Guide · 23 September 2026
A private morning on the water, or the ferry and a taxi from Spanish Town.
The Baths is a small national park on the southwest tip of Virgin Gorda — house-sized granite, a scramble through the caves, Devil’s Bay on the far side. From Tortola you can arrive by private boat or by ferry. The park is the same. The hour you get there is not.
This is the version that beats the crowd. You leave Tortola early, pick up a day-use mooring before nine if the field still has one, swim, walk through to Devil’s Bay, and leave before the midday stack. There is no overnight on those balls. Spanish Town, Savannah Bay, or the North Sound is the night if you are on a week.
A north swell in winter can close the landing. The National Parks Trust flies a red flag when mooring and swimming are off. We do not put a tender on that beach for a photograph. When to go is the clock. The Baths page is the product.
Ferries run Road Town to Spanish Town through the day. The crossing is about half an hour. Check Speedy’s or the other day’s operator for the tariff and the last boat back — those numbers move. From the Spanish Town dock a taxi to the park gate is a short ride, usually under fifteen minutes.
You then walk down to the sand with everyone else who took the same boat. Fine for a shore day. It will not give you the 8 a.m. swim.
Posted hours have sat at 8:30–4:30 and at 9:00–4:00 depending on the notice. Treat 9:00 to 4:00 as the safe window and we check the morning you go. Entry is $3 an adult and $2 a child at the gate; BVI belongers walk in with ID. Cash is still the simple way if you arrive by taxi. On a private day or a week the crew handles the park ticket and the marine permit.
Reef-safe sunscreen is the rule in the park. Water shoes for the wet granite. No drones, no taking coral or shells, no overnight on the day-use field.
USVI day boats run The Baths as a shared excursion. That is a different product and a different immigration line. If you are already sleeping on Tortola, start here. If you are sleeping on St. Thomas, say so on the brief and we will tell you honestly whether a BVI day is worth the paper.