sunflower_calif

Hello travelers, we are a group of 8-10 people that would like to celebrate turning 50 yrs in the BVI in May 2006. Was wondering a few things and wanted ideas from all of you. 1) do we need to book day sails ahead of the vacation week ? 2) Has anyone stayed in villas or houses ... are they centrally located ? 3) best area to be near some nightlife but also on a beautiful beach 4) middle high on the cost scale ie:4 star type places. 5) can we rent cars by the day on St. John or Tortola or Virgin Gorda and decide to rent the day before, or will reservations be needed ? thankyou for your responses.

brenandg

Although Fodors regulars always give excellent advice, recommend you post on Travel Talk On Line's BVI forum. There are many posters that go there regularly and have excellent knowledge,

Moglet

There are a number of 4 and 5 bedroom villas on Tortola that would accommodate your party. I would recommend Frenchmans Lookout, Arundel Villa, SummerSalt Villa, Toa Toa and Summer Heights to name just a few. All of them are located in the west/south central of Tortola and have simply stunning views. They are hillside so I would definitely recommend renting a car for your vacation and exploring the island. The beaches are fabulous - my favourites are Smuggler's Cove and Brewer's Bay - all within a 10-15 minute drive of the above villas. Most nightlife is in the Cane Garden Bay area - Quitos. It's also extremely easy to island hop by ferry from Tortola - to Virgin Gorda, Anegada, Jost van Dyke, Peter Island, St John and St Thomas.

I was in the BVI in May and June of this year and had no problem renting a car in Tortola and Virgin Gorda the day before I needed it.

Patouche gets good reviews for day sails.

Hope this helps.

Tuxedocat

1)If you want everyone in the group to go, you should definitely book daysails ahead of time. Most of the boats accomodate small numbers, up to 12-15 people or so. 2)It depends on what villa/house you are renting. Rental homes tend to be scattered all over any given island. If you have a preferred area, let the booking agent know. 3)I am assuming you are renting on Tortola. I would imagine you would want to stay closer to either Road Town or the Westend. But there are little party spots all over the place. You'll have to do your own research. But definitely have a designated driver or take taxis after a night of partying. Tortola is nowhere to drive at night after a few. The roads are challenging sober during the day. 4) not sure what to recommend on that one 5)Definitely you can rent cars by the day on St. John and Tortola. You can usually decide to rent and get a car the same day with no problems. May is not high season. Denzil's has branches on both islands and provide good cars at reasonable rates. I've never tried renting on Virgin Gorda. Have fun!

peggy744

If you are still watching this post, please respond. We are also going to Tortola in May (13-20). We're celebrating 40, and hope to return before 50. We will be renting a villa for 10. I have been doing extensive research and would be happy to share what I've learned. Should be a fantastic trip. A couple of quick thoughts. You will most likely want 2 cars, it will cost about 150 a couple. As far as day sails, unless you love to sail, charter your own motor boat and hire a captain if none of you are boaters. With a party of 10 you can see so much more and your cost would be comparable to going on a "big" boat. I'm considering King charters. I could go on and on.

Donna_M

Peggy, where are you staying? I am starting to plan a trip for my 40th for 6 or 7 couples. I haven't picked an island yet so i'd love to hear about your trip. Thanks!

ltilson

Peggy --- You may already know this, but the full moon is on the 13th so be sure to go to Bomba's Shack for the Full Moon Party. It's a major street party and the whole island will be partying at Cappoon's Bay. I celebrated my 40th birthday there and it was a blast! I would recommend skipping the Magic Mushroom Tea....I am fairly certain the mushrooms came from the local grocery store. But look out for their rum punch. Happy 40th!

tess53

agree with brenandg's suggestion: www.traveltalkonline.com -- this site will get you the best advice and info on the BVI's

sunflower_calif

Thanks everyone for the replies. We have booked a catamaran with captain for 5 days of the trip using a boat broker, Kevin. Have booked our flights, Jet Blue seem to have the best prices. We have 8 people going. I'm still working on staying in San Juan 2 nights and Tortola 3 nights before the sail. Thanks for the link to Travel talk, have been reading there too. Seems Tortola has either $300/night or $85 range. I was hoping to find a cute B&B by the water. Rest of party is not joining us until the cruise time. Jobs are in the way... Next is planning the stops for the 5 days sailing. Have seen lots of recommendations on that too.

peggy744

Yikes!! It's another crappy day in Chicago and I needed a dose of travel planning. Yes, we did know about the full moon. I just don't want to kill myself the first day there. We'll see how that goes. Sunflower..have a great cruise. I know many people LOVE those trips. Are you sure you want to spend any time in San Juan?? I'm sure it's fine, but I think I'd head to another island. Donna... we are staying at Frenchmans Lookout, a 5 bedroom villa. I did a lot of research and this one looks perfect for us. We had cut it down to Tortola or St. John. I absolutely love these islands and there are tons of villas to choose from. Order a brochure from Mclaughlin Anderson to get started, and you can shop on line all day. For a group villa prices are so much better than hotels. We plan on renting a boat one or two days.. go to the Baths, hang out @ Foxy's on Jost Van Dyke. So beautiful, great restaurants, beach bars galore. What more could you ask for?

Moglet

Peggy - Frenchmans Lookout is probably my favourite villa on Tortola. Excellent choice. My sister and her family stayed there in July last year and said it was perfect.

I hope you have a great time.