stay St John off the beach or St. Thomas on it?
 

I need some advice for a last minute vacation (end of Feb 2006) for my husband and me. I will be nearly 7 mos. pregnant but we are pretty active people. From what I've read, St. John is the more beautiful island, but we can only find accomodations off the beaches (maybe Coconut Coast? any opinions? we are on a budget and can't afford the resorts). Otherwise, we can find something reasonable in St. Thomas on a beach. Any recommendations -- is St. John the better option even if we can't stay right on the beach? Thanks very much!

Secret Harbour on St. Thomas is beachfront with snorkeling. And you could day trip to St.John. See www.secretharbourvi.com

If you are doing last minute planning, most of the villa rental companies offer discounts of varying degrees for bookings within 30 days of arrival. Some up to 20%. If it's just you two, you could get a one BR place for cheap & have more privacy than condo-style. Some are very close to the water. Don't go to St. Thomas--too commercial & touristy. We only go there to get on & off the plane.

I second Secret harbour. I just posted a report on my stay there. Just click on my name. I would come back.

I guess it really depends on the choice of accomodations. If you like the immediate access to a beach, then I'd go with the beachfront (but are the rest of the particulars acceptable?) at 7 months pregnant, airconditioning at least in the bedroom is an absolute must. Trust me, I was 4 months pregnant one trip and you need a place of refuge. Coconut Coast is on the water, but I'm not sure they have airconditioning. St. John is a beautiful island which is best appreciated by traveling around it and visiting the many gorgeous beaches, so I'm not sure if it makes a difference whether you're beachfront. If you think you'd rather stay put more, then I'd go for the waterfront. St. Thomas is very beautiful too, just more developed.