Tortola: your gateway to The Baths, Jost Van Dyke and the BVI.
Tortola is the main island of the British Virgin Islands and the only cruise stop that puts the whole BVI within reach for a day: ships dock at the Cyril B. Romney Tortola Pier Park in Road Town, 10 minutes on foot from Main Street and a short walk from the ferry dock. Most cruisers ferry over to the giant granite boulders of The Baths on Virgin Gorda, sail to Norman Island and the Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost Van Dyke, or just taxi 20 minutes over the ridge to Cane Garden Bay. SmartCruiser lists every cruise that calls at Tortola from every line, priced with taxes, fees and port expenses included, with the sailings that carry SmartCruiser bonus onboard credit or instant savings at the top.
Three ways to do Tortola
The Baths, a boat day, or a beach over the hill; the buttons filter the list of sailings below.
The Baths on Virgin Gorda
- House-sized granite boulders form sea caves and grottoes you wade and scramble through to Devil’s Bay beach; one of the Caribbean’s great natural sights
- Ship tours take the ferry and a bus from the pier, about 4.5 hours, about $110 per adult with the $3 park fee included
- On your own: Speedy’s ferry from the Road Town terminal (a 12 minute walk), about 30 to 40 minutes to Spanish Town, then a shared taxi to the park
Best for: first-timers, photographers, anyone who can handle a rocky 10 minute trail
Norman Island and the Soggy Dollar
- Catamaran across the Sir Francis Drake Channel to snorkel the sea caves of Norman Island, the inspiration for Treasure Island
- Then White Bay on Jost Van Dyke and the Soggy Dollar Bar, birthplace of the Painkiller cocktail
- About 5 hours from the pier, snorkel gear included, lunch on your own; ship-sold at about $120 to $160
Best for: snorkelers, couples, sailors at heart
Cane Garden Bay
- A mile of calm, palm-lined sand on the north shore, 20 minutes over the ridge from the pier with the island’s best view on the way
- Open-air safari taxis about $10 to $16 a person each way; chairs about $10 and a row of beach bars for lunch
- Brewers Bay next door is quieter with better snorkeling, and the Callwood rum distillery is a $5 stop on the way back
Best for: families, short port days, repeat visitors
Tortola cruises: SmartCruiser picks first
Every cruise that calls at Tortola from every line, priced live with taxes, fees and port expenses included. The picks at the top are sailings where booking with SmartCruiser gets you something extra: instant savings or bonus onboard credit. Below them, every other sailing that stops here, with full sorting by home port, line, month, length and price.
SmartCruiser picks
Sorted by what you save, biggest firstEvery cruise that calls at Tortola
Stack any filters, then pick a sortPrices are per person, double occupancy, in US dollars, and include cruise fare, taxes, fees and port expenses as published by the cruise line at the moment you load this page. Fares are capacity controlled and change daily; the fare is confirmed when you book. Flights, hotels and transfers are extra unless the line’s offer says otherwise. SmartCruiser instant savings and bonus onboard credit are provided by SmartCruiser on top of the cruise line’s price and are not available when booking direct; amounts are per stateroom, vary by stateroom category and are shown for the lowest category offered. Special SmartCruiser rates are pricing SmartCruiser holds on that sailing for its clients, with extra onboard credit; you book your own stateroom and travel on your own. Senior fares apply to guests 55 and over; resident fares need proof of residency in a listed state or province at check-in; police and fire fares apply to active or retired police, fire and EMT personnel with ID. Qualifier-fare savings are measured against the best fare the cruise line offers the general public for the same stateroom category on the day the list was pulled, updated weekly.
Home ports that sail to Tortola
Pick a home port and the list above narrows to cruises leaving from there.
Things to do in Tortola
The best of the BVI is on other islands, so the day is about boats and ferries; the beaches over the hill are the easy fallback.
Which lines call at Tortola?
Road Town is the BVI stop on Eastern Caribbean itineraries from Florida, San Juan and the Northeast; the two-berth pier takes ships up to 180,000 tons.
When to go
The trade winds keep Tortola in the low to mid 80s all year; December to April is dry and busy, summer is hotter with brief showers, and hurricane season runs June to November with September the riskiest month.
Tortola questions we answer every day
Where do cruise ships dock in Tortola and how far is town?
Ships dock at the Cyril B. Romney Tortola Pier Park in Road Town, a 1,300 foot pier with two berths for ships up to 180,000 tons, opening onto a shopping village with 70 stores and free Wi-Fi. Main Street and the waterfront are a flat 10 to 15 minute walk, and the town runs a free shuttle on weekdays. When a third ship is in port it anchors in the harbor and tenders to the Road Town jetty, and the occasional small ship tenders at Soper’s Hole on the west end instead.
How do I get around and what do taxis cost?
Open-air safari taxis and vans wait at the pier park and charge government-posted rates per person, not per car: about $10 to $16 each way to Cane Garden Bay, Brewers Bay or Sage Mountain and a bit more to the west end. Confirm the per-person price and your pickup time before you climb in; drivers take US dollars in cash. Speedy’s ferry terminal for Virgin Gorda is a 12 minute walk or $4 taxi from the pier, and there is no Uber.
What currency, language and time zone?
The British Virgin Islands use the US dollar as their official currency, so there is nothing to exchange, and English is the language. The BVI stay on Atlantic Standard Time all year, which matches US Eastern Daylight Time in summer and is an hour ahead of the East Coast in winter. Most US phones roam here but it is a foreign network, so check your plan or use the free Wi-Fi at the pier park.
Is Tortola safe for cruise passengers?
The British Virgin Islands are quiet and the U.S. State Department rates them at its lowest advisory level. Use the licensed taxis at the pier, keep valuables on the ship, wear water shoes on the rocky trail at The Baths, and build in a 90 minute cushion if you ferry to another island, because a missed boat means a missed ship.
What is the best excursion, and should I book it through the ship?
The Baths are the reason to come, and because they involve a ferry and a second island we recommend booking them through the ship, which guarantees the ship waits if the boat runs late. The same goes for the Norman Island and Jost Van Dyke catamarans. Cane Garden Bay and Brewers Bay you can do on your own by taxi with no booking.
Do I need a passport for a cruise that stops in Tortola?
Tortola is British territory, so it is a foreign port. On a round-trip cruise from a US port, including San Juan, US citizens can usually sail under the closed-loop rule with a government photo ID plus an original or certified birth certificate, but some lines require a passport for BVI calls and the BVI require one to fly in or out. We recommend a passport for every sailing that stops here; check your cruise line’s travel-document page before you go.
Are taxes and fees included in the prices here?
Yes. Every price on SmartCruiser includes the cruise fare, taxes, fees and port expenses. Flights, hotels, shore excursions, drinks and gratuities are extra.
Talk to a Tortola cruise specialist
Our consultants know which Eastern Caribbean sailings give you a long enough Tortola day for The Baths and which carry SmartCruiser bonus onboard credit, so call to check availability and book. Monday to Thursday 9 to 6, Friday 9 to 5, Saturday 10 to 6 ET.