After spending about $1,300 on airfare you still have enough budget to rent a nice villa. Check out mclaughlinanderson.com. They are a top notch rental agency. Call them and share your wish list and they will make several recommendations. We really like Stone Cottage on STT, and it has everything on your list except it is not oceanfront. This part of the planning is fun. Have a great trip, and congratulations on your upcoming marriage. (tu)

Highly suggest St. John for the quiet and privacy.. Check out vrbo website. Also, Book-it VI. Beas Maison with vrbo is very, very nice, but no air conditioning. Unbelievable views and dip pool. We have stayed there 4 times. Also, with vrbo there is Surf Sound Cottage. We will be staying there in 2012, and this small cottage has air conditioning in the bedroom which I am looking forward to, but no dip pool, but great view. Book-it Vi has a couple of one bedroom cottages that are very nice, but I can't remember if they have any air (most places don't have air on St.John). These nice places are above Coral Bay, but to me the view isn't as good as the two previously mentioned that are above John's Folly Bay. But, the ones above Coral Bay are newer and very classy and more expensive. If you want more details, feel free to private message me. We could even talk by phone.

There are no private beaches in the USVI. All beaches are public.

Although all the beaches are public, we rarely see people on the more remote beaches until later in the morning. We usually arrive by 9am and are the only ones on most beaches. This may not be the case for Trunk or Cinnamon, but many of the others can be very secluded in the off-season.

You will LOVE STJ for your Honeymoon. My wife and I are headed back in a few months for our 11th Honeymoon! 😉

Check out Virgin Gorda and St Croix. Both are less crowed than ST John or St Thomas. Gorda is pricier but more what you describe, an ideal honeymoon island. STX is more economical, more bang for your buck. Budget about $500 for a rental car. Congratulations!

Thanks, I really appreciate the response!

Just wanted to add a point of emphasis - we are looking at Virgin Gorda, Tortola, and STJ in that order now, and we are really hoping someone may know specifically of a (seemingly rare) house/villa that provides an indoor respite in case extra mosquitoes/bugs are hampering our outdoor experience. Don't get me wrong, I'd love an open-air villa and don't mind the heat, but for feasible peace of mind by lowering the risk of mosquitoes (and theft) we hope to find one that can close off (and lock) the inside including the kitchen/dining/living areas (and a locking gate entry to the grounds would be additionally helpful). Thanks again!

This is a forum for visitors to the USVI. VG and Tortola are in the BVI. Folks on this forum can help you with rentals on STJ, but you'll have to look elsewhere for comprehensive information on rentals on VG and Tortola.

VBRO--Virgin Gorda, BVI.

Hello,

I would highly recommend St. John.

My husband and I were married on STJ 7 years ago. It's an amazing slice of heaven. The island is amazing, clean, romantic, quiet and full of beautiful beaches.

May I recommend www.coralbayvacations.com they have the most amazing villa for rent. It's in the quiet part of the island in Coral Bay. If you go to their site and check out Astral Ridge. The villa is out of this world. Very private, you get your own pool. hot tub, a master bedroom suite complete with queen bed, huge closet, safe, bathroom with a huge shower, all the linens you need. 2 outdoor showers (completely private) another part of the villa has an amazing kitchen, another bathroom, 2 sitting areas, dining room and TV with DVD player and not a beat missed on this villa. We cherish our time there with amazing sunsets/sunrises, completely secluded. They have a BBQ for dining in, probably the most romantic place you'll find. We've been renting them for 7 years straight and will be returning in January.

You can't go wrong with STJ. There are plenty of amazing beaches, great restaurants, amazing people and everything you'd ever want in a vacation. If you want more details feel free to ask.

Enjoy whatever you decide but think about STJ. It's amazing!

I'm going to be brutally honest here,

I think your going to HATE the Virgin Islands. No offense but this is the tropics and high maintenance people generally don't do well here. Unless of course they're staying at Caneel, the Westin or the Ritz which are way out of your price range. Point blank, your going to find bugs everywhere you go. Mosquito's, no see-ums, roaches the size of New Hampshire and some really creepy things that we don't even have names for. I don't care how clean the villa is or how much they spray, the creepies still creep. Doesn't sound like your cool with a midnight papertowl kill, so this might be a deal breaker. Also electric bills here are almost 10x that of the states, running the A/C will probably cost your villa owner an additional 500.00 thus almost of the villas in your price range utilize an old school method of cooling - its called Trade Wind AC.

Again, not trying to be mean but if your looking for A/C, bug free, totally secure location on a budget this ain't it.

I'd urge you to book a cruise for your honeymoon..

cruzan1 wrote:
I'm going to be brutally honest here,

I think your going to HATE the Virgin Islands. No offense but this is the tropics and high maintenance people generally don't do well here. Unless of course they're staying at Caneel, the Westin or the Ritz which are way out of your price range. Point blank, your going to find bugs everywhere you go. Mosquito's, no see-ums, roaches the size of New Hampshire and some really creepy things that we don't even have names for. I don't care how clean the villa is or how much they spray, the creepies still creep. Doesn't sound like your cool with a midnight papertowl kill, so this might be a deal breaker. Also electric bills here are almost 10x that of the states, running the A/C will probably cost your villa owner an additional 500.00 thus almost of the villas in your price range utilize an old school method of cooling - its called Trade Wind AC.

Again, not trying to be mean but if your looking for A/C, bug free, totally secure location on a budget this ain't it.

I'd urge you to book a cruise for your honeymoon..

Well aren't you just full of joy and optimism. No offense but your post is just plain silly and in fact you sound like a recent transplant who's realized that island living isn't what you expected. Why else would you even mention the cost of electricity? That's of no interest to visitors unless they're contemplating buying here. Good grief!

Let me be brutally honest here.
I think you are going to love the Virgin Islands.
Try Second Wind Villa on St John. They are managed by Caribbean Villas @ http://www.caribbeanvilla.com/property/second-wind/#availability
or contact them to see what else might interest you. We loved Second Wind and it was reasonbly private.

STT Resident wrote:
[quote=cruzan1]
I'm going to be brutally honest here,

I think your going to HATE the Virgin Islands. No offense but this is the tropics and high maintenance people generally don't do well here. Unless of course they're staying at Caneel, the Westin or the Ritz which are way out of your price range. Point blank, your going to find bugs everywhere you go. Mosquito's, no see-ums, roaches the size of New Hampshire and some really creepy things that we don't even have names for. I don't care how clean the villa is or how much they spray, the creepies still creep. Doesn't sound like your cool with a midnight papertowl kill, so this might be a deal breaker. Also electric bills here are almost 10x that of the states, running the A/C will probably cost your villa owner an additional 500.00 thus almost of the villas in your price range utilize an old school method of cooling - its called Trade Wind AC.

Again, not trying to be mean but if your looking for A/C, bug free, totally secure location on a budget this ain't it.

I'd urge you to book a cruise for your honeymoon..

Well aren't you just full of joy and optimism. No offense but your post is just plain silly and in fact you sound like a recent transplant who's realized that island living isn't what you expected. Why else would you even mention the cost of electricity? That's of no interest to visitors unless they're contemplating buying here. Good grief!

Recent transplant, lol. No, but I'm not on here pimping villa rentals either.
Read the original post again, do you really think these people are going to be happy in a Villa?
Come on, let's get serious.

Maybe my husband and I are just lucky but in seven years renting the same villa on STJ we've never had misqutos, bugs or other unidentified anything in our villa. The only creatures we see are the little lizards, beautiful hummingbirds and amazing other birds.

We've never needed a/c nor have we ever wished we had it.

We've never had any incidents with crime or feeling unsafe.

As for expenses, there are several villas available for very reasonable prices. Yes food costs are high but you can make it more economical by cooking in the villa instead of eating out every night! Pack lunches for the beach.

All our trips have been amazing and beautiful without incident

I think you'd be crazy not to give STJ a try, you'll regret not going

Enjoy whatever you decide.

Hi
I would suggest Tradewinds Villa located on Water Island ( the 4th U.S. Virgin Island ). You can find them on VRBO or Homeaway.
Bill

W e have done it off season - Gallows Point Resort St John

Bah Humbug