Background: California family of 4… including a daughter (16) and a son (12)… on their first trip to the Virgin Islands

USVI:

We spent 8 nights on St. Thomas at the St. Thomas Marriott.

Travel – We had an uneventful, yet long, trip on United, leaving from San Diego at ~10:30 p.m. and arriving on St. Thomas at ~1:30 p.m. the following day. Of course, that came with a “free” 3.5-hour layover at Dulles airport. We usually do one carry-on and one personal item each and check nothing, but with scuba gear and hubby’s guitar in tow, we ended up checking 2 of the bags.

St. Thomas airport / Dependable Car Rental – the first place I headed for at the airport was the rum punch stand… it was a delightful sight and yielded a much-needed drink for a thirsty traveler (me)! After retrieving our 2 checked bags, we called Dependable Car Rental. It was VERY warm that day (read: HOT HOT HOT) and it seemed like a long wait for Dependable because of the heat, but it was probably only 15-20 minutes. Upon pickup we went to Dependable to complete our paperwork. We rented a Suzuki Grand Vitara, which turned out to be the perfect size for our family of 4. The staff at Dependable was very nice, and in a few minutes we were on our way… with hubby getting his first taste of driving on the left-hand side! Now, I had warned him in advance about the driving situation, but for the first few minutes I think he was saying, “Oh, @#$&… what has my wife gotten me into?!?”… especially at the intersections in Charlotte Amalie. Hey, we’re both private pilots… I figured if we can fly airplanes, certainly we could drive on the left!! We both got used to the new way of driving after a short while.

Marriott Frenchman’s Reef - The open-air lobby was decorated in bright red and orange colors and had a nice tropical feel. Employees were friendly and helpful… a relief after reading some reports to the contrary. Since hubby is a Platinum Marriott client we asked about an upgrade to the Morning Star side, but they apologized that they could not fulfill our request, as the MS side was completely full. Instead, we were given a VIP suite (that’s what they called it anyway) on the 8th floor (“Top of the Reef”) in the Main Building. The rooms were typical middle-of-the-road Marriott hotel rooms.

The Marriott pool was nice and had a lovely view. We enjoyed watching the boats, cruise ships, and seaplanes taking off and landing. The swim-up pool bar was good for afternoon snacks. My son was amazed at all the iguanas walking around the pool deck looking for a handout. Their home seemed to be the cliff just on the other side of the pool fence.

Marriott Restaurants -

We ate at the restaurants at the Marriott 2-3 times and they seemed be to be standard Marriott fare. One regret is not eating at Havana Blue on the Morning Star side. Since we had tried not to break the bank on dining, we skipped Havana Blue, but in retrospect should have eaten there.

Coco Joe’s on the Morning Star side was nice as it was right on the beach. We went here for dinner one night and shared homemade potato chips with a warm gorgonzola and bacon dip as a starter. I had the Ahi salad while the kids split a turkey club sandwich, barbecue wings, and a jerk chicken wrap. Hubby sat out of this dinner, claiming he had already taken in too many calories thus far on the trip!

I don’t recall what we paid for any of the individual meals as everything was charged to the room, and paid one lump sum at the end.

We did get invited to the Marriott’s once-per-week “Island Breakfast Buffet” at the Sunset Bar and Grill, which was complimentary, due to my husband’s Marriott rewards status. The food was very good and included champagne and mimosas, an omelet station, pancakes, sausage and bacon, fresh fruit and juices, etc. Very yummy!

We had one small issue that came about but was solved during our stay at the Marriott. Our next-door neighbors were smoking so much that the smoke was constantly coming in through the vents into our room. I’m not sure if the entire hotel was supposed to be non-smoking or not, but I do know our floor was non-smoking. The Manager on duty called the neighbors and left messages for them to stop smoking several times to no avail. The Manager finally sent a security guard to up to our neighbor’s room and the guard was bowled over with smoke when the door was opened. So our neighbors were “downgraded” to another part of the hotel and we were given a $200 credit to our account. Very nice… that covered most of our miscellaneous charges to the room that week… like the bushwhackers that I kept drinking!

St. Thomas Restaurants –

Kokopelli – a pizza place that we found to be a great place for a casual meal. It is located in the Cost-U-Less parking lot, next to the movie theater. The “free wi-fi” sign in the window caught the eyes of all the Internet junkies in our family and we ended up eating here twice! The atmosphere / ambience is nothing special, but the food was great. One night Hubby and I shared a nice thin crust spicy sausage and (fresh) spinach pizza, along with a very good spinach walnut salad. The kids each pasta alfredo with chicken, which was on the kids menu… they said was very good ($71 including tip). Another night we hubby and I split a lasagna and another spinach walnut salad. The kids split a taco salad ($55). We were pleased both times we ate here.

Blue Moon Café – we ate here for lunch one day. There I had a Philly steak wrap, hubby had a shrimp Caesar salad, DD had a jerk chicken wrap, and DS had jerk-rubbed chicken wings and conch fritters. Everything we had was good, and the view over Secret Harbour was beautiful ($87).

The Green House - Not as good as I had expected based on reviews I had read… the food and service were just “OK”. I had French onion soup, hubby had jerk Jamaican salad, DD had a jerk chicken wrap, and DS had jerk chicken wings ($61).

Gladys’ Café – we had a wonderful lunch here! Gladys’ sister, Pauline, was our server and she was so pleasant and just a joy to talk to… she was our favorite server of the entire trip. Her smile was so genuine and you could tell she loved working for Gladys, meeting all the visitors, etc. I had Creole style grouper, hubby had jerk pork chops, DD had chicken roti, and DS had… you guessed it… more chicken wings. We shared chocolate, almond cheesecake and coconut ice cream for dessert ($85).

Subway – we got “to go” sandwiches here before our scuba dive / snorkel trip since it was right across the street from Chris Sawyer Dive Center in Red Hook. There was a good size line considering it was early morning, and it seemed to take forever to get our sandwiches… we were nearly late for the boat!

East End Café – we ate here for lunch after our scuba dive / snorkel trip. Hubby and I split a cobb salad and a tandori chicken wrap, and the kids each had a penne pasta with vodka sauce. We thought this was one of the better meals we had on St. Thomas… the food was very good, the service was excellent, and, relatively speaking, the prices were very good ($45).

Burrito Bay Deli – we ate here for breakfast before boarding the Red Hook car barge to St. John one mid-morning. This was probably our most disappointing meal. Of what we ordered, the chicken burrito and the jerk chicken wrap were fine, but the shredded beef enchilada plate was not very good, and the ground beef burrito (they suggested the ground beef) was awful. Not worth the price we paid ($48).

Shipwreck Tavern – We went here as we were told this is the best place on St. Thomas for a burger. Well hubby and I split a burger and onion rings… they were indeed very good. The kids split a sampler (appetizer) plate. I had a Pirate’s Poison drink, which contained 4 kinds of rum… yummy! The only negative at this restaurant is if you don’t like smoke. We ate inside, but ate at the table right next to the door, the furthest from the bar / smoky area ($71).

Indigo – I’d have to say that this was probably my favorite meal on St. Thomas. My husband ordered some type of scallops and crab appetizer, which he said was de-lish! For dinner, I ordered the pear and pecan salad w/ gorgonzola and mango vinaigrette dressing and a bowl of potato cheese soup… very good. Hubby ordered “surf and turf” (steak and lobster). The kids each ordered the Dorito encrusted chicken ($94).

Delly Deck – The kids and I ate here once for brunch while hubby stayed at the hotel sleeping. I can’t recall what the kids ate but the omelet I had was good… except for the avocado. Seems like I had avocado a couple of different places that tasted slightly off… maybe because I’m used to the local avocados at home in California??

Las Brisas – We ate here on our last night on St. Thomas. It’s in Frenchtown, where Noche used to be. We arrived around closing time, but they seated us anyway. The food was good and the service was excellent. For starters we had chips and a variety of different salsas and guacamole. For dinner, my hubby had a crab enchilada, my daughter had a beef enchilada, I had a very nice salad with chicken (off the menu… I said I was looking for something light and they whipped this up), and my son had fajitas. Everything was very tasty ($100).

Udder Delight – I realize this isn’t a restaurant, but we did go here for delicious shakes one afternoon… it’s near Magen’s Bay and definitely worth the effort to go there.

St. John Restaurants –

Lime Inn – Lunch here was very good. I can’t believe I did not write down what we ate here… I know hubby had some type of salad (can’t recall if it was shrimp or chicken) and gazpacho, I had a seafood (not shellfish) salad, and I can’t recall what the kids had. I do remember that we split a chocolate dessert. The food was great and the service was excellent. And the iced tea was the best anywhere on our trip (believe me, I had iced tea everywhere!). It tasted so fresh and had a sprig of mint to give it just a little extra zing ($75).

Grotto Deli (Mongoose Junction) – We had snacks here a couple of different days… enough to serve as “lunch” on one of the days. The food was good, although the baked goods were a little stale when we visited at the end of the day.

St. Thomas Beaches –

Sapphire Beach - We drove to Sapphire Beach one morning for some snorkeling. The water at Sapphire was beautiful… so many shades of blue.

Secret Harbour – We snorkeled here after our lunch at Secret Harbour. It was a very nice, relaxing beach. While sitting on our neat sheet a 3-4’ iguana walked right by us. The only bad news here was that my daughter left her leather Rainbow sandals that she had just purchased from the Rainbow Sandal Factory up the road from us here in Southern California before the trip…. Bummer.

Coki Beach - Even going later in the day it was difficult to park here! We swam and snorkeled for a while. It was a fun, funky beach with a good number of locals. I had a banana daiquiri at Mail Man’s Beach Bar and Grill and the kids had smoothies. The owner (can’t recall his name now) was quite a character.

Magen’s Bay – We went here in the late afternoon just for a “look-see”. We weren’t that impressed, but I think it was because of the time of day we visited. We didn’t swim here but did take a few snapshots.

St. John Beaches –

We visited St. John for 2 of our USVI days via the car barge from St. Thomas. Our original plan was to visit St. John for 3-4 day trips but with the heat and humidity, hubby was more into relaxing than sightseeing and I could only get the family over there twice. On our first visit, we went to Hawksnest Beach for a few photos, and spent several hours at Cinnamon Beach, for swimming and snorkeling. On our second St. John day, we went to Francis Bay, which was just as nice as Cinnamon. On the way back to the ferry we stopped at Trunk. Boy… that is one gorgeous beach… we wish we had spent more time at Trunk instead! We saw a couple of donkeys on the road one afternoon and hubby and the kids got to pet them from the car window… that made my son’s day!

The camera fiasco - It was during dinner on our 2nd day that we saw that our Nikon Cool-pix camera (for which we had just purchased an underwater housing the week prior), started displaying a lens error and would not open! Great, here we are in the Virgin Islands with no underwater camera! Luckily we still had DD’s Canon Digital Rebel SLR… but what to do about the underwater camera?!? Back at the hotel, hubby pulls out his laptop and starts surfing the web, hoping to find the same model of Cool-pix camera, so as to still be able to use the underwater housing we had just purchased. Since the camera had been purchased over a year ago, it was now an “older model” and we could not find it in the “new” camera market. He did find one or two on eBay, but we couldn’t get it shipped and delivered to us by the time we needed it for the upcoming scuba dive trips…. Double bummer. Well, I got on-line and consulted with my “internet travel board friends” who gave me the name of 2 electronics / camera stores in Charlotte Amalie. After waiting for them to open the following day, I anxiously phoned them both, only to find out what I already knew… they also no longer had our camera model. We finally conceded that we would have to purchase a new camera AND a new underwater housing. Well, we ended up buying a Fujifilm Finepix F31fd and it’s associated underwater housing at Boolchand’s in CA. The salesperson was very knowledgeable and strongly recommended this model for underwater photography and other low light situations. He must have been correct because we were subsequently told this model was highly rated for underwater photography during a subsequent scuba dive trip… so I guess we made the right decision in buying this model. And with a quick call to the company that I had bought the no longer needed underwater housing from, I got an RMA # to return it. Whew… dilemma over!

Scuba Diving - We headed out early that day for DH and DD to dive with Chris Sawyer Dive Center out of American Yacht Harbor. DS and I were along to snorkel. Well, Chris Sawyer was a very professional organization and we had a great time. We went to Congo Cay and Coral Gardens. The marine life seen was not as abundant as what we would see in coming days in the BVI, but it was a very enjoyable experience.

USVI Summary – Overall, we enjoyed St. Thomas (especially with the free stay on points at the Marriott), but next time we would choose to stay on St. John, with it’s gorgeous beaches and lush National Park areas. We did not make it to Coral Bay on St. John… so we’ll have something to look forward to in the future!

BVI:

After our stay on St. Thomas, we spent 5 nights at the Mango Bay Resort on Virgin Gorda.

Travel – We took Speedy’s (Direct) Ferry from Charlotte Amalie to Virgin Gorda. The ride over took somewhere between 1.5 – 1.75 hours, was quite fast and fun, and we enjoyed the scenery along the way.

Virgin Gorda ferry terminal / Mahogany Car Rental – Upon arrival on Virgin Gorda customs was a quick process. After completing that we walked outside and there was our Mahogany representative waiting for us. Unlike some of the other rental car agencies, Mahogany offered a cash discount which we gladly took advantage of. We rented a Daihatsu Terios, which was quite a bit smaller than the Grand Vitara we had rented on St. Thomas… we barely fit our luggage in, and the car was not quite as nice as the Vitara, but it was less expensive than a Vitara and worked out fine for our 5 night stay.

Mango Bay Resort – We had chosen Mango Bay Resort because of (a) its great location on Mahoe Bay, and (b) its relatively good price ($240 per night) compared with private villas in the area. We stayed in Villa #3, a 2 BR / 1 BA garden view unit. The garden view units are the 3rd set of units back from the ocean, after the oceanfront and ocean view units. Our garden view unit turned out to be just fine for us… it was still less than a one-minute walk to the beach.

Gino, the Manager, was exceptionally friendly and helpful. Now here’s a guy that loves his job! Even on his day off, he and his wife spent the day at the beach in front of Mango Bay, lounging on the beach chaises. The housekeeping staff was very friendly as well.

Our garden view unit was very spacious and had been recently remodeled, including terra cotte looking tile throughout. We had A/C only in the bedrooms, and we (or at least I) found this to be sufficient. The bathroom had an “open” glass brick and terra cotte tile shower with a large hot tub bath next to it. The kitchen had everything we needed in terms of pots and pans, etc. We stocked up on groceries at Buck’s Market in Yacht Harbor for breakfast, lunch, and snack items. We had a dining table inside, and one on the terrace outside. We had an outdoor shower that helped keep the sand outside and screen doors to keep the mosquitoes on the outside also!

The beach in front of Mango Bay Resort (on Mahoe Bay) is fabulous. The resort has float mats and kayaks for use by the guests. There were usually not more than a couple of people with us on the beach in front of Mango Bay at any given time. There were a few other people here and there as you looked down to the beach area in front of the Mahoe Bay Villas… but overall it was very calm and quiet.

I should mention that the dirt road that goes to the Mango Bay Resort was quite torn up while we were there. Gino told us that they are putting in large water lines to go down to Mango Bay (apparently, Mango Bay has been always generated it’s own water supply up until now). Also, there were a couple of private homes / villas being built right next to Mango Bay Resort. So there was construction going on in the area. Luckily, it we did not hear very much of it from our unit.

Virgin Gorda Beaches –

Mahoe Bay – We found this to be the best offshore snorkeling we experienced during our entire trip… especially on the right hand side (as you face the water). Also, I will never forget the hours we spent on float mats… the ocean is so gentle on Mahoe Bay. And looking up and seeing the beautiful green hills and the Mahoe Bay Villas nestled in the greenery, with the blue sky and puffy clouds above… now, that was paradise! We loved this beach so much that we really didn’t visit any of the other beaches, other than the Baths.

The Baths – What can I say that hasn’t been said? The Baths are breathtaking. My only regret was not getting to stay there very long. We arrived after the person collecting the entrance fee had left… probably around 4 or 4:30 in the afternoon. When we were walking down the path to the Baths we saw a couple of people coming up the path from the Baths, but we saw no one else once we got down to the Baths. We walked through the boulders and thought it was quite stunning.

Virgin Gorda Restaurants –

Bath and Turtle – We ate lunch here on arrival day. The food was moderately OK, but the service was lousy. We waited forever for our food, had to get up and ask for the check, had to get up again and go to the bar to pay the bill, etc. The server wasn’t even friendly… and this was the only time we experienced an unfriendly server on the entire trip ($78).

Mineshaft – We ate here twice. One night my daughter and I got the all-you-can-eat Caribbean buffet for $24. Hubby had lobster and my son had a couple of appetizer items (hot wings / nachos) that evening. I had a bushwhacker ($146). The service was very good and the view was outstanding. The food was good too… but if I were to do it again, I wouldn’t get the buffet… when one is eating all the time on vacation, buffets are the last thing one needs! We came another night (had the same server, so good service again) and shared a variety of appetizers that night ($62). I forgot to order their well-known Cave-In drink so I can’t comment on that.

Leverick Bay Resort / Jumbie Beach Bar – We went to the Friday night all-you-can-eat beach barbecue ($25 for adults, $10 for kids under 12). The food was fairly good, but the location was very nice. Tables were placed around the pool, and along the sandy beach in front of Leverick Harbor. It was very pleasant looking out over the water and listening to the music. The Mocko Jumbie show was fun for the kids ($85 dinner / $41 drinks, including one Planter’s Punch!).

The Flying Iguana – This was our favorite restaurant on Virgin Gorda. We ate here twice. The first time, between the four of us, we had a BLT, a cheeseburger, and a curry chicken sandwich (all with fries), and a Caesar Salad with chicken ($94). Also, the day we left the island and were waiting for our Air Sunshine airplane to arrive, we ate breakfast here. I had bushwhacker French toast, the kids had BLTs, and (believe it or not) my husband had the seafood Creole (yes, for breakfast!). Hubby said it was some of the best Creole he had ever had and he’s originally from Louisiana… so he knows his Creole. Puck (the owner) said he makes it differently every time ($72). We really enjoyed chatting with Puck and “talking” to the 2 resident Flying Iguana parrots, Chester (a girl) and Big Boy.

The Rock Café – We had a great dinner at the Rock Café. We shared a plate of calamari and a plate of (raw) yellow fin and cheese for an appetizer. For dinner, hubby had Anegada lobster (very good, and better than the lobster at the Mine Shaft… which he liked as well), I had the snapper, and the kids split pasta with chicken, broccoli, and alfredo sauce. I know we shared two types of desserts… a crème brulee and something chocolate, as I recall… a very nice meal, and outstanding service. We had intended to eat outside with the boulders, but the inside and its A/C wooed us to stay inside! We left just as the piano player was about to start unfortunately ($163).

The Mad Dog – What a great place to stop for a drink after spending time at the Baths! I had one of Edith’s famous pina coladas and it was quite refreshing! The rest of the family had sodas. Edith was also a kick with our kids!

Scuba Diving – Hubby and daughter spent 2 dive days with Dive BVI. I can’t say enough about this organization. Hubby and daughter loved the 2-tank dive to the Rhone and enjoyed their other day, another 2-tank dive, to the Dog Islands. Of course diving can vary based on weather and water conditions on any particular day, but both my hubby and daughter strongly agreed that the marine life they saw in the BVI was much more abundant than in the USVI. Everyone at Dive BVI is just great. We visited their store in Yacht Harbor a few times and we ran into some of them at the Leverick Bay Barbecue. Everyone is as friendly and helpful as can be.

2 Boxes Sent Home – We decided to ease our load on the way home, especially since we were traveling on Air Sunshine, by mailing 2 large boxes (one for scuba gear, one for clothing) home. My hubby went to the Virgin Gorda post office and mailed the boxes the day before we left, at the lowest priced shipping method. They told him it would be 6 weeks before we’d receive the boxes. Well, it’s been nearly 5 weeks, and we’re still waiting!

Air Sunshine / an interesting passenger – On our travel day home, our route included a 10:30 a.m. flight in an Air Sunshine Cessna 402C from Virgin Gorda to San Juan, where we met our UAL flight back to San Diego. Since my husband and I are pilots, we of course enjoyed the Air Sunshine flight immensely… and we loved the scenery to Puerto Rico at 4500’. It originally looked as if it would only be our family on the flight, but at the last minute a car drove up and an individual looking to be a local resident was dropped off. The man boarded the airplane with us. During the flight I chatted idly with him about Virgin Gorda. I told him that this was our 1st visit and expressed how much we had enjoyed our time there. He told me that he was born on Virgin Gorda and continued to tell me how it had changed over the years, but how Virgin Gorda was still a wonderful place with fantastic people. You could tell by the tone of the gentleman’s voice, and the look in his eyes, that he took great pride in Virgin Gorda. When I asked if he was going to Puerto Rico for business (he did have a briefcase with him), he mentioned was just going to San Juan for lunch. I thought to myself, “Wow… here is a local Virgin Gorda resident that can just hop on an airplane and fly somewhere for lunch… how nice!”. Much later as we were walking through the San Juan airport, the gentleman handed me a business card and said, “Next time you visit our island, you should rent your car from Speedy’s”. I looked down briefly and saw that it was indeed a Speedy’s business card. I said, “Oh, then you work for Speedy?” and he smiled and quietly answered, “Well… (with a bit of a pause), yes”. We continued to walk and, because of the way he had answered my question, I curiously turned over the card. The name on the other side of the card said “Edwin ‘Speedy’ George”. I then smiled back and told him, “Well, according to this, you ARE Speedy!”. And he (again quietly) answered, “Well, yes… that’s true too”. What a nice man Speedy is!! And next time we will be sure to rent our car from him!!

Travel to California – Our UAL flight from San Juan was uneventful. We had a connection in Chicago and arrived back in San Diego around 10:20 p.m.

BVI Overall Summary – Virgin Gorda is fabulous. We’d return here in a heartbeat! With the long haul from Southern California, it may be awhile however.

Carole