---
title: "How to Get to Virgin Gorda from St. Thomas: Thursday Boat"
url: https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/things-to-do/virgin-gorda
description: "The Thursday boat from Red Hook is the one day trip to Virgin Gorda from St. Thomas: 7:30 am out, 3 pm back, $180. Saturday's ferry is a weekend boat."
updated: 2026-10-23
source: https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/things-to-do/virgin-gorda
---

[St. Thomas](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas) · Day trip

# How to get to Virgin Gorda from St. Thomas

The easiest way to get to Virgin Gorda from St. Thomas for the day is the Thursday boat from Red Hook: Spanish Town by mid-morning, back at three. The only other ferry, Speedy's on Saturdays, sails in the afternoon and back the next morning, a weekend boat. Otherwise it is a charter from Red Hook, or Tortola and a night.

Written by Virgin Islands Villas·Updated Oct 2026

*Granite boulders at The Baths on Virgin Gorda, day boats on the park moorings off the beach*

## Ferry from St. Thomas to Virgin Gorda: two boats a week

By boat, and the day of the week decides which one. Inter Island Boat Services runs the one ferry from St. Thomas to Virgin Gorda that works as a day trip: Thursdays, leaving Red Hook at 7:30 am and Cruz Bay on St. John at 8 am, back from Virgin Gorda at 3 pm, a 90-minute crossing by the operator's figure as of October 22, 2026. It lands at Spanish Town, the island's port of entry, and [the Baths](https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi/beaches/the-baths) are ten minutes up the road from the jetty.

Speedy's is the other ferry, and it runs the wrong way for a day out: its Saturday boat leaves Charlotte Amalie at 4 pm and leaves Virgin Gorda at 8:30 am, a boat for a weekend or a week, home on a later Saturday morning or through Tortola. It pauses each autumn; check with Speedy's before you plan on it.

| Way across | Leaves St. Thomas | Back | On the water | Adult cost | Days |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Inter Island's day boat | Red Hook 7:30 am, Cruz Bay 8 am | Virgin Gorda 3 pm | 90 minutes, the operator's figure | $180 round trip a day ahead, $200 otherwise | Thursdays |
| Speedy's ferry | Charlotte Amalie 4 pm | Virgin Gorda 8:30 am, a later Saturday | About 90 minutes | $60 one way, $110 round trip | Saturdays, paused each autumn |
| Through Tortola | Charlotte Amalie 9 am in November 2026 | Last boats leave Road Town 3:15 pm, West End 4 pm | 50 minutes to Road Town, then Speedy's | Tortola fare quoted at booking, then $30 one way | Daily; a night, in practice |
| Day sail from Red Hook | Red Hook 7:30 am with Stormy Pirates | Red Hook 4:30 pm | A 9-hour day | From $279 a person, plus $85 cash for customs | By the operator's calendar |

The operators' own pages and the BVI Ports Authority's November 2026 calendar, read October 22, 2026.

## St. Thomas to Virgin Gorda ferry schedule and fares

Inter Island lists every Virgin Gorda fare as a pair, the lower one for booking a day ahead.

| Ticket | A day ahead | Otherwise |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Adult, 12 and up, round trip | $180 | $200 |
| Adult, one way | $150 | $170 |
| Child, 3 to 11, round trip | $150 | $170 |
| Child, one way | $130 | $150 |
| Infant, 2 and under | $60 | $80 |

Fares from Inter Island Boat Services' Virgin Gorda trip page, checked October 22, 2026: two adults and two children come to $660 booked a day ahead. The page names no fee on top. On its Jost Van Dyke route the same operator adds $30 a person for customs and immigration, which is what the British Virgin Islands charge a visitor by sea, a $10 levy in and a $20 departure tax out, so plan on about $120 more for the four of you and ask when you book.

Speedy's charges $60 one way and $110 round trip for an adult, $50 and $80 for a child of 5 to 11, on its rates page as of October 22, 2026, with no fee line of its own.

The tradeoff: one boat each way on each route, and the Thursday boat's 3 pm sailing is the only ride home that day. Miss it and the night is on Virgin Gorda, or on Tortola by way of Speedy's.

## Getting to the Red Hook and Charlotte Amalie docks

The day boats, the Thursday ferry and the charters, leave from Red Hook on the East End; Speedy's Saturday boat leaves from the Charlotte Amalie waterfront. Inter Island asks for check-in 45 minutes before departure and Speedy's closes it 30 minutes before, so be at the Urman V. Fredericks Marine Terminal, where the St. John ferry also leaves, by 6:45 am on a Thursday.

| From | To the Red Hook terminal |
| --- | --- |
| Cyril E. King Airport | 36 minutes |
| Edward W. Blyden IV Marine Terminal, Charlotte Amalie | 28 minutes |
| West Indian Company Dock, Havensight | 24 minutes |
| Crown Bay cruise terminal | 33 minutes |

Driving routes we measured on September 16 and October 9, 2026. The Charlotte Amalie terminal, for Speedy's, is 12 minutes from the airport, 12 from Havensight and 9 from Crown Bay by the same measurements. A taxi from the airport is $23 for one rider to Red Hook, or $17 each for two or more, and $11 or $9 to Charlotte Amalie, on the Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission's tariff in force since October 2022. A 6:45 am check-in from a villa near the airport means leaving before 6:05.

## Through Tortola, and why it usually means a night

On the five other days the public route is two ferries, and the timetables are honest about what that buys. The [St. Thomas to Tortola ferry](https://virginislandvilla.com/virgin-islands/st-thomas-to-tortola-ferry) leaves Charlotte Amalie for Road Town at 9 am on the BVI Ports Authority's November 2026 calendar, 50 minutes across, and Speedy's leaves Road Town for Spanish Town at 10:40 am Monday to Saturday and 12:10 pm on weekdays, $30 one way. That is Spanish Town by late morning on a good connection.

The way back is the problem. The last boats to St. Thomas leave Tortola at 3:15 pm from Road Town and 4 pm from West End, 32 minutes away by road, and Speedy's leaves Spanish Town for Road Town at 12:45 pm on weekdays and 3:30 pm Monday to Saturday. Only the 12:45 pm connects, and it leaves about an hour at the Baths; the 3:30 pm lands after the St. Thomas boats have gone. So a Tortola routing is really a night away, on Virgin Gorda or in Road Town before the morning ferry home. [The BVI ferry page](https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi/ferry) has every Speedy's sailing, and [getting to the British Virgin Islands](https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi/getting-there) the fees at the border.

## Day sails from Red Hook to the Baths

A charter is how most St. Thomas visitors see the Baths in a day: it goes any day the boat sails and has you back at Red Hook for dinner. Three operators publish a Baths day on their own pages as of October 22, 2026:

| Operator | Leaves from | The day | Price a person | On top |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Stormy Pirates | Red Hook 7:30 am, Cruz Bay 8 am; back at Cruz Bay 4 pm, Red Hook 4:30 pm | 9 hours: a guided walk at the Baths, lunch at White Bay on Jost Van Dyke, the Soggy Dollar Bar | $279 booked online, $310 otherwise | $85 cash for BVI customs, a customary 20 percent gratuity, lunch ashore |
| Cruz Bay Watersports | The Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas | The boulders and grottos, lunch, snorkeling, an open bar on the return, on its power catamaran | $199 in October 2026, against a listed $259 | Not stated on its page |
| New Horizons & Breakaway | Sapphire Resort & Marina, or Frenchman's Cove | A full day: the Baths, then White Bay; 12 guests at most, snorkel gear provided | On its booking calendar | Food and drink at your own expense |

Stormy Pirates' price covers the guided walk and entry at the Baths, the open bar and snacks aboard, and it does not recommend the day for children under three. With customs and the gratuity it comes to about $420 a person before lunch, by our arithmetic, more than twice the ferry, for the Baths early in the day, [White Bay](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/things-to-do/jost-van-dyke) in the afternoon and a boat that waits for you. For a private boat with its own hours, the [St. Thomas charter directory](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/experiences/boat-charters) lists who runs to the BVI and what fuel and customs add.

## At the Baths: the taxi, the fee and the ladders

Taxis meet the boats at the Spanish Town jetty, and the ride south through The Valley to the National Parks Trust's lot at the top of the trail is 10 minutes by our measurement, the sand 4 minutes below on foot. Fares follow the government's taxi tariff, last revised in December 2022, so ask for the tariff fare and agree a pickup time before you walk down.

The Greater Baths Day Pass is $3 an adult and $2 a child, a few cents more online, per the National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands as of October 22, 2026, and covers [Devil's Bay](https://virginislandvilla.com/bvi/beaches/devils-bay), Stoney Bay and Spring Bay the same day; the park keeps 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. The trail between the boulders is the point of the place, and the Trust is plain about it: expect to crawl, climb ladders and wade, with steps and rope rails to hold. The dry scrub path from the lot to Devil's Bay is 10 minutes by our measurement, 15 by the Trust's. In a winter swell the Trust closes the moorings and discourages swimming, so a January day may be for the pools and the rocks rather than the snorkel.

On the Thursday boat the arithmetic is kind: ashore around 9:30 am by our reckoning, up the road by about ten, and back at the jetty by 2:15 pm for check-in, roughly four hours at the Baths. Top of the Baths, the restaurant beside the lot, does lunch, so the day needs no second taxi.

## Passports and BVI customs at Spanish Town

Bring a passport. Virgin Gorda is in the British Virgin Islands, and the boat lands you at a border. Since March 2025 the Government of the Virgin Islands has required every visitor to hold a passport book, or a US passport card for a US traveler, for the whole stay, and its notice sets no child apart; the driver's license that gets you onto St. John gets nobody onto Virgin Gorda. The BVI Tourist Board asks you to fill in the Immigration and Customs online form before you arrive, which opens 72 hours ahead, and to show its receipt on a phone or on paper.

Spanish Town is a port of entry, and its Customs and Immigration office keeps Monday to Sunday, 8:30 am to 7 pm, on the BVI Tourist Board's list as of October 22, 2026, hours that cover both boats. Each visitor pays the BVI's $10 levy on arrival and a $20 departure tax by sea, the $30 the fares leave out.

Coming home, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) takes the same book or card from a US citizen arriving by sea, and lets a US child under 16 through on a birth certificate; the BVI's rule is the stricter one, and it binds on the way in.

## Planning a Virgin Gorda day trip from St. Thomas

Pick the day first, then the boat: a Thursday for the ferry and about four hours at the boulders, any other day for a charter at about twice the price and a fuller day with White Bay in it, a Saturday with Speedy's for the weekend. Cruise passengers check the return against the ship's all-aboard, since Inter Island does not publish when the Thursday boat is back at Red Hook and Stormy Pirates' 4:30 pm is later than many ships allow. The Baths are worth arranging the week around. Book the Thursday boat a day ahead, and be at Red Hook by 6:45 am.

Questions people ask

### Is there a ferry from St. Thomas to Virgin Gorda?

Yes, two, on two days. Inter Island Boat Services sails Red Hook and Cruz Bay to Virgin Gorda on Thursdays, 7:30 am out and 3 pm back, $180 round trip booked a day ahead; Speedy's sails Charlotte Amalie to Virgin Gorda on Saturdays at 4 pm and back at 8:30 am, $60 one way, both as of October 22, 2026. Every other day means Tortola and a second boat, or a charter.

### How long is the ferry from St. Thomas to Virgin Gorda?

90 minutes on both operators' pages as of October 2026: Inter Island gives its Thursday crossing as 90 minutes without naming the leg, and Speedy's gives Charlotte Amalie to Virgin Gorda as about 90. Add the check-in and customs at Spanish Town. In a straight line the Spanish Town jetty is about 28 miles from Red Hook and 34 from Charlotte Amalie, by our measurement.

### Can you do the Baths as a day trip from St. Thomas?

Yes, on a Thursday by ferry or most days by charter. The Thursday boat lands about 9:30 am and leaves at 3 pm, roughly four hours at the Baths once the taxi and the check-in are in. The public route through Tortola does not work as a day: the last boats to St. Thomas leave Tortola at 3:15 pm and 4 pm in November 2026, and the only Speedy's boat that connects leaves Spanish Town at 12:45 pm.

### What does a day trip to Virgin Gorda from St. Thomas cost?

On the Thursday ferry, $180 an adult round trip booked a day ahead, about $30 in BVI fees, the $3 park pass and two short taxi rides, as of October 2026. On Stormy Pirates' day sail, $279 online plus $85 cash for customs and the customary 20 percent gratuity, about $420 a person before lunch at White Bay.

At a glance · checked Oct 2026

**Day-trip boat**

Thursdays, 7:30 am from Red Hook

Inter Island Boat Services, calling at Cruz Bay at 8 am; 90 minutes by the operator's figure, checked 2026-10-22.

**Back from Virgin Gorda**

3 pm

Inter Island Boat Services, checked 2026-10-22. One boat each way; check-in 45 minutes before.

**Cost**

$180

Adult round trip, 12 and up, booked a day ahead; $200 otherwise, the same $20 gap on every fare (Inter Island Boat Services, checked 2026-10-22).

**Fees on top**

About $30 a person

The BVI's $10 levy on arrival and $20 departure tax by sea, per the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; Inter Island's Virgin Gorda page names no fee, so ask when you book.

**Speedy's Saturday ferry**

4 pm from Charlotte Amalie, 8:30 am back

Saturdays only, about 90 minutes, $60 one way and $110 round trip (Speedy's, checked 2026-10-22). Paused each autumn, this year September 1 to October 31 by its notice. A weekend boat, not a day trip.

**Other days**

A charter from Red Hook, or through Tortola

Stormy Pirates' Baths day from $279 a person plus $85 cash for customs, checked 2026-10-22; the Tortola ferries leave about an hour at the Baths before the last boat home.

**The Baths**

$3 an adult, $2 a child; 8:30 am to 4:30 pm

The Greater Baths Day Pass, plus a few cents online, per the National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands, checked 2026-10-22. One pass covers Devil's Bay and Spring Bay the same day.

**Jetty to the Baths**

10 minutes by car

The Spanish Town ferry jetty to the Trust's lot, our measured drive, 2026-10-16; 4 minutes more down to the sand on foot.

**Documents**

Passport book, or a US passport card

Every visitor, for the whole stay, per the Government of the Virgin Islands (release of 20 March 2025).

**Airport to Red Hook**

36 minutes by car

Measured driving route from Cyril E. King Airport to the Red Hook terminal, 2026-09-16; 12 minutes to the Charlotte Amalie terminal.

Villas on St. Thomas

Every villa on the island is listed by its owner on [St. Thomas vacation rentals](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/vacation-rentals). See rates and dates, then write to the owner.

More on St. Thomas

- [Things to do in St. Thomas](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/things-to-do)

- [Kayaking and paddleboarding on St. Thomas](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/things-to-do/kayaking)

- [Mahogany Run golf course on St. Thomas](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/things-to-do/mahogany-run-golf-course)

- [Skyride to Paradise Point](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/things-to-do/paradise-point)

- [Snorkeling on St. Thomas, USVI](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/things-to-do/snorkeling)

- [St. Thomas scuba diving in the East End reserves](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/things-to-do/diving)

Facts checked against [Inter Island Boat Services](https://www.interislandboatservices.com/ferry-trips/round-trip-red-hook-cruz-bay-virgin-gorda/), [Speedy's](https://speedysbvi.com/speedys-bvi-ferry-schedule), [the BVI Tourist Board](https://www.bvitourism.com/travel/entry-requirements), [the National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands](https://www.bvinpt.org/the-baths-national-park-info) and [the Government of the Virgin Islands](https://gov.vg/index.php/news/valid-passport-required-enter-virgin-islands). Checked October 2026.