Trip report: Virgin Gorda
Dec 12th, 2009, 05:30 AM
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Trip report: Virgin Gorda
Hi all,
Just wanted to give a quick report on our trip to Virgin Gorda. We had a bit of a flight delay and missed our direct ferry out of St. Thomas, so we took a ferry to Road Town, Tortola, had a drink and a snack at Pusser’s (nothing to write home about) and, after a 1.5 hr layover, headed to VG. When we arrived at the ferry terminal, a gentleman from Mahogany rental car company met us, gave us our car, and took us to our place in Leverick Bay. He then went and found the people who had the keys (since the front office was closed) and then left. Great rental car company and very nice people at Mahogany.
The villa we had rented, Li’l Blue was really disappointing. Everything was seriously worn, things were not clean, shower drain cover was not on and was disgusting, fan and main light stopped working right when we got there, toilet ran all night, there was a glob of hair coming out from under the toilet brush….everything was nasty and I didn’t want to touch anything. I went to sleep right then, and kept not wanting to wake up in the morning, not wanting to see the place again! When morning came, I realized the view was amazing, but that wasn’t enough to keep me there: we packed our bags, called our travel agent and then went over to the front desk. To their credit, they were so very nice, apologized and refunded our money right away. They offered us another place on Leverick Bay but we didn’t want to stay there anymore. We drove around and looked at Guavaberry, which was very clean and then Nail Bay (all booked) and finally Mango Bay Resort, which we found very nice and decided to take. As it turned out, Mahoe Bay, which Mango Bay is on, is really one of the best places to stay on the island. The beach is excellent—and in our case, it was right outside our door, maybe 10 feet away—and the property was very nice. The rooms were clean and we had a great kitchen with everything required to make meals, a grill, and a nice living room. Everyone was super nice and left us alone, unless we needed something. Also, there were kayaks and floats and snorkeling gear to take. My only suggestion for improvement would be to put locks on the doors—the island is crime free so it’s not an issue but all the same, it was strange to me the first night, though I got used to it.
At Mango Bay, we met a lovely couple that we hung out with, who had also stayed at a Leverick Bay property (I think their suites) and had a similar experience as us (plus bed bugs) and were also refunded their money and then came and stayed at Mango Bay.
Food was sub-par everywhere on the island. Fat Virgin was my favorite and it was fun to take a boat ride over. We only ate four meals out and cooked at home or made sandwiches. There are two grocery stores, Rosy’s and Bucks. Rosy’s has more stuff and the prices are better. But if one has space I suggest taking some snacks and coffee and such with. We’d taken our coffee and some breakfast stuff and snacks and it all came in very handy.
We took the ferry back to St. Thomas the day before our flight and stayed at Wyndham for a night. It was fine for our purposes but VG was really more our style—clean, beautiful and not built-up. Hope this helps anyone who’s thinking of visiting. Thanks to all who helped us.
Just wanted to give a quick report on our trip to Virgin Gorda. We had a bit of a flight delay and missed our direct ferry out of St. Thomas, so we took a ferry to Road Town, Tortola, had a drink and a snack at Pusser’s (nothing to write home about) and, after a 1.5 hr layover, headed to VG. When we arrived at the ferry terminal, a gentleman from Mahogany rental car company met us, gave us our car, and took us to our place in Leverick Bay. He then went and found the people who had the keys (since the front office was closed) and then left. Great rental car company and very nice people at Mahogany.
The villa we had rented, Li’l Blue was really disappointing. Everything was seriously worn, things were not clean, shower drain cover was not on and was disgusting, fan and main light stopped working right when we got there, toilet ran all night, there was a glob of hair coming out from under the toilet brush….everything was nasty and I didn’t want to touch anything. I went to sleep right then, and kept not wanting to wake up in the morning, not wanting to see the place again! When morning came, I realized the view was amazing, but that wasn’t enough to keep me there: we packed our bags, called our travel agent and then went over to the front desk. To their credit, they were so very nice, apologized and refunded our money right away. They offered us another place on Leverick Bay but we didn’t want to stay there anymore. We drove around and looked at Guavaberry, which was very clean and then Nail Bay (all booked) and finally Mango Bay Resort, which we found very nice and decided to take. As it turned out, Mahoe Bay, which Mango Bay is on, is really one of the best places to stay on the island. The beach is excellent—and in our case, it was right outside our door, maybe 10 feet away—and the property was very nice. The rooms were clean and we had a great kitchen with everything required to make meals, a grill, and a nice living room. Everyone was super nice and left us alone, unless we needed something. Also, there were kayaks and floats and snorkeling gear to take. My only suggestion for improvement would be to put locks on the doors—the island is crime free so it’s not an issue but all the same, it was strange to me the first night, though I got used to it.
At Mango Bay, we met a lovely couple that we hung out with, who had also stayed at a Leverick Bay property (I think their suites) and had a similar experience as us (plus bed bugs) and were also refunded their money and then came and stayed at Mango Bay.
Food was sub-par everywhere on the island. Fat Virgin was my favorite and it was fun to take a boat ride over. We only ate four meals out and cooked at home or made sandwiches. There are two grocery stores, Rosy’s and Bucks. Rosy’s has more stuff and the prices are better. But if one has space I suggest taking some snacks and coffee and such with. We’d taken our coffee and some breakfast stuff and snacks and it all came in very handy.
We took the ferry back to St. Thomas the day before our flight and stayed at Wyndham for a night. It was fine for our purposes but VG was really more our style—clean, beautiful and not built-up. Hope this helps anyone who’s thinking of visiting. Thanks to all who helped us.
Dec 12th, 2009, 07:26 AM
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My fiance snorkeled a few times (he saw a bunch of little colorful fish and a few larger ones. No turtles but others told us they saw turtles) , the day I tried we had a swell and I didn't see much. But I saw a few fish just swimming and lots of little ones that jumped out of the water in unison at one point. Really pretty.
Not sure how long Mahoe Bay is but you can walk it in five or so minutes. It was the perfect size. We saw beaches at Nail Bay, Spring Bay, Devil's Bay and Savannah Bay and my favorite is Mahoe still.
Not sure how long Mahoe Bay is but you can walk it in five or so minutes. It was the perfect size. We saw beaches at Nail Bay, Spring Bay, Devil's Bay and Savannah Bay and my favorite is Mahoe still.
Dec 14th, 2009, 04:50 PM
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Sasson- thanks for your report! We are going to VG for the first time in April and staying at Mango Bay. I was glad you enjoyed your stay. Where did you eat when you ate out (since you did not think it was very good)? How far away is the market/grocery from Mango Bay? We will have a jeep but just curious. Any more tips or advice? Would you go again?
Thanks for any help!
Thanks for any help!
Dec 15th, 2009, 01:07 PM
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ishkribbl, you will love it. We really liked Mango Bay. If you can afford it, get the ocean front unit--#15 is amazing. I wouldn't waste money for the ocean view because to me it's the same as a garden view (which is beautiful also and a very short walk to water but less expensive).
We ate at Mineshaft (wasn't a fan), Old Yard Village which I really liked, Turtle and Bay (it was whatever but it does have wifi) and Fat Virgin which I also liked and it was fun going over there in the boat.
There are two grocery stores: Buck's (in the yacht center) and Rosy's. Buck's is closer to the place but Rosy's is another 5 minute drive and has a better selection of things and is a tad cheaper. There was a bulk place on the way to Rosy's/the Baths from Mango Bay and I just learned that they have great prices as long you need you buy in three's.
I would definitely go back to VG. It's really a wonderful place as long as you're good enjoying the wonderful weather, a nice swim/snorkel and a good book.
We ate at Mineshaft (wasn't a fan), Old Yard Village which I really liked, Turtle and Bay (it was whatever but it does have wifi) and Fat Virgin which I also liked and it was fun going over there in the boat.
There are two grocery stores: Buck's (in the yacht center) and Rosy's. Buck's is closer to the place but Rosy's is another 5 minute drive and has a better selection of things and is a tad cheaper. There was a bulk place on the way to Rosy's/the Baths from Mango Bay and I just learned that they have great prices as long you need you buy in three's.
I would definitely go back to VG. It's really a wonderful place as long as you're good enjoying the wonderful weather, a nice swim/snorkel and a good book.
Dec 15th, 2009, 05:07 PM
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Thanks Sasson! Actually, although I booked for April 2010 in June 2009 we were unable to book the ocean front unit and had to take an ocean view. If we had been able to change our dates to a week or so later we could have booked ocean front but I was planning for my school's spring break dates and I was not able to be flexible this time. I have read reviews where the person posting got a last minute change in unit so I hope if someone cancels we can move to ocean front; however, we are still excited to be going!
Thank you for the restaurant comments. We hope to hear more about local out of the way places and have noted a few already. We love an adventure and would rather go to a local place rather than one geared towards visitors.
I doubt we will buy a great deal in the way of groceries except for snacks, drinks, and maybe some easy breakfast food for a day or two but I did want to know about the markets.
We hope for great weather and to just relax, snorkel, swim, read and do as little as possible!! We are spending the first night on Tortola in transit, the next two on Anegada and the other five at Mango Bay- we are really looking forward to it. Did you go on any boat snorkel trips? If so, who did you use and what did you think? I think we need to go to the Indians- maybe the Dogs or Norman Island? I am still trying to figure it all out!
Thanks again!
Thank you for the restaurant comments. We hope to hear more about local out of the way places and have noted a few already. We love an adventure and would rather go to a local place rather than one geared towards visitors.
I doubt we will buy a great deal in the way of groceries except for snacks, drinks, and maybe some easy breakfast food for a day or two but I did want to know about the markets.
We hope for great weather and to just relax, snorkel, swim, read and do as little as possible!! We are spending the first night on Tortola in transit, the next two on Anegada and the other five at Mango Bay- we are really looking forward to it. Did you go on any boat snorkel trips? If so, who did you use and what did you think? I think we need to go to the Indians- maybe the Dogs or Norman Island? I am still trying to figure it all out!
Thanks again!
Dec 16th, 2009, 04:46 AM
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You'll get to know all the restaurants the first day by just driving around. The island is small. There aren't that many places to eat at--but either way you'll love it. Also, one of the things I noticed was that almost everyone we met was very nice.
Ocean front/ocean view/garden/any of it is just wonderful as long as you're there. I was happy taking a garden view but my fiance fell in love with the ocean front. It's all so close to the ocean--unlike Nail Bay and many others where you have to walk down a hill to get to the beach.
We didn't do any snorkel trips as there was snorkeling right on our beach and with ferries and changing places that first night we were happy to stay put a day or two. I really want to go to Anegada also, people seem to love it. Sounds like you have a great trip planned.
Ocean front/ocean view/garden/any of it is just wonderful as long as you're there. I was happy taking a garden view but my fiance fell in love with the ocean front. It's all so close to the ocean--unlike Nail Bay and many others where you have to walk down a hill to get to the beach.
We didn't do any snorkel trips as there was snorkeling right on our beach and with ferries and changing places that first night we were happy to stay put a day or two. I really want to go to Anegada also, people seem to love it. Sounds like you have a great trip planned.
Jan 4th, 2010, 08:51 AM
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You might want to check out the Double D snorkeling trips. We go out with Dave every year and he does a nice laid-back comfortable cruise. http://www.doubledbvi.com/trips.htm Everybody knows him- as sasson said, it's a small island. The snorkeling at Mahoe has really gone down over the years. We used to see turtles and all manner of fish; now it's really empty, but a very nice beach! The restaurant at the yacht harbor is the Bath and Turtle- owned by the same person who runs Chez Bamboo, which is quite popular. I understand that Georgio will be reopening upstairs at The Rock and that should be great. You will enjoy the island- do take a day trip over to the Bitter End if you like snorkeling. Their nice comfy boat goes out usually 2x day and Kinto picks the spot according to the wind. It's $15 for a couple of very pleasant hours. Have fun!!
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