We flew to St. Thomas and stayed overnight and then took an AM ferry to Tortola. This was less expensive and I think easier than flying directly to Tortola and trying to drive to our villa at the opposite end of the island in the dark.

Everyone was so helpful on Tortola, I was amazed and it was the friendliest Caribbean island experience I have had. We rented a villa with friends, Sade and everyone at the ferry port was willing to help us find our rental car, the grocery store and ultimately the villa.

The location of Sade (pronounced SHA-DE'), is on Smugglers Cove, so further away from other areas and quite and safe, but plan on having a designated driver as you will need someone sober to navigate the steep windy island roads. Being from colorado, I'm no stranger to windy narrow roads, but this was a lot steeper than I was used to for paved roads and I peeled out a couple times on the switchback curves trying to climb them in a 4 wheel drive. The final road to Sade is dirt, so a 4WD is probably a good idea for that too since rain creates mud and potholes. We did walk around the point to West End and Sopers Hole and then back over a shortcut road over the top back down to Sade, but it took us about 3 hours and the climb over the top is fairly steep with about 400feet of elevation gain.
The home was very nice, furnishings that are in good shape including comfortable beds and nice decor. The kitchen is of reasonable size, but there isn't a pantry so most of our food ended up being stored on one counter leaving only the island for a cooking surface. We were only 5 people, so I imagine if there were 8-10 that things would get a lot more crowded in the kitchen. Perhaps some of the dishes could be condensed to allow for some cabinets for food storage. The fridge wouldn't get very cold even at max settings, and the freezer thawed several times leaking melted ice cubes all over the floor, so that probably needs to be fixed or replaced. A nicer TV in the living room would also be great. Wifi was spotty on the lower level and non-existent in the lower bedrooms. Good views from the top floor to Jost Van Dyke.
The pool area was spacious with comfy lounges, umbrellas and evening lighting. It's not heated, but was still a refreshing dip during the winter season. It's 6 feet deep all around, so unless you want to sit still on the stairs or bench, bring some floats. Better yet it would be great if the owners and leasing agents could supply a couple floats as well as snorkel gear for guest use. Otherwise snorkel gear can be rented from one of the Dive shops in Sopers Hole for $18 a week.
The beach is super close and we were glad to be here instead of higher up on the mountain and have to drive or walk down and then back up. Seemed safe, a couple vendors selling stuff out of their cars, but otherwise quiet. Snorkeling was pretty good and saw plenty of fish and coral and the fan coral is still in good shape. Best stuff is mostly off to the left side.
The price is a bit higher than other places on the island, probably due to it's location as given a few of the concerns above, it's probably not the best value.

We also went on two boat trips one with Aristocat charters on the Lionheart to the Baths on Virgin Gorda. Great experience and fun boat and captain. The other was with Mystique to Jost Van Dyke, loved hanging out at the Soggy Dollar on White Bay, but the crew was just ok.

We spent a day on Cane garden bay paddle boarding and enjoying the regge music. Food there was just ok at Myett's, but I thought Quito's was better for dinner.

We spent time at Frenchman's for a tasty sunday brunch which was also very memorable and enjoyed haning out there afterward swimming and kayaking. Best value meal of the week!

Tortola was overall my favorite caribbean island experience so far, and I hope to go back some day or perhaps to Virgin Gorda.

Hi Koala-
Thanks for your report. I was especially interested as we are leaving in 2 weeks for our first trip to Tortola (have been to VG and Anegada in the past as well as the USVI's). We are staying at Limeberry House- I think it is not far from where you were staying but higher up- did you see it perhaps?
I appreciate the info on day trips as we are looking into that now. We will be staying on JVD two nights before moving to Tortola so not interested in that trip- we took a day trip from VG a few years ago to the Indians, Caves, wreck of the Rhone and to Willy T- might like to find something similar as our friends who are joining us have never been. I will check Aristocat's schedules.
Any other tips about places to eat, beaches, etc. would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks again!

PS "friendliest Caribbean island experience"- curious about that comment- where have you been, if I can ask, for comparison? glad to hear that as it is very, very important to us.

I recognize that every culture is different and that expectations of service and the friendliness of people can vary based on that particular places culture, so I will give you my following impressions with the caveat that if you go in to a location with low expectations and remember that you are a visitor not royalty, you will generally be treated with adequate kindness. Tortola just really stood out as we literally had people we didn't know calling other people on the island we were supposed to meet and letting them know where we were. A taxi guy even saw that we drove the wrong way to the grocery store and chased us down to show us the right direction and we followed him all the way there. Never met one moody person the whole week. As far as other places we visited in the Caribbean, we didn't think Curacao was very friendly at all, and frequently rude and dismissive of tourists other than a few rare US expat standouts. Belize was fine, but not anything to write home about regarding the people we encountered. Roatan was mixed, depending on where you stayed and their level of service, generally the native population was ambivalent in their service but US expats there were very friendly. Bahamas was mixed also. My experiences in Mexico have generally been pretty good. We were only briefly in Jamaca, Grand Caymen on a cruise long ago, but no lasting impressions were made.

I'm sorry I don't recall the place that you stayed there, we may have walked past it as we took along hike one day from our place around the tip of the island to Sopers and then back up over the top and down to the Sade again. Took us between 3-4 hours with a stop for coffee in Sopers hole. As far as other things to do on Tortola, we didn't explore too many of the other beaches, it's amazing how much time flies in a week. We did go into Sopers hole and ate at Fish and Lime which was pretty good, but not inexpensive. Frenchmans was great though and if we had time I would have gone there for dinner too and not just their Sunday Brunch. Don't miss their sunday brunch, make a reservation.

Thanks for the tips Koala- we leave in a week. Curious, though, about your impressions of other places- did you get to any of the out islands in the Bahamas or just New Providence and or Grand Bahama? I think it is a world of difference- never met nicer and more helpful people than in the Bahama out islands.
I don't mean to start some regional argument but I have found that in many places we travel that there have been "ugly Americans" that give the rest of us a bad name until our natural southern genteel spirit is met with a very nice response. You are so very right that "you get what you give" as a tourist and we are always very friendly and pleasant and find we usually get the same in return- so sad that not everyone minds their manners in other countries!