cottages is wonderful as is sandcastle next door

as far as scuba goes, the best site here is at cane bay and the cane bay dive shop is very professional

Alan,
I'm sure you will enjoy relaxing at Cottages. Paul, the owner, will be more than happy to help you find what ever you're looking for on the island. There are several good restaurants to chose from on the west end alone. Among our favorites are the one at Sand Castles(next door to Cottages), Blue Moon (center of F'sted) and Sunset Grill (north of F'sted). But these are just the tip of the iceberg. There are a huge number of great places to eat on STX.
As far as car rentals, I like Centerline. They deliver the car just outside of the airport to avoid me paying an airport tax. This will put you close to Cottages, only a few miles away. On his first visit to STX, my son booked with Olympic. They took him and our DIL from the airport to their lot outside of C'sted, half way across the island. We were all staying at Cottages, His flight was delayed arriving after dark and it was raining. Yes, they got lost. Wandered around in circles for over an hour until they found a taxi driver that was kind enough to lead them to Cottages. And that's another reason we like STX. The people are more pleasant, in general than those on STT. (I'm thinking of the woman at the airport Budget counter, or in the STJ ferry ticket booth)
So, which cottage did you book?

We've used Judi of Croix every time we've been to St Croix and have had a wonderful experience with them for our rental cars.

i am just seconding the responses in this message. We are going to STX next week and will stay at Cottages for the second time. We loved Paul and the whole experience. Also, we rented with Judi of Croix which was a very pleasant experience. Sandcastles restaurant on the water is a must for dinner with the sunset. You will have front row seats every night at cottages! Resevations are needed at Sandcastles.Amazingly , it is full every night! Do go to Cheeseburgers in Paradise on the Eastern side of the island. We golf a lot, but are going to make sure we do the Buck Island thing this year. Have a great time!

We are staying at the Calabash Cottage, that was our 1st or 2nd choice and Ruth highly recommended it. We will be sure to dine at the Blue Moon, (same name as our favorite at over on SST @ Secret Harbour). Good to hear that dinner at the Sand Castles is good. We'll either do Judi or Centerline, sounds like either would be great. Looked at the cane bay dive site, looks like they've got just what we'll looking at.

Thanks again, only 155 days left!!!!!!!

Alan

Calabash has a nice view from its patio. We like to stay in Cruzan because the large patio facing the water is a wonderful setting for breakfast as well as for our own happy hour as the sun sets.
Unfortunately (?) we will miss that when we arrive in 109 days! I caught a deal on Travelocity for 8 nights and airfare out of Hartford for $510 per person next door at Sand Castles. I just couldn't pass it up even though I do feel some loyalty towards Paul and Ruth at Cottages.

Bassman - that is a hell of a deal - I saw that price and thought I would check travelocity and see what it would be for that same time period and same amount of nights flying out of Cincinnati - the cheapest package offered was for the King Christian Hotel in Christiansted for $1,510 per person - air fare alone is $512 per. CVG here in Cincy is the most expensive airport in this nation to fly in and out of - so I checked other airports and those too were in the same $ range -
FRUSTRATING - if I could find prices like that I might get the wife to go back. I'm going to keep looking - I won't give up

again that's a great deal

Steve

It's just like fishing. You have to keep casting out there until the big one bites. It also helps if you can figure out where the big ones are hiding. You also have to be ready to strike when you see an opportunity. When I booked there was a deal at the Holger Danske (Best Western) for around $850 per person for 8 nights and air fare. Even that's gone now.

Hello to all of you who are familiar with Cottages. What a wonderful slice of paradise! Yes, STX is $$$$ but being there makes it all well worth the cost. Enjoy! We'll be at Cottages in June.

Alan,

Buck Island, do a full day, the half day gives enough time for snorkeling but little time on the beautiful beach. Check out http://www.n2blue.com for diving. Sites: Fort Frederiksted, Whim Plantation, you can make a day out of visiting Christiansted with the various historic buildings, lunch on the boardwalk & do some shopping, kayak trip at Salt River, you can check closer to your trip date to see if SEA (St. Croix Environmental Association) is having any hikes or eco-trips.

Enjoy,

--Islander

Be sure to go to Cane Bay Bar....tell Alix Autumn from San Diego said hi!

thanks for the suggestions so far, you've all been a real help. We will do the full day at Buck Island, which outfit has the best day cruise? Hadn't thought about needing a full day at Christiansted, but looks like we'll need one. Also planning at looking at property/condo's for retirement and/or move.

That's all for now, will check in soon.

Alan

Hi, saw you were going to be at the cottage by the sea the same time we are.This will be our first stay in stx. We are renting the coral.See you in paradise Gina and Larry Anderson

Hi Allen,I see you like to snorkel.Every time we travel we bring a bag of dog milk bones with us.The fish will eat right out of your hands.We will be staying at the cottages June 25 through July 4.Very excited about it all.Gina and Larry

Alan, for Buck Island trip you can check out http://www.caribbeanseaadventures.com/.

--Islander