leapinlarry

Based on Fodorite input on choosing a Caribbean Island, my wife and I and 3 "twenty somethings" are planning to spend a week (June 2010) on St. Thomas, USVI with one or two day trips to St. John.

We need a condo, house or something that has 3 bedrooms.
We would like to be on or very near (walking distance) a nice beach.
We are interested in snorkeling and laying around.
We do not want a beach that is really crowded.
We also plan to rent a car so I would prefer not to stay in Charlotte Amalie.

Any suggestions on:
locations, specific beaches or specific accomodations.

Leapinlarry

nursecarol

I would recommend renting "VRBO.com" at Crystal Cove Beach Resort right on Sapphire Beach. Very good location to Red Hook for day trips to St John and restaurants. Can't help on car rental though, we did not rent a car.

malteseheart

Hi! We just got back from STUSVI - stayed in Cowpet Bay East which are 2-3 BR villas(Cowpet Bay West & Elysian are also located at the same beach). Would highly recommend if you want to relax on a cozy beach with fun and a laid back vibe but not party crazy. No charge for the chairs & there were always plenty available. We snorkeled right there in the cove w. our own equipment. Excellent beach bar Ainsley's w. nightly entertainment, airy restaurant Robert's and nice pool, hot tub and pool bar as well. Food is great at all places. The yacht club is across the harbor so the view of the sailboats in the cove is breathtaking. It is located next door to Ritz Carlton & you can walk around RC for free. Ferry to St John is in Red Hook, very close by. The villa we stayed in is called "Beachtops" on vrbo.com. I would highly recommend Cowpet area. Hope this helps! Also visited Sapphire Beach (very nice-more active), Emerald Beach (very pretty - great rum punch, located at the Best Western near airport) and Coki Beach (very busy & touristy!). All of the beaches are excellent though!

22trav

We spent a week in November of 2009 in St Thomas and it had been over 20 years since our last visit. We had been to St. Thomas many times and we had fond memories. We were really excited to be going back to the island but boy, were we ever disappointed! I know a lot changes in 20 years but I had hoped the change would be for the better and this was definitely not the case. We never felt safe on the island. Some of the islanders were downright hostile and others were just plain scary. Be especially careful if you venture out at night....no walking around the streets and leave your valuables at home. And by no walking around I mean go straight to your point of interest and then back to a waiting taxi or car. We were shocked when we drove through Charlotte Amalie from the airport on our way to the villa we had rented. The town was so run down and looked like a ghetto in some areas. We wanted to relax for the week, so shopping wasn't on our list. We did go into town one day to have lunch at Gladys Cafe. Cute restaurant but the "must-have" conch chowder and fritters were very overrated. We did compare prices in a few shops and actually found that we got better bargains in the States. Be sure to check the cruise ship schedules and if you do go into town, plan it for a day when there aren't a lot of cruise people wandering about. Outside the shops be prepared to meet vendors everywhere hustling for tourist dollars. We really just wanted a week of R & R, good weather, and good food and we wanted to stay in a place where we could kick back and have some privacy. We decided to rent a villa at Pavilions and Pools. We had stayed there 20 years ago and had really enjoyed the small private pool and condo/villa atmosphere. I won't even go into the details of what a nightmare that place was. I couldn't wait to go home! Our villa was so run down and dirty, nothing had been renovated since our last visit! Let's just say it was nothing like the photos on their website. We met other tourists on our excursions and quite a few people were complaining about their hotels as well. We only heard good comments about the Ritz but that can get real expensive for a week long stay. In hindsight it would probably have been worth it. We enjoy fine dining and don't mind spending more to eat at a good restaurant but even though we went to places that were considered the "best" we were very disappointed. Food is quite expensive all over the island and all of our meals were just average at best. Since we had a kitchen in the villa we were able to buy food at a local market but selection is limited and again, very expensive. Sapphire Beach was right next to our villa but gated and locked on the two times we attempted to visit. We did spend an afternoon at Magean's Bay, considered according to popular travel guides, to be one of the finest beaches in the world. Where have these people been? The beach was nice but not one of the finest! Basically lots of drunk tourists working on their tans and lots of taxi drivers waiting to take you back to your hotel. You mentioned renting a car and we almost did the same. Taxis are expensive, but after reading about the rules of the road (there aren't any that make sense) in St. Thomas, we decided to forgo the rental. We have rented cars in Paris, Germany, New York, you name it but driving is really crazy on the island. Streets are not marked, the taxi drivers are ruthless and the winding roads and impatient drivers made us glad we weren't behind the wheel. We did go to St. John as the ferry was very close to where we were staying. If you just want to relax on your trip, you might all be better off staying there. The island is very pretty, less hectic but there isn't much to do and again, we just didn't feel safe on this trip (I won't elaborate). The 20-year-old crowd will probably enjoy it but we baby boomers would have had a better time elsewhere. Do your homework before you go and don't trust the guide books. Google your topics of interest and see what other people who have been to St. Thomas have to say. We found out after the fact that our villa had some horrible ratings on TripAdvisor. I would never go back to St. Thomas or recommend it to anyone. However, if you are planning to go, I do think your best bet would be to rent a villa or condo but try to get some honest recommendations and no matter what, plan on spending some money on this vacation because nothing is cheap on the island....except the rum, which you just might need if your trip is anything like ours was. I am sorry to sound so negative and I hope you and your family have a better experience. You might want to check some other destination options just in case....I sure wish we had! On the flip side, the weather was beautiful. Good luck.

TPAYT

www.secretharborvi.com

It's on the east end near Red Hook for the ferry to St. John.
It has great walk in snorkeling on a private beach, a beach bar, and a very good restaurant. There's a grocery store in Red Hook if you wish to have food and snacks in your condo.
Fabulous sunset views.

Choose bldgs. 1-4 on the water. 5-6-7 are up on the hill by the pool and a good hike to the beach.

We had a wonderful time there. The only fault I could find is that the pool is up on a hill, quite a hike from the beach and we prefer to have the pool close to the beach.

Check it out.

mhummel

I agree with Secret Harbor. Excellent snorkeling and
very good restaurant. Not far from Red Hook restaurants
and ferry to St. John. Definitely get a beachfront condo.

We didn't even bother with the pool.

If you like snorkeling, ask the dive shop manager to
take you on a half day trip to Cow and Calf rock-lots
of turtles and some big Spotted Eagle rays!

One word of caution- use your IN ROOM SAFE for everything
of value- even a wrist watch!

Taxis are ridiculously expensive bring lots of $$$

You will like this place

Mark