Irina11

We are planning a family vacation with 4 generations including 5 months baby. We are looking to either rent a 4 bedroom villa (which is preferable) or condos or resorts that have rooms with kitchenettes so we can have family breakfasts and lunches and go out for the dinners.
We love Turks and Caicos so were looking for something there. But there are not many villas on the Grace Bay or they are too expensive.
As an alternative, we have started looking at Grand Cayman or St. Martin. I only stopped at Grand Cayman and St. Martin when we were on a cruise.
Where on the seven miles beach it is better to stay? Does it matter if it is far from George town?
There are a lot of nice villas for rent in St. Martin around Orient Bay though they are mostly 3-5 min walk form the beach. Are there other good beaches on St. Martin except Orient beach?
We are trying to choose an island which is safe, has nice beach with calm water for swimming, good doctors in a case we need one for a baby and not more that 2.5-3.5 hours from New York city.
We love to swim and walk along the beach. We like when there are dining options in a walking distance though I know that on St. Martin we would probably need to rent a car.

Any suggestions are appreciated. Did anybody has experience renting villas? This will be our first time. We usually stay at hotels. It is so hard to find something decent and not too expensive.

Looking forward for any advises!

blamona

Have you checked VRBO? Every villa in TCI is listed there or Flipkey.

What is your actual budget? That helps us help you.

If you would consider townhouses, you can get two next to each other (so 4 bedrooms) across the street from Seven Stars. Very luxerious, great price, across from IGA Gormet supermarket, walk to small shopping strips and numerous restaurants.

virginia

if this house fits your budget i can recomment it. http://www.bellasurmer.com/rates.htm
we stayed next door, but bella's guest had us over to see the house. excellent location, large (for rental villa) pool with shaded area & is 10 min walk to very good snorkeling (plus mini reef just in front of house). you would need to rent a car for groceries & restaurants but you can walk over to turtle cove marina area which has dive shop, 6 restaurants, mini liquor store & car rental.

right across the street from bella is http://tcvillas.com/gumbo_cottage/
if you could manage with 3 bedrooms. has pool & is truly no more than 3 mins walk onto beach.

when you look at vrbo/homeaway etc look for houses on long bay beach, taylor bay beach & sopadilla bay beach. all are on the south side of the island so houses should be a bit less than those on grace bay beach. taylor or sopadilla might work for you as both have very shallow water for kids to play in.

on grand cayman you'll find few villas on seven mile beach. there are several good condo places though - plantana, discovery point, meridian, villas of the galleon, christopher columbus are all good ones. we stayed in a villa near rum point but it's a 45 min drive to seven mile/georgetown. some good houses in the area. contact http://www.caymanvillas.com/
be sure to tell them you want ocean facing only, not sound facing unless this would not matter to you. they handle some of the condos too.

know nothing about st. martin. too busy for me.

GeorgeR

Grand Cayman is a great place for family vacations. If it your first time on the island, Seven Mile Beach would be the best location. There are not many villas on Seven Mile Beach, but there is a large selection of upscale condos, villas are usually located in the Rum point area. The north part of Seven Mile Beach is the quietest, with no cruise ship visitors and uncrowded beaches with crystal clear water. The central part has the best beaches, more luxurious condos, but is more expensive. The south part of Seven Mile Beach is the most crowded and the beach is narrower. Grand Cayman has American style supermarkets and excellent healthcare facilities.
Cehck on VRBO, Homeaway, Flipkey. You will probably have to rent 2 condos to be comfortable, since the maximum size of condos is 3 bedrooms.

valturks

There is perhaps no better way to fully enjoy the splendor of the Turks and Caicos Islands then by staying in a private villa. With loads of accomodation options spanning a range of sizes, prices and locations, selecting the perfect Turks and Caicos villa can seem like a daunting task - buy why not make it fun! Villas are spread out all over the island, but the most popular spots include: Chalk Sound, Taylor Bay, Sapodilla Bay, Grace Bay, Leeward, Long Bay, Turtle Tail, Turtle Cove and The Bight. Once you lay eyes on these turquoise waters, there'll be no turning back - now that's for sure!