ewesthoff

Planning a trip for August, which I know is the beggining of hurricane season, but will have to live with it, and need to know what island in the Virgin Islands(British or US), you would recommend for a family with a 7 and 5 year old. We love beautiful beaches, and love to rent a car and explore. We have been to Costa Rica, Belize, Mexico, Jamaica(our favorite), and a few other places, but never to the Virgin Islands. We like staying at All Inclusive resorts for the ease of meals and drinks whenever we are there, but don't find them necessary because we don't spend all day on the resort grounds. We have looked at St Thomas and figured we could take the ferry to St John for the day. What island and activities would you suggest for a family?

doug_stallings

August is actually the middle of hurricane season, and the majority of storms happen in August and September. There are a lot of good family resorts but few that even offer any kind of AI option. That's not the culture in the Virgin Islands.

I like almost all the islands, but St. John is a favorite of forum posters here. Given that you have so many people, it's worth considering the ease of travel. There are nonstop flights to St. Thomas (from a variety of airports) and St. Croix (just from Miami), but there are no nonstops to the BVI. You have to fly to St. Thomas and another flight (or ferry) to Tortola or another flight AND a ferry to several other islands. St. Thomas will give you an island closest in spirit to Jamaica (a lot of activities, big busy resorts), but St. John will give you an island closer in spirit to Belize and Costa Rica (nature, snorkeling, beaches, smaller scale). St. Croix is the most Americanized but also a hidden gem, though it also has the most problems with petty crime and requires a car to reach restaurants and shopping, most of which are not where the resorts are. Tortola is slow-paced for the most part, but can be busy in Road Town. Virgin Gorda offers the most get-away experience with lush surroundings, but it's isolated and can be tedious to reach.

For this many people, I'd recommend something beachfront but you may also want to consider a villa. There are a lot of good villa options throughout the US and BVI.

I like Guavaberry Spring Bay on Virgin Gorda, and there are villas there for larger groups (all accommodations have a kitchen, which is good when you have so many people). But there are great places to stay on all the islands. Once you decide on an island, I can probably come up with some recommendations for specific activities.

Carrybean

The worst part of hurricane season has been September if we get one but we've been pretty lucky on St. Thomas since 1995-96. There are plenty of condos on the east end of St. Thomas which is close driving distance to the ferry to St. John. With kids you can save a lot having a kitchen or kitchenette plus they're convenient for early AM coffee/breakfasts & snacks even if you don't care about heavy duty cooking.

You don't mention what your budget is but two condos on beaches that both have good restaurants are Elysian Beach Resort & Secret Harbour. Sapphire Beach resort also is on a great beach with fewer dining options but still on the east end close to many restaurants & the ferry to St. John to explore. You can find places on VRBO as well.

The BVI's are also accessible by plane from San Juan.

doug_stallings

Carrybean, thanks for pointing that out. I totally missed that you can also connect in San Juan for all the Virgin Islands that have air service, and it's often much cheaper to get there than St. Thomas.

Carrybean

Doug, I think Cape Air is one with connections as well as American Eagle. Often it's cheaper to get to San Juan too.

ewesthoff

Thank you Carrybean and Doug for your responses. In regards to budget, we are looking to keep it under $2000 for the week, not including airfare. A villa sounds great. Are there stores to buy groceries, supplies for the week? We would probably eat out each night, but breakfast and lunch could save us alot of money. If we decided to stay on St Thomas, how difficult is it to catch a ferry to the other islands, St John in particular? Thanks again for your help.

Carrybean

The ferry to St. John is only about 15-20 minutes from Red Hook on the east end. Lots of grocery stores & pretty much all you'd need.

doug_stallings

St. Thomas has big, American-style supermarkets with prices that are higher than in the U.S. (though perhaps not that much higher than Manhattan). St. John has a few smaller stores and higher prices, but you can now do pretty decent shopping there. If there are any special items your kids need, it's wise to pack them in your checked bags. I don't think it's worth the trouble to take a cooler of frozen meat and the like, but if there are some specific things you need (a special kind of coffee or tea, certain snacks for the kids), it's wise to take them as the grocery stores may not have absolutely everything you can get back home. But there's Kmart on St. Thomas, so you can get a lot of stuff there.

It's very possible to get a 2-bedroom villa for under $2000 in August on any of the Virgin Islands.

Paulaco

I live in Puerto Rico, so have the ability to get over to the smaller islands on a regular basis. And I have a 12 and 10 year old, so lots of experience for traveling with kids in the islands. The Westin in St. John is fantastic for families -- lots of fun water toys (trampolines and rock climbing walls in their very calm bay), parrots walking around, crab races, etc. I've actually been there twice in the past year, our kids love it so much! You can take the ferry back to St. Thomas for a day to see Coral World. It's pretty basic, but the kids have fun, and especially if you need some time out of the sun. We also did Little Dix Bay in Virgin Gorda when they were about 8 and 6. This was also fantastic -- they have a great kids club on the premise, with lots to do. They can have a "kids night out" there while you have a quiet dinner. Also, from Virgin Gorda, you can hop the ferry to Tortola for a chance to swim with the dolphins, at Dolphin Discovery. This is a super fun experience. (There is something similar at St. Thomas' Coral World -- swimming with the sea lions -- but the Dolphin experience is far superior). As someone who has been dealing with hurricane season for the past 25 years -- take the island attitude. Don't worry about it. Most of the activity, if any, is in September and October (My son was born during Hurricane George in late September 1998). That is actually the last time we had any real hurricane activity down here. BTW -- Puerto Rico itself is great for the kids -- a much bigger island, of course. But a great mix of cultural sites (the spanish fort, old San Juan), and nature (the only rain forest in the National Park system), with great hotels, beaches and restaurants.