TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Flying home from Tortola via STT

There is a Cape Air flight from EIS to STT at 11:28 am coming into STT at 11:50. Our Delta flight is scheduled at 1:25 pm. Is the connecting time of 1:35 hours feasible, given customs clearing with luggage at STT?
Alternative would be RT Fast Ferry leaving Tortola at 10 am.

Fast ferry..even that might be tight..

Agree wiht Manpot...and make sure you find and tip a porter at STT to get you through the line quicker

Also depends on day as weekends at STT are a mess

You can’t take an earlier ferry? While private air customs typically don’t take that long (unless there are multiple flights arriving) the walk to check in and C&I and security will likely be an issue. We took this flight and the entire processing plane to gate took 2 hours. On a Friday. As Manpot said the 10am ferry is even tight. We just take a water taxi now.

Thank you all for your insight!
Our problem is that we come in to Roadtown from Virgin Gorda with the 8 am ferry from Speedy’s. My guess is that it will arrive around 9 am. I figured the whole trip to work like this:
8:00 - 9:00 VG to Roadtown (Speedy’s)
10:00 - 11:00 Roadtown to CA (RT Fast Ferry)
11:00 - 12:00 Immigration in CA
12:00 - 12:15 Taxi to STT
Assuming a 90 min Check-in cut-off limit @ STT (12:05) we are obviously missing 10 min…
It will be a Thursday(16MAR23). Do we really have to assume Immigration to take a full 60 min?

I'd be more of the mind that the 8 AM Speedy's VG to Roadtown isn't an hour, but that doesn't give you any time gain if there isn't an earlier ferry. Also could get hung out to dry with that 10 AM RT to CA, if it's late, you are sunk anyway. Assume a full ferry, because to do otherwise is always going to bite you back.

I guess, I'd be inclined to go with the Cape Air at 11:30 ( unless you can charter earlier ??). But then the $$ gets into air vs water taxi.

Does the Speedy's ferry from VG stop first at Trellis Bay ? Is there an earlier flight EIS to STT ?

You could see if anyone has a scheduled run from Scrub to St Thomas - Dolphin used to. You could then taxi to Trellis to join the shuttle. I hate to recommend them but it might help in this case. Unless they cancel…..

Hello Breeze,

<<< Does the Speedy's ferry from VG stop first at Trellis Bay ? Is there an earlier flight EIS to STT ?

Air Sunshine is still listed at10:30 EIS to STT, but they have suspended operations.
Speedy's seem to have different boats for Beef Island and RT, as they leave an different times (BI 8:30, RT 8:00)

Going on Cape Air seems like the least risky option, immigration coming from the ferry at RT was a daunting experience...

Why not make it less stressful/expensive and do this?....
Take the 7:30 AM Sensation ferry from VG to RT
Hop the 8:30 AM Aquatic rentals RT-STT??
You will clear in STJ and make it into St Thomas with plenty of time to make your flight and probably even grab breakfast.

We come from VG into STT on our trips (our flight is at 2:30) and we have never had a problem and always have time for a hearty breakfast in town rather than the horrible airport choices. Other benefit to the earlier ferry is that they are usually less crowded and therefore you can get through customs much faster. Our last trip we blew through in 15 minutes.

I would probably go the water taxi route. Take the water taxi from VG to STT. We recommend Chill Out Charters.

Thanks skippdastraw,
Your proposal is surpringly simple and makes the reality check:
7:30 - 7:55 VG - RT on Sensation Ferry
8:30 - 10:00 RT - RHK on Aquatic Rentals (assuming modest 30min St John C&I)
10:00 - 10:30 RHK - STT

90 min buffer for Delta check-in !
Although, $370 for 2 PAX total (Cape Air would be only 80% more and water taxi probably 4-figure)
Knowing your ferries in the BVI is key and you are a master.

Double check with Sensation. We're taking them Monday and they said we should check in 45 minutes before departure.

45 minutes pre-check in from VG to Tortola? We never get there more than 15 min early for any VG ferry.

Sorry, I misspoke - Aquatic Rentals from Road Town. Maybe because it's international.

Gotcha!
If that is the case, just take the 7AM Speedy's out of VG instead. Hoping you aren't leaving on a Sunday, then everything changes.

If I had been following along over the past while, I'd probably have my answer, but NorthSound Express .. have they died and gone to sea?

NSE boat sold to Grenada.

Hello RatmansWife,
I would love to hear back from you how the check-in procedure works at Aquatic Rentals once you took the ride with them on Monday.

We tried to inquire with them over email and got just a referral to their web site (which is very non-verbose)...

I called their BVI office, who suggested I call the USVI office. The lady there was helpful. They recommended booking on the internet at least the day before, saying that would save time. I'm guessing they need to provide passenger information to the US, and it's easier to collect it in advance.

Update: Aquatic Rentals was fine. We tried to book over the internet, but were unsuccessful, although that was probably our fault. There seems to be a service charge for advance booking that one does not pay at the kiosk.

There is a sign on the kiosk that says to check in at least 45 minutes before departure. There is another sign that says tickets are sold up to 30 minutes before departure. And people were boarding even after scheduled departure. They have to gather passport information from every passenger, which takes time.

Hello RatmanaWife,

Thanks for the heads up.
Just to be sure: you went through C&I in Cruz Bay, St John? How long did that take, before the Ferry continued on to Red Hook?

I assume you took a taxi in Red Hook straight to STT? How much do they charge for the ride? I heard it is 90$ for 2 PAX…

We stayed in St. John, but processing all the passengers and scanning their bags took a while.

There are usually vans at the RH ferry terminal that you can share with others. In January the one I took left a couple of minutes after I boarded, and the ride to STT took about 25 minutes. The fare was $20.

Thanks to all who contributed to this thread.
Last update after we made it home:
7:30 Sensation ferry VG to RT: on time, ca. 30 PAX, 10$pp (senior)
8:30 Aquatic Rentals RT to RHK: pre-booking did not help, had to queue in front of booth, very slow process, you can save the 10$ internet fee, took 30min, AR staff very helpful, captain did not leave dock before last PAX came on board (boat left 8:45 actually), security on 'international' side of ferry terminal is pathetic, hand luggage undergoes a lot of scrutiny
9:30 arrival Cruz Bay/St Thomas: 50 PAX queueing through customs building /w luggage, 3 of 4 booths open, 30min delay, photos and fingerprints being taken
10:20 arrival RHK, 'bus' in front of ferry terminal waits until 8 PAX on board, if you are last off the ferry you have to wait, we finally left /w 6 PAX after offering 30$ pp (nominal fare 23$ pp)
10:45 arrival STT departures, 2:40 h before our Delta flight, other folks in the bus made their Miami flight w/ less the 90min to go
Check-in at Delta took less than 10min (due to our early arrival and only luggage tags are applied)
However, STT airport is a total mess:
* You have to undergo US immigration a 2nd time, having your photo taken a 2nd time, carrying ALL your luggage
* Only 2 security lines were open
* The gate area is VERY crowded, 1 windowless restaurant /w tables, paid almost 50$ for some kind of BF
It was a Thursday, I wonder how it would have been on a WE...

Thanks for your report. Your experience with Aquatic Rentals was the same as ours, except we arrived early. Not sure why anyone would pay the extra Internet fee, or why they charge it.

I have never understood the appeal of STT. They have to do immigration a second time because there are a lot of illegal immigrants who come in by boat, often from the BVI. Last week was very busy due to mid-winter break.

Thanks for the update.

We fly EIS to STT or take a water taxi to avoid the ferry reentry process. Extra cost is worth it - to us.

RW - we have had several cancelled flights out of EIS (scheduled not private) in the past with scrambling to get new flights and missed connections. Perhaps things are better now but I just don’t want to take a risk with Silver or Intercaribbean. Maybe we’ll try the AA flight through Miami if fares from our area fall to a level below highway robbery (right now less expensive to do STT and water taxi for us MI folks) .

We use a porter or our Global Entry cards at STT. Typically cuts the wait considerably.

Thanks for the report and glad you made it home without incident.
When under time restrictions it is always a good idea to pre-arrange a cab for these kinds of things.
For us, the STT airport is the only thing that makes sense from NY. One flight. done. Yes, standing in lines with luggage both in customs and at the airport isn't exactly fun but after 25 years we just accept it. Getting there way ahead of your flight seems to be the key to moving through quickly (and finding seats) Everything we have is on wheels so we don't have to carry things, we eat a big breakfast before getting there, bring our own snacks and books and make the best of it.

Today we're flying Cape Air, which has been reliable for us. We have never flown InterCaribbean. I see they have cancelled their 4 pm flight today. Silver has also worked well for us, although some of our neighbors have had trouble. If your party is large enough, chartering a plane from SJU or STT makes sense.

Ratman has been doing this for over fifty years - before the airstrip was paved. It's now nearly thirty for me, so we've tried most options. Of course with a house, two boats and an old car, we're dragging more stuff than most!