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Indians, Caves, Aquarium – BVI Snorkeling Trip from St. John

While it is possible to incorporate some snorkeling into our day trip to Jost van Dyke, most of the prime BVI snorkeling spots are near Norman Island and part of our Norman Island Day Trip. There are no houses or beachgoers nearby so the water is super nice and clear.

The Indians

The Indians are an amazing deep water snorkel and are constantly named among the top 5 BVI snorkeling spots. They lie just north of The Bight at Norman Island and about half way between the easternmost tip of St. John, USVI and the westernmost tip of Peter Island. Four rocky pinnacles rise straight up, about 100' from the ocean floor. Approximately 50' of that is above water. There are lots of blue tangs, parrotfish, cow fish, damsel fish, sergeant majors, jacks, queen angels, wrasse, trunk fish, eels and if you're lucky, you might spot a queen trigger fish.

The Caves

Norman Island is a well-known destination for cruisers and other tourists because of 3 water-level caves at the base of cliffs just outside the western edge of The Bight. The are ideal for snorkeling.

Note: Different from the other spots, both Caves and Indians charge a 20$ mooring fee which has to be paid upon checkin into the BVIs.  These fees can be avoided by going to free spots like the Aquarium but if you don't mind the fee and want to snorkel the Indians and Caves, we can of course go there, just let the Captain know before check-in to the BVI so that he can pay the fees (fees can be paid with credit card).

The Aquarium

is another great but lesser know snorkeling spot which you will most likely have to yourself. The advantage over Indians is that you don't have to pay a mooring fee. The water is super nice and clear and calm and you will see lots of good stuff. From there it's a very quick ride over to Pirate's Bight where you can have some great lunch at "Pirate's" or "The Club"

From there you can head over to Jost van Dyke for some "Painkillers" at infamous Soggy Dollar Bar or take the route along the South Shore of St. John for more snorkeling (Tektike, Booby Rock) or fishing (Norman Island and Fishing Charter)


Ready to go?

Book your Day Trip from St. John to Norman Island here

You can use the calendar below to directly make a booking (select date and hit book now). Not sure yet? Then you can also send us a Booking Enquiry with this form or via email to rockhoppinusvi(at)gmail.com


Online Booking

Or the form below to to make a booking. Select your date and pay a 150$ deposit. The rest is due on day of charter (after trip, cash, card or cheque). All prices include captain and fuel. Not included: BVI customs/mooring fees and gratuity

 

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Day Trip St. John – Cooper Island (BVI)

 

We have quite a few repeat guest and returning St. John visitors who have been to Virgin Gorda and Jost van Dyke and are asking for something new. Cooper Island is a lesser known, small, isolated island and can only be accessed by private boat.

 

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Where is Cooper Island, BVI?

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It is on the South Side of Tortola and about half way between Norman Island and Virgin Gorda.

 

It hosts a small, eco-friendly (75% of their power is solar generated), beautiful resort which has just undergone major renovations. There is great fresh food (it is famous for the chicken roti), awesome cocktails, a beautiful beach and good snorkeling. There are even some tables in the water.

Day Trip St. John - Cooper Island

Here is a quick write up and a few pics and a video from a day trip from St. John to Cooper Island last Tuesday. We met our guests at High Tide at 9:00 AM, filled out the customs forms and checked into the BVI at Tortola Westend. From there we headed straight to Cooper Island.

 

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We arrived there before the rush, beating the bigger boats and went for some snorkeling right off the beach where we saw Barracudas, squid and lots of colorful fish.

 

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We spent some time wandering around the resort, checking out the shop and the coffee bar and then sat down in the comfortable loungers for lunch.

 

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 Lunch at Cooper Island Beach Club

We had some excellent Chicken Roti in the beautiful and relaxed setting and then left to snorkel some of the famous but also the lesser known snorkeling spots in the area.

 

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After the snorkeling we went to famous Party Boat Willy T. for some cocktails and of course jumped of the deck. Our jumps were quite stylish compared to the lady after us, who landed flat on her belly.

 

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From there we went along the South Shore of St. John, passing impressive Ram's head and stopped for another snorkel at Tektike, which can only be accessed by boat.

Snorkeling Tektike

The Tektite snorkel is one of the absolute best snorkeling spots on the island of St. John. The name, Tektite, refers to a research project conducted at Beehive Bay a small cove on the southeastern tip of Great Lameshur Bay. The Tektite Project was conducted in 1969 in a cooperative effort by the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Navy, NASA and the General Electric Co. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects on human beings of living and working underwater for prolonged periods of time. More information on the Tektite Project is here.

 

You will see a very wide variety of fish and amazing coral formations.

 

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We saw some moving sand and after a bit of patience spotted the beautiful ray.

 

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After a great day on the water, we arrived back in Cruz Bay, St. John right in time for a beautiful sunset. Here is what our guests had to say about the trip:

 

5* "Absolutely fabulous!! Had a fabulous time with Captain Steve!" M.H., April,2015

5* "Great day in the BVIs with Captain Steve and Lucy. They will totally customize your trip to what you would like to see and do for the day. We have chartered from other companies in the past and Rockhoppin Adventures is by far the most professional, well run of any that we have used in St. John", E.H. April 2015

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Day Trip St. John Cooper Island Video

Send Booking Enquiry Day Trip St. John - Cooper Island

Ready for a great time on the water? You can fill out the form below or send an email to info(at)rockhoppin.com or rockhoppinusvi@gmail.com. We will get back to you within 24 hours, usually faster. We get tons of emails with weird business proposals through the contact form and it does sometimes happen that a booking enquiry lands in the spam folder (or our response lands in your spam folder). You can also text us on 340-514-5527 to make sure it went through.

 

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October Special: Shared Day Trip St. John – Willy T.

St. John to Willy T. Day Trip

A private charter is great, but can also be pricey if you are just alone or a couple. So we are running a special: Day trip St. John - Willy T. (Norman Island) which can be shared by couples / singles. The price is 290$ per couple or 150$ (single). These prices are incl. fuel and captain excl. BVI customs fees. The possible dates are Oct 16th and 21st. Our powerboat is a 32FS regulator, with twin Yamaha 250s and cushioned, forward-facing seating. It will provide a very comfortable ride from St. John to Norman Island. NEW DATES! Read More