EmilyMB

Hello,

We have a 9-night vacation in February to the Virgin islands, 7 nights in St Thomas (paid for by work, so we're definitely staying there!). While in St Thomas, we have a trip to Virgin Gorda planned. We have two nights/3 days at the end of the trip, that we need to find lodging for, and we could either stay on in St Thomas or go to another island, and we'd like to stay on another island. We're considering either St John or Tortola for a two-night trip. Looking at the ferry schedule, we could also visit St John or Tortola on day trips while we're in St Thomas, so we'll have the opportunity to day trip, if nothing else. So should we stay in St Thomas for the last two nights or venture elsewhere? And any lodging suggestions? We like quiet, 2-3 star, close or near beach.

Thanks so much for any suggestions,
Emily

virginia

hi emily, where are you booked on st. thomas? if it's wonderful then i might just stay on and do more day trips to st. john, etc.
if not, i would choose st. john for the other 2 nights. st. t is quite busy and st. j is totally laid back. most people stay in villas but that would not seem practical for 2 nights. best hotel on island is www.caneelbay.com with 7 gorgeous beaches on the property. pricey but well worth it.
alternatives are the westin and gallows point. or see:
http://www.varlack-ventures.com/vvfi...hn_guesthouses

also st. john is the easier than tortola to get to the airport from. if your flight is early on your last day that might be reason enough to stay on st. thomas the whole time.

EmilyMB

Thanks, Virginia! We're staying at the Ritz in St T, and we can't afford to stay on there. So we're looking for a budget place somewhere the last two nights (<$200 night). Our flight isn't till late on Sunday, so we have flexibility. St John looks very much like the scene we would enjoy, but we also think it would be nice to stay in Tortola, experience a BVI in more depth.

brenandg

Less than $200 per night on St John in February for only a couple of nights is unlikely. If you don't mind camping, there are Cinnamon and Maho Bay Campgrounds. I haven't actually priced then, but The Inn at Tamarind Court or St John Inn might be near that but not on a beach and I'm not necessarily recommending them, just trying to stay with your criteria.

With that budget, you might be able to find a cute, somewhat rustic place on Tortola. When I was thinking about staying on Tortola a while back, I was looking at Cane Garden Bay because there are places on the beach. Try looking at Mongoose Apartments and Myett's. I think Sebastion's is on little Apple Bay.

mah1980

Why don't you go to Virgin Gorda. There are places to stay under $200 that would fit the bill.

virginia

mah1980, i not had the pleasure of visiting virgin gorda to stay overnight yet. can you be any more specific on $200 per night places?

ejcrowe

I think that Guavaberry cottages on Virgin Gorda are at or under $200/night, even in high season. These are charming and in a great location.

My only caveat for staying on VG would be the ferry time back to St. Thomas on a Sunday. Ferries are already cut back a little on Sundays, and I"m not sure what your options would be to get back to St. Thomas for your flight home.

brenandg

http://www.bvitravel.com/ferries/

Here is the link to the BVI ferrys. ej, I was looking at that earlier too. Looks like the ferry from VG to STT doesn't even run on Sunday. It would involve ferry to Road Town Tortola, then taxi to West End, then ferry to St Thomas. The ferrys can really hinder your travel if the days don't coincide especially with Virgin Gorda and Jost Van Dyke to/from St Thomas and St John.

beachplum

On Sunday, the ferry from Virgin Gorda runs from SpanishTown to STJ and on to RedHook, St. Thomas at 3 in the afternoon so I don't think that's helpful because your flight is probably earlier than that and you need at least 2 hours at the airport to check in. You would have to ferry to Tortola and then to St. Thomas. On Sunday Seaborne flies between Virgin Gorda (North Sound) at 11:55 but luggage would be limited since it is a seaplane. I don't know the fare but guess it would be areound $75-80. Air Sunshine also flys between VIJ and STT but I couldn't get the site to come up.
Harmony shows their rates @ $215 - 230 and Concordia eco-tents at $155. Maho is $135 but that might be hard to take after the Ritz but I loved Maho! Less expensive lodging is Hillcrest Guest House, Garden by the Sea, Lavender Hill (I don't know that they do a couple of days) and some others but you can look up B&B's and lodging St. John. Sebastians is reasonable on Tortola and I'm not familiar with others other than the Sugar Mill. Nail Bay, Mango Bay on Virgin Gorda would be in the range of what you are looking for.
try taveltalkonline.com for BVI lodging and vinow.com and virgin-islands-on-line.com for more detailed information

EmilyMB

Thanks so much, everyone, for all of your suggestions and links. The decision was made for us- we couldn't find a room for less than 3 nights on St John, and we were able to book on Tortola (Myett's), and Cane Garden Bay looks very peaceful and serene and Myett's looks perfect. I'm sure we'll visit St John while on St Thomas, and we'll have to try out the eco-tents at Maho's on another vacation. Happy traveling!

brenandg

http://b-v-i.com/Tortola/default.htm

Whew! Glad you got that figured out. Check out the link above for some great info on Tortola and the rest of the BVI's. Not sure what you like to do on vacation, but if you like hanging out on a beautiful beach, check out White Bay on Jost Van Dyke. I think I would do my day trips from St Thomas and enjoy the short time you have on Tortola.

vinow.com has the ferry schedules from STT to STJ and the BVI's.