Cinnamon is beautiful, never stayed though. Were staying at the Westin maybe we will bump into you while at Cinnamon Bay. Have fun!!!

I feel like I'm becoming a regular on the camping advise- we've visited Cinammon often but stayed at Maho down the road a bit 3 times, two times with the kids. My advise- its very hot so be prepared for the heat adjustment, constantly! Virtually 100% of what you'll do is outdoors and there's not alot of AC. Bring twice the amount of sunscreen you think you'll need. If you snorkle, put Tshirts on the kids and yourself as you will burn in the water. Snorkling is the BEST- just make sure you've seen a picture of fire coral and avoid touching it (I found out the painful way!). If you can afford it, get all of you to a tanning salon and do some gentle tanning 4-5 times, maybe 5-6 minute sessions to help get your skin ready. We're all celtic by genetics so we knew we'd burn to a crisp without all this prep! Bring water bottles unless you plan to buy it pre-packaged constantly. Be prepared for no-see-um bug bites on your lower legs and feet after about 5PM unless you have sprayed repellent on heavily. Nothing ever bit us during the day. The weather is pretty much the same all year round so I doubt there's much to say about differences by month.
Jost Van Dyke (prounounced with a hard J according to the locals) is a blast- there's nothing there but Foxy's restaurant and a cool gift shop on the beach but its wonderful, all outdoors of course, good burgers, and Foxy himself is a great guy.
Renting a car? Great, the island is small and tons of fun to explore. There are restaurants in Cruz Bay that will appeal to the kids including (yuck) some fast food places. Take advantage of the free trips posted by the national park service but remember again that its much hotter there than at home (assuming you don't live in the deep south, we're Bostonians) so hiking is a real challenge. The kids will love the little anolis (tiny lizards), the birds (banana quits will perch near you if you put sugar on a piece of wood), and you should see sea turtes in some coves.
Speaking of work.. better go, enjoy!

Karrieb,

Thanks for the advise. I am concerned about the heat. We spent last July at Disney. We tolerated that, so we should be OK. The lack of AC will be the tough part. We're from Maine.

We are renting a car. We will try to to lunch at various places. Hiking we'll leave to the early morning.

The trick I think will be taking it easy. Having "no where to go and all day to get there." Disney last year was the opposite. Although we had a blast we were very hot and tired.

Thanks,

Rod

Becky,

Just checking out the Westin site. Looks amazing!!! Have fun.

Rod

Rod- oh brother, I can't believe I take this much time from work! We just got back from a few days in Maine and Nova Scotia and boy, will you be shocked by the difference! Try to go to Miss Lucy's at the far end of the island for lunch as the kids will like the goats which roam freely. You'll be hot believe me but tired? Well, you may not sleep well at Cinnamon if its as noisy and has the poor bedding as Maho does but there's very little stress so fatigue from trying to do it all won't happen- this is a MUCH better place than Disney! By the way, we rented a power boat to get to Jost Van Dyke and didn't regret it. Its a very short hop to the BVIs, you can see them from STJ actually so you might consider this which will give you complete freedom from ferry schedules and charter schedules. Finally- there is no real trick to taking it easy. You'll feel the Island Way that everyone talks about and you'll move into that immediately as NO ONE hurries anything. If you drink beer, try Red Stripe or Caribe (I think)- not too fancy but decent beers and easy to carry around the campground or on the beach. You MUST snorkle or you'll regret it forever- go to Francis Bay, not too far from Cinnamon, slap some snorkle belts on the non/poor swimmers, wade out (carefully) and float your way into a wonderful world.

That brings up another question.

I have reserved a boat from Ocean Runner to go to Jost Van Dyke. We have a small boat here in Maine that we use on the lakes. My wife is suggesting that we have a captian for $95.00 come with us on the boat. This would relieve us from any damage responsibility.

I, on the other hand, am more adventerous. I don't really want the captain. Did you have a captain? Are there hazzards to watch out for between St John and Jost? How far are the islands apart?

Make sure you bring Birth Certificates (official, raised seal and all) with photo ID when entering BVI.

Coming from Maine, the heat will knock you back but don't let that bother you too much. You will find ways to adjust. Cinnamon is great but I really suggest getting around to all of the beaches. If you can get the family up or you want to do it on your own, an East End sunrise is always worth the trip. Morning breezes, beautiful scenery, cant beat it.
Cruz Bay offers more amenities but the kids might actually like Coral Bay better as it is more rustic and old island.

Its a good thing my boss is on vacation....Chris is right as always about getting around to other places. The wait to process your papers at Tortola can take a while so patience is necessary maybe. You have to go to Tortola before you buzz around the BVIs and if I'm not mistaken the power boat rental places tell you all that when you rent. You pay a fee too I think for a day pass to the BVIs. We rented without a reservation from a place in Cruz Bay, don't remember the name and they did grill us on our boating background- we're Buzzards Bay sailors so we passed the grilling! You don't need a captain. Its a fairly straight run to the BVIs, maybe under an hour (we had alot of rain the night before and the waters were fairly rough so we didn't speed and the chop was high) but I think we got or had a map and I know we never wondered or worried about where we were, they're that close. Virgin Gorda was alot further away and we couldn't see that from the boat coming from STJ if I remember correctly (its been 5 years since our last trip). We plan to rent again when we go back this November (as empty nesters) and will have a good look at maps to get to the Baths on our own. I don't remember any issue with rocks that were hidden and I think they mark those pretty well anyway. I'm very nervous on the water so tell your wife "don't worry woman". The islands aren't too far apart but I can't tell you the distance. Probably one of the other links at the top will help you with that if not the other message boarders.

There are no hazards between Jost and St. John with a couple of exceptions.

1. There's Johnson's Reef which is located on the north side of St. John, approximately north of Trunk Bay. There are three large buoys marking this reef so it is easy to avoid.

2. When pulling up to either Foxy's dock or the Custom's dock in Great Harbor it can get shallow, so remember to trim your engines a bit to clear the prop from hitting the bottom.

3. If you decide to visit Soggy Dollar on White Bay (one bay east of Foxy's) be aware that there is no dock and you cannot beach your boat. Therefore you will have to anchor out and swim in. Navigating the approach to White Bay can be tricky as there is a reef just offshore that runs almost the entire beach. There is a break in the reef so knowing where it is is critical to not damaging your prop. That said, just tell the folks at Ocean Runner that you're going over to Soggy Dollar and they'll be able to give you tips as well as a chart showing the reef and where to enter the break.

While you've got the boat it would be a shame to spend the entire day on Jost. I would at the very least add the caves at Norman Island to your itinerary and perhaps even Sandy Spit. You'll have plenty of time to do it all.

Richard N. Kurpiers

Thanks to all the information. Time to leave work for the day. One day closer to the trip. Although I've never been I can feel the warmth of the air, and smell the sea. I can see the amazing colors of the under sea life that we will see. I can imagine all the wonderful people that we will meet. I can see myself falling in love with the island.

anyone else with more helful information about traveling here with three boys?

Thank you much,

Rod

One thing to remember - boating is easier in the VI than New England (I'm a Boston/Cape person too) because the tides don't vary the way they do here. We have always rented a boat and gone to the BVI ourselves; just pay attention to the nautical map provided and enjoy!
I am SO wicked jealous!!! 🙂