The US Virgin Islands!?

[Nicrez]

Ok, my original vacation was cancelled, but now that Rand''s gotten a handle of work matters, we are planning the vacay!!!




We want to stay in the US, so I am ditching Hawaii for a more notable reason, like an anniversary or something, and we are headed to the U.S. Virgin Islands...Anyone ever been? Any good suggestions?




We figured St. Croix is a good spot, and maybe this hotel?


http://www.divicarina.com/divicarinabay/resort.asp




Is it a good one? Any other suggestions... Now for airfare...Who possibly flies out cheaper?/idealbb/images/smilies/confused.gif Good restaurants?

 

[Nicrez]

It's a last minute trip, so that hotel may already be sold out for mid March...Any good ideas???!!!

 

[pauls girl]

Hey.... What fun!

We went to St. Thomas last year for 10 days. It was a blast. We took the ferry over to St. Johns which is a lot more lush because it's less populated, and then we took a day trip to the British Virgin Islands...Virgin Gorda.

One thing to consider about St. Croix...It's beautiful too, but VERY crime ridden. When we were there the papers were all abuzz about the fact that the cruise ships had stopped going there because the tourists kept getting mugged or otherwise. From what we gathered from talking to the locals, it's the most crime ridden of any of the islands.

The snorkling is amazing, the weather is semi-muggy but that kind of weather doesn't bother me at all. I think I was born to live in the Tropics. We loved our stay. The steel drums playing caribbean music was just my speed....and drinking raspberry daiqueries watching the sun set....aaah. I can smell the coconut coppertone!

-PG

 

[Nicrez]

Thanks for that! Wow...I don't want to get robbed on my sunny vacay. We are not taking so many days and would be there from Thursday to Monday. We need a quick getaway for now, because we have a few other places to go this year, and I am not replete with vacation time!!

So you say St John's is better??? Any good hotels there?

 

[pauls girl]

Since we were only there for like 7 hours (we were staying on St. Thomas), I didn't really get the lowdown on good places to stay on that particular island..but we did snorkle around Honeymoon Beach on St. John which was really spectacular. I don't know if you've ever been to the Carribbean, but the water down there...wow. It's like NOTHING else I've ever seen. It is the most amazing color of Turquoise I've ever seen...it doesn't even look real. If you have a chance, do take the ferry over to St. Thomas for the day. Charlotte Amalie (the main city)has tons of shopping & a really cool gondola that takes you to a high point of the island for you to get a good view of the whole area & you can see just how many tiny islands are surrounding you. There's also Magen's Bay on St. Thomas which has been rated as one of the top beaches in the world. I think that from what we learned, St. John is a quieter, more tranquil visit. I learned a few valuable tips from my anal-retentive studying of the area:

1. You can take a taxi pretty much anywhere you need to go. We considered renting a car, but from what I learned reading, is that they drive on the left side of the road, but the steering wheel is the same as here - also on the left. This confuses a lot of tourists who aren't used to this weird combo, and so a lot of accidents happen & renting a car can cost a lot more than it's worth - in fact, when we were there all the rental cars are these banged up pitiful looking cars, and the locals all drive like maniacs around these tiny streets that curve around these cliffs. In fact, a few times the taxi rides were an experience! LOL...I just remembered...one time our taxi broke down & we had to walk back to our hotel because we were on this deserted stretch of road.

2. Make sure to verify what it will cost you to take that taxi ride BEFORE you get in the car. Most taxis have a set rate for going anywhere on the island. Not checking before you get into the taxi can lead to a lot higher rate. I usually asked "what do you charge to go to such and such Resort or beach?" I also researched what a normal rate was & that way I felt that I wasn't getting taken. Some guests have gotten someplace after a 15 minute taxi ride and found that an $8.00 taxi ride ended up costing them $20.00 because they didn't ask ahead of time.

3. The local papers list the days that the Cruise Ships come into port. We tried to avoid the main areas when more than one or two was in port....otherwise you have a huge mass of people all on this tiny stretch of land. The days when 3 or 4 or even 5 cruise ships were all around at once, we usually spent that day at a beach or just cruising around our resort & swimming.



There are other tips, but I can't think of them off the top of my head.

If you get the chance, take one of the boat tours they offer...they are really cool & the captains tell you so much more than you would learn otherwise. They can also take you to really cool snorkling spots.

I wish I could remember the website I was pouring over before I went...I think this is one of them:

St. John

That one is for St. John specifically, but it links to the other islands' info.

 

[hoorray]

We liked St John best in the USVI. It is the most layed back and really beautiful. Seems to me there is a fancy RockResort that looked lovely, and the Westin is also very nice. There are lots of beautiful coves and isolated beaches. We were happy we rented a car so that we could explore rather than just stay at the resort.

We also liked the British Virgin Islands a lot. You can get to Tortola just as easily as you can get to the other USVI Islands -- by ferry from St Thomas. It is VERY mellow. But, the BVI are more of a boater's playground than a land adventure, so maybe the USVI would actually be better.

 

[Nicrez]

Thanks guys! We are really looking to just go and relax a bit. We will probably go to the beaches, hang like lizards and just recharge our weather beaten batteries....




So St. John is the more laid back, huh? If anyone stayed there...some more advice would be helpful. I will do full blown research tonight!!! YAY!!!

 

[jackieblue]

We spent 10 nights in a villa on St. Thomas for our honeymoon. We wa;so visited St. John, Virgin Gorda, and Jost Van Dyke. For the reasons cited by pp, I do not recommend St. Croix. The only things there not present (and better) elsewhere are casinos.

I have a lot of info so I don't even know where to start. I will say that I disagree with pp about the taxi and I will say if you are going to be there for a reasonable length of time rent a car. Unless you plan to stay at your hotel or villa the whole time, taxis get very expensive. Where we stayed on St. Thomas a taxi wouldn't have even known where to find us. We used the car a lot every day. I will warn you that the driving can be stressful and tough (their concept of directions and signs is not the same as ours) so if you really don't think you can deal you should stay at a resort.

St. John *is* more laid back. But, there is a lot more to do (other than beaches) on St. Thomas. If you rent a car, you can bring your car on the ferry to St.John and do the beaches there all you want. St.John is far more expensive to eat and stay that St.Thomas.

Do you want to stay at a resort or a private house? There are advantages to both. If you are interested in a villa, I highly recommend http://www.mclaughlinanderson.com/ . We stayed in a very private villa for 2 with a killer view and a truly private (if you know what I mean) pool for only $179 per night. This was off season though so you can expect to pay a bit more in March. Are you the adventurous type couple who like to explore and discover? If not and you would rather just be at a resort, there are many on St. Thomas that cost a lot less than on St.John. Even if you are going all out, I do not recommend the Ritz. On St. John, the Westin is the resort to visit. Very pricey though. On St Thomas, I recommend checking out Marriot Frenchman's Reef, The Balongo Bay Beach Club, Secret Harbour Beach, and Sapphire Beach. Some of these are condos that you can rent for the week, but they have all of the amenities. Some things I recommend in the VI:
-If you can swing it, get to Jost Van Dyke. It was our favorite place...truly laid back and fun. You can go to Foxy's, Ivan's, the Soggy Dollar Bar, and Seddy's One Love. Ivan's is actually self service! Mix yourself up a painkiller (the local specialty) and don't foget to log it and put the money in the till sometime befoer you leave. Most people arrive by boat. We rented one, but I recommend chartering one with a captain unless you are very experienced.
-If you like to snorkel, bring eq. We got ours at Sams Club and used it all the time.
-Talk to the locals and make sure they know you are not on a cruise. You can get lots of good tips about fun places to go and good beaches
-On St. Thomas, visit Magen's Bay. It's amazing. There are a lot of amazing beaches there and on St. John. Trunk bay was a great place to snorkel, but we did it from a boat on the ocean, not from the beach. Saw tons of turtles and fish. Bring dog bisquits to attract and feed the fish. They crumble under the water.

-Plan a trip to the Baths at Virgin Gorda, but get a ferry schedule early and figure out when you can get a ferry directly from St, John. I believe it's on Sunday and/or Wednesday, but I am not sure. Do NOT let any of the ferry people convince you that you must take a ferry to Tortola and a taxi across Tortola to another ferry to Virgin Gorda. Not true. A ferry gors from St. Thomas to St. John to Virgin Gorda.
-Bring more sunscreen than you think you need.

I have a ton more tips, but it depends on where you stay and what you want to do. If you go to St.Thomas, pm me and I can tell you where the best grocery store is, where to find the cheapest booze, and some fun places to eat and go. We absolutely LOVE the Virgin Islands. Ours was a picture perfect honeymoon!

 

[Nicrez]

Jackie, thanks for all that advice! I am printing this out and putting it in my vacay file to take with us...How anal am I? hee hee




We actually tried to book the Ritz, but they are ALL SOLD OUT!!!

We figured it would be so yummy just to live the high life for a few days, but no such luck!

We tried a whole bunch, but all truly breathtaking hotels are sold out for our days!!! How saddening, plus $700-$800/nt on a non-ritz room for a garden view (and not SEA view) was just silly to me.




We found something on St. Thomas, and we are staying at the Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort and Spa. I am so excited, because the reviews were good and the price was ALL inclusive, all meals, drinks and SPA!!!! I think it was about $569/nt...Is that fair or what? Anyone ever been?




Also, we did rent a car, so we will try and see if it's not a total rip off with the insurance. I am soooooo excited! Anyone know where I can get scuba lessons for him and some dive courses for me while there? I would do it one day, but the rest just relax, tan (I NEEEED IT!) and sip margarita on a beach chair, reading a book....

 

[pauls girl]

oh how fun!!!

I vaguely remember Sugar Bay Resort, and I seem to remember it was a good place to stay. We were staying down the way from it.

That All-inclusive package is the way to go! Ours was the same, and boy we drank and ate all we could! The drink tab we would have racked up alone was worth getting it!

You are going to have a wonderful time!

I wish we were going back...maybe in a couple years.

Have a blast!

 

[Nicrez]

Thanks so much! I am so excited I went shopping for outfits today at lunch!

But I just hope I don't take someone's eye out with my pallor...!

We are not really drinkers, so he'd probably have one every 2 hours (= 2 all night) and me the same. BUT the food and SPA treatments will be TOP of my list!

I could use a good massage. My owrry is, what will make me come back?! Anyone know a good place to live on St. Thomas!?

 

[jackieblue]

How many days/nights are you staying?

 

[Nicrez]

We are there for 5 days and 4 nights. We didn't want to make it too long, just long enough to recharge our batteries...So far we are considering the following:




We booked a room at the Wyndham Sugar Bay Spa and Resort on St. Thomas, as everything else that was 3 star and above was booked solid. We will rent a car from Hertz, but not sure what insurance prices are there...? We will most likely do a day of scuba and wind sailing, maybe snorkeling. Two days of solid vegetating in the sun, tanning and eating (oh and drinking). Friday and Saturday nights we will dine at the "nice" restaurant they have there, and maybe on Sunday make it out to the town for souvenirs, shoping.




Do they really have fine jewlery there as I heard? What's considered "fine"? I hear it was less expensive too? What does that mean? Our resort is isolated from town, in a corner of the island. We like that because we just want to relax. We may take a yatcht or sail out to another island if we feel adventurous, but most likely want to RELAX...any good ideas? Any opinions on nice places to go? Nothing is set in stone here...

Ok, I am so excited. After the cold weather here on the East cost, I am DYING to see the sun!!!

 

[Nicrez]

Okay BUMP! I am heading out tomorrow morning, so I am packing right now and wondering what I am forgetting, because I know I'll be stuck out there with no hair brush or shoes or something!!! Any last minute guidelines about St. Thomas? Why am I so nervous? Probably because the BF had me mail out the insurance papers for the ring (so clooooose!), and so the insurance is effective as of the date of mailing. He wanted it done before the trip...Hmmmm....Ahhhh. Ok, I'm calm...

 

[jackieblue]

Argh...wish I had seen this earlier, sorry!!

I was coming back to post that the resort you chose was named in this month's Caribbean Mag as one of the top 5! I am sure you are having a blast and enjoying banana daquiris at Top Of The Mountain, or snorkeling at Coki Beach, or shopping in Charlotte Amalie....wow I wish I could be there!!

 

[jackieblue]

Nicrez, did you ever post about your trip? If you did, could you direct me to it?

 

[Nicrez]

Jackie, I posted my whole trip and engagement (he did it there!) on the The Little Radiant that Could post in Show Me the Ring Forum:

The St. Thomas Trip

It was so lovely there, we are thinking of possibly having a small wedding out there as well. Before that, for my fiance's father's birthday we are sending them there for a few days to enjoy just as we did! I LOVED shopping out there, all those diamonds and gemstones!

All in all, I was Ok with the hotel (Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort & Spa), but would rather stay at The Marriot Frenchman's Reef Hotel, which is supposedly better, or at the Ritz (which was sold out).

He and I are also going to stay at St. John's next time, because we went snorkleing there (at Honeymoon Beach), and we just fell in love with the quiet, reserve-like terrain of St. Johns!

*sigh*

Thanks so much for all the help!!! And I may call upon your expertise for his parent's trip or maybe even our wedding tips!!!!

 

[jackieblue]

Ah, thanks...found it over there. Gorgeous ring and congrats!!!

I'm glad you liked St. Thomas and St. John. Whichever place you stay next time I hope you will have an opportunity to hit Jost Van Dyke and/or Virgin Gorda. Jost was our favorite place...the beaches there are what you dream of when you imagine a Caribbean holiday. Great local characters and places to hang out on the beach too.

As an aside, after speaking with plenty of people about the Ritz, including a few guys who work there, I would choose the Marriot Frenchman's Reef. You can always go to the beach at the Ritz, but everyone (including the catering staff) says they restaurants are horrible and overpriced. You would really like the Westin on St. John...did you see it while you were over there? Pricey, but probably exactly what you're looking for.

Congrats again!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Nicrez]

Thanks for the advice and the compliments... it was a vacation to REMEMBER!!!

Jackie, actually we are booking my in laws out there for his birthday celebration gift at the Frnechman's Reef. We found a great deal with airfare and everything that we were told the Marriot is the place to be, and we know they will love it more than we loved the Wyndham.

Also heard that the Ritz was NOT all that. The Westin on St. John is said to be better, so we would msot likely go there for the "carribean wedding" if we do do it there... I heard Jost is FABULOUS, but we were slated to go there for a scuba and sail trip, but ended up at Honeymoon Beach, St. John instead. We DID NOT complain. Sadly, we didn't have the time for the baths at Virgin Gorda, but I WILL do them next time! I heard they are great and NOT to be missed! Thanks for the great advice! You're the resident VI girl here! SOOOO helpful!