Provo trip report, August 13-21
 

Hello! I just want to send out big thanks to everyone on this forum who helped me with our decision and things to do, especially Blamona, Kristen, Virginia and KVR. I’m going to post this in sections as I tend to write long trip reports with lots of photos. Hopefully it will help some of you in your future travels.

Day 1 – Saturday, August 13 – PHL to PLS
We left Saturday, August 13 from Philly direct to Provo and everything went smoothly -minus some turbulence on the way down which the kids thought was a roller coaster ride. At least they enjoyed it! I’m pretty sure that Disney couldn’t compare to the airport for my 3 year old son. I’ve never seen him so excited. He ran from window to window pointing out the planes to us. The rest of the trip every plane we saw fly overhead he asked, “Is that our plane?” And upon our return, it’s all he’s talked about –the airport and our plane. Such a boy ;)

Our party consisted of myself, my DH, my 6 yr old daughter Brooke, 3 yr old son Austin, and our friends and their 2 kids (same ages as ours) and our friend’s mom.

The airport and car rental were a breeze. We rented through Grace Bay Car Rentals
www.gracebaycarrentals.com who were great to work with. It took DH some getting used to driving though with the steering wheel on the right of the car and driving on the left side. The original minivan they gave us had shade coverings on the windows and it was very hard to see out, so we asked if they could provide us with a different vehicle with clear windows, which they brought to our villa later that day at no charge. We thought that was very nice of them.

We drove about 6 minutes to our villa, Crystal Sands on Sapodilla Bay.
www.crystalsandsvilla.com
We were greeted by the owners who were so kind and great to work with. They showed us around the property, which was beautifully landscaped with a variety of palm trees, flowers, and sculptures. The best part is it’s literally steps from the beautiful Sapodilla bay. Our friends stayed on the top floor and we stayed on the bottom. It’s one building but set up as 2 individual units so they can be rented separately. The top floor has 2 bedrooms each with their own bathroom, and the bottom floor has 2 bedrooms with a small bedroom off of the one with a twin in it, and 2 bathrooms. There is 1 private pool on the property. They informed us that construction had just begun on the property next door, and were very kind to allow us to use the AC to drown out the noise without any additional charge. We were very appreciative of that.

The guys ran out to the closest food store and picked up dinner, and we enjoyed the villa for the rest of the day. The kids loved the pool, which was the perfect size for Austin who was just about swimming by himself. It was small enough that he could push off one side and swim to the other by himself. By the end of the week he was swimming the length of the pool with no problem! And the bigger kids loved jumping in and having us “grade” their creativity of their jumps.

Of course my favorite part was the beach. WOW. It’s about knee deep out for quite some distance so we could relax watching the kids play. They loved it too! The sand was white and very soft, the water crystal clear, and there were at most maybe 5 other people on the beach at any given time. And we enjoyed talking to them as we did our walks on the beach. Our villa also had 3 beach chairs and umbrella stands that we could put on the beach, as well as a closet full of floats/snorkel gear/beach toys for guest’s use. And it had beautiful sunset views.

Day 2 – Sunday, August 14 – Villa and Las Brisas Restaurant
We relaxed at the villa on the beach and in the pool for most of this day. I spent about an hour snorkeling trying to find something to see, but all I saw underwater were a bunch of sand hills that looked like volcanoes. I have no idea what they were. DH said he kept seeing sea turtles popping their heads above the water but I wasn’t able to find them. We also broke out the 1000 piece puzzle DH brought, which I had a love/hate relationship with the rest of the week (the puzzle, not DH!). We all spent the rest of the week putting that thing together-and we almost finished it too!

For lunch we drove to Las Brisas,
http://www.wherewhenhow.com/turks-ca...ws/las-brisas/
which we realized after loading up the cars w/the kids that it’s literally across the street. You really don’t need to drive there from our villa. Las Brisas is a low key restaurant directly on Chalk Sound which is just beautiful. The water is almost white it’s such a light turquoise. We had conch fritters, conch salad, and some mixed fruity drinks. The staff was friendly too, and they had a really cool bar. Our friends ended up going back that Friday for date night and really enjoyed it.

Unfortunately, I had major camera issues this trip. My beloved out of water/underwater Canon D10 took on water when I brought it into the ocean with me, day 2 of our trip. It’s not even a year old and has had no underwater problems before! I was so upset. So we moved to using our backup Canon powershot which was already half broken to begin with but at least it made for a good backup. At least for a couple days til that one died…

Day 3 – Monday, August 15 – Conch farm, Da Conch Shack, Brilliant by Tropical Imaging professional photo shoot
Today we decided to try the Conch farm tour, which we’re glad we did. My friend and I both wanted to be marine biologists at one point so we were very interested in learning about the lifecycle of the conch, and thought it would be great for the kids to see as well. So we all headed to the far east of the island. The tour was $10 p/adult and $5 p/kid and was about an hour long. It was really interesting to see how they grow. This is the only conch farm in the world. There was a sweet little potcake there too (the owner’s dog) named Lady that our kids adored. They also had baby green sea turtles too which were a huge hit. And we all enjoyed “petting” Sally and Jesse, the 2 conch that come out of their shells as soon as they are picked up. We saw the damage that the previous hurricanes did to the farm, and I hope that Irene that just hit didn’t cause too much damage.

Then we headed to Da Conch Shack for lunch where we watched them bring the conch out of the ocean on a kayak and crack them right there. There conch salad was good, but I thought Las Brisas was better. We enjoyed the vibe there- tables on the beach in the sand with great views. And the pitchers of rum puch weren’t so bad either! (Side note - I enjoyed opening up my CT&L magazine that came in the mail today to see that the first page was the Rum bar from there! It's always neat to see places you've been in that magazine!)

Then back to the villa for more beach time and then we showered and got ready for our family photos with Brilliant by Tropical Imaging.
www.brilliant.tc/
Our photographer came to our villa at 6:30 and did our shoot in the gardens there and on the beach. She was very nice and great with the kids. We should have our photos to view this week.

Here are some of our photos from days 1-3:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/...3%3A1846577700

Great TR so far! Major bummer about your camera...seems to be a pretty common problem with them. But you still got some awesome shots. We have only visited Sapodilla but your pics make me want to stay there! The water was so calm and gorgeous. Good alternative to Grace Bay which can sometimes get rough. So glad to see the conch farm back in business. We took Ellie when she was 1! Can't wait to see the Tropical Imaging pics. And anxiously awaiting part 2!

Keep writing!

So bummed not to have been there at the same time.
Sorry about camera, I've had mine for a while, so far no problems. If it does break I hope it's in my town, not on vacation!

Looking forward to more.

sunset day 2 is stunning! love love #170 b's jump.
can't wait to read the next installment 8-)

Thanks ladies! I'm hoping to get a really high quality camera for our next trip so I can take some higher end photos. It really hit me how much I love taking "artsy" pictures on our trips and by the end of the trip, using our phone for our camera wasn't cutting it. Okay, on to the next 2 days:

Day 4 – Tuesday, August 16 – Caicos Dream Tour (1/2 day), Somerset beach BBQ
http://www.caicosdreamtours.com/
This was our much anticipated boat tour, per Blamona’s recommendation. We left from Alexandria on Grace Bay’s beach. They had all 4 boats pull up to the beach and then let everyone know which boat they were going on. It looked like an ad for them with the boats lined up so nicely! We then went to Grace Bay Club’s beach for another pickup, and then headed out to dive for lunch, conch. I brought up 2 empty shells, and one that was too small so we threw it back. DH brought up 1 empty shell. Our captain brought up a bunch, and someone else brought up a couple. On diving for the 3rd shell, the current pushed me below the reef wall and when I swam back up to the surface, I found myself brushing up against the fire coral. That was my first encounter with fire coral –OUCH! My back and arm got it pretty bad. I swam back to the boat and the captain told me lime is the best thing to put on it as it kills the bacteria. It did help it feel better. I spent the rest of the week nursing my wounds. I still have a rash from it that’s really itchy, but hopefully it will heal soon!

We then went to a snorkeling spot and tried to get the kids to do it, but they both freaked out when they got in the water. It’s a lot different snorkeling in the open ocean vs the beach. I think the waves scared them, so we put them back on the boat with DH. I spent quite a bit of time snorkeling and it was some of the best I’ve seen. I saw 3 grouper, or “grumpy old men” as I affectionately refer to them! Lots of gorgeous colorful coral of all kinds, and lots of colorful fish, including black durgons which were one of my favorites. I could have stayed out there all day.

We then headed to half moon bay. I was confused as it didn’t look like the pictures I’ve seen of it. The captain assured me it was half moon bay but that the sandy half circle was on the other side. I was really bummed I never got to see that as that was the one thing I really wanted to see on this trip. The beach was nice though and we walked around and saw the iguanas and the other side of the island with the waves. Our captain then took each of the conchs (one per family) and cracked them for us. Each family got to keep their shell if they wanted it. We even got to try the conch cut fresh before being made into salad. It was delicious! The conch salad was great too-even better than Las Brisas. We saw some stingrays swimming around the boat, and then we headed back.

The afternoon was spent at the villa, and our friends had their photos done with Tropical imaging that evening.

Afterwards we went to Somerset for their beach bbq.
www.thesomerset.com/
It was $50 person (not including alcohol) and the kids were free. Our table was right on the beach near the bonfire. The food was excellent, and we enjoyed dancing to the DJ’s music by the bonfire. The Somerset’s grounds were beautiful – the hotel was very luxurious. With that being said, we just really aren’t hotel type of people. It was pretty to walk through, but we were happy to return to our home for the week, Crystal Sands.

Day 5 – Wednesday, August 17 – our new friend Cutie Pie, Glow worm tour on Atabeyra
This morning I did my usual routine of getting up early and sitting on the beach with my cup of coffee. This is my favorite time of the day on the beach. Solitude, gentle waves lapping, and beautiful lighting of the early morning sun. I was reading my book (Heaven is for Real –a great read and very inspirational) when next thing I know, I look up and there’s this adorable potcake curled up beside me on the beach! I didn’t even hear her approach! She was very friendly and had the same personality as our yellow lab at home. We ended up “adopting” her for the week and she would show up each morning, come and go throughout the day, and then leave after dinner. She had a collar on so we figured she had an owner, but we couldn’t make out her name, so Brooke named her “Cutie Pie”. We found out later in the week by locals who know her and her owners that her name is Amber. I was really hoping she was a foster dog because I would have taken her home with us in a second.

We spent another wonderful day at the villa, enjoying the pool and beach.

We had reservations to do glow worm tour with Sun Charters on their 77’ sailboat Atabeyra that evening. www.suncharters.tc/
Here’s their description of the glow worm tour:
A local phenomena offered every month on the 3rd and 4th days after the full moon. A front row seat to the mating ritual of the resident "glow worm". Right on cue, 50 minutes after sunset, the male and female worms perform a phosphorescent dance that, on a good night, will light up the channel.

The waters light up around you like stars on the water. I had read great reviews on this place so even though it was on the other end of the island, and they were doing glow worm tours right on our beach via a ferry type of looking boat, we decided to stick with the old historic sailboat Atabeyra, and I’m glad we did. The guys opted to stay home as my DH got sea sick on the Caicos Dream Tour (he gets seasick in a hammock), so the girls took the kids while the guys stayed back and went to Las Brisas for drinks.

While driving to the dock, we saw a flamingo along the road in a pond. It was the first flamingo in its natural habitat I’ve seen! I know I’m easily amused but I thought it was so cool! If we weren’t running late I would have stopped the car to get out and observe. Anyway, the large sailboat was beautiful, and we sat right up front on the bow. We completely forgot to bring along the kiddie lifejackets though so we were holding the kids tight. They were all very well behaved so it all worked out. They served us rum punch and fruit punch for the kids, along with chips and salsa. We sailed out and watched them hoist the sails. The glow worms didn’t light up as much as they usually do apparently (we saw about 10 glow specs –they looked like someone broke open a glow stick and emptied them into the water). I guess usually there are many more, but it was still neat to see, and the boat ride itself was great. I can see why they get such great reviews. A day trip with them would be fun.

Here are some photos from days 4-5:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/...3%3A1825395382

Too bad you didn't see more "glowing" on the glow worm cruise. We used to see it all the time in the Chesapeake...the boat wake would be fluorescent and if you jumped in the water the splash would glow. We know them as phosphorescents. Still looked like a great cruise! I love love love the shot of the potcake laying in the palm tree shadow on the beach.

So cool about the flamingo! No pic??

I love seeing flamingos in real life. One ip to Middle Caicos, I passed by the bone fish flats and there was at least 30 or more of them, bright pink. I was so giddy!

Another thing that makes me giddy are sand bars. Was this the time of year for them at Sapadilla Bay? I usually see them in Jan. I think Sapadilla Bay is the most kid friendly happy beach in the world.

Please keep telling us!

I am with you on both counts Ramona!!

Kristen, I didn't realize the Chesapeake had glow worms too! Very cool! No pics of the flamingo unfortunately. We took a couple wrong turns in finding the dock and were running late so we didn't have time to stop.

Blamona, maybe someday we'll make it over to Middle Caicos so I can get my flamingo fix! That must have been beautiful! Do you have pictures? No sand bars at Sapodilla, but it was gorgeous nonetheless.

Okay, now for the final portion of my TR:

Brilliant by Tropical Imaging blog:
We got our photos today! Ileana, our photographer, is amazing! Here are some of our photos that she posted to their blog. I highly recommend having your photos done by Tropical Imaging during your visit to Provo. These were taken at our villa and beach in front of our villa.
http://brilliant.tc/blog/2011/08/tur...eivert-family/

And here are our some of our friend’s photos on the blog:
http://brilliant.tc/blog/2011/08/tur...e-hill-family/


Day 6 – Thursday, August 18 –Provo Ponies
This was another much anticipated activity. Our friend’s mom stayed home with the 3 year olds, and we headed over to Provo Ponies for an hour ride. As soon as we got there the sky opened up and it poured, so we took cover in our van. Fortunately it cleared and the rest of the day was beautiful. As soon as I pulled out my backup camera to take some horse photos, it gave me the dreaded “officially dead” code. I couldn’t believe it. Of all timing! So we had NO camera for this activity! We ended up asking another rider if we could have them take a couple of us and have him email them to us, which he kindly agreed to. His family got stuck on Provo due to Irene, so he said he won’t be able to send me those photos for a couple weeks. So for now, the horse photos are downloaded from Provo Ponies’ FB page.

Brooke has had some experience riding before and rode Cowboy, who was a sweetheart. She actually ended up trotting a lot on him and he was a trooper with managing her “reins up high” style. It was her first time trotting by herself and she loved it. I rode Ruby, a very sweet girl, and DH rode Levi, a large bay. Our friends rode Mango, (Ruby’s daughter), Ike, and their son was lead lined on Sunshine. It was his first time riding. Our guides were great and the kids had wonderful experiences. Brooke said it was the highlight of the trip. We rode the horses into the clear blue water up to my thighs which was a really neat experience. A first for me. And the 4 dogs that ran along with us were fun. This is a must do on Provo!

The rest of the day was spent at the villa, and that evening was to be our date night (our friends were going to watch our kids). We had reservations at Anacoana on Grace Bay, but after being on Grace Bay for catching the boat tour and then for the beach bbq, we felt that we would rather stay at the villa. It’s tough to top wine, cheese, antipasta on our beach chairs watching the sunset. So we ended up spending date night with our family and friends, and don’t have any regrets.

Day 7 – Friday, August 19 – last day at villa
We enjoyed the villa for the day, but spent a good portion inside working on the puzzle, and running out to the Wine Cellar, food store, and looked for another camera. We ended up just getting a cheap throwaway underwater camera. The rest of the vacation’s photos were taken by our cell phone or the underwater camera, so they really aren’t that great which is upsetting. It took a lot of photoshop work on these to get them looking somewhat okay.

We spent the early morning (as we did most mornings) walking around the beach looking for the 4 stingrays that lived there. They hung out towards the left of the beach near the rocks looking for breakfast. This was probably my favorite part of our trip. I loved looking for them each morning, and our kids enjoyed seeing them too. They were relatively unafraid of us and one even swam right up to my feet before turning around. We also saw how they would bury themselves under the sand so that just their eyes and tail were noticeable. Good camouflage! Although it did make me a bit paranoid about stepping on one! There were also plenty of snails along the rocks which my son enjoyed seeing, and a beautiful sea bird with lime green legs and face that we saw each morning. I’ve never seen a bird like that before! Oh, I finally saw the sea turtles too popping up out of the water.

Later, our friends went out for their date night and went to Las Brisas. They said it was very nice.

Day 8 – Saturday, August 20 – check out of villa and check in to The Sands on Grace Bay
The villa rents Sat-Sat, so we tacked on an extra night at The Sands so that we could come home Sunday and squeeze an extra day into our trip. After much research on hotels on Grace Bay, we opted for The Sands due to their “lazy river” style pool. Since we were only going to be there 1 night, I wanted to find a fun pool for the kids. We also went with the deluxe oceanfront suite since it was one night. I’m glad we did. It was gorgeous! Very luxurious. Every detail was perfect, even the serving platters.

We did our usual morning beach walk and found a starfish, packed up, and said our goodbyes to the Crystal Sands villa owners, and then went for a short hike up the hill at the end of our street, which provided great overlook views of Chalk Sound and Sapodilla Bay. We also saw the stones on which shipwrecked sailors from centuries ago carved their names and dates. It was pretty amazing to see these authentic stones. We heard that the government is beginning to take them now to protect them from being marred, but there were still quite a few there. We were hoping to do the jet skis on our beach but the operator didn’t show up until 11, when we had to check out, so we skipped it. We drove down the street to Taylor Bay and took a quick walk along there, but I still think Sapodilla is nicer, especially with our villa being right on it.

Then we checked into Sands, and ate lunch at Hemmingways. Their fish tacos are amazing! Best I’ve had other than in St. John. And the ladies got the mango coladas, which were delicious! We got situated in our rooms, and then met up at the pool for a bit.

We then went to Coco Bistro for our last dinner on Provo. It was a very romantic atmosphere, with tables nestled among the uplit palm trees. It would be great for a date night. They were very accommodating to the kids and provided them with crayons and coloring placemats, but we spent the dinner playing musical chairs with each kid taking multiple turns using the bathrooms. The food was good. The ceviche two ways app was outstanding. I got the mahi mahi but didn’t like the seasonings on it. It tasted like there was curry on it which I dislike, although they said there wasn’t curry in it. Oh well. It was cooked well, I just didn’t care for the seasoning on it. I did try DH’s lamb and it was excellent. DH was burning up the whole time, but said he really liked it there too.

Day 9 – going home
I woke up before everyone else and was on the beach by 6:30 for a quiet walk as the sun came up. There were a few others running, and I took some photos with our phone. Hemmingways didn’t open til 8, so I went back to the room and once everyone was up and about we went down for breakfast. I got the eggs bennedict, bacon and hashbrowns. All of which were delicious, but I felt like I didn’t need to eat for a week after that meal! The kids had their last mango smoothies which they enjoyed, and then we headed to the beach. This morning we did a quick sampling of the beach, the big pool, and the “crazy pool” as the kids referred to it. They loved the crazy pool the best. They really wanted no parts of the beach. I’m guessing because it gets deep quickly and the beach is wide to walk to from the chairs to the water line. So after “forcing” them to swim in the ocean for 5 minutes, we took them back to the pools where we enjoyed the morning going under the bridges and over the steps walking around the “crazy pool”. We checked out at 11, searched out the Provo mural for photos and grabbed lunch and drinks at Jimmy’s Dive Bar. Then off to the airport which was extremely over crowded as the flight to JFK was 3 hours behind. Fortunately our flight to PHL was on time and we boarded and got home without a hitch, and Austin slept the whole way home. Apparently we left just in time too as they closed the PLS airport the next day due to hurricane Irene.

Here are some photos from days 6-9:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/...3%3A1973316221

My overall impression of Provo is that it’s what Long Island, Bahamas may be like in 25 years if and when it gets “discovered”. It’s very similar in topography/water/sand, but Provo is way more built up than Long Island. We really loved Sapodilla and are so happy we stayed directly on it at Crystal Sands. Grace Bay is a nice long beach lined with hotels and beach chairs, and lots to do. It’s nice, just not our speed. If we return to Provo I would stay at Crystal Sands on Sapodilla Bay again and do some diving and island hopping. Or we would stay on one of the other T&C islands (maybe Grand Turk?) to explore another less developed island. I’m glad we got to visit Provo and overall we had a wonderful trip!

Next stop: St. John in June. ;)

Great report. Sorry to hear about your camera. I would just freak if my camera died while on vacation.

Sorry, to see you didn't make the jetski tour.

Loved the professional portriats. We tried to do this on our 10th in Key West last year and couldn't find anyone willing. We are going to get them done in Jamaica this December.

KVR, Thanks! Yeah, it's a pretty sickening feeling when your good camera breaks on day 2 of the trip, especially since I was really looking forward to getting some good underwater snorkeling pictures and some cool shots on the horses swimming. Oh well. I suppose if you look at the big picture it's not that big of a deal. Good thing we brought our phone anyway!

We called the jetski tour company you recommended, Sun and Fun seasports (that's the one, right?) but they were pretty expensive-although your pictures looked amazing! We would have had to rent 2 jet skis or a boat and it was more than the Caicos Dream tour 1/2 day excursion. I believe it was going to be around $600 per couple for a 2 hour guided tour to rent the boat. It's less in the ad, but then they charge you for gas which adds up quickly if you want to go anywhere. So we were going to just rent 1 jetski on our beach for $150 for an hour and take 30 minutes with each kid, but it didn't work out unfortunately. Maybe next time!

We're happy with our photos too. Glad you like! Please share your December portraits! Where are you staying in Jamaica? I've had my eye on Rockhouse or the Caves for a few years now...

It could have been worse Kelly..your camera could be lying at the bottom of the Caribbean like mine is! (my week old one to boot!) But the flooding is tragic..I am just glad mine occured in my pool instead on vacation. Don't think I could have dealt with the loss of two D10s on consecutive vacations!

I have always like the looks of Crytsal Sands and will definitely consider it for a future trip. But for now..can't wait till St. John! :)

Re: Jamaica....I will have to send you the photos from Allison's friends' wedding at Tensing Pen. Even though Jamaica is not high on my list, this place looks awesome.

Kelly, we decided on the Jewell Dunn's River. It was actually a Sandals and we had booked it last July for our 10th but it closed right before we left and didn't reopen until September, so we are going to try again.

I'm surprised the jet ski tour was so much. I guess things have gone up since we've been there.

We are leaving in a few days for Seattle and an Alaska cruise. So glad we are not dealing with the Caribbean weather this year. You got me thinking about camera break down even though ours is relatively new. Maybe I should pack my Optio just in case.

You are going to love St. John. Look into the Horizon II tour of the BVI's. It was awesome. We are thinking about Cosat Rica in June. We'll have to see.

KRV, I'll check out Jewell's site. I hear the Dunn's River hike is a really challenging hike but amazing. Have fun and please post a TR!

Yeah, we were kind of taken aback the jet skis were so much too, but they were really friendly when we were inquiring. Maybe if we set out to do that at the planning of our trip we could have swung it.

Have fun on your cruise! Hopefully it won't be too cold! Will you post a TR on fodors for that?

The only reason I even thought to bring a backup with because Kristen who has the same camera, broke shortly before our trip. Also, her original brand new one decided it wanted to go scuba diving (sorry Kristen-couldn't resist!) during our St. Martin boat trip. This was actually the first trip I brought a backup and I'm so glad I did (thanks Kristen!). Although our backup ended up dying too! Next trip I'll just have to buy a camera for each day to make sure I'm covered...he, he...Fortunately our friends had a beautiful high end camera so we were able to use their photos too.

We were in St. John a few years ago when Brooke was 3 I believe. It's one of our favorites and I can't wait to go back. We honestly discuss moving there (seriously) at least once a month. We're actually going with Kristen and some other friends in June. Check out our St. John home for the week!
http://www.islandstonesstjohn.com/

Is it bad I'm already counting down the days? ;)

We've stayed on Virgin Gorda for week (on Mahoe Bay) when Brooke was about 7 months (actually with the same friends we just went to Provo with!) and loved VG as well. We've also done a day trip to JVD. We may tack on a few days in JVD to the St. John trip so in that case we'd probably skip the island hopping via boat. I have heard good things about Horizon II though.

I would love to hear all about Costa Rica. We've been eyeing that up for when the kids are a bit older.

It looks like you're next due for a TR! Can't wait for a winter getaway TR to Jamaica!!!

I want to go!
Love St John and Virgin Gorda
High on my list was staniel cay
Costa rica didn't do much for me, but Peru was amazing
Trying to convince family of Europe next summer

wow kelly, island stones is a beautiful house. i guess you'll know where to find the boys

Kelly, love the house in St. John. Wow! You will love it there. The views look amazing. I have to say I am not a St. John fan, but I did really like the beach area of Jost Van Dyke.

I will post a TR in the cruise section and in the US section under Washington for our Alaskan Cruise and Seattle trip.

I've been researching CR for awhile now. I think we are going to do 3 areas; Poas, Arenal and Manuel Antonio. It won't be like our usual AI trips. DH's favorite Island to date is St. Lucia, so he is really looking forward to the tropical of CR and getting to see different areas. I love the water falls, hot springs and the outdoor showers most hotels have in their rooms. We would like to go to CR in December of next year instead, but DH insists that we finally go see the Cowboys new stadium in October, '12. So going to have to make that happen, so we'll see if we get to go to CR or not.

Excellent report and photos! Thanks for posting!