Please compare Caneel and Little Dix if you know them both
 

Since snorkeling is the thing we love most about Caribbean vacations (off-beach, not the kind of snorkeling where a boat is necessary), we love St John (even more than Cayman or Bonaire). We've been to St John a number of times, always splitting our time between Caneel and a condo at Gallows Point. We're thinking maybe to skip the condo next time around and split the 10 days between Caneel and Little Dix-- but I'm afraid that after the terrific snorkeling at Caneel (endless and so various from beach to beach) that Little Dix will be a disappointment. In short, I'd much appreciate if folks who know both properties will compare them for me, with particular regard to snorkeling. The one thing (the only thing) I don't like about Caneel, by the way, is the food-- which we find mediocre at best. (one of the reasons we do a condo for half the time-- pretty good restaurants in town-- much better than anything at Caneel, and much better cost-wise also). Thank you!

I've been to both. The "off beach" snorkeling at Little Dix Bay pales in comparison with the "off beach" snorkeling at Caneel Bay but there are numerous other beaches on Virgin Gorda (Sananah Bay, Mahoe Bay, Spring Bay, Nail Bay, the Baths, etc.) where the "off beach" snorkeling is exceptional and far better than at Caneel Bay. Also, if you are willing to take boat trip there are literally hundreds of fantastic spots to snorkel in and around Virgin Gorda (LDB has offers several different excursions or you can arrange trips on your own). IMO the food is much better at Little Dix Bay. There are also a number of very good restaurants around the island. You didn't ask but the rooms at LDB are bigger and better appointed than at CB and the service and ambience at LDB is far superior to CB which is why I've gone to LDB numerous times and haven't returned to CB.

Sunnyboy-- thanks for your in-put. I agree that the rooms at Caneel aren't great (I had to pick carefully to find one with terrific view, extra room, etc). Can you advise me which room to ask for at Little Dix? We like privacy and quiet-- and good views of course. Don't mind lots of walking. In fact, one of our pleasures at Caneel is the walking all over the property-- we think the grounds are quite beautiful. Are LD's grounds as handsome and spread out? We've done lots of snorkelingin the virgin Islands since we've sailed in the area several times, so I know how terrific various spots are. For "resort" vacations, though, we really don't enjoy having to take a boat out or to arrange a trip--plus it gets very expensive to do that. Still, I suspect we would enjoy Virgin Gorda in other respects (I remember some nice hiking there years ago). I wonder if there's another resort that might be a better bet for us than Little Dix since snorkeling truly is our primary pleasusre. (We're in the water 4-5 hours each day; not interested in things like spa etc). Thanks!

At LDB we always asked for a room on the west side side of the main pavillion since they are further from the dock and beach club area. We found them to be quite and private. I have another suggestion for you, however. Since you want to spend 4-5 hours a day in the water consider renting a luxury villa on Virgin Gorda's Mahoe Bay (there are several very nice ones to choose from). You'll find a fantastic nearly deserted 1/2 mile long light sand beach just steps from your door, the gin clear tourquoise blue waters are very calm and there's an extensive reef system with excellent snorkeling that begins about 100 feet off shore and that stretches the entire width of the beach (you can literally snorkel there for hours on end without going over the same spot twice). At the end of the day you can sip cocktails while watching beautiful sunsets and the twinkling lights of neighboring islands. If you truly want to be pampered ask the management company to hire you a chef to cook your meals and a butler to serve your drinks. Simply put, it doesn't get any better anywhere in the Caribbean.

Sonnyboy-Thanks again for your response. I think we might enjoy renting a villa, since we've always much enjoyed our condo rentals on St John (in part, though, because there were so many restaurants within easy walking distance, plus the condo complex had a pool to "de-salt" ourselves from all the snorkeling). I'd always assumed that villa rentals would be prohibitively expensive for just a couple. Don't they have at least 2 bedrooms? Also, it's often difficult to find a king bed except at the resorts-- and we definitely need a king (restless sleepers, etc.) Thanks for your help-- very accommodating of you to takethe time to answer.

TO poss - You've made two wrong assumptions. First - generally speaking while most villas do have multiple bedroom many of them have a slidding scale rental fee that is based on the number of people staying in the villa. The rates generally go by the number of bedrooms that are actually "in use" - thus a couple using only one bedroom may often pay less for a villa than 2 singles using two bedrooms in the same villa. The rates vary from villa to villa so you have to do your homework a bit but if you were contemplating staying at LDB and paying the prices they charge you should have no trouble finding a suitable villa that suits you.


Second - most villas will have at least one king size master bedroom suite (personally I've never stayed in a villa that didn't have king size beds) and I know of several that had multiple king-size master suites. You just have to do a little research to find them. The villa brokers or rental agents can help you find them.

A comment about snorkeling at LDB. They offer "boat taxis" to 9 different beaches in the area. Mountain Truck is outstanding, Devil's Bay is great, The Dog islands are also very good. These taxis are free. We would schedule one each day to a different beach. You can have them leave you for an hour or 5 hours. You can take a lunch and they provide a huge beach umbrella. If it's variety you want without "renting" a boat or car, LDB is the place. We found the overall snorkeling off Virgin Gorda better than our stay at Caneel.

slk-- Thanks for your reply. I'd heard about those little ferries to other beaches and it sounds as if it might be pleasant (though a bit more cumbersome than just being able to step into the water on lots of different beaches "right there" (as at Caneel) Are the ferries "on demand" or are they scheduled at certain times throughout the day? I had the feeling that they wouldn't actually work very well, e.g. well, we're not running any today, that sort of thing... Is the snorkeling off the beach at Gorda good? (When we were bareboating in the BVIs some years ago, I don't remember that area as being special. Baths were fun of course, tho snorkeling wasn't very good. And I do remember the Dogs-- very nice. What room would you recommend at Little Dix-- for great views and privacy. Thank you so much.

The taxis run every day except one. One day a week, LDB has a party at Spring Bay and the taxis are used for transporting people to that. They have drop off and pick up times. For instance drop-off may be 8:30, 10:00, 11:00 and 1:00. The pick-ups might be 10:00, 12:00 and 2:00. The night before we would call over and schedule a trip to one of the nine beaches and tell them our drop-off and pick-up time. Sometimes we went for an hour, sometimes we got a lunch and spent 5 hours. The only time that the boat might not run is if weather is such that they will not go to Great Dog or George Dog. They will always run to the beaches on the island.

I think that Mountain Trunk (spelled wrong in other note) is one of the best snorkeling locations in the BVI. While the Baths themselves are not great, Devil's Bay, next door is very good. Mahoe Bay and Savannah Bay are good as well. We had a great 4 hour stay, all alone, on George Dog Island.

As far as rooms, I prefer the ones betwween the restaurant and the spa, though I've been in several others and they are great. Many are among the trees just steps from the beach, but because they are among the trees, lack any view. While not the greatest aide, check out the resort map on the LBD web site. It's under travel details. The rooms that are right near the dock tend to get more activity and noise.