Advantages of skipping the cruise excursion
by Dabs
Since we are no longer novice cruisers, we book all of our excursions independent of the ship. The benefits differ from port to port but in the case I found the benefits to be:
a) Lower cost, I don't remember the exact cost of the ship's excursion but it was more than Tortola Charters which was $55, we did the trip for $41 ($38 for Speedy's, $3 admission)
b) time of excursion, 4 hours if you did the Princess tour, we left at 9am and returned at 3:15 giving us an extra 2 1/4 hours at the Baths and we could have stayed even later
c) crowds, we heard reports of having to wait to walk between Spring and Devil's Bay, we encountered only a couple of people
d) the ship tour was identical to our tour but more expensive, they had transportation by Speedy's just like we did although Princess did have a boat dedicated to them
Packing for the Baths
by Dabs
Water shoes were very useful for the walk between Spring and Devil's Bay
If you have swim shorts with waterproof pockets or one of those money things you can hang around your neck, you might find it useful as there are no lockers at Devil's Bay although you could lock it up at Spring Bay and head back there before leaving.
Bathing suit Sunscreen, there is a little shade but you'll spend most of your time in the sun Snorkel gear isn't rented there, I didn't even use mine, I don't think it's necessary to lug along Towel
Water
Snacks
Climb Mount Sage
by Mike247worldwide
The tallest point in the Virgin Islands. You can't see much from there because of the foliage. But, I left a "deposit" to mark the occasion. In 20 years I'll return to find a huge tree benefitting from the fertilizer.
Long Bay
by agapotravel
Long Bay Beach is a mile long white sand beach that is stunningly beautiful. We saw this beach the most often because that is where we stayed. It is a bit rocky when you first enter the water, but once you get out into the water a bit, it is sandy. The locals say that the water is pretty rough in the winter, but it was fine for swimming in July. No fish here, though.
The Baths-Devil's Bay
by Dabs
After walking through the rocks, you end up at Devil's Bay, the water here is calmer than Spring Bay and perfect for floating around. There are no amenities here, no snack bar, no lockers, no toilets. I didn't snorkel here but my husband did, he said that he saw some fish but he was really far from shore and said there was nothing unusual. Unless you are a really strong swimmer, you might not want to bother lugging snorkel gear with you.
The walk back to the parking lot doesn't require you to go back through the rocks that you navigated coming from Spring Bay, there is another trail which is longer than the trail going down to Spring Bay from the parking lot, I think it took us 15-20 minutes so give yourself plenty of time.
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Tortola
Devil's Bay
Is that a giant tortoise?
Spring Bay, the baths at Virgin Gorda
