Nature’s the star attraction of Tortola. Ancient rainforests hog the limelight. Beautiful botanical gardens vie for your attention. And opal-white beaches like Apple Bay and Smuggler’s Cove really steal the show. It’s wild. It’s wondrous. It’s waiting.
Head for Road Town’s pretty Main Street. Here, you’ll find a medley of shops, museums and historical buildings. And you won’t be able to resist snapping away at the brightly-painted bungalows either.
Soak up the beauty of Sage Mountain National Park. The British Virgin Island’s highest point, it’s an oasis of tropical vines, trees and plants. You can even saddle up and explore by horseback.
Pay a visit to the Prospect Reef Resort, where you’ll get into the water and splash around with the dolphins that call this place home. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Leave Tortola behind and make tracks for another of the British Virgin Islands – Virgin Gorda. Among the must-sees here are the Baths, a cluster of sea pools where you can swim or snorkel through the tunnels, caves and arches.
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The Silver Whisper was scheduled to tender into Road Town, but since we were the only ship in port, we docked instead. Tortola is very much like St. Thomas but more affluent and less crowded. One of the nicest local beaches is Cane Garden Bay, which resembles Magen's Bay on St. Thomas but has no fee and is less private. Just east of Cane Garden Bay is Brewers Bay, which is said to provide good snorkeling. Taxis wait at the pier and will take you north over the spine of the island to the beaches, with fantastic views in all directions along the way, for about US $6 pp each way.
Alternately, an open taxi (jitney style with sun protection) waits at the pier and offers a 3 hour round island tour, again with fantastic views of neighboring islands and photo stops along the way, plus an hour swim at Cane Garden Bay, all for US $20 pp. The driver's name on this visit was Larry, and I think he meets each cruise ship. If not, the local tourist board representative or taxi dispatcher who are at the pier should be able to arrange it for you.
As Caribbean islands become more crowded, especially when more than one ship is in port, my wife and I prefer to escape to some of the nearby islands for a beach day in solitude. In this case, one can take the private ferry to nearby Peter Island (still owned by the Amway Corp. I believe) for US $15 round trip. This is a very quiet, very upscale island resort that allows day visitors but requests that they use the far east end of Deadman's Beach. The near end is reserved for resort guests. The far east end of the beach is shared with the yachters whose boats are anchored offshore. A restaurant is available in the middle of the beach, and we were told it takes credit cards.
A taxi will take you from the cruise pier to the Peter Island ferry pier (caution, there are several ferry piers) for US $4 pp each way. Notify the ferry captain on your return that you need a taxi, and he should be able to radio ahead. As I write this, outbound ferries leave Road Town at 0830, 1000, 1200, 1400, 1530. Return ferries leave Peter Island at 0900, 1130, 1330, 1430, 1630, 1800 and 1930. Verify the schedules with the tourist office representative (or on the net) to make certain you do not miss your boat! Other ferry services run to neighboring islands, but these are farther away and less practical for a day escape. |
