TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands cab/ferry dilemma

Hello!
We are finally heading back to the BVI after our (land-based) honeymoon 20 years ago. This time, we are bringing our kids (10 & 14) on their first sailing charter at the end of May/beginning of June! We chartered a 35-ft mono from BVI Yacht Charters starting on Sat 5/27. I have found so much good info on this forum, I am looking for some sage wisdom for the mess of flights/cabs/ferries/hotels currently standing between us and our vacation!

For this trip we planned to fly in to STT and take a ferry over to Tortola. Of course the airline changed our flight times after booking and now that the Native Son ferry schedule is out for May/June, we have a dilemma. Our flight is supposed to land at STT at 4:09pm on Fri 5/26. The last ferry out of Charlotte-Amalie leaves at 4pm. It looks like Aquatic Rentals has a 5pm ferry out of Red Hook, but that's a 30-minute cab ride away and that seems pretty tight even with carry-on luggage.

Our alternative plan is to stay the night in Charlotte-Amalie and take a ferry over the next morning (Sat 5/27), but that ferry leaves at 7:45am out of Red Hook. Will we be able to get a cab to Red Hook that early? I looked for accommodations near the Red Hook ferry dock but everything is either booked or waaay out of our price range. I guess if we missed it, we could take the 10:30, but then we will likely be late for the beginning of our charter because we'd still have to get a cab from the West End to Road Town.

I'm trying to be chill and not over-plan, but everyone tells us to buy our ferry tickets in advance and we need to know where we are sleeping Friday night, so it seems risky to "wait and see." We currently have hotels booked both on St. Thomas (Windward Passage) and Tortola (Maria's) for Friday night as we try to figure this all out. Any advice is very much appreciated!!

This forum has long been a great source of information for those learning the ropes of bareboat chartering in the BVI. I've been the personal beneficiary of the wealth of knowledge found here for years.

Others will chime in with their opinions, but the first thing I would try is to arrange private taxi transport for Saturday morning ahead of time. I would contact Kevin Campbell (340) 643-0025 by text to see if he can get you to Red Hook for the early ferry. If so, problem solved.

There is a 9am ferry from Charlotte Amelia. It’s very convenient as loads are light and you get through customs fast. If the airline changed your scheduled arrival time you should have the ability to rebook for free. You might look for a earlier arriving option.

Now I spend a night at The Emerald Beach Resort at each end of my trip..might be worth checking it out..right on the beach,just down from the airport and right on the beach with a very nice beach bar and OK restaurant...

Thanks! I have been round and round with my airline, but there are unfortunately no other itineraries that will get us from our departure city to STT earlier (although one agent did confuse Charlotte-Amelie with Charlotte, NC and then tried to book me into NC so I could "take a bus" to my final destination. Haha!). Native Son's website shows they are not running a 9am ferry out of Charlotte-Amelie on Sat 5/27 and I can't get any ferry schedules to show up on the RTFF website. My email enquiries to them have gone unanswered. Ferries out of Red Hook are the only options I can currently find for that Saturday morning. If I am doing something wrong, please point me in the right direction!

That sounds like a good possible option, MKGrey! I didn't know private taxi transport was available! I imagine that will be much more do-able for us than a private water taxi, which is understandably $$$. I'll have to check the on-time percentage for our flight!

The ferry companies get together and set the schedules about 60 days out. One of the companies will be running the 9 AM. Who takes which slots Changes constantly. Check in April and May should firm up.

I would forget any possibility of getting off St Thomas Friday night. I also feel like trying to catch the 7:45 is an early morning rush for you and the kids. Remember, you are on vacation. I suggest using a combination of what Manpot and GeorgeC1 suggested. Spend the night at Emerald Beach (just off the airport property). The hotel is decent. The food is decent and the kids can enjoy the beach. Then catch the 9am ferry from CA for the reason GeorgeC1 said above. I believe this option is the most stress free start to your vacation. I realize that may get you off the dock later than you had hoped. But stress free.

What about your return?

Thanks, ndfaninnc! The 9am ferry out of Charlotte-Amalie was our original plan and would be our preference for all the reasons you stated, but when the Native Son & Smith's ferry schedules came out with no 9am CA option listed, we assumed there wouldn't be a ferry offered at that location/time because it's not the busy season. Good to know that the 9am ferry still runs on Fridays in May/June! Hopefully RTFF will update their schedule in the next few weeks so we can buy our ferry passes!

I went back and forth about whether we should stay at Emerald Beach or Windward Passage. Ultimately, I decided I'd rather be closer to the CA ferry dock since we'll probably be too exhausted to enjoy the beach for long anyway (we get up at 4am to catch our flight to STT). It was a tough choice, though.....the online reviews of Emerald Beach were pretty tough (claiming it is in dire need of repair, rats in the rooms, etc.), but some folks also complained about noise and the "rough neighborhood" behind Windward Passage. So I booked a WP room with an ocean-view so as to be on the quieter front side of the building and I figured we could walk down to Stone House Cafe or someplace for dinner before an early bedtime. I am open to any and all critiques of this plan!

The return journey has it's own ferry/cab dilemmas. We return our charter boat on Sunday 6/4 and are staying that night at Lighthouse Villas on Cane Garden Bay (CGB is not on our cruising itinerary right now, but we wanted to take the kids there). Our flight home leaves the next day, Mon 6/5, from STT at 3:12pm. So we're trying to figure out our options. Do we take a cab to Road Town for the 8:30 ferry to Red Hook (Aquatic Rentals) or the 10am ferry to CA (Native Son)? Or could we wait for the 11:30 Aquatic Rentals from the West End to Red Hook since we have carry-on luggage only? I'm all about minimizing stress, especially travelling with kiddos, but I'd rather spend more of my extra time on a beach chair in CGB than at the airport if possible!

I am just going to chime in and say you may want to seriously reconsider Windward Passage. And if you do stay there, please don't walk around after dark!

As for your return trip, I would be apt to take the 8:30 from west end if you are going to be there anyway. The taxi ride from WE to Roadtown (to get the 10AM) isn't exactly quick so you won't actually be saving a whole lot of time in the grand scheme of things (and paying for a taxi). After clearing customs in St Thomas head over to Glady's for a big breakfast (airport food there is crap choices and super $$). Do a little shopping before heading to the airport. No stress and you have a back up plan with the 10AM if you miss the 8:30.
Don't even consider the 11:30. Too close.

For those who may follow this at some point, consider flying to Tortola. We took the ferry to Cruz Bay and back from Red Hook last week. Ferries have gone up significantly in price, plus you pay separate departure taxes, which are included in airfares, as well as baggage charges. Taxi fares are high enough it was cheaper for us to rent a car from West End. Also check the fare chart - we were charged $40 for what should have been a $28 ride.

If we arrive after dark, we rent a car at the airport and stay at Maria's. We use the car the following morning to provision.

For our next trip down, we have snagged FF tickets on the new direct flight from Miami, so hoping that will even further reduce any travel stress!

I suspect the RTFF will operate the 9am. They have however not posted anything after 30 APR. They will get around to it eventually.

Crew4 - just curious as to why you chose Cane Garden Bay for a beach day with the kids? Check the cruise ship schedule - if a ship is in that day it will be a zoo. Second Skip’s thoughts on Windward Passage. I would not stay there. How about Olga’s Fancy? Great place, lots of great restaurants nearby.

MIDiver - Olga's Fancy was actually our first choice, but they were already full, as is the Marriott (which probably would have been $$ anyway). So is Windward Passage not a safe hotel, or will be be okay as long as we get back from dinner before the sun goes down? Is Emerald Beach in better shape than the reviews would lead one to believe? We tent-camp a lot and have stayed in plenty of motels so I don't need fancy amenities, but I do want to stay somewhere decently clean and safe.

I believe the cruise ship schedule for May/June shows them coming in on Mondays & Thursdays. So CGB shouldn't be overly busy on Sunday afternoon and we'll be heading out right before or after breakfast Monday morning, depending which ferry we take. We enjoyed our day at CBG on our honeymoon 20 years ago (took a cab over from the Sugar Mill) and since it didn't fit into our cruising itinerary, we thought it was as good a place as any for our last night. (We made this plan back when we thought we would be spending our first night before charter at Maria's in Road Town, but then our flight was changed and we have to stay on St. Thomas).

Skip absolutely nailed Windward. We did it once. Never again. I have done Emerald Beach a few times. Yes it needs an update. But I had no other problems. MIDiver has brought up Olga's Fancy a few times. I need to check that out. As she said, lots of restaurants nearby. As she also stated, check the cruise ship schedule. That will have a major impact on CGB.

I personally would not feel safe at Windward anymore. Others may have more fortitude. Emerald is certainly not luxury but I have never felt unsafe. From there, you can taxi to dinner-restaurants in Frenchtown are very close.

I am sure nostalgia is pulling you back to Cane Garden Bay and I get that. Just be prepared that a lot is going to be different and you might end up asking yourself why you traversed back and forth over the island that last day when you are already looking at a long travel day home.
Again, I get why you are all in on CGB but you could save yourself money and hassle and just stay at Marias on the last night and be on the 10AM outta there. Nice leisurely wake up/breakfast and easy to get that Roadtown ferry. I have also found that after a long vacation of being on beaches and near the water, after packing up and essentially "ending" a vacation my kids are usually about beached-out.

Can you add Cane Garden Bay to your cruising itinerary?

Thanks for the thoughts on Windward Passage, everyone! We are re-evaluating based on your feedback. I'm now leaning toward Emerald Beach for Fri night and catching the 9am ferry from CA to RT, assuming RTFF gets their schedule posted in the next few weeks. My husband is leaning toward an AirBNB in Red Hook for Fri night and then catching the 7:45 Aquatic Rentals ferry to the West End. Haha! We'll work it out eventually!

Thanks for the thoughts about CGB. We could always rework our itinerary, but getting to CGB isn't a huge priority. My husband went on two charters as a teen (10 days & 2 weeks), so he is looking to get to a few spots he hasn't visited before. The hosts of his previous charters prioritized visiting all their favorite restaurants and beach clubs (which is a great time!), but with our kids along we are more interested in visiting some good snorkeling sites and less crowded anchorages that Hubs has always wanted to visit. Not sure if this belongs in a different thread, but we are planning the following:
Night 1: Cooper Island (if we can get a BB rez) or Marina Cay
Night 2: North Sound, probably Leverick since we are doing a SNUBA excursion next morning
Night 3: North Sound, maybe Saba
Night 4: Anegada
Night 5: Anegada
Night 6: Anchor in Lee Bay off Great Camanoe if possible, Marina Cay if not
Night 7: Norman Island, probably The Bight
Night 8: Norman Island, probably Benures Bay
I can post our itinerary in another thread for feedback on the daytime plans, but as you can see, we weren't planning on the usual transit around Tortola. This itinerary takes us to the places we want to visit without too much interference from the cruise ships (we'll be on our second day in the North Sound and then in Lee Bay on cruise ship days) and also (hopefully!) gets most of the bothersome beating upwind out of the way early in the trip!

I would choose Emerald over WP. Also check out Mafolie - can be a little rough around the edges as it is an older property but the it has a killer view, really good restaurant and a pool. Up the hill in CA short cab ride away from ferry terminal

Just saw your latest post - in Red Hook check out Two Sandals By The Sea. Dinner at the Easterly.

Where are you traveling from and what flights are you planning? I still think a flight change is your best option. As far as where you stay it can be anywhere on STT. It’s 15 extra minutes in the cab.
G

I hesitate to comment, since our last trip was in 2017, but I'm surprised at the negative reviews. We've stayed at the Emerald Beach (one night before the flight home from STT) on about five trips, and it's been great. Perfectly fine rooms, nice restaurant, good views of Lindbergh Bay, nice beach and swimming. One time they made us wait a couple of hours before we could check in, which was annoying, but we never experienced anything worse than that.

In fact, one time we stayed at the Island Beachcomber next door (now gone). It was more shabby (and cheaper) than the Emerald Beach, but adequate. I wonder if I'm just not very picky, or if the Emerald Beach has gone downhill since we were last there. Or maybe the bad reviews are just misleading.

Dan

No..the Emerald Beach has actually slowly got better.I stay there six times a year and they are always helpful and welcoming..

Thanks for the feedback on Emerald Beach! It's always hard to know how much stock to put in online reviews, so I really appreciate the opinions from this forum!

We're leaving Oklahoma City (OKC) at 7am on Fri 5/26, landing in Miami for a 2-hr layover, then our flight from Miami arrives at STT just after 4pm. The layover is the origin of our scheduling issues....it was originally just 45 minutes (which gave me some pause when we booked), but when it was lengthened to 2 hrs, it pushed our arrival on STT late enough that it's difficult/impossible to get a ferry to Tortola that same day. We looked and looked for other flights, but there just isn't a way to get us from OKC to another MIA (or another hub like CLT) in time for an earlier flight to STT. We even looked at driving to Dallas the night before, but that doesn't help. We can't leave OKC any earlier than 3pm on Thurs 5/25 because our kids have some important school events, so we're just adapting as best we can.

After all the helpful advice from TTOL, I think we've settled on the following: arrive in STT around 4pm on Fri 5/26 (barring flight delays), take a cab to Red Hook, and stay the night in an AirBNB we found within easy walking distance to the ferry dock. Dinner at any of the many restaurants in that area. The next morning we'll eat a quick breakfast in the condo then catch the 7:45am Native Son ferry to the West End (I mis-spoke above when I identified that ferry as Aquatic Rentals). Even if the ferry runs late we will have plenty of time to take a cab to Wickham's Cay to fill in the gaps on our provisioning and check in with BVIYC.

Whew! Next time we might just go back to flying into EIS! It was out of our price range this time (at the time we booked, anyway), but maybe with the new AA flight we'll be able to snag something more affordable if we're able to come back in a few years!