ALC

Hello Everyone,<BR>We're going on a 8(full) days holiday to the US Virgin Islands and will be staying on St. John. We would like to see, of course, St. John which is supposed to be the greatest and also St. Thomas and we're also thinking about seeing one of the British Islands, possibly Tortola. How much time should we allocate to each of these islands ? Thank you in advance for all your help.

Kat

We just got back from a trip to V.I. Were were there a week. We spent 2 1/4 days on St. John (not enough), 2 1/2 days on St. Thomas (would have been plenty but we got rained out of our kayaking trip), and 2 1/4 days on Virgin Gorda (not enough).<BR><BR>We wanted to island hop and see as much as possible as it was our first time there. Our plan though for next time is to stay put in St. John or Virgin Gorda and maybe do one or two day trips to other islands we missed this time. We could have easily spent a whole week on St. John and never gotten bored. A week on Virgin Gorda would be plenty to see everything and still have time to relax and do nothing!<BR><BR>For your schedule if you are booked into one place for a week already then just take a day trip to Virgin Gorda and a day trip to St. Thomas then spend the rest of your time enjoying all there is to enjoy on St. John!<BR><BR>Kat<BR><BR>Kat

ALC

Thanks Kate !<BR>I think that we're going to do exactly what you suggested: just take a day trip to St. Thomas, another day trip to one of the British Islands (was thinking about Tortola (?) ) and then stay put on St. John. I was afraid St. John might get a bit boring after a couple of days, but it seems people enjoy the island a lot and can't wait to go back. It must mean something.

ALC

Kat, did you rent a jeep like everyone else seems to or did you rely on taxis ?

Beverly

IMO the better beaches and scenery are on St. John giving it more places to explore if you like nature spots. Shopping can be good on St. Thomas but I have been there twice and did not like the island very much either time. From St. John, you can take an easy catamaran tour to see other islands. That's the advantage of the area - you can visit a number of islands during one vacation without having to pack up and move. Enjoy.

denette

We have been to U.S. Virgin Islands twice in the last 5 years, once without the two boys and once by ourselves(my husband and I). We stayed at Caneel Bay on St. John and snorkeled off of all the beaches there and then took a trip out one day and snorkeled off of several other beaches. One day we sailed to Jost VanDyke and snorkeled off of several beaches there. Our second trip we had our two boys with us and another family with their child and we stayed in St.Thomas, and we snorkeled every day off of the beaches there. We had a car so it was quite easy to get around. We took a day trip to Virgin Gorda one day, then a trip to Peter Island/Cooper Island and snorkeled off of beaches there. We lunched at a restaurant on Cooper Island, and had great sandwiches and had an absolute great time. Our children's ages were 11,4 and 7 yrs. They loved it, the two boys snorkeled until they were made to come back into the boat(11 and 4). It was a day to remember. We did take the tour of the baths on Virgin Gorda, our guide timed it to where it was not too crowded, it was starting to get that way when we were leaving, but our kids still talk about going through the caves, and our 11 yr. old went with our guide deeper in and came out on top of the boulders and dove off of a cliff and he thought that was absolutely fantastic and we have great pictures to show a very memorable experience for an 11 yr. old. St. Thomas is much more crowded than St. John and when we go back and we will we will probably rent a house on St. John and with a rental car go to all the beaches we can get to. I'm not a big shopper, so the shopping that appeals to many at St. Thomas is not for me, there are a couple of great restaurants in St. Thomas, though. I hope this has been helpful.

Julie

Any restaurant recommendations on St. Thomas?

Anna

We spent 10+ days on St. Thomas last February with 2 daughters (12 & 14).<BR>We all agree on our 2 favorites - Blue Moon at Secret Harbour resort. Excellent food, service & atmosphere - and kids can stroll on beach right next to you while you finish supper.<BR>Wahoo in Red Hook. Harbor view, casual setting. The coconut shrimp was so good we had to do takeouts for our daughters on other nights!

denette

We ate out every night we were in St. Thomas except a couple and here's what we found.<BR>Tale of a Whale was very good- right at the docks at Red Hook-walk in type of place<BR>Blue Moon at Secret Harbour was great- food great, beach great- we were told we need a reservation, called morning of dinner and when we got there we were 1 of 3 tables the whole time we had dinner/drinks<BR>Agave Terrace was absolutely fantastic, the most expensive place we ate, but oh so good, the view is oh so beautiful and yes you definitely need reservations at it. We called morning of and requested right by terrace edge overlooking island/water and they were all reserved, so may want to call a day ahead. Great service, only positive things to say about it.<BR>Raffles was an absolute jewel, very eclectic in atmosphere, food was absolutely outstanding, presentation was wonderful, service was good, and Sunday is "open mike" for local talent and we had a really great time, we were going to go back to it a second night while we were there but one of of kids got to feeling ill, too much sun/too much salt water so we never made it back, but we regretted it.<BR>Hope this helps in your dining out choices.

Kat

ALC,<BR><BR>Yes we rented a vehicle on St. John. We rented from C&C. They were very nice and accomodating as we arrived on a day they were closed (Sat.). They left the car for us in their lot. At first we thought they forgot us when we couldn't find our car, then a friendly local pointed out to us that they had 2 lots! *blush* Needless to say we found our car! We pretty much had to rent a car as we stayed at Concordia Eco Studios which is way off the beaten path. I would rent no matter what just because then you have freedom to go whenever wherever. <BR><BR>Anyway... St. John is great, especially if snorkeling and hiking are on your list of things you want to do. We hiked the Leinster Bay Trail to snorkel in Waterlemon Bay around Waterlemon Cay. We really enjoyed that! Getting in and out of the water is a little tough as it is rocky out there, but it is worth the walk and worth the rocks! <BR><BR>Have fun!<BR>Kat