USVI with Baby and Toddler - Advice required

Old Feb 18th, 2014, 06:27 PM
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USVI with Baby and Toddler - Advice required

Hi - We are going to the USVI in the end of March for a family vacation with our two daughters. The older one is 3 years old and the younger one will be six months old.

I booked the vacation as I was able to use miles for our tickets ...but now I am having second thoughts. I read some posts about crime in St. Thomas. How bad is it? Are there particular areas we should avoid with the kids?

Also, I haven't booked accommodations yet. I was planning on renting a house/apartment thru HomeAway/VRBO. Which is a better bet with the kids - St. Thomas or St. Johns?

Any tips on places to visit etc. would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your help!

solitaire
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Old Feb 19th, 2014, 03:48 AM
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Seriously, I doubt whether your 3YO and 6 month old will have any concept of the differences between St. Thomas and St. John so choose the island based on what the adults in your family prefer. The water and beaches will be similar.

St. Thomas has more shopping, restaurant choice, adult based activities, water sports, and is somewhat less expensive destination. St. John is quieter, more laid back, has fewer dining options, not much in the way of shopping and generally a more expensive island.

No place in the Caribbean is crime free -it can happen anywhere. Most crime is committed by locals against locals. Tens of thousands of tourists visit St. Thomas and St. John every week without incident. Take the same normal, common sense precautions you do "back home" and you should be just fine no matter which island you select. As far as areas to avoid that too is "just like back home" - be mindful of your surroundings - don't walk down dark alleys or deserted streets late at night. In other words if an area looks unsafe to you simply avoid it.
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Old Feb 19th, 2014, 04:05 AM
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I would absolutely pick St John over St Thomas. Beautiful beaches around every turn and laid back. Although it is not a shopping mecca like St Thomas, there are lots of little quaint shops in Cruz bay and plenty of very good dining options. Also, Cruz Bay is very safe to walk around at night. I know of an awesome babysitting service if you should want a day or evening to yourselves. I know her personally and she is a pediatric physical therapist who transplanted to St John.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/KIDS-...81265998707300
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Old Feb 19th, 2014, 05:16 AM
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thanks RoamsAround. i think you are right about the crime. We went to PR when our older daughter was 6 months old ...and there were some parts that were shady and some that were really nice. Just like any other town. Thanks for giving me the confidence to move ahead with our plans.

Brenandg - Thanks for your advice regarding St. Johns. I will look into this too now. Also, will keep the baby sitting service in mind. Adults may want some alone time too!!

BTW ...are there any nice easy hikes / walks around the island. We love hiking and walking as a family.

Thank you!!
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Old Feb 19th, 2014, 02:49 PM
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I have only stayed on St Thomas for one night at the end of a couple of trips and once with friends who live there, so can't advise much on STT. To me, the driving on STT seems a little crazier and not as easy to find your way around except in the Charlotte Amalie area, but that may be inexperience. It is much busier! On the other hand, I have been to St John many times and keep going back. Here is a link to VRBO rentals on St John. I personally like Grande Bay condos. You could walk to town with the kids with a stroller and not have to drive at night. If you prefer a quieter location, plenty of that too.

http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals...n/usvi-st-john

Not much of the hiking is kid friendly on St John and probably St Thomas as well. Certainly not stroller friendly. If you were carrying them, on St John, you could probably do The Cinnamon Bay Loop Trail or Annaberg ruins.

http://seestjohn.com/trails_cinnamon_loop.html

http://seestjohn.com/places_annaberg.html

If you end up on St Thomas, the babysitting service I recommended will go there as well for an extra charge. I am not affiliated with her and have never recommended her on this forum, but I don't think I have advised anyone with kids before . Not only does she babysit them, but also entertains and educates them. She is just a super person. Her husband sometimes helps too. She will come to your accomodations. Here is her actual website with pictures. You may want a few hours of alone time.

http://kidsnightin.com/
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Old Feb 20th, 2014, 08:00 AM
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You'll find many more hiking opportunities in St. John (not St. Johns ... that's actually a different place on a different island).

And you'll also find a wider selection of villas on St. John. However, virtually none is beach front or within walking distance of a beach, which may be an issue. And there are no big supermarkets on St. John, which makes shopping a bit harder.

But there are a lot of condos near Magens Bay on St. Thomas, and if you could get one of those you'd have a great location near almost everything and easy access to one of the island's best beaches.

I'd consider seriously whether a rental on St. John's Coral Bay area would work for you, since it is pretty far from everything. Some of the rentals there can give you better proximity to the beach and much better value, but there aren't many restaurants or activities out on that end of St. John, where much of the business is focused around Cruz Bay.
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Old Feb 20th, 2014, 12:36 PM
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"there are a lot of condos near Magens Bay on St. Thomas"

Actually, there is one timeshare resort (Magens Point), but most of the condos are on the south and east end of St Thomas. Sapphire, Crystal Cove, Sapphire Village, Watergate, Secret Harbour, Cowpet East and West, Anchorage are condominium accommodations which would give you a kitchen, extra space, yet provide a sense of community.

If you want something on a beach, St Thomas has more options.
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Old Feb 20th, 2014, 02:35 PM
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I have to respectfully disagree about the grocery shopping on St John . Starfish Market located in The Marketplace has a selection of all you could need including a bakery, deli, and hot food counter. There is a Gourmet Market right across from it that has a large selection of cheese, salami type meats, liquor, beer wine, etc. Dolphin Market is also decent, but smaller. The is a fairly new grocery store near The Westin that has a reportedly good selection and there are a few mini marts in Coral Bay.

I agree that if you require being directly on a beach, there are very few properties that fill that bill on St John because it is 2/3 National Park and cannot be developed in those areas. That is one of the things that make it so pristine.
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Old Feb 20th, 2014, 06:44 PM
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I certainly can't disagree with anything eastendervi says. And while the markets on St. John have improved, there's no US-style supermarkets as there are on St. Thomas. And of course the prices are high, but that's almost unavoidable in the Caribbean.
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Old Feb 21st, 2014, 04:39 AM
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I have vacationed on both islands. I think St John blows St Thomas away on every level.

Better beaches, better snorkeling, way less crowded, more laid back, and much more scenic.....seriously some of the most beautiful (small) deserted beaches you'll ever see. I also felt much safer on St John. The port city of Charlotte Amalie is not attractive in any way shape or form in my opinion. It's where the cruise ships dock, and I found it dirty, conjested, and couldn't wait to get away from it.

I think you would enjoy St John MUCH more!!
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Old Feb 23rd, 2014, 06:08 AM
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BassGuy66: If you only saw the port area, you have not seen the entire picture of St Thomas. There are lovely areas with low rise condo-hotels on beaches where many folks find happiness. St John DOES have the national park. This is good and bad for visitors. Very few accommodations built on a beach, so you have to drive to one with all your stuff every day. Some love this. Others would like to go back to their room for a nap, have a beach attendant bring them a drink, etc. Different strokes for different folks.;-)
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Old Mar 22nd, 2014, 04:55 AM
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I just logged on and saw so many more replies to my initial queries. Thanks every body!
We ended up renting a condo on the beach in Red Hook as a compromise between St. Thomas and St. John. This way we can easily get onto the ferry to St. John while being close to amenities of St. Thomas.

We are outdoorsy people and I really like the suggestion of trails by brenandg. The baby likes being carried in her baby bjorn carrier and so we will attempt that. Also, may end up using the baby sitting service to get some alone time!

we are super excited about our trip! thanks for the great advice!
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Old Mar 22nd, 2014, 06:32 AM
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Have fun! ;-)
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Old Mar 23rd, 2014, 02:12 PM
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Hope you will post a trip report. Your trip must be coming up soon. Have fun!
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Old Mar 23rd, 2014, 04:08 PM
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This may not be appropiate for this forum, but whatever...

http://player.vimeo.com/video/89271023
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Old Mar 24th, 2014, 02:13 PM
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Duh! I guess I should clarify why I posted this! Kids Night In Babysitter shaving her head for kids cancer research. She is at 2min 21 secs.
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Old Mar 25th, 2014, 06:37 PM
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thank you! yes, will try to post a trip report!
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Old Mar 17th, 2016, 07:17 AM
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Hello solitaire11, I am in the exact same situation as you (same ages of kids) but have not booked yet (as looking into March of next year, but like to plan ahead). How was your experience? Any tips please?
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Old Mar 22nd, 2016, 10:28 AM
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Curious too and if you ended up using a babysitting service on the island. Staying at Sapphire next month and would love to know how your trip went!TIA
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Old Jun 19th, 2016, 02:36 AM
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It was a great trip! And I highly recommend it. We ended booking a condo in the red hook area...and it was the perfect location for our age kids. I would definitely take the kids to the aquarium...it's small and perfect for young kids. Also, we were close enough to the ferry to St. Johns and we did two day trips into St. Johns. The water in St. Johns is beautiful and a couple of beaches (I think one of them was called Eagle's nest) was very calm with a nice sandy beach that our kids loved.

If you are renting a car, I would go with Avis because they let you take the car on the ferry to St.Johns, if you want to do that. We ended up renting baby gear like bouncer and crib from baby rental service on the island. But didn't use a nanny service.

All in all, we want to go back!! Hope this helps.
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