St. Croix OR Tortola?
Aug 25th, 2005, 02:45 PM
#1
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St. Croix OR Tortola?
this is such a tough decision. we're going in late sept.
ST. CROIX:
+access buck island which is great because we love to snorkel/scuba dive
+some of everything: beautiful beaches, adequate nightlife, snorkeling, scuba diving.
-airfaire is $395 ($30 more than tortola)
-no ferry (more economical than seaplane)access to any other islands (i.e. st. john, st. thomas, tortola, virgin gorda, jost van dyke, etc.).
-spending 8 nights here might get boring
TORTOLA:
+beaches are better (?)
+airfare is cheaper ($365) by $30
+island hopping/easy access to all other islands via ferry/sailboat except for st. croix/buck island
-less nightlife
-snorkel/scuba diving not as good as st. croix (?)
-no access to buck island
-less nightlife
i would appreciate your opinion on either of these or corrections on anything that is wrong. i did a good amount of research for both places. i just need more opinions! thanks.
ST. CROIX:
+access buck island which is great because we love to snorkel/scuba dive
+some of everything: beautiful beaches, adequate nightlife, snorkeling, scuba diving.
-airfaire is $395 ($30 more than tortola)
-no ferry (more economical than seaplane)access to any other islands (i.e. st. john, st. thomas, tortola, virgin gorda, jost van dyke, etc.).
-spending 8 nights here might get boring
TORTOLA:
+beaches are better (?)
+airfare is cheaper ($365) by $30
+island hopping/easy access to all other islands via ferry/sailboat except for st. croix/buck island
-less nightlife
-snorkel/scuba diving not as good as st. croix (?)
-no access to buck island
-less nightlife
i would appreciate your opinion on either of these or corrections on anything that is wrong. i did a good amount of research for both places. i just need more opinions! thanks.
Aug 25th, 2005, 06:37 PM
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My Vote...Tortola!!
However I just came back from there,
so I be a bit biased!! We spent 8 nites
in St. John, 3 nites on Tortola and
3 nites on Virgin Gorda. If we had it to do all over again, we would spend
3 Nites in St. John, 1 week on Tortola
and 4 Nites on Virgin Gorda. We didn't
like St. Thomas at all, Did a day trip there. Too Americanized, Didn't get the
cultural feel of the islands like on
Tortola and Virgin Gorda. I've heard St.Croix was very industrialized and
casino-ized(is that a word). We were more into Major Snorkeling, Day Sails
to Fabulous Snorkeling and beaches,
and renting our own waterboats to explore the deserted islands. The island hopping was very easy. That was my problem with St. Croix...it's too expensive to go to any other islands.
I think we would have gotten bored.
I did however research this trip to death and boy did it pay off. You are
doing the right thing in asking all of these questions!!I bought every book
made about the Virgin Islands and that
really helped(difference of opinions
in each book) Feel free to ask away...
I even have pics to send..Have Fun!
However I just came back from there,
so I be a bit biased!! We spent 8 nites
in St. John, 3 nites on Tortola and
3 nites on Virgin Gorda. If we had it to do all over again, we would spend
3 Nites in St. John, 1 week on Tortola
and 4 Nites on Virgin Gorda. We didn't
like St. Thomas at all, Did a day trip there. Too Americanized, Didn't get the
cultural feel of the islands like on
Tortola and Virgin Gorda. I've heard St.Croix was very industrialized and
casino-ized(is that a word). We were more into Major Snorkeling, Day Sails
to Fabulous Snorkeling and beaches,
and renting our own waterboats to explore the deserted islands. The island hopping was very easy. That was my problem with St. Croix...it's too expensive to go to any other islands.
I think we would have gotten bored.
I did however research this trip to death and boy did it pay off. You are
doing the right thing in asking all of these questions!!I bought every book
made about the Virgin Islands and that
really helped(difference of opinions
in each book) Feel free to ask away...
I even have pics to send..Have Fun!
Aug 27th, 2005, 05:41 PM
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alifafa,
We stayed in a villa named "Blue Tang" in St. John. It overlooks Great Cruz Bay(one bay over from Cruz Bay). So we were very close to town and we could see the Westin from our Deck and Plunge pool. Fabulous Villa...well taken care of with Catered To(the management co) and we used KatiLady
to put food in the fridge before we got there(lifesaver!).
On Tortola, we stayed 3 nites at Long Bay Beach resort in a Hillside Villa.Fabulous! Beautiful Grounds,
Excellent Service, Great Restaurants!
On Virgin Gorda, We stayed at Leverick Bay Beach Resort. Wasn't Bad, but it didn't have the things we were looking for....It was more or less a marina with a hotel and some condos(which we stayed in). Again Next time we'll stay at Bitter End For Sure!! It was everything we were looking for!!
We didn't camp on St.John...We did go see Maho and Cinnamon Campgrounds and they were pretty cool! It looked like it would be very buggy at Mahoe with the mangroves. I had a friend that lived there for a month in November and she said the No-See Ums almost ate her alive. We never had any trouble
with too many bugs. We would spray in the morning with Avon Skin so Soft and we'd be set! Would love to show pics but I don't know how to post this forum...Any Ideas???
We stayed in a villa named "Blue Tang" in St. John. It overlooks Great Cruz Bay(one bay over from Cruz Bay). So we were very close to town and we could see the Westin from our Deck and Plunge pool. Fabulous Villa...well taken care of with Catered To(the management co) and we used KatiLady
to put food in the fridge before we got there(lifesaver!).
On Tortola, we stayed 3 nites at Long Bay Beach resort in a Hillside Villa.Fabulous! Beautiful Grounds,
Excellent Service, Great Restaurants!
On Virgin Gorda, We stayed at Leverick Bay Beach Resort. Wasn't Bad, but it didn't have the things we were looking for....It was more or less a marina with a hotel and some condos(which we stayed in). Again Next time we'll stay at Bitter End For Sure!! It was everything we were looking for!!
We didn't camp on St.John...We did go see Maho and Cinnamon Campgrounds and they were pretty cool! It looked like it would be very buggy at Mahoe with the mangroves. I had a friend that lived there for a month in November and she said the No-See Ums almost ate her alive. We never had any trouble
with too many bugs. We would spray in the morning with Avon Skin so Soft and we'd be set! Would love to show pics but I don't know how to post this forum...Any Ideas???
Aug 27th, 2005, 06:45 PM
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Mountaingirl,
One way to share pictures is to go to www.webshots.com (it's free to join)and you create a photo album..when you are done..you could come to this site and post a link to your pictures.
We went to STJ in June and that is what I did to share our pictures.We are going back in 3 weeks..just hubby and I.(we also have 3 boys)..so I am very much looking forward to the trip.
Hope this helps.
One way to share pictures is to go to www.webshots.com (it's free to join)and you create a photo album..when you are done..you could come to this site and post a link to your pictures.
We went to STJ in June and that is what I did to share our pictures.We are going back in 3 weeks..just hubby and I.(we also have 3 boys)..so I am very much looking forward to the trip.
Hope this helps.
