oil Nut Bay, a little bit of Savannah Bay and that/s it if you compare it to St. John, Grand Cayman, Curacao-WEST END, Bonaire.With renting a power boat with a total of 6-8 people (you have to put the group together) you can get a very good boat and guide, Mitchel, for $800 for 7 hours and go to Cooper Island and 1 or 2 other islands where there is much better snorkeling but you need a boat like his (30-35ft.) with large canopy to get there but it is worth it. He cannot go out of the B.V.I.'s like to St. John.

there is a lot of climbing up, over, under and between the boulders. if you do not arrive by boat you must walk down a path to the boulders. i'd get that knee brace and do what you feel comfortable doing. even just a quick walk around is well worth the experience. maybe swimming shoes would help you stick to the rocks better too.
wait. how are you going to be in st. barts and vg in feb? you must be cruising.

Yes, I'll be on a Windstar cruise. 7 nights r/t from St, Thomas, with stops in St. John, Virgin Gorda, St. Martin, St. Barts, Tortola and Jost Van Dyke. I hope this will be a good introduction to the Caribbean. Thanks for the help I've received on this forum. I really appreciate it.

That sounds like a great itinerary! I think the brace sounds like a good idea too.

When you refer to swimming shoes, do you mean Tevas? If not, would they work anyway? Am trying to figure out footwear for the walk to the Baths. Thanks - Claire

If you are getting to the Baths via a boat, it's a decent swim from where you get in the water to the beach (something like 100 yards or so it seems). If you've got a weak knee it could be a difficult swim, especially if there is a current. I'm not a real strong swimmer, and it was tough for me.

If you're on the Windstar cruise, I assume that you're using the ship's excursion, in which case you'll be arriving by land. It is a little bit of a hike down to the rocks from the parking lot area, but once down there, you can snorkel without crawling around many more rocks. There is a trail through the rocks, which I don't think you'd be able to do.

As far as this cruise being an introduction to the Caribbean - prepare to be spoiled. This is a really good itinerary with some beautiful islands, and a little nicer because it doesn't use the same ports as the big ships.