Our group of 14 will be traveling again this summer (9 adults/5 kids) and we are looking to make a change from St. John to somewhere similar. It is getting harder to find a large villa to accomodate all of our needs. We love that St. John is small, clean, safe, fantastic beaches, small downtown with great restarants and boutiqe shopping, daytrips to the BVIs (truly missed), still waters for the kids, and just wonderful in every way. We are looking for something just like that. We don't want an island where there are cruise ships (too many people), walmart, home depot, etc... We are looking for a wonderful island to explore and relax. Our days on St. John are filled usually with going to the beach, cooking out at the villa, couple of adult nights out for dinner and drinks, and renting a boat and exploring other islands. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you in advance. We are 8 adults late thirties/early forties, 3 grandmothers late fifties, and 5 children 3-11.

Why don't you try Virgin Gorda in the BVIs?

I'm not sure that there is anywhere as great as St. John, but a lot of people here seem to like Grenada for its lushness combined with great beaches and safeness. But, it seems like kind of a headache to get to.

I have been to St. John two times - the last time was in November, 2008.

I am going to Virgin Gorda for the first time next month. I have heard wonderful things about this island.

Definitely check out Virgin Gorda. We’ve rented villas in both St. John and Virgin Gorda and loved both. St. John is a bit more built up than Virgin Gorda (more of a town to walk through in Cruz Bay) but my personal favorite is Virgin Gorda. We rented a villa on Mahoe Bay, called Caribbean Way. I think any one of those villas (if you have the budget for it) would be perfect, especially for a large group. They’re right on the beach and are gorgeous. Here are our pics from that trip:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLan...share&Ux=0

You can also check out all the villas on Mahoe Bay (or in VG for that matter) on villascaribe or caribbeanway. Good luck!

Another fun thing about Virgin Gorda is that you can take the ferries to Tortola and Jost Van Dyke (don't miss it!) We even took a "puddle jumper" to Anegada for a day..that was awesome. I thought I'd hate the small plane, but what a gorgeous flight and experience. There are also a number of day sails you can take to some great snorkeling spots such as the Caves and the Indians.

I've heard great things about Virgin Gorda too, but IMO don't count out Tortola. Check out some of the offerings on sites like www.caribbeandays.com Tortola seems fairly economical and is a transportation hub so you can easily access many islands in the BVI, as well as St. John.

We rented a large villa in Virgin Gorda last summer - 5 air conditioned bedrooms - so I think it would work well for your group. Great location at Mahoe Bay. Adagio Villa - fabulous views, very nice pool - really wonderful. Here is a link to our photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/2809896...7605869744772/

We rented directly from the owner - he was very nice to deal with:

http://www.adagiovilla.com/

I highly recommend it!

You can't go wrong with a Mahoe Bay villa!

We were looking for the same criteria about a year ago and just seemed to find that there really isn't anything quite like St.John. We are going to Antigua for our honeymoon and have just decided to go there for different reasons- mainly All-Inclusive Resorts. In our search, the BVI's definately were in the running but they seemed even more low-key than St.John which was alittle too much for us. Nevis was also in the running.

I think that once you have fallen in love with an island (especially St.John!) it's hard to compare- it seems we kept finding issues with other places. We are just trying to keep a very open mind with a new place