welch

My husband and I are planning a 25th anniversary trip in the next month or two (our anniversary is the beginning of December).
We've rented villas in St. Barths before and love the island but I thought it might be fun to try something new or even visit both islands this trip. Is there anyone out there who has traveled to both islands and might be able to compare?
Thanks so much!

Maggi

Hi welch, Virgin Gorda was our trip this year and St. Barths last year, so I might be able to answer some of your questions. We also rent villas and did so on both islands. While we enjoyed our stay at both, I would say we probably liked St. Barths more. For one, there are probably more and better restaurants on St. B than VG, as well as better grocery selection. We found people on St. B extremely polite and "genteel" if that's the word. Not that people weren't friendly on VG, just different. The scenery is equally beautiful on both with VG having a slight edge due to The Baths, which is why we visited there. The Baths are definitely incredible and I'm glad we got to see it. Driving on St. B is a little harder because some of the hills and driveways are more extreme. The entrance into our villa was up a 45 degree hill and we had to stop and back into our driveway. The beaches are beautiful at both. Because VG has less tourists that St. B the beaches can be more secluded. We stayed on Mahoe Bay and almost always had the beach to ourselves. I think the snorkeling is better on VG too, if that matters to you. If you think of anything else, let me know.

welch

Thanks so much, Maggi!
We've been to St. Barths many times and have a hard time going elsewhere but the villa we want to rent is available for only 6 nights in our time frame. Choices are to pick a new villa, spread our time among two different villas or go to two different islands.
For our 20th anniversary we began our trip in Anguilla at Cap Jululca. We hadn't been to the island in many years and weren't particularly impressed with the resort (I know- everyone else loves it!) or even the island in comparison to St. Barths.
I visited Virgin Gorda a life time (over 30 years) ago. If I did do this perhaps ending the trip with St. Barths would be the way to go!
I'm open to other alternatives but they need to be relatively easily accessible, one from the other, as we're coming from California and travel time is already great.

Maggi

That's one of the main things I love about St. Barths is the huge selection of affordable villas. We stayed in Santal and really liked it - hot tub and pool with A/C in bedrooms. I'm hard pressed to find the same amenities for a similar price on other Caribbean islands. Next time I'm tempted to stay right on St. Jean beach at Les Islets de la Plage. Where do you like to stay on St. B?

welch

Funny, isn't it? With the reputation St. Barths has...
The villa I like is Micalao in Anse de Caye. It's a little more money than I should spend but the colors and amenities are wonderful. I love that I can hear the ocean and the proximity to everything.
I think I read your trip report on the SBH website! Santal has been on my radar since then. I like the privacy of a villa in hills so nothing right on the beach for me.
When my kids were young we used to stay at the Emeraude Plage. That was back in the day of the franc and the units were pretty affordable and on the beach was the only way to go with small children (and there was way more beach there then!).