Tortola/Virgin Gorda Baths w/toddler

[Iowastate21]

Hello - We are cruising in May with a 2.5 year old and 5 year old. Any tips for checking out the Baths? Worth it with the little ones or too much walking/hiking? All advice GREATLY appreciated! Do you have other recommendations for the Tortola stop with Toddlers?

 

[kdogfister]

I'm interested in this as well. Will be just dad with 6, 3 and 20 month old cruising in July.

One of the challenges is Tortola is a relatively new port, so haven't gotten a lot of feedback on options for the little ones. Also, it would need to be booked outside Disney as they say 5+ I believe.

 

[darwinsrule]

We had a great time at the Baths last summer (non-Disney). Very cool experience. DD were 11 and 7. The 5 year old could probably handle it. Not sure sure if you would want to do it with a child younger than that. The walk down and up is a lot of steps and rocks. There is also some climbing/ropes/steep ladders in the caves between the beaches I don't think the younger ones could handle. See if I can dig up the pictures.

 

[Iowastate21]

After watching a few videos on YouTube about the Baths we are leaning away from doing this with our 2.5 year old. Love to hear other great beaches/things to do in Tortola!!

 

[c todd]

Cane Garden beach is nice for little kids. There's very little surf and the water is shallow. Similar to CC (although warmer) and there's a bunch of little restaurants/shops on the beach. There are various rentals as well. You would have to take a cab to get there so I don't know how you would feel about that with the little one.

 

[darwinsrule]

This will give you an idea as to some of the challenges. Definitely need to pay attention to where you step. Other thing to mention is that the boat ride over is about 45 min, and another 10 min open air bus ride over the the top of the Baths.

 

[DIS_Ag]

We are doing it I'm May with a 5 and 3 year through Patouche Charters. They drop you off on the beach from the ocean (with a small swim/wade). It might be a long day for the 3 yo, but don't know if we'll ever have the opportunity again.

 

[squirk]

After watching a few videos on YouTube about the Baths we are leaning away from doing this with our 2.5 year old. Love to hear other great beaches/things to do in Tortola!!

I think you are making the right call. Your little one can't navigate inside the boulders all on their own, and the footing in many spots is too precarious to safely carry your child and steady yourself as well. I daresay it would classify as "dangerous".

 

[darwinsrule]

We are doing it I'm May with a 5 and 3 year through Patouche Charters. They drop you off on the beach from the ocean (with a small swim/wade). It might be a long day for the 3 yo, but don't know if we'll ever have the opportunity again.

Not sure about the small swim/wade part but then we did the NCL excursion run by Speedy's (which also run DCL excursions I believe). In the pic below you can see one of the Patouche catamarans offshore. There are bouys up along the beach so they can't really get in much closer I think.

 

[Spart02]

I just posted a review of the Baths excursion that we did through Disney a couple of weeks ago on a similar thread. I really wouldn't recommend it for kids under 8 if you want to spend time in the caves and exploring.

 

[LLB430]

We are planning to take our 7 year old and 3.5 year old next month. Would it be worth going even if we can't climb through the caves, if we just take the path to Devils Bay? I am thinking maybe we can check out the Baths a bit but just take an easier walk to the beach and enjoy the scenery?

 

[Spart02]

I suppose maybe if you do it on your own at your own pace. We did it through Disney and went through the caves as a large group, which wasn't ideal. The 3 1/2 year old would need to be adventurous and pretty tough, in my opinion. Also, really watch your timing. Our tour was late getting back to the Fantasy due to the island running on island time. Kind of scary!

 

[squirk]

We are planning to take our 7 year old and 3.5 year old next month. Would it be worth going even if we can't climb through the caves, if we just take the path to Devils Bay? I am thinking maybe we can check out the Baths a bit but just take an easier walk to the beach and enjoy the scenery?

A one-way trek through the caves is a 10-15 minute experience, so it's not like skipping that throws your whole Baths excursion out the window. Lots of rocks and grottoes to explore outside the cave areas.

I would do it, but the surf can be a bit rough. Like, knock-down-a-grown-man rough. So keep tabs on the kids, especially the little one.

 

[hbg4]

Hello - We are cruising in May with a 2.5 year old and 5 year old. Any tips for checking out the Baths? Worth it with the little ones or too much walking/hiking? All advice GREATLY appreciated! Do you have other recommendations for the Tortola stop with Toddlers?

We did this tour in March on the Fantasy. My opinion is NO.
This tour would not be recommended. There is too much walking and climbing for a toddler or anyone who requires assistance. The sea currents are very strong. So this would be a waste of time for someone who is not active