Virgin Gorda Trip Report
 

http://www.nbptravel.com/VirginGorda.html

I looked at all of your travels. Loved them all. The way you present your reports look like they are written for a magazine. I wonder if I will ever do a webpage with links like yours:).

Happy birthday! I had no idea that your family had been planning a trip to VG. Was this in lieu of a hot date trip with just your husband? I can't believe how much bigger Patrick is in these pictures!

I loved VG and would really love to return. Reading your report and seeing your photos really brought back my fondness for that island.

THanks for the report. It's not often that we get a good report on Virgin Gorda on this board.

Thanks everyone. :-)

Emily: Hi! Brian was gone for a couple of months this summer due to work so this was as much a birthday trip as a break for him and some family time as well. Patrick had really missed him.
I'm very excited about the next trip. It's a ME, MYSELF & I trip, meaning no husband and no child. I'm going to Saba in January. I'm looking for peace, serenity... and spa treatments of course! :-D

Caribtraveler, I liked your Virgin Gorda report so much, I ended up reading all the others. I had to laugh when you said weren't impressed Friars Beach on St.Martin or Rum Point on Grand Cayman because I felt the same way. Thanks for brightening up my day.

Thanks for this. I've been thinking about Virgin Gorda for vacation.

caribe, thanks once again for a great trip report, the villa looks amazing, do you miss being at a resort when you do a villa...the service or availability of restaurants? just curious. love the pic of your son and um...no teeth...adorable.

ok, so now....alone, to saba? as in no girlfriend, hubby, kids...alone, alone? boy does that sound wonderful. why choose saba? just curious.

i have some days off from work and jumping on a plane ALONE would be just wonderful before the madness of the holidays.....never thought to do it...just always wanted too, though!!

thanks again,
alison

Congrats on your upcoming solo trip! I also think that Saba is an interesting choice, and as my husband and I have toyed with doing daytrips there, I look forward more than usual to your next trip report. I'm in the early stages of planning a solo trip for myself again next spring, maybe doing a little work here and there, wherever I find myself. My 2007 solo trip to Grenada was such a success that I'm torn between going back there and trying something new.

Where will you stay on Saba? How did you happen to choose it? For someone who likes to collect perfect beaches, it seems an unusual choice.

Caribtraveler,

As always, great trip report, and happy belated birthday. It seems like you didn't do any island hopping this time. Was it a time factor or have you already been to the other BVIs that were reasonable choices for day trips? I've been obsessed with Jost Van Dyke after seeing many recommendations for White Bay being a great beach.

You (and Naveron) are the 2nd and 3rd reports (yes, I re-read some of your other trip reports today too) I read today about people who have not liked Rum Point on Grand Cayman, so now I'm questioning whether I should bother going there when I visit GC in December, since it is a pretty long way from SMB.

Alison,

I travel alone all the time (I'm not married and don't have kids, though, so my situation may be different), but I would encourage you to consider it if it interests you. There are lots of good places for women to travel alone in the Caribbean that are safe and easy to manage. For me, beach trips are great to do alone, because I am content to spend all day on a quiet beach (reading, sitting on a beach chair, walking, maybe some swimming or snorkeling), while many people I would potentially travel with would be really bored on that kind of trip.

Hi caribtraveler,

Happy Birthday! I was very excited to read your VG trip report especially since we'll be there in February!

We are also staying at Nail Bay, in the villa Island Dream. Would you return to Nail Bay?

Thanks for sharing your wonderful travel experiences with us! Just awesome!!

Thanks again everyone.

Alison: It was our first time renting a villa and we'd definitely do it again. In our particular case, the villa is part of a resort so we didn't feel like we were on our own. Nail Bay has a front office in case there are any issues. There's a restaurant and there was a cleaning person for the villa. We did like the feeling of coming back to our 'own home' as well as having our own pool. I understand now why so many people prefer villas instead of hotels.

To answer your question - and Emily's: Why Saba? The island has always appealed to me. It just looks lovely (not touristy, with natural beauty and genuine people). My husband and I had talked about going there at some point (without Patrick due to the lack of beaches). When I decided to take this solo weekend trip (yup, just me), the priority was safety. I wanted to go to a place where I'd be comfortable on my own. I also wanted serenity... and spa services of course :-) . My final choices were actually T&C, Anguilla and St. John. Unfortunately, all the hotels I wanted to stay at were ridiculously expensive due to January being high season. I could not bring myself to pay what amounted to $1,000/night. Then I remembered Saba. Continental's price to St. Maarten was good, as well as the cost of the Winair flight to Saba. The Saba hotel price was even better! I did have to give up the idea of a great beach but once I had decided on Saba, I was totally fine with not having a beach. I have a feeling that Saba beats the other islands hands down when it comes to safety and serenity. So at the end, it all came together and this trip feels just right. I'm booked at www.queensaba.com

Emily: I loved reading about your wonderful '07 trip to Grenada and can't wait to read about your next solo trip, no matter where it will be.

Beachdreams3: Time was a factor. We were in VG for only 4 nights. The only other BVI we've been to is Peter Island. Anegada, Jost and Guana are on the long list! Enjoy GC!

Jayneann: We would absolutely go back to Nail Bay. Have a great trip!

Thanks for a great report. We're going to VG in June. I had fun looking at your pictures of Mahoe Bay as that is where are staying (Adagio).

Thank you caribtraveler! You too, have a great time in Saba on your solo trip... sounds so restful! I-)

iamq: I understand there are turtles at Mahoe Bay towards the right side. We tried snorkeling but the visibility wasn't good. It was also the end of the day and the mosquitoes came out. My husband thought he saw one though. Good luck with the snorkeling and have fun. Congrats on the wedding by the way. I did read your post and took a peek at your pics. :-)

I enjoyed your trip report so much that I went to your home page to view your other reports. Now I need a trip to the Caribbean or Bahamas! Last trip was to Anguilla about three years ago. Haven't been back because of hubby's health problems which are now hopefully resolved, so may start planning a trip.

Ditto on the way you presented your report. I wish I was that creative.

I especially enjoyed your food photos. MDH always thinks I'm a little "off" wanting to photo the food.

We've been to Virgin Gorda twice on sailboats. I was glad for your report on the land side. We loved all of the BVI,our favorites being "White Bay" Jost Van Dyke, "Billy Bones Beach Club" Norman island, and "Prickly Pear Island " off of the "Bitter End Resort".

I will view your photos and report again when we decide on our Caribbean tripfor March '09.

Thanks ct. I would love to see turltes. We saw quite a few of them while in St. John a few years back and I considered it a real treat.

Great trip report. This time the pictures weren't cut off, yay :).

Bill, Congrats on the wedding! Where are the pictures?

Another excellent report! Thanks so much for posting. Patrick has grown so much! Wow! I look forward to your Saba trip report. That's one of the islands on our list. :)