What to do in the Virgin Islands

Written by Katie Zachary

January 6, 2024

When you’re booking vacations, there’s always a lot of questions that come up about lodging, restaurants, excursions etc. and we get a lot of these questions, so in addition to our FAQ Page, here are the top five questions we get asked about our Saint John Private Charters.

What should we do on our Private Charter?

This is a hard one, but by far the most common one. We try to keep itineraries loose, so no one feels like they are stuck with any decisions and as we tell everyone, everything is wind and sea condition dependent and can always be changed. There are so many options, and one person’s idea of a great itinerary isn’t the next person’s. We can always give recommendations ahead of time, but ultimately the morning of your charter the first question you are going to get from us is, “So what’s the plan for the day?” This gives us the opportunity to feel out the group, gauge the wind and sea conditions, and then make some recommendations. We usually get as far as the first stop of the day and which customs house we’re clearing into and then the rest of the day kind of works itself out.

So it’s a very vague answer, but remember you’re never stuck with one itinerary just because it’s listed on the website. We can mix and match just about any of the stops, it just becomes a matter of timing and where to go first.

Should We Bring the Kids?

Absolutely! Day charters are great with the kids, and kids do great on a boat, there’s tons for them to do all day including water activities, beach time, and if your kids are great in the water and like to swim and snorkel it’s a breeze. They all love jumping off the boat, seeing all the fish, eating lunch right on a beach and there’s so much to see throughout the day to keep them entertained. Plus kids of all ages love napping in our bean bag chairs, and the engines put the little ones right to sleep.

What about The Baths? Is it worth it?

This is a two part answer. One: The baths are always wind and sea condition dependent and we never confirm a baths trip in advance because of how quickly our sea conditions can change. It’s an hour boat ride up to the baths and in rough seas, that is not fun for anyone. So if the wind and sea conditions are cooperating, The baths can be a great destination for adults and kids alike. Another caveat with The Baths is that with the cruise ships in port on Tortola, they can be VERY crowded and it takes some time from your day because of the distance from St. John.

Now that all being said, The Baths are really beautiful and a great spot to see if you’ve never been there before. They are part of the BVI National Park system and have been maintained as such. From our boat, you swim into the beach and explore the unusual rock formation for about an hour or two before swimming back out to the boat and then heading to your next destination!

What should we bring with us?

CatZilla has water, ice, local rum drink the painkiller, Tervis Tumblers, adult snorkeling gear, and pool noodles onboard so we always recommend you bring snacks and anything you’d like to drink, as well as sunscreen (No Aerosol Please,) towels, passports, cash and credit cards for the day and if you have snorkeling gear of your own, feel free to bring that along too. We also have a bluetooth hookup onboard so if you want to play your own music, bring a device with music on it and you can DJ all day if you’d like.

Silver Coral has a top shelf bar and breakfast/afternoon snacks so no need to bring those items but you’ll want towels, passports, cash and credit cards for the day and the same goes for snorkeling gear; bring it if you have some you like.

How Can we Book?

Our availability is actually accurate up to the minute on our website, all you have to do is click on the Book Now Button, select any of the charter options, and then the full calendar will pop up. Feel free to also shoot us an email or call us at 340.998.7604 and we can give you the 100% answer on availability.