Today is our 1st full day in the Virgin Islands and we are taking an excursion to the Baths. It’s just the 2 of us and we’re heading to Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands. See why the Baths is the BVI tourist attraction you have to see.
Planning
When planning our 10th anniversary trip in the Virgin Islands, we knew we wanted to explore multiple islands. Though we’re staying on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, we’re interested in seeing the British Virgin Islands (BVI). And when looking at excursions to the BVI, we were instantly intrigued by The Baths in Virgin Gorda. The beautiful pictures of people wading through caves looked amazing. And going to a national park outside the U.S. is right up our alley. For more information on the Baths, check out: The Baths National Park, Virgin Gorda (bvinpt.org).
There are multiple excursions from St. Thomas to the Baths. But we booked the all day trip to the Baths and back through Cruz Bay Watersports | Cruises & Excursions in the US Virgin Islands. Not only does it include a trip to the Baths, but includes snorkeling at the Treasure Caves of Norman Island. Hiking through caves and snorkeling in caves for only $219 a person sounds amazing. However, this 8.5 hour tour doesn’t include a $75 customs fee and $25 lunch. Though it does include a continental breakfast on the way out, and an open bar on the way back. Ok, you got me! So I book this one in advance, which we recommend to guarantee a spot. We just have to bring our passports.
Island Time
We arrived in St Thomas yesterday, and set-up a taxi to pick us up from our resort at 7:00AM. It will take us about 20 minutes to get to the Ritz Carlton. And we’re supposed to be there 30 minutes before boarding at 8:00AM. However, we learn “island time” is a real thing. Our taxi shows up about 7:05AM and we’re worried we’ll get there late. But we get to the Ritz right at 7:30AM and rush down to the beach where we’ll get on our boat. Not knowing where to go we pass one of the crew members, Ben. He tells us to take a seat and wait in the Sails Restaurant overlooking the beach. Relax I tell myself, we’re on the islands.
About 10 minutes later they check us-in and gather our passports. They say they’ll return them to us when we return through U.S. Customs in St. John on the way back. Which is good because we don’t have to worry about them on the boat. And 10 minutes before 8:00 they start boarding the boat.
We head down to the beach where a dinghy arrives to shuttle groups out to the boat. We’re told to put our shoes in a basket and we walk into the shallow water to get on the dinghy. Not having to worry about our shoes getting wet, we make it on the boat ironically named “Island Time”. It’ll take us about 1.5 hours to get to Virgin Gorda.
Boat Trip to the Baths
As soon as we get on board, we find some seats in the back. The boat has 2 stories, but we like the bottom and it’s where the food is. The continental breakfast spread is in the middle and has a varied selection of baked goods and fruit. We grab some food as other passengers are still arriving by dinghy. And about 8:15PM we depart St. Thomas.
It’s a beautiful day in the 80’s with very little chance of rain. And we sit back as Captain Dave speeds up the boat out of St. Thomas. Shortly after leaving Ryan, the other crew member, hands us a menu for lunch. We get to choose one entree and one side and drink. And they will preorder it so it’s ready after we visit the Baths. I ask what futomaki is, and Ryan tells me it’s a sushi roll which sounds interesting. So I order that with a side of onion rings and a Diet Coke. Becky orders the cheeseburger with pasta salad and a Diet Coke also.
With our order in, we continue cruising from the U.S. Virgin Islands to the British Virgin Islands. Ben and Ryan, the 2 crewmates, stop by multiple times to check on us or just to chat. They are super helpful and assist us pointing out the different islands. We first pass St. John, another U.S. Virgin Island we plan to visit tomorrow. And on our left we start to see the 1st British island, the uninhabited Great Thatch Island. But the next island is the largest, Tortola. And it feels like an hour passing Tortola, before we can see Virgin Gorda.
Arriving in Spanish Town
Once we pass Tortola we can start to see our destination on Virgin Gorda. And once we get closer the water turns from a deep blue to a beautiful turquoise. We continue in to the Spanish Town marina docking just before 10:00AM. It took about an hour and 45 minutes, but the ride was fairly smooth and the scenery was great. But now we are ready to go ashore.
The crew grabs the baskets of shoes and puts them out on the deck. We leave our bags on board with Captain Dave, but take our valuables with us. And once we get off, we quickly find our shoes and walk to the shore. We take the sidewalk to a parking lot where a taxi is already waiting.
However, the taxi is already full by the time we get there. But another driver appears in a normal van and takes the remaining 6 of us. On the way, our driver is very friendly and informative and likes to joke around. We learn there are 5-6 national parks on this island alone. We pass a sign for Spring Bay National Park on the way.
The Baths is on the southern tip of Virgin Gorda. And from the harbor in town, it’s less than a 10 minute ride. The road ends at a parking lot where we depart. We see a sign for The Greater Baths National Parks where Ryan takes our picture. And we find out there is not 1, but 2 national parks here. We also find out we are the only ones here today, which is good. When cruise ships are in port, this place can be packed so plan accordingly.
Hiking to Devil’s Bay National Park
After finding the restrooms, we meet up at a gazebo to wait for the crew to get us in. Normally it is $3 per person, but it’s included with the tour. And the crew from the boat are also our tour guides to the Baths. We find out we’re taking a loop down to Devil’s Bay, through the Baths back to the restaurant here. So we start down just before 10:30AM, and we’re told lunch will be at the restaurant at 11:30AM. So, we have about an hour to explore. Ben leads the group while Ryan hangs in the back with us.
On the way down the guys point out different varieties of cactus. The trail starts off mostly sandy as we pass some large boulders. I have water shoes on and Becky has some sandals that can get wet. We’re expecting to go through water, but the first part of this trail becomes rocky in places. Not to mention there’s not much shade and we’re getting hot. But we stop at a viewpoint to see Devil’s Bay in the distance. Afterwards we pass a turn off for Stoney Bay, but continue until we see a sign for Devil’s Bay.
At this point, we can turn left to go to Devil’s Bay and we’ll come back here to go to the Baths. But first we get Ben to take our picture. Afterwards we take the short walk to the beach taking us about 20 minutes to get here from the top.
Devil’s Bay
Our guides tell us we have time to stop for a swim at Devil’s Bay. And by the time we get here, we are ready to jump in. The sandy beach itself is in a protected bay surrounded by more boulders and rocks. The Baths is short for batholiths or giant granite boulders and they are surrounding this beach as well. So, we put our stuff on one of them and jump into the refreshing turquoise water.
The water feels great though I’m glad I applied more sunscreen on the boat. They had plenty of reef-safe sunscreen for us to use which is required in the waters here. After cooling off, I swim to an area where water is reaching the shore in between 2 boulders. I saw it from the shore, but decide to swim around to the other side.
There are other boulders on the other side people are checking out. But after almost 15 minutes, we get out and grab out stuff. After getting our shoes on we head back to the sign, but this time continue straight to the Baths. Now the fun part is about to start.
Through the Cave and the Baths
Between Devil’s Bay and the beach at the Baths is a trail that takes you through boulders. Also known as “the Cave”, these batholiths are as large as 40 foot in diameter. And the trail leads us through them.
We’ve entered when we see people wading in the water between a few boulders. And when the boulders touch, they create windows to the sea beyond.
We continue wading to another pool full of minnows. And here our guide Ryan points out a rock that looks like a whale. But just past it is our 1st obstacle. There’s a ladder with a rope that guides us through 2 large boulders. I have to bend over as I walk through the short tunnel.
On the other side we walk back down through more boulders but this time through white sand. As we continue through we see more windows to the sea while squeezing between more large rocks. There are more ropes before we take steps down to more water. Becky’s at a spot where the Sun is shining through and the water’s almost up to her knees.
We continue up some stairs and past a huge hole named Lion’s Den in the top of a massive boulder. And then we see another rope that guides is through some rocks and then down. It takes us to the water’s edge where we see the familiar spot we see in so many pictures.
The trail continues through more of the cave until we make it out the other side. It takes us about 15 minutes to get through this part, but there’s still more.
Hiking Back from the Baths
After we get out of the cave of boulders, the area opens up though we see more large rocks. And walking under a large one, we see another window to more rocks and the sea beyond.
And just past this area is another area where you can walk into the water from the beach between more boulders. One boulder here I name Ape Rock since it looks like a large ape. It probably has a name, but that’s what we call it.
Just past Ape rock we see a sign for The Baths Beach with warnings for swimmers. Another swim sounds nice, but it’s lunch time, so we need to hike back to the top and the restaurant. On the way see a sign that just says The Baths National Park so we stop for a picture. Even though you can start the loop this way, we heard it’s a 1-way loop due to crowds. That’s why it’s near the end of our loop.
The sign is in front of some large boulders of course. And as we start the hike back up, we see another large boulder that looks like a large skull. But we don’t stop and head back past other large rocks to the end. The loop took us about an hour and 10 minutes, and we would’ve stayed longer, but now it is lunch time.
Top of the Baths Restaurant Lunch
The hike is not overly strenuous, but it was hot and we didn’t have any water with us. So by the time we get to the restaurant we are thirsty. The restaurant is completely open where we find our pre-assigned table in the covered section. But before they bring our diet cokes, I ask if we can get some bottled water as well.
Before our food comes, I walk out to the edge past their freshwater pool. It looks inviting, but the view of the deep blue water and mountainous islands in the distance is better. If we didn’t have pre-assigned tables, I might have chosen a table under an umbrella by the railing.
But by the time I get back our food has come. Becky says her cheeseburger is just a cheeseburger, which I take means it’s not great. My futomaki sushi roll is basically a shrimp tempura roll with some crab in it. It’s not bad, though onion rings probably wasn’t the best choice with it. But we didn’t have a lot of options on our pre-order menu. But we’re both hungry and eat all of our food. I’d imagine lunch here would be better if the food wasn’t prepared in advance. Though it did the trick.
We’re only at the restaurant about 35 minutes before we walk back to the parking lot where our taxi awaits. And once everyone is aboard we head back to Island Time. We all put our shoes back in the baskets and board the boat around 12:30PM. And after about 2.5 hours on Virgin Gorda, we depart for another BVI island called Norman Island.
Norman Island Cave Snorkeling
Norman Island is believed to be the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. And there was pirate booty buried on the island in 1750. Though it was found not long after, there are rumors of more treasure still on the island. But, we’re just excited to snorkel in the caves.
It takes us about an hour to get here from Virgin Gorda, and we can clearly see the caves from the boat. And the crew already handed everyone their snorkel gear on the way, so we are ready to jump in.
There are 3 caves here, and we decide to swim to the farthest one first. We are able to snorkel right into the cave and there’s plenty of space to swim around. We also see plenty of little fish.
The next cave is not very deep and gets shallow fast. There’s some fish but also a lot of Sargassum seaweed we snorkel through. This floating algae seems to be everywhere, but it also make a great cover for fish to hang under.
When I swim into the last cave, I see large schools of small fish before it becomes dark. I can’t see anything underwater. And when I pop my head up, the only light I see is back at the cave entrance.
When we head back to the boat we notice there are a ton of fish underneath it. I spot a nurse shark on the bottom and follow it as it scurries along before it swims away. And we’re back on the boat after just over an hour in the water.
Return Trip
On the return trip, the bar is open. Not only they do have a selection of beers, but Ben is also the bartender. The crew have really been working hard on the boat, as our guides and now at the bar. I get a Virgin Islands – Island Summer Ale from St. John Brewers. I like to try the local breweries and it’s a clean refreshing choice. And for Becky, Ben mixes up a painkiller invented here in the BVI. This goes on a few times on our way back, but we have one more stop.
Our last stop is at the Customs building in St. John. From Norman Island, it’s not even an hour to Cruz Bay where we dock in front of the building. The crew returned everyone’s passports on the way, and when we arrive they lay out our shoes on the dock. And then we disembark, grab our shoes and line up to enter the building. Once in the building we go to a window where a customs agent asks us a few questions and lets us through. It takes less than 10 minutes before we’re back on the boat and shoeless again.
On the way across to St. Thomas, we make sure to tip the crew good. And we’re back to the Ritz Carlton by 4:00PM before the dinghies take us back to the shore. We get our shoes and head to the restrooms to change out of our wet clothes for dinner. We heard about a restaurant highly recommended next door and decide to walk over.
Dinner at Caribbean Fish Market
The Caribbean Fish Market restaurant is at the Elysian Beach Resort. From the Ritz Carlton to the restaurant takes us about 8 minutes, but we’re early. They’re not open until 5:00PM, but we find a pool bar nearby. After a drink, the restaurant’s open and we head back in and are seated right away.
Our table is by the entrance outside overlooking Elysian Beach. And after drinks at the pool bar, we order some waters. But we’re hungry and decide to get two appetizers, their ahi tuna nachos and eggplant frites. They are large portions that we share. The nachos are very good, but they have seaweed salad on them that I wipe off for Becky. The eggplant frites drizzled in honey are also good, but I don’t care for the skin left on them. But after 2 big appetizers, we decide to share an entree.
And this is where we go big. We decide to get their Caribbean Stuffed Lobster at market price. Which means expensive. But it only comes with 1.5 pounds. So, we decide to add another half a pound to have a pound each.
With the price of the lobster we’re underwhelmed and the sides are just ok. Though Becky got most of the 1.5 pound lobster and I got the smaller one. But by the time we finish we’re full and the Sun has set on a wonderful day. After we pay, our server asks if we need a ride and orders us a taxi. And walking from the restaurant, we are greeted by a man in a Jaguars shirt. DUVAL!!! We find out Eric is from Jacksonville and becomes our driver the rest of the week.
Summary of the Baths & More
Our 1st full day in the Virgin Islands was amazing. Departing St. Thomas we cruised from the U.S Virgin Islands to the British arriving on Virgin Gorda. Here we disembarked for the Baths and were pleasantly surprised to see 2 national parks in 1. The hike to and from the top was hot and rocky at times. But it made swimming in Devil’s Bay all the better. The hike, wade, climb and more through the Cave at the Baths was better than we imagined. It was both breathtakingly beautiful and fun to go through this natural obstacle course. And the Top of the Baths restaurant is a nice place to stop with amazing views.
As if the Baths weren’t amazing enough, snorkeling through the caves at Norman Island was fantastic. And the open bar on the way back made the trip even better. Can’t say enough about the crew and this excursion. We did a lot in 8 hours. And finishing dinner at sunset at Caribbean Fish Market was nice. But, there are so many other restaurants on the island to try. But if we didn’t go here we never would have met Eric, who will pick us up tomorrow morning. We’re planning to take the ferry to St. John to explore the Virgin Islands National Park.
Make sure to see all of our stories at Our Blog for even more from the Virgin Islands.