Tortola, BVI Merchandise

[brneyes]

If you have been to Tortola, where would you recommend a person shop for inexpensive (T-shirts, souviners) merchandise? As soon as you get off the ship or where?

[penny3333]

There are shops set up right outside the terminal. The prices were reasonable, and they would bargain with you.

[brneyes]

Oh that sounds great. Do they have little huts or places where most of the merchandise is the same where ever you go, or is there a variety?

When you say you can "talk them down", my expression, does that mean if they are asking $5.00, that I might be able to bargain for $3.50 or $4.00?

brneyes

[penny3333]

There are lots of little "huts" with lots of different t-shirts, towels, dresses, jewelry, hats, etc. A lot of it is the same that you see in every port, only it is Tortola not St. Thomas written on the t-shirts, some of it is their local art. We asked if we bought 3 t-shirts if we could get a break, they said sure. The t-shirts were $5/ea, we got 3 for $12. I'm sure we could have bargained more, but I don't like doing that.

[brneyes]

Yes, some of the island people I really feel for, so I don't try to "bargain" them down much.

What I will be looking for is something that has "Tortola" on it, like T-shirts, souviners, etc.

brneyes

[usaarnie]

I also got some neat jewelry there at the place just outside the terminal as well as t-shirts. We also wandered around town, and other than the Sunny Caribbee Spice Company, there wasn't much to see. There are tons of open bus taxis willing to take you wherever you wanted to go. But I did notice that if the taxi wasn't full, they would either wait for more people, or drive really slow, yelling at the pedestrians trying to get them to ride also. One time I even saw some of the other riders begging people to come along with them just so they could get going!