Tortola Island Drive and Beach Break

On our recent Disney Cruise, we were excited to visit Tortola for the first time. We were looking for an excursion that would give us a tour of the island, provide some time for relaxation and would be something our 3 year old son would enjoy. After reviewing the Port Adventure options on the Disney Cruise Line website, we chose the Island Drive and Beach Break.

After disembarking the ship, we boarded our open-air safari bus for a scenic drive around Tortola through Road Town before we ascended Ridge Road up to Sky World. Make sure to sit on the left side of the bus for the best views of your Disney ship when you're driving up Ridge Road. Unfortunately for me, I ended up on the right side of the vehicle so I struggled to grab a good picture of the ship from the top of the island. I was still able to enjoy the stunning views but I just couldn't get a perfectly composed photo.

While we drove around the island, our driver gave us some history on everything that we were seeing. I found it difficult to hear him at times so I missed a lot of what he was saying but it was nice to hear some fun facts about the island when I could hear him.

Disney Fantasy as seen from the right side of the vehicle

View from Sky World

Sky World was a little bit of a letdown as far as souvenirs go but the views were absolutely amazing. Sky World offers a 360 degree panoramic view of the British Virgin Islands from their observation deck. The day we visited was slightly cloudy but it was still a breathtaking view. We were given a drink ticket to use at Sky World that was good for water, soft drink or fruit punch. For an extra cost, you could have some Rum added to your fruit punch.

View from Sky World

After our drive up to Sky World, we made our way back down the island to enjoy some free time at Cane Garden Bay Beach. One chair per person on the beach was included in the cost of the excursion but umbrellas were extra. We opted to purchase the umbrella ($5 at the time of our visit) which was a good idea since the rain started shortly after we arrived. Luckily, the rain stopped and we were able to enjoy some beach time.

There were restaurants, souvenir shops, water sport rentals, bathrooms and changing rooms available at the beach. We all wore our bathing suits under our clothes so we didn't have to worry about using any changing rooms but we did visit the bathrooms which was just a short walk down the beach from our location.

We also enjoyed a visit from a local rooster. My 3 year old loved crowing at the rooster. I have a very cute video of him yelling "cock-a-doodle-doo" to the rooster!

After about an hour at the beach, it was time to board the bus and head back to the ship. On the return ride, try to sit on the right side of the bus to grab those pictures of the ship. Again, I got stuck on the wrong side of the vehicle. Oh well...

The excursion was advertised as being 3 to 3.5 hours but from the time we left the ship until we returned ended up being closer to around 4 hours. I prefer shorter excursions because it gives me more time to enjoy all of the activities onboard so this excursion (even running a little long) was a perfect amount of time to be off the ship. We enjoyed the island in the morning and then got back onboard in time to grab some lunch.

At the time of our sailing, this excursion was $47 per person ages 10 and up, $37 for ages 3 to 9, and free for children under 2. I thought the cost of the excursion was a good price for what we experienced. It's hard to find a good excursion that is available for all ages but my son really enjoyed this one. Full transparency, he slept the entire time until we got to the beach but a sleeping kid is a happy kid, am I right?!

Ashley Lehman

Ashley is a Gold Castaway Club Member and has sailed on all of the Disney Cruise Line ships. You can email Ashley at ashley@kingdomkonsultant.com.