TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Why is getting there such a PITA now?

Greetings. It's been a couple years since my last charter out of RT. (I have been giving all my love to St. Marten <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" />)
Usually I would catch AA into Beef, but since they bailed/got booted etc, it's pretty difficult. It pains my soul to spend almost as much for the 30 min hop from San Juan to Beef that I'm spending on the 4.5 hour flight from DFW to SJ.
Do most folks suck it up and pay the price for Cape Air or Seaborne?
I have done the ferry from St. Thomas exactly one trip and swore I would never do it again because I came within 5 minutes of missing my connection.
Just curious what seems to be the route most choose.

Forget Beef Island and the Ferry's. Charter one of our boats at CYOA in St Thomas and drive your own ferry. You will also get to see St John.

Fly to STT. Taxi 6 minutes to CYOA dock. Step on board boat. Relax.

We've simply paid the price for Cape Air. It is getting more expensive, so I'll be looking more closely at our other options moving forward, but it is our preferred option. Direct form Boston to San Juan and then a short Cape Air flight and taxi ride and we're there.. vs a longer ordeal going through St. Thomas.

Hello
i have a villa on VG, so I take speedy ferry on tues and thurs direct flight. To get to Tortola, take Roadtown Fast Ferry which leave at 4:15PM STT and is a 1 hour ride. Going back I take Speedy ferry or Roadtown Fast Ferry at 10PM ,so there is enough time for a 2PM ride out of the airport. I have given up on Beef Island and hope that maybe the new Air BVI out of Miami might work for me.
Merry Christmas

I'll keep that in mind for my next charter.

I'm already paid in with Sunsail.

Charter your own plane from San Juan(our preference).

Charter a boat from St. Thomas.

Arrange for a BVI boat to pick up some or all the crew from St. Thomas

Fly direct to St. Lucia and charter there.

Fly direct to Grenada and charter there.

Maybe someday soon fly direct to St. Vincent and charter there.

Call the BVI leadership and tell them to get on with a plan for daily direct jet service from major US cities. DFW should be on that list for a flight each day.

We have done all of the above more than once. We no longer use the ferries. STT-Taxi-Ferry-Taxi dance simply takes too long, is too much hassle, costs too much in time and money when you add it all up. We also do not ride on the top of trains in other less developed parts of the world we visit.

Storm,

I have a crew of 8, so I would need something along the lines of a Cessna Caravan. That would likely run as more or more than Cape Air.
I love the BVI because despite the crowds, the sailing is so damn easy.
But I'm considering seeing if Sunsail will let me transfer my reservation to say St. Marten where I can fly direct.
I guess I got spoiled when AA was flying into Beef.

We really don't see much of a change since AE pulled out. We always fly to Beef, buying all of our flights on one ticket: American, Delta or United. Jet Blue also works if they serve your city. They all partner with Cape Air or Seaborne. The ticket prices are reasonable, if you don't fly on a prime day, because the airlines have gotten really good at maximizing their revenue - good for them!

If you are flying Southwest to San Juan, then, yes, the connecting flights can be expensive. Try InterCaribbean. You can usually save money by coming in late, staying at the airport and taking the early Seaborne flight.

Been there and done that with crews of eight or more. We usually charter at least two planes. Three on many trips. The other very common option is two go ahead of the rest of the gang and pick the boat up meeting the rest of the crew near STT. I always find getting the boat away from the dock better with 2-3 people and the same on the return. In general with a little effort you can find a boat for ten days for the same price as the 7 day week. Use those "free days" to pick the boat up and return the boat with seven days or so of party in the middle. For us the idea the entire group must always be together for the entire charter gets old. We also do our best to never make any of the "vacation" a planned race from moment to moment.... must do, to must do. We never move the boat anymore until everyone is ready. Only then do we decide where the boat will stop next.

Intercaribbean airlines from SJU to EIS

SW to SJU, SJU to Beef on Cape Air. Pretty easy for us. I never minded the ferry, but the wait at customs in Roadtown always seems to take forever after a long day of travel.

The harder to get there, the better...as I see it. Making the BVI a destination that's too much for most to tolerate is part of the reason it is such an exclusive destination. If it were in the mainsteam of cattle car cruising, it would turn into another Jamaican Dunn's River Falls. Having to endure scheduling irregularities with Ferries and obscure flights makes it that much less traveled. All pluses in my book. My .02

Glad to figure out who the other TTOLer in Tyler is! I plan on doing another bareboat charter in next year but We also decided again on St. Maarten/Anguilla for the Spring due to the ease of getting there from DFW. Good luck!

I avoid RoadTown Customs. West End is always quick and easy, RT can be a nightmare,especially if it is a "shopping day" for the locals.

Recent reports are the STT ferries are running more on schedule. Consider fliying into STT and taking a water taxi. With a group of your size it would be make $ sense. I would guess about $500 one way. There are several companies. We have used Dohms out of RH several times and been pleased. There is a company that runs out of CA but I can't recall their name.

How is getting to SXM easy from DFW. there are no non stops, you still have to fly through Miami. From Miami non stops to STT are always available

I flew to SXM from DFW just 2 months ago.

2.5 hours to MIA, then another 2.5 hours direct to SXM. Pretty easy.
AA only has one DFW-SJU direct flight per day, and it's a more expensive flight than going through MIA.

Baard,

I must have had a slow taxi or I got one of the lights red. Pretty sure it was a 7 minute travel time <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" />

BTW... not all the boats at CYOA are ferry sized!

AA still flys direct into EIS via Cape Air and Seaborne. More expensive than into STT but I figure my time is worth it. It use to be that I could get from Seattle to Eis leaving at 11pm Seattle arriving noon in Eis next day. Now we do not get in until 4:30 pm. Not horrible but I would prefer the earlier connection.
You should be able to leave DFW early am and be in EIS by late afternoon

If you are going to go with Cape air, I'd look both at booking all the way on the same ticket as well as looking at booking separately. You can secure a lower price with Cape Air by buying their commuter books. 10 one way tickets for a fixed price. You do pay bag fees now though.

I get that if it is not easy to get to BVI and it might discourage some visitors but the issue now are the cruise ships that are at White Bay, the Baths, Cane Garden Bay. So yah, it might be difficult for us to get there but when we do we have to avoid Soggy, Baths, Anegada, CGB on the cruise ship schedule. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

Flying out of Portland, OR on a red-eye, I got R/T on United, landing in STT @1330hrs for $350 (KAYAK alerts a little more than 3 months out for Feb '17). Flying into EIS was more than $1K more. No brainer, I can hire a water taxi for the difference, breeze thru customs and then be dropped off at my boat... or save it for Pain Killers when I get off the ferry.

One thing to mention if you do charter out of the USVI. Customs has recently enforced the rule on bringing any fruits, meats and vegetables into the USVI. There is hope this is one overzealous customs agent but be prepared to surrender all the above items when you clear in at Cruz bay. It does not matter if they were purchased in the US or not or are in sealed packages.
G

Perhaps is was a mistype -- but there is no reason to check in at Cruz Bay if you [color:"red"]do charter out of the USVI. [/color] .
Bringing meats and other food into the USVI and arriving by plane is no problem.

I should have made the post a little more clear. If you go to the BVI or originate in the BVI you have to check in with customs on your return. By the letter of the law you can not have meat, fruits or vegetables onboard. If you do they must be turned in and incinerated by customs. This has not been enforced in the past. I am now aware of two boats where it was enforced in Cruz Bay. It's not a big problem for a USVI charter coming back on the last day however it is a big issue if you are a BVI charter visiting the USVI or coming back with a few days left on charter. I had planned on having my boat brought over to Redhook provisioned on my next charter but now have to look at other options. If you arrive in the USVI from the US the rule does not apply. If you arrive from another country it does.
G

Of my six Bareboat Charters in the BVI i've flown JFK-SJU-EIS twice and JFK-STT / ferry four times. Believe it or not we've had more problems doing the EIS route than with the ferries. We typically catch a morning flight to arrive STT around 1:30. We take a taxi to the Ferry Dock and relax with a Painkiller or 3 at the Petit Pump Room at the Ferry Dock waiting for the 3:00pm Ferry. If we can make an earlier ferry then we take it. We check in to our boat by 6:00pm and spend the evening sorting out our provisioning (wither going through the delivery or shopping at Riteway, or some combination of both). Then a nice dinner on Tortola before the sleep aboard. If you need to do the Chart Briefing there is usually one t 6:00pm. In the morning we do the boat briefing as early as possible, have a light breakfast and off we go.

On the return we usually sleep at the dock the night before the end of our charter since my crew usually wants a real shower by then. Alternatively Norman or Cooper are good last night anchorages. because you can be hack across quickly in the morning. We have never had a problem checking the boat in and being at the ferry dock in plenty of time for the 10:00am ferry. Even with delays we are usually at CA by Noon and have no problem making the 1:30 - 3:30 flight home.

The ferry option has proven to be the cheapest over the years and although i'm probably jinxing myself I've never missed a connection. My crew look at the ferry ride as part of the vacation and fun.

If and when delays or problems arise, remember that you are on vacation and could otherwise be back in your real life! As Boots, a wise taxt driver in Road Town told us time and again... No stress no mess!

Maybe it's because I've been lucky, but I've never ever had much of a problem flying into STT. I've used the Red Hook ferries, and it always seems to be no problem catching the last one. The "taxi" (Van) ride is quick. Quick enough to have a beer in Red Hook while waiting for last ferry over. Ferry is reliable and I like that little start to the trip.

Oh, and I don't much like flying through SJU either. Can be a crowded mess, with cruise crowds flying through there. Flying straight into STT is cheaper of course too. I suppose flight schedule may not work for some, but it's always perfect for me.

You are correct sail2wind there are no directs from DFW to SXM but we find it easier even though it's basically the same time in the air. I find SXM airport to be better run than STT as well as the private/semi private ferries that run to Anguilla are waiting for you just outside airport amd give excellent FRIENDLY service. All that makes the travel day seem less tiring. We love the BVI but Anguilla is a beach lovers paradise !

Looking at my dates for June, it's approx $325 per person cheaper to fly into STT than EIS. That's enough to possibly justify extending my charter for a day.

Murph, agree 100% about SXM. Dog Island off Anguilla is my favorite spot ever.

To be fair shouldn't you factor in cabs and ferry fees as well?

Sure, but ferries and taxis still not gonna eat up over $300 PP. Plus the ferry seems 10x more fun than the layover/puddle jumper in SJU. I'll take time on the water over time in an airport/airplane any day.

I never said it would eat up $300, but you mentioned the difference in price so it seemed like it was an important factor to you. Clearly it's less than the amount you mention when you add them in. That's all I'm saying...

Go what ever way works for you.

"De ones in a rush to get here, they mash up everyting. Dey miss what we are about mehson."

No truer words, spoken to me around 1981 in CGB.

Hurry Man eat raw corn -- stt aphorism

There are no cruise ship passengers on Anegada <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" />

Sleepy you are right! No wonder Anegada is such a paradise <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" /> Let's keep it quiet and off the cruise ship radar.

Merry Christmas!

Karen

We love the CYOA option!

Check out InterCaribbean. My crew (13 total) booked with them for April for ~$260pp/rt SJU/EIS. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Cheers.gif" alt="" />