TravelTalkOnline Forums Trip Reports (Read Only) BVI Trip Reports and Photos Trip Report - VG & JVD

My wife and I just got back Monday night from a 12 day trip to VG and STJ, with a daytrip to JVD as well. Since this is a BVI forum, I won't detail the STJ portion here, but will post it to the USVI forum, probably tomorrow.<br><br>Thu May 24 - arrived on STT via US Airways. Took a taxi to the BVI ferry dock. It cost us $17, which seemed kind of steep, but there is a per bag charge on top of the per person fare. Seems like some price gouging. We had a couple of hours before our ferry left and Smiths Ferry let us drop off our bags at their desk so we could walk around downtown CA easier. Was a little leery of that, but it was fine. We were on the 5:00 ferry to VG, which stops at Roadtown first to clear customs. Since it was the last ferry of the day, we did not have to stop at West End also. Got to VG around 7:00 and someone from Mahogany Car Rental met us at the dock with our jeep. Then it was off to Guavaberry Spring Bay. We were in Cedar, which is a one bedroom cottage and had a great view to the west. After dropping our stuff off, we went to dinner at The Rock Cafe.<br><br>Fri May 25 - In the morning we walked down to the beach at Guavaberry and then back up to the road and over to the Baths. Took the path through the boulders to Devils Bay where we spent most of the morning. Had lunch at The Top of the Baths and then in the afternoon we drove over to Leverick Bay. Wow, are there some great views on the way over the mountain! After looking around a bit at Leverick Bay, we went to Savannah Bay for a few hours. When we got back we noticed we had no electricity and no water pressure. We found out that the power had been out all over the BVI since noon, so our dinner choices were limited to those places that had a generator. Before going to dinner, we picked up some things at the commissary at Guavaberry, which I must say is really nice having there. We decided to go to the Bath & Turtle for dinner then and after we got back, we went to bed early, but found out the next morning that the power finally came back on about 11 PM.<br><br>Sat May 26 - Spent the morning on the beach at Guavaberry and explored further north to The Crawl and Spring Bay. Even though our cottage was on the other side of the road, it's not that long of a walk down to the beach - maybe 5 minutes. The one thing I didn't find was a way to walk from the beach at Guavaberry to the beach at the Baths other than going back up to the road. Not sure if I missed a path somewhere or not. We went to Mad Dogs for lunch and then in the afternoon we hiked the trail to the top of Gorda Peak and then went to Savannah Bay again. For dinner we went to The Mine Shaft ,which has an excellent view and makes some great frozen drinks! I highly recommend the Raspberry Shortcake and Jammin' Banana. <br><br>Sun May 27 - In the morning we went to Devils Bay and then just before lunch, we went back to our cottage to pack. For lunch we wanted to go back to The Mine Shaft again. When we got there it was open and the music was playing, but there was no one there. We waited a few minutes and then decided to try The Olde Yard Inn. Unfortunately, the lunch person had to run to the clinic just before we got there. The woman at the desk said that the breakfast cook could make us salads or sandwiches if we wanted. We thanked her, but decided to go to the Bath and Turtle instead. After lunch we went to look around at Little Dix Bay and then went back to check out at Guavaberry. We were able to leave our jeep at the ferry dock and then boarded the afternoon Smiths ferry that went to St. John. It was nice because it went straight to Cruz Bay without a stop on Tortola first.<br><br>While we were on St. John, we took a daytrip to JVD aboard the Blast with Cruz Bay Watersports on Thu May 31. It was a fun trip with stops at Foxys, Sandy Spit and White Bay. Unfortunately, Foxy was not at the bar in the morning when we were there, but we enjoyed walking through Great Harbour and meeting some of the friendly people. When we were swimming from the boat in to Sandy Spit, somehow my disposable underwater camera came out of my pocket and by the time I realized it, it had floated away to who knows where. I'm sure someone will find it washed up on a beach somewhere! After lunch on the boat, it was off to White Bay, which has the clearest, prettiest water I have ever seen!! I did my duty to uphold tradition and had a painkiller at the Soggy Dollar Bar Pretty strong drink! We were at White Bay about two hours and then back on the boat for the trip back to St. John.<br><br>We had a really enjoyable trip to the BVI, but a few things stood out in our minds. Two thumbs up go to the following: <br><br> Beaches: White Bay JVD - a must-see for any BVI trip; Devils Bay VG - very scenic with some good snorkeling, best to go early in the morning or late in the afternoon to avoid daytrippers; Savannah Bay VG - long, pretty beach, shallow water, good snorkeling, no shade whatsoever though<br><br> Restaurants: our favorite was The Mine Shaft. The Rock Cafe also has good food and a nice setting.<br><br> Other items: Wendell's World, a small shop/bar at White Bay where we bought souvenirs and some rum punch; the drive over to Leverick Bay on VG for some fantastic views; Tina at Guavaberry Spring Bay was just great to deal with - very friendly and helpful, as was Mahogany Car Rentals.<br><br>If anyone has any specific questions, I will be happy to answer them. Just reply to this post or send me a personal message. Also, a big thanks to the many people on this forum that I was able to get information from prior to going on this trip. Can't wait to go back already!! <br><br>