TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands BVI not a budget destination

Of course there are still some deals. The $20 senior round-trip between Virgin Gorda and Tortola is a great example, and the free ferries from Gun Creek.

But broadly speaking, a BVI trip is no longer cheap - if it ever was. People going back after a long absence may be surprised at the cost of transportation, food, lodging - most things. The government is always looking for new ways to raise revenue, whether the arrival tax, departure tax, or park fees. Most of the restaurants include a service fee.

Of course there are lots of budget cruise visitors, but other visitors need to be prepared to pay.

Would be interested in others' perspectives.

I live in two places that are not cheap..Sonoma and Tortola. I think they are similar in dining etc costs.The one thing that pi$$es me off is sliding in a "service or tax" charge. I like to tip 20% but that kills it for me, I asked about the "tax"( we have none on food in the BVI) added onto a bill in Anegada.The girl( not knowing I lived on Tortola) swore to me it was a tax and not a tip.The cab driver finally intervened and told her she was lying.She was lucky to get 10% after that. The sad thing is that we have lost so many local places that used to be reasonable. Most disappeared after Irma and the ones that have been rebuilt have gone way up market. Sad for me. I love "Patricia's" on Smugglers Cove..great for..great prices and a real throwback to a better time for the BVI's..

I agree. I generally tip 20% for good service (15% for acceptable, and more for great service). If a restaurant (anywhere), tries to slide in a service charge without making it obvious(verbally pointing it out or clearly listed "gratuity"), then I will not add any additional tip. If they point it out, it is usually rewarded with additional gratuity beyond my normal. Unfortunately, I believe they believe American travelers will not know and then double tip... Then when the visitors realize this happened, it reflects negatively on their overall experience.

I have noticed this about many places now, throughout Caribbean, Bahamas and Mexico. Even air travel is very steep.

I don''t know but you have to remember it is a tough life and tough bills for many in the BVI and if the extra money we pay gets to them through directly or the government after 2 devastating hurricanes and Covid effect on travel, you gotta wonder what more can you do locally besides the donations some of us sent then. They need the money. I do agree the airfare into VIJ needs regulation and competition.

We noticed alot more places adding the "service charge" to our bill on our last trip. I try not to let it bug me and just leave the extra in cash to get the total up to 20% if the service was good. I figure it isn't their fault that the establishment has chosen this tactic.
I will say that travel has gotten insane for us. I paid 6K in airfare into STT our last trip! I still remember the days of airfare around $200.
I live 1.5 hrs out of NYC in a town popular with city folk and so I am very used to city prices. While I have always thought that food prices were astronomical, last trip I wasn't so shocked. Our own prices have skyrocketed so much that the BVI no longer felt that far above what I have gotten used to paying since covid.
I run a small business (food establishment) and last year my food supply prices doubled. This year they are way up again. So I get the struggle and can't imagine how difficult it is for small business owners in the BVI who need to ship everything in.
So for me, it isn't the food prices that irritate me, it's the cost to get there that needs to be addressed.

I am with you skipdastraw. I get food prices are up globally. It's the airfare. For years we have flown CLT-STT-NGD round trip first class for about $2k for the two of us and leaving at 9am and arriving to the villa around 4pm. Getting to Anegada from STT has gotten insane. Even if I go the CLT-SJU-EIS route I cannot to Anegada in one day. I have to overnight on Tortola which adds to the cost. Less direct flights, rolling the dice with regional airlines and overall flight costs have kept us home for the last couple of years. Unfortunately, I don't see that changing anytime soon. I hate going through MIA. But if AA's MIA-EIS pricing comes back to reality, that could be an affordable option.

Just bought aa tickets from Miami to STT in Nov/dec and the fare for 2 was about $850 About ready to buy some tickets for August and again the fare is about $425 each
person round trip.

I guess what annoys me the most lately is the ferry companies. I used to tip the guys that moved the luggage. Now that the ferry companies charge me $10/bag including carry on, I no longer tip . They are charging me to move the luggage so why should I tip.

I have also noticed that my house tax has gone ;up a lot. It seems that the BVI government cannot live within its means (What government can!!) and yet services have gone down. They used to take care of the government road to my villa. and clean the beaches. They no longer do that so I have taken on the job of doing that including buying special equipment to rake the road, , fill the holes and a beach cleaning machine. etc. Seems like the only thing that is still free is garbage collection.

The cost of bringing in a 40 ft container is now over $9000 without any government fee, import duties etc.

Frankly I blame a lot of this on the idiots and morons that are in the USA government. I have never seen such a collection of misfits. Any private company would get rid of them in a heartbeat..

It is also now cheaper for me to fly the plane into EIS (and pay $1000 for "handling) than to go commercial. I can fly 9 persons into EIS from Vero Beach for $3200 (fuel costs) Of course there are additional costs like the pilot , who is on salary and aircraft maintenance, insurance etc

I also note that at least 8 persons flew to the coronation. I sure hope that was their own nickel. (But I know better)

Thorsten, spot on. This government is now considering trying to "re-develop" Prospect Reef, a quintessential white elephant (https://bvinews.com/govt-makes-fresh-attempts-to-develop-prospect-reef/) and your personal experience reciting the appalling condition of the territory's roads is but one of many.

The reason yours isn’t an exceptional situation is simple: it’s easier to reward lackeys with a government job that has them sitting in an air-conditioned office all day doing very little, as compared to making them work out in the elements repairing a road. If given a choice, everyone would elect the former over the latter (no pun intended).

The territory should reassign at least 30% of its office workers to roadwork; services would not decline one whit, but to close this loop, the fact that the idea of investing in the development of the Prospect Reef site demonstrates just how awful and out of touch the elected officials really are.

Airfare isn’t going to come down anytime soon - it is ridiculous everywhere. We paid $500 pp round trip from Detroit during Covid - it is now $1200 per person for late October. 😳. Coach.

I feel sorry for the folks who bought time shares in prospect Reef from the shady premier who sold them time shares in a project he did not own. Now they are out of their money and the "resort" is trashed. Government should sell it for whatever they can get and move on.

By the way I have heard nothing recently about the government "buying" Toad Hall from the owner and now they say they want it for $0 dollars

perhaps that has something to do with some accounting and tax... I had read that Steve's property was going to be rebuilt as a site for history and heritage homage for the BVI and Virgin Gorda but has become on hold because of the emergencies in the islands for the last few years.