TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands best private ferry from STT to Moorings Totola

We have 4 adults and 4 kids and would like to get to Tortola ASAP off the plane. What are the best private options if we don't want to wait for the public ferry?

We use Island Time BVI (every trip). There are others here who recommend Tender Too Charters as well. Don’t use Dolphin Water Taxi.

Or just use the ferry..

thank you

you don't understand English as I specifically said options other than the public ferry. MIDiver gave me great options.

thank you

Hey Wink

Mind your manners regarding Manpot. When you start getting mouthy, maybe you should stay gone.

I value what it is and why I asked a specific question, and got the answers I needed. obviously knew the public schedule thanks.

Winkdc...Don't be a dick! You could have easily just scrolled by Manpot's comment (Which I agree with) instead you decided to be rude and angry on your comment. Please refrain from asking anymore advice on here and go elsewhere. To everyone else please refrain from answering anyone like Winkdc. Winkdc hope your trip is better and you have a better attitude with your family.

Winkdc...Don't be a dick! You could have easily just scrolled by Manpot's comment (Which I agree with) instead you decided to be rude and angry on your comment. Please refrain from asking anymore advice on here and go elsewhere. To everyone else please refrain from answering anyone like Winkdc. Winkdc hope your trip is better and you have a better attitude with your family. [/quote]

DITTO!

SEVEN posts here and he’s being a dick! 🙄😂👎

He needs to change his name to winkdink, but maybe we are being mean, and I agree about the ferry - it's a breeze

We have had good experience over the years with Ocean Dreams if you are still looking for a recommendation.

Thank you for the thoughtful answer. I asked the question about PRIVATE because there will be 8 of us and was interested to see if with that many ppl it made sense so we didn't need to worry about schedules.

Not mean. Just immature.

Lcok in the mirror much?

MIDiver, Just curious why you state not to use Dolphin water taxi. I am currently scheduled through them for the first time and in comparison to some of the other companies, the scheduling on line was a breeze and the pricing was comparable. Did you have a bad experience with them?

I had a bad experience with them. They elected to consolidate a bunch of private charters on a small ferry and moved are pickup time back one hour. This was an issue for our flights. At the new pickup time they were late. The ferry had no AC and could not find space at customs in Cruz bay. We sat for another hour getting cooked. We got to the airport 45 minutes before our flight and missed the scheduled one. Owner felt 45 minutes was more than adequate and says the change to a ferry was because of a bad weather forecast. The forecast was excellent that day and all the other private ferries were running hence the delay at Cruz. I expected a price reduction to a normal ferry price. They refused. The owners attitude was they did us a favor by getting a ferry.

I had a bad experience with Dolphin as well. We were departing from Scrub and they took us to West End and put us in a cab to Trellis Bay and put us in the free Scrub ferry. They were supposed to take us to Scrub...not put us in a cab across all of Tortola. They did the same thing to us on the return trip. They claimed bad weather and wouldn't provide any price discount or rebate. The seas looked very reasonable. The owner claimed it was a lot worse near Scrub. Really poor service. Alternatively, I had a great experience with Chillout Charters. I highly recommend them.

I haven't had any bad experiences with Dolphin, but thanks to MIDiver I got started using IslandTime and Julien (his email is info@islandtimeltd.com) has taken great care of my group each and every time!

In fact, we're using them again next week!

Don't think you can go wrong with Island Time for a water taxi!

Keep Smiling!!!

I second the recommendation of Chillout Charters. Great experience with them during Covid period for roundtrip Red Hook to TMM.

I had a similar experience to George. They also downright cancelled on us during Covid (they were making runs). Left us scrambling. After that it has been Island Time every time (as owners we are there A LOT - but unfortunately miss TWT this trip - boo!!!)

A friend of ours on VG deals with high end villa clients and she has told me some real horror stories about Dolphin. In one instance "Dolphin Greg" actually made threats to withhold service if any guest submitted a negative review online.
We have used all of them and have been the happiest with Chillout. We had a negative experience with Island Time substituting a really crappy boat for a crossing in swells we never should have crossed in. We were never told in advance nor compensated and I was actually sick on arrival. I know they consistently get great reviews but that just left a bad taste in my mouth. I would use them again in a pinch but will always choose Chillout first.
Chillouts Midnight Express boats are incredibly comfortable and fast.

That is disappointing news about Island Time, Skip. I don’t think they are using that boat any longer. We use them every time (we are fortunate to be there often) and have never encountered an issue. I have had communication issues with Chillout so they are no longer on my list. Interesting how we can all have such varied experiences but such is life in the islands.

Yup- just the nature of travel.
The takeaway is definitely that the consensus is to avoid Dolphin!