BF's 1st time in Caribbean, my 3rd - advice?
 

I have decided to whisk my boyfriend away to Tortola and surrounding islands for 10 days at the end of July. He's never been to the Caribbean and is a bit nervous ... he's very fair (burns easily) and is apparently prone to seasickness.
My first visit to BVI was at age 16, & I stayed at Long Bay. Didn't really see much of the resort itself - kept to the beach and our room. Second visit was at 17, on Sail Caribbean. I recommend it to any teen who's not afraid to travel - best experience of my life.
To the point: Now 25 and want to make my bf's first trip to BVI a success. Planning to stay at Long Bay again (great rates, comfortable w/o too much of a cheesy, 'resorty' feel - I think!) and looking to do some snorkeling, The Baths, and maybe a day trip to Peter Island or others.

Would LOVE any advice on a place to stay that might be better (but also a good value), activities (and how to get to them), restaurants or bars, etc. ... haven't been there as an adult - wouldn't know where to go for drinks (besides Pusser's)!

Sorry for the long post, but I'm SO excited, I can barely contain myself!

Thanks in advance.

Can't help you out with resorts, only with the fair skin seasickness part. Forget Dramamine, try Bonine. Works just as well as Dramamine w/o the drowsiness. The best way to beat the burn - suntan lotion before you even leave the room. This way, you can get all those hard to reach places- no ring around the bathing suit lines. Nine years ago I took my then boyfriend-now husband- on his first Caribbean trip = we've been back at least once every year since. It'll be great!

I stayed at Long Bay last year. What I remember most is that the service at the front desk was lacking and the pool was in bad shape (but I used it). That being said, I would go back. I really liked the setting and considering other lodging options, there is no other place, for the price, that appealed to me. The beach was beautiful to look it, but rocky; next time I would bring some water shoes. The biggest problem was taxis--they had to be planned through the front desk. Midway into the trip, we found someone unrelated to LB and then used him routinely.

If you are serious about staying elsewerhe, you might look at wheretostay.com. I found it a helpful sight.

My favorite restaurants were Palm Delight and Jolly Rogers (not sure about the Rogers part). We did the very expensive restaurants that people here rave about, but I thought they were just okay. We also went to Cane Garden Bay for dinner a few nights. It seemed like the music there started at 10 and we could not stay awake long enough to enjoy it. We tried to make it to Bomba's shack, but again, we were always too tired at night to be out after 10.

For trips, we did Peter Island, a day sailing/snorkling, and Virgin Gorda/Baths. They were all "perfect days".

I was with my two sisters and we are all fair skinned. Two of us stayed heavily lathered with #30 sun-tan lotion and did fine; the third wore something much ligher and we thought she got sun poisoning. On the sailboat, those of us who wore t-shirts or who stayed partially covered up did fine; others got really burnt. So, if he is smart about being in sun, he should do fine.

Enjoy yourself.

For a day trip (or two) look into visiting Anegada, northernmost of the BVI's. You can fly from Tortola or charter a boat. Talk about getting away from it all ... fantastic beaches, wonderful snorkeling and I can guarantee that you won't see very many people at all. The whole island has a population of about 150 people. The only place to stay is at the Anegada Reef Hotel, small and unassuming. Might be fun to "whisk" your boyfriend off to a really remote island for a couple of days and introduce him to the fun of desolate beaches!

Please reassure your boyfriend on the sun issue. My Irish-germanic heritage demands that I stay out of the sun unless heavily protected. I, too, was reluctant to go to the Caribbean until my boyfriend finally convinced me several years ago, and we've been back a couple of times a year since then. Just remind your boyfriend that even in the shade, the sun reflecting off the water or white sand can still burn and to use common sense about reapplying. (And I agree ith post who said to put it on before leaving room. Only really thorough way to get covered.)

I'd recommend a visit to Jost Van Dyke just because a trip I was planning there had to get cancelled and I've been wanting to go! :) It's not as remote as Anegada but still feels fairly isolated except for the yachtie crowd.

Go, and have a great time!

Okay, we heard so many awful things about Long Bay here on Fodors, that we decided to check out Virgin Gorda. It now appears that we'll be staying on VG - I understand that the sand on VG is softer, and there are fewer rocks in swimming areas. (it has been a while since I was in the BVI, after all!). So, can anyone tell us anything about the following 4 hotels/villa rentals in VG? I've researched them as much as possible here on Fodors, but I'd like to hear more.

Guavaberry Spring Bay - I understand it is NOT on the beach, but a few minutes walk from the beach ... I really did want to be on the beach, though.

Olde Yard Inn - okay, apparently this is now Olde Yard Village, and they are all about selling condos (at least, that's what their website is all about). Does anyone know if they are still in the business of renting villas/rooms?

Paradise Beach - this seems to have a great location and great beach, but it looks (forgive me) a little dumpy. I prefer terra cotta to marble and don't need the Hyatt, but I don't want plastic chairs, either. Info?

Nail Bay - I keep reading about construction noises (I live in NYC, so the beeping of a dump truck is what I'm trying to escape from), a very remote location, and a treacherous dirt road in and out of here. Does anyone know if construction is still going on, and if this road of death has been paved?

Thank you all SO much for your replies. We are planning this at the last minute - leaving 7/24/03 and returning 8/3/03!!!

Thanks!

Sun advice for the fair-skinned:
Start both the bf and yourself in now
with a twice-a-day entire body slathering
of ANY 'Pre-Sun Conditioning' product lotion (sometimes marketed for indoor sun-bed users or tanning booths,ALSO AVAILABLE AT CVS/WALMART etc) that contains
the ingredient TYROSINE. If there's also COPPER PEPTIDES, so much the better. Both ingredients 'naturally'
raise the melanin in skin, the basis of a 'tan' anyway. On island, use SPF8 for you,SPF15 for him -- they block at least 90% of the 'bad' rays and anything higher is miniscule extra protection for maximum price. Daily slatherings of a good skin moisturizer are also part of the regimen, to be continued once you return to prevent flaking and alligator skin.

Can't answer your questions about specific hotels in VG, but if you don't get a response here, you could check Tripadvisor.com. Having stayed at Long Bay, I think it gets a really bad rap here and on other boards. As I said earlier, I would stay there again.

Have you thought about splitting your trip between VG and Tortola? We met several couples on our sailing trip who did it that way; I wished I'd thought about it.