Just back from Virgin Gorda
Jun 7th, 2009, 03:06 PM
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Just back from Virgin Gorda
if you have any questions, I'd be glad to answer them?
(inside joke for the long time fodorites) hehehe...just kidding...here's my trip report
Our trip had to be delayed a week because both hubby and I developed nasty viral bronchitis. We were supposed to leave on the May 15, but had to delay a week. So, needless to say, it cost us an additional $1k to move flights because of the labor day weekend! Oh well...that's the way it goes sometimes!
We flew Delta out of Atlanta to San Juan on the 22nd and then caught the 2:30 Air Sunshine flight to VG. All flights were uneventful, but the AS flight was about an hour late.
We rented a house in Leverick Bay, Tamarind, on VRBO. Highly recommend this villa if you want the Leverick Bay area. The people that own it are awesome and the place is well appointed and very nice. It has a pool, gas grill, cable, good music, comfy beds, very clean, great utensils, calphalon cookware, etc. It was nice to have a pool after a day at the beach! Sipping ice-cold Caribe around the pool at the end of the day was a daily ritual
The Villa Manager, Tina, met us at the airport (if you can call it that...hehehe), and drove us to Speedy's for our rental car. We rented a jeepy type thing...$379 for the 9 days.
Leverick Bay is very nice with a Marina, Small Grocery, and a beach bar. You can take boats to the Bitter End Yacht Club, Biras Creek, or Saba Rock. Just call them and they will pick you up. We didn't do that this trip. Our villa was just a 5 min ride or 30 min (very steep...hehehe I'm old) walk down to the marina.
The restaurant at Leverick Bay does not serve breakfast in the AM. The little grocery store there has sandwiches, but that was a little disappointing. The food at the restaurant for lunch and dinner was very good. They always had at 3-4 fish dishes on the menu at night. The painkillers at the beach bar were awesome...you tell them 1, 2, 3, 4 rum and they make it up how you want it!
For my next trip to VG, I will stay on the other side of the mountain in the Valley. Going over that mountain at night after a few painkillers is not for me. Possibly Little Dix. That place is amazing!
You see VG is kind of two island separated by an isthmus (English pronunciation: /ˈɪsməs/; plural: isthmuses, isthmi) is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas. (pretty good, huh...see you learned something!)
The northern end is very mountainous, with Gorda Peak. The other ends is flatter--called the Valley, and a bit more developed.
So, we did the baths. Very crowded and they charge $3 to get in. Go next door to Spring Bay. No crowds and no entrance fee. There's picnic tables, etc. Much better.
We ate lunch at the Top of the Baths restaurant and it was very good. There's some souvenir shops there as well.
We ate many lunches at LSL Restaurant & Bakery. They have a steam table at lunch with ribs, curry chicken, etc. and the best potato salad I ever ate! The menu changes daily, with selections like oxtail and sweet & sour chicken or salt fish cakes. Lunch for two was generally $22, more if you bought some bakery items. They have a delish break pudding!! Highly recommend. It's on the way to the Baths on the right before the big school.
We also ate lunch at Fischer Cove. Cheeseburgers along the beach. It was very peaceful. The rum punches were good and the food was very good. I think for 2 burgers and 4 rum punches it was less than $50.
Beaches we visited were mountain trunk bay. Very nice golden sand and not a sole around. Nail Bay and another beach next door that must be home to a herd of cattle because there are cow pies everywhere! The road is really badly rutted and not paved. It's slow going for sure! It reminded of Smugglers Cove on Tortola, but longer.
Savannah Bay. We went here daily as soon as we figured out how to get to it. A nice lady at Mango Bay showed us. This beach is gorgeous, with awesome, easy shore snorkeling. Never crowded...maybe 2-3 couples, some locals. Very nice. We saw all kinds of fish and turtles, squid, puffer fish (a giant one), rays, etc.
We went home on Sat, May 30. We checked in at the airport for the 8:30 AS flight back to San Juan. There is a $15 dept tax. We went over to the Flying Iguana for breakfast. The guy was just sweeping up and didn't have much food, but made us some coffee and a sandwich, which was very good, and chit chatted for a while. He has a couple of parrots that hang out on the porch. They were cute.
The flights left on time and the same for the Delta in San Juan. This was an great trip! and we look forward to returning to Virgin Gorda soon.
Peace, Greenie
(inside joke for the long time fodorites) hehehe...just kidding...here's my trip report
Our trip had to be delayed a week because both hubby and I developed nasty viral bronchitis. We were supposed to leave on the May 15, but had to delay a week. So, needless to say, it cost us an additional $1k to move flights because of the labor day weekend! Oh well...that's the way it goes sometimes!
We flew Delta out of Atlanta to San Juan on the 22nd and then caught the 2:30 Air Sunshine flight to VG. All flights were uneventful, but the AS flight was about an hour late.
We rented a house in Leverick Bay, Tamarind, on VRBO. Highly recommend this villa if you want the Leverick Bay area. The people that own it are awesome and the place is well appointed and very nice. It has a pool, gas grill, cable, good music, comfy beds, very clean, great utensils, calphalon cookware, etc. It was nice to have a pool after a day at the beach! Sipping ice-cold Caribe around the pool at the end of the day was a daily ritual
The Villa Manager, Tina, met us at the airport (if you can call it that...hehehe), and drove us to Speedy's for our rental car. We rented a jeepy type thing...$379 for the 9 days.
Leverick Bay is very nice with a Marina, Small Grocery, and a beach bar. You can take boats to the Bitter End Yacht Club, Biras Creek, or Saba Rock. Just call them and they will pick you up. We didn't do that this trip. Our villa was just a 5 min ride or 30 min (very steep...hehehe I'm old) walk down to the marina.
The restaurant at Leverick Bay does not serve breakfast in the AM. The little grocery store there has sandwiches, but that was a little disappointing. The food at the restaurant for lunch and dinner was very good. They always had at 3-4 fish dishes on the menu at night. The painkillers at the beach bar were awesome...you tell them 1, 2, 3, 4 rum and they make it up how you want it!
For my next trip to VG, I will stay on the other side of the mountain in the Valley. Going over that mountain at night after a few painkillers is not for me. Possibly Little Dix. That place is amazing!
You see VG is kind of two island separated by an isthmus (English pronunciation: /ˈɪsməs/; plural: isthmuses, isthmi) is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas. (pretty good, huh...see you learned something!)
The northern end is very mountainous, with Gorda Peak. The other ends is flatter--called the Valley, and a bit more developed.
So, we did the baths. Very crowded and they charge $3 to get in. Go next door to Spring Bay. No crowds and no entrance fee. There's picnic tables, etc. Much better.
We ate lunch at the Top of the Baths restaurant and it was very good. There's some souvenir shops there as well.
We ate many lunches at LSL Restaurant & Bakery. They have a steam table at lunch with ribs, curry chicken, etc. and the best potato salad I ever ate! The menu changes daily, with selections like oxtail and sweet & sour chicken or salt fish cakes. Lunch for two was generally $22, more if you bought some bakery items. They have a delish break pudding!! Highly recommend. It's on the way to the Baths on the right before the big school.
We also ate lunch at Fischer Cove. Cheeseburgers along the beach. It was very peaceful. The rum punches were good and the food was very good. I think for 2 burgers and 4 rum punches it was less than $50.
Beaches we visited were mountain trunk bay. Very nice golden sand and not a sole around. Nail Bay and another beach next door that must be home to a herd of cattle because there are cow pies everywhere! The road is really badly rutted and not paved. It's slow going for sure! It reminded of Smugglers Cove on Tortola, but longer.
Savannah Bay. We went here daily as soon as we figured out how to get to it. A nice lady at Mango Bay showed us. This beach is gorgeous, with awesome, easy shore snorkeling. Never crowded...maybe 2-3 couples, some locals. Very nice. We saw all kinds of fish and turtles, squid, puffer fish (a giant one), rays, etc.
We went home on Sat, May 30. We checked in at the airport for the 8:30 AS flight back to San Juan. There is a $15 dept tax. We went over to the Flying Iguana for breakfast. The guy was just sweeping up and didn't have much food, but made us some coffee and a sandwich, which was very good, and chit chatted for a while. He has a couple of parrots that hang out on the porch. They were cute.
The flights left on time and the same for the Delta in San Juan. This was an great trip! and we look forward to returning to Virgin Gorda soon.
Peace, Greenie
Jun 7th, 2009, 03:27 PM
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Thanks for sharing! Brings back memories. Was the food store in Leverick Bay stocked while you were there? It was pretty empty when we were there. Yes, you've gotta love the hills there! It really is a beautiful island. Do you have any pics to share?
Jun 7th, 2009, 04:16 PM
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Greenie - enjoyed your trip report. We were in VG last summer. One of the interesting things about snorkeling is each day is a unique experience. We enjoyed the snorkeling at several places in VG - but the day we went to Savannah beach (which I agree is absolutely beautiful) we saw nothing - not even one tiny fish. It was a total bust in terms of snorkeling. So . . . I was surprised and happy to hear you had some great sightings there. A good reminder that we shouldn't be so quick to judge a snorkel location based on one day. I look forward to trying Savannah again on a future trip.
Jun 8th, 2009, 03:03 PM
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kellybeaches the store at leverick was fully stocked because we got there before the Poker Run. It had a good selection, but not as good as the one in town.
Thanks, everyone! We are hoping to get in the next couple of years. Still have some exploring to do!!!
Peace, Greenie
Thanks, everyone! We are hoping to get in the next couple of years. Still have some exploring to do!!!
Peace, Greenie
Jun 10th, 2009, 04:26 AM
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I loved reading your trip report! Every time I read about Virgin Gorda it makes me long to go back. I totally agree with everything you said re: food and where to stay on a return trip. Leverick Bay was pretty but I wouldn't have wanted that drive every night after going out for dinner in the Valley!
we only swam at Savannah Beach, so I'll have to keep it in mind for snorkeling in the future.
Glad you and your husband are well now and that you were able to reschedule the trip. Thanks for posting!
we only swam at Savannah Beach, so I'll have to keep it in mind for snorkeling in the future.
Glad you and your husband are well now and that you were able to reschedule the trip. Thanks for posting!
Jun 10th, 2009, 10:10 AM
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Thanks for the report. We loved VG. Our 7-year-old asks us almost every day when are we going back. No lie.
We drove all the way to Leverick Bay for breakfast one day and assumed there was no breakfast because we were there during low season.
Totally agree about Spring Bay and Savannah Bay.
Glad you had a great trip.
We drove all the way to Leverick Bay for breakfast one day and assumed there was no breakfast because we were there during low season.
Totally agree about Spring Bay and Savannah Bay.
Glad you had a great trip.
Jun 10th, 2009, 02:13 PM
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Thanks, everyone! We really loved VG. Someone that we met said it is like St John was 10 years ago. I hope it never grows up!
The one thing hubby and I talked about was learning to sail. That would be the ultimate...to sail around on our own!
Blamona, if you are coming from Leverick Bay, off of the big mountain its the second right. After the right to Nail Bay and Mango Bay there is a another dirt road. Take that..you'll see some parking...it's really heaven!
ejcrowe...thank you! You are the sweetest. One of these days we are going to have to meet for a rum punch (or a painkiller) on Grenada with mymoosie! We almost did it in 2007 but my Mom got sick. You keep posting your whereabouts...we're bound to meet up one of these days!
Caribtraveler...that breakfast thing was a letdown because they served it the sunday morning we were there because of the Poker Run and then when we went back on Monday...no go. Bummer
Peace to you all my friends, Greenie!
The one thing hubby and I talked about was learning to sail. That would be the ultimate...to sail around on our own!
Blamona, if you are coming from Leverick Bay, off of the big mountain its the second right. After the right to Nail Bay and Mango Bay there is a another dirt road. Take that..you'll see some parking...it's really heaven!
ejcrowe...thank you! You are the sweetest. One of these days we are going to have to meet for a rum punch (or a painkiller) on Grenada with mymoosie! We almost did it in 2007 but my Mom got sick. You keep posting your whereabouts...we're bound to meet up one of these days!
Caribtraveler...that breakfast thing was a letdown because they served it the sunday morning we were there because of the Poker Run and then when we went back on Monday...no go. Bummer
Peace to you all my friends, Greenie!
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