All of the VI's would be a great place to go for a birthday celebration. The advantages of STT and STJ are that you can island hop and even head over to the British islands on the ferry. I've heard that STX is also a wonderful island however I have never been there, I'm sure that someone on this board will have more information on that.

If you are looking for a villa rental you should check out VRBO.com or homeaway.com. You can rent a villa directly from the owners. If you are traveling with a group of friends I would skip the resort and go right for the villa.

Have a great trip and let me know if there's anything else I can help with.

Or how about chartering a yacht for you and your friends? PM me if you want prices, etc.

Pamela

In the category of villas right on a sandy beach that won't break the bank to rent, St. Croix would probably come out the winner among the islands in the USVI. STX has great diving (The Wall, for example), snorkeling (Buck Island, night snorkels off the F'Sted pier just for a few) night kayaking on the Salt River, and it also has the best food in the USVI - jmo. For villas right on swimmable beachfront, check out Villa D'Estasi (stayed there with friends this past April - great villa), Whispering Winds, Solitude House, Paradise Found. These are all east end, north shore villas with Buck Island and reef views. For north shore, more mid to west on the island and closer proximity to Cane Bay where you can snorkel and dive The Wall and party at the beach abrs, check out Paradise at Cane Bay - not swimmable beachfront but nothing between the house and the sea, or three other villas nearby with elevated killer views of the north shore: Brimstage Estate, Sugar Bay House, and Blue Vista. On the east end, south shore, just down from the Divi Resort and Casino is Sugar Bird Rest - a lovely 3 bedroom villa on a beautiful slice of sugar sand beach. All of the villas I mentioned are managed by Marti Gotts at Vacation St. Croix - VSTX is on island and have concierge services to help provision, arrange snorkeling, diving, etc. Check out the villas here: www.vacationstcroix.com We are returning to STX for our fourth visit next April and are staying at Island Time once again - it's beachfront but it may be too small for your group - it's a 2 br.

Happy planning!

The nightlife in the VI is fairly limited, especially if you want to dance the night away. Aruba and Jamaica might be good options if you're looking for an active night scene.

But, for beaches, boating, and island-hopping, the VI is much better. There are plenty of bars to hang out in, but not much music/dancing.

You'll find plenty to do on St. John. I don't think you can go wrong by celebrating your b'day there. If you budget allows I'd suggest renting a house and splitting the cost with your group. Since 2/3 of the island is protected national park, rather than a beach house you should be looking at a villa that is on a mountain side with a jaw dropping view of the ocean and surrounding cays.

Determine your dates, budget, size of the villa and list of 'must haves' i.e. pool, spa A/C in bedrooms, proximity to town (if that's important to you). and then contact severy on-island agencies for their help. When you've narrowd your search down to a vew houses, come back to the forum and see if we can help you decide.

Your friends will thank you for including them in your trip.

By going to St. Thomas or St. John, you have more options of seeing other Islands! The British Virgin Islands are just a boat trip away! Jost Van Dyke, Virgin Gorda to see the Baths, and Tortola. I think Villas are the way for a group like yours, more intimate and gathering time together without strangers there.

Night Life: Yacht Haven Grande has dancing every Friday night, Duffy's Love Shack, the Saint- across from Duffy's (classy with dancing), Caribbean Saloon often has a DJ and more that my Daughter is naming off so YES, there is plenty of night life here in St. Thomas!
St. John is much quieter, so it truly depends on what you are looking for!

Also try: http://www.mclaughlinanderson.com/
for Villas!
Good Luck in your search! 😎

read my post under bars in st thomas. that will tell you a little about where i think you should stay. and where the fun happens!!.LOL 😛 We found a rental apartment from a lady who only had one week left that she had already paid for the rest of the month. So we paid her 350 dollars for 9days! it was a one bdrm, we found it on craigslist. Some ppl advertise rentals for apts in the classifieds and on craigslist. hope that helps!