St. Thomas Travel Forum

Hiya!

I have been checking timetables all day and I can't seem to find an answer to my question. Maybe somebody here can help?

My question: In my planned itinerary we would be arriving on a flight from Newark to St. Thomas (STT) at 14:45. The last ferry to the BVI leaves from Charlotte Amalie at 16:30. There's a later ferry from Red Hook leaving at 17:30. Does any of you know whether it will be possible for us to catch one of these ferries? We won't have a rental car on the USVI, so we have to rely on taxi/busses.

Thanks a million in advance for your help!
Sabs

I don't know the answer to your question - long time since I've been to St. Thomas. From what I remember, the airport isn't that far from the ferry terminals. I'm so happy someone is going to the BVIs. We used to sail there every year, and it's such a beautiful part of the world. Are you staying on Tortola.. cruising around? I'm sure it's changed a lot since my last trip. Enjoy!!

Thanks for your reply. I also think that the ferry terminal isn't too far away from the airport but I would love to know for sure.

We will be staying in a house on Tortola and we'll do day trips to Virgin Gorda, Marina Cay, Peter Islands etc (and hopefully even Anegada) by ferry.

It's my first time in the Caribbean, I can't wait!
Sabs

You picked a great location for the first trip. The BVIs don't usually seem as crowded as other islands. In fact, when we first went to Virgin Gorda in about 1980, it was very, very empty... of everything. Tortola's a small but interesting place, and the food is good. We used to fly in from Puerto Rico, and those old planes they used were quite an experience. Have a great time, Sabsi. You'll get some great photos!

We flew into STT in late November and here is what we experienced:
Time to collect luggage - 30 minutes (ours was last to arrive on the carousel I would guess that average time was less than 20 minutes)
Time to arrange taxi - 5 minutes.
Time from airport to Charolotte Amalie ferry dock - 30 minutes. We arrived on a Wednesday afternoon. This was the busiest day in port for cruise ships. Normally the trip from STT to CA is only 10 minutes.
Our departure trip from Red Hook to STT (again on a wednesday) took about 1 hour. Normally the trip is about 45 minutes.

I expect that you will have no problems catching any of the two ferries.

Enjoy the Virgin Islands. I envy you your stay in BVI. It is a destination that I have wanted to take for a long time. We have only visited during cruise stops and found it a beautiful destination.

Thank you, Tim. I am bit more relaxed now... and I think we will gamble and just book that flight!

One more thing to consider, Island Time. We should've missed our ferry from Charlotte to Cruz Bay, but the last ferry of the day was sitting there 10 minutes after it's scheduled departure time. :) The couple we were traveling with were nervous wrecks, afraid that we were going to miss the ferry, the villa agent and the car rental etc. I have travelled the Caribbean too many times and have learned that somehow everyting takes care of itself when in the islands. And if it doesn't there is always a Painkiller and a gorgeous sunset to be found that will make all better.