Tortola--Long Bay Beach Resort?

[lmorin]

Has anyone been here? We are looking at a possible 7 night stay, diving with Dive Tortola, but know nothing about the resort. Looks pleasant, but what about dining or groceries?

Any suggestions/advice would be appreciated?

 

[BTravlin]

We stayed there in June 2006 in one of the hillside deluxe units closest to the beach and just above the beachfront townhomes. The rooms were nothing special but were big and had a kitchenette. There was also a large balcony and a wonderful view of the beach, a good portion of Tortola coastline and Jost van Dyke off in the distance. Really enjoyed that balcony!

There are two restaurants: one in the main building and one in a separate building down by the beach which was not open when we were there. The main restaurant had good food but a little pricey. There is also a grill/snack bar by the pool that has burgers, fries, fish sandwiches, etc. Food everywhere on the island is on the pricey side. Long Bay does have an AI plan that includes meals if you're interested.

You will want to rent a car as Long Bay Beach Resort is off by itself on the eastern end of the island, especially if you plan on eating out at various restaurants. You will also need to drive to the eastern edge of Roadtown to get to the marina where Dive Tortola is based, about a ten minute drive. We dove two tanks with them everyday for the week we were there and were very pleased with them. They had two nice boats and we went out each day on the larger of the two (maybe 35-40'?) and never had more than 6 divers aboard. The DM's were safety conscious and led dives at a leisurely pace pointing out all the good stuff as we went along. They had an assortment of snacks and drinks available too. We left our gear with them after day one and they took care of it for us all week. Clean, dry and ready to go when we arrived each morning. They also cleaned and dried it again at the end of the week. We picked it up and packed it away for the return trip home. Sweet.

Touring the island by car is a lot of fun with many beaches and other sites to check out. Driving is on the left and many roads are very hilly and windy. If you rent a car make sure you get an automatic unless you're really comfortable driving a stick since some of the hills are extremely steep and windy. The main road runs from one end of the island to the other along the southern coast and is not difficult to drive at all. Cross one steep hill to get to Long Bay on the north side.

I'd go back to Long Bay again and would definitely use Dive Tortola again.

Check out the BVI June 2006 folder for photos of room, dive boat, etc.

http://turkscaicosexplorerii.shutterfly.com/

PM me if you have further questions.

 

[Roguewarrior2]

"Long Bay Beach Resort is off by itself on the eastern end of the island,"

Actually Long Bay Beach Resort is on the west end of Tortola Long Bay Beach Tortola, BVI

There is another Long Bay on Beef Island which is off the east end of Tortola. Long Bay Beach, Beef Island

 

[Rhone Man]

Long Bay hotel is one of the better (possibly the best) hotel on Tortola, but there is a bit of a caveat - Tortola is not really a land based destination, so it may not compare well with upmarket hotels in other Caribbean destinations. I have never stayed there but it looks fine, and I can vouch for the fact that they do a superb Sunday brunch.

I have never dived with them, but Dive Tortola are based out of Prospect Reef (on the edge of Road Town), so you would have a decent drive each morning to get to your dive boat (20 mins). At least you are on the right side of town though, so you won't get trapped in rush hour traffic.

 

[BTravlin]

"Long Bay Beach Resort is off by itself on the eastern end of the island,"

Actually Long Bay Beach Resort is on the west end of Tortola Long Bay Beach Tortola, BVI

There is another Long Bay on Beef Island which is off the east end of Tortola. Long Bay Beach, Beef Island

You are correct. A little geographical dyslexia on my part. Dive Tortola is also on the west side of Road Town and, as Rhone Man says, this saves you from having to drive through town.

 

[lmorin]

Thanks for all your info.

 

[Rhone Man]

Let us know how it goes. If you need any specific info on the BVI feel free to PM me.

 

[Pelagicus]

BTravlin covered it pretty thoroughly. My wife & I also enjoyed our stay at Long Bay Beach Resort. The beaches have beautiful white sand.

I highly recommend Dive Tortola. All the dive sites are great, but I had 2 favorites, the RMS Rhone wreck and Painted Wall. One of the DMs (Hilary) is quite the expert on the RMS Rhone, so she gave us a lot of background history before and after the 2 dives which definitely enhanced the overall experience (1 dive for the bow and 1 for the stern). Painted Wall is aptly named because of the huge spectrum of colorful sponges and corals covering every inch as one swims between 2 wall-like rock formations rising 25-30ft. It's like a Jackson Pollock painting. At the entrance to the 2 walls, there were 2 octopi. 1 octopus fled as we approached, while the other remained guarding its nest and changing colors. There must have been eggs in the nest. We also saw a nurse shark towards the end of that dive. Brown Pants by Norman Island is named because it's known for sharks, but we didn't get to see any when I was there.

 

[alashas]

There are a # of restaurants in Tortola, including several near the Long Bay Resort, so don't feel as thought you need to do the AI there. In fact, I think one of the reasons some folks have unhappy experiences at LB is from eating there all week.

I second Pelagicus recommendations of the Rhone and Painted Walls as two excellent dive sites. I don't know if Dive Tor goes to these sites, but Playground off JVD and The Dogs off Virgin Gorda are several other excellent sites, as well as some of the sites near Cooper Island.

I wrote an article about the Rhone here: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/lesser-antilles/208262-140th-anniversary-wreck-rhone.html

Wreck of Rhone

The Rhone is a great night dive:

Painted Walls - this swim through is full of color

The Dogs

Thumb Rock, Cooper

Vanishing Rock, Cooper

Playground, JVD

a cave at Playground

enjoy your diving, alashas http://honeymoon2.smugmug.com/

 

[carlislere]

Thanks for the pics. I have not dove there, but hope to within the next few years.