Virgin Gorda Highlights (Virgin Gorda Baths)

Ship’s Excursion out of Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Ship: Norwegian Spirit (NCL)

Sailing Date: July 22, 2006

Date of Snorkel: July 26, 2006

Equipment Availability: we have our own which we take with us, but snorkeling equipment is available for rental at this site, and those lucky enough to be on the Sail and Snorkel trip off the ship got equipment from the ship.  Equipment available on site was meager and did not appear to be particularly clean or well maintained.  They have no vests for rental. 

Water Access: Beach (NOTE: you will be much better off to book the Sail and Snorkel Trip on the Ship, which provides you with Catamaran/Boat access to this site).

Other references: Review of cruise by Peg at www.cruise-reviews.com Click under Norwegian Spirit.

We originally book the Normal Island Sail and Snorkel (see our review), but the tour boat operator had his boat in for maintenance while we were on this cruise.  Consequently, when we explained that we wanted to snorkel out of Tortola, the “Highlights” trip was the only trip available—the Sail and Swim was already sold out.

We gathered with approximately 100-150 other passengers in the ship’s show lounge early in the morning.  We were all then transferred to a large high speed ferry boat for the ride to Virgin Gorda (approximately 45 minutes). We had to stand on the ferry for both the ride to Virgin Gorda and back; no smoking allowed, but the ride was relatively smooth thanks to the ferry’s speed. Once in Spanish Town (the capitol of Virgin Gorda), 40 people walked to the boat for their catamaran ride to the site, while the rest of us were loaded on to safari buses for the drive to the top of the Baths (approximately 15 minutes).  Once at the top of the baths, the guides screamed directions at us, and then left.  We descended down an uneven path, 350 feet down to the beach.  BE WARNED: in our opinion, this path is narrow in many spots, steep in spots and VERY slippery with sand covered rocks. It only takes about 15 minutes to get down (20 to get back up) but we were unprepared for the exertion that this trip required, especially carrying our snorkeling bag.

Once on the beach, there is an alternative path to walk and swim through the caves to another beach.  We stayed put.  Snorkeling access off the beach was easy, and we got into the water quickly before other swimmers stirred up the sand and obscured visibility.  Visibility was excellent and there were a number of shallow areas for good photography.  Maine life was good in terms of both quantity and variety.  Barracuda, Smooth Trunk Fish, Parrot Fish of various varieties, Wrasse, French Grunts and Damselfish predominate.  

A good snorkeling site, but we would most likely have given it a B or B+ had we done it by boat, instead of the way we did.

Snorkeling Grade: C+