We just returned yesterday, taking the ferry from from Road Town to CA. Maybe because it was Saturday, everything was crowded and chaotic. We arrived at the ferry dock at 11:15am and were given conflicting information on which ferry to choose - both the direct (which left 30 minutes later) and the one with a stop in West End promised to get us there first. We choose the latter, and rode on the Bomba Charger, which was packed and enclosed. At least the AC worked - sort of. We left RT at 11:35am and did not get off the boat at CA until 1:00pm. (I don't know why it was so much slower than the ferry we took going over.) Fortunately, our flight was at 4:40pm, so we had some cushion from that perspective. Luckily, we were some of the first off the boat, and found going through US Customs to be straight-forward with no delays. There were plenty of taxis available and we didn't have to wait long for it to fill up with folks and leave.
The airport was jam-packed!! Too many flights leaving about the same time, and too many folks getting there early, as required by AA. We checked in (with one checked bag) at 1:45pm, right at the three hour mark. Some observations and advice from our experience: when you enter the Customs area the line to the left is shorter; TSA Pre-Check saves a lot of time and is worth every penny it costs (That put us ahead of probably 150 folks waiting in a line that snaked back and forth!); the waiting area was ridiculously crowded with nowhere to sit; the small restaurant was full, but the service was quick; and by 3:00 the crowds started to thin out. The whole ferry/airport experience felt like a marathon of endurance!
My suggestions for minimizing the trauma of leaving BVI: don't leave on a Saturday; get TSA Pre-Check approval before you travel if you're flying out of STT (we also have Global Entry, but that was not an option at the airport); allow plenty of time for the ferry and for the airport; fly into/out of Beef Island if possible.
Bottom line: returning to the US from BVI isn't easy or simple, but it's a price we're willing to pay for an amazing vacation in paradise!
