My family (my husband, myself, 11 and 8 year olds) have been to Exuma, Bahamas and Costa Rica lately. We would love to try the Virgin Islands. We are outdoor inthusiasts and love to see all the local sights. We also love to spend several days on the beach with fruity drinks and cabana boys (OK, maybe the cabana boy part is just me). We are fine being secluded but a little nervous about staying in a private villa. Would love to avoid cooking. Is this too specific? Which island and where to stay?

I'd say that either Virgin Gorda or Tortola would suit your needs based on your post, so maybe you could give a bit more info on what you'd like...

Actually, I think staying in a villa is a great way to vacation, especially with kids! You have more space, it's generally a better value than a hotel, and you have the kitchen there to keep snacks handy or for making breakfast or packing picnic materials. My husband and I really have enjoyed staying in villas, especially when traveling with other people. We've never made dinner there since we all like to relax over a long meal without having to cook or clean up when on vacation. But we use the kitchen in the villa all the time--for keeping milk on hand for breakfast cereal and coffee, or keeping juices, Ting, beer, rum, etc chilled. Or for keeping fresh fruit that we don't want to leave out on the counter to attract bugs. And we love having a full freezer so that we can make our blender drinks or to keep some ice cream on hand. Believe me, staying at a villa does not mean you're a slave to the kitchen!

It's hard to make recs on where to stay without knowing your budget, but here are a few on Virgin Gorda. (I like Tortola, I *love* Virgin Gorda)

Mahoe Bay Villas -- the location can't be beat, but they're definitely pricey. Occasionally you can find good deals in the offseason by getting in contact with the owner(s) directly. That's what we did two years ago and scored a fantastic deal on Adagio Villa. (You can click on my name to see my trip report and pictures if you'd like.)

Nail Bay Villas -- this location is a bit more isolated but the prices are good. Take a look at Island Dreams in particular.

Leverick Bay area-- I'm not a fan of this area because I like beaches (there's not much of one here, but water sports are King), but the prices are better here than elsewhere on the island.

Guavaberry Spring Bay -- they have small cottages just a short walk from one of my favorite places on the island, Spring Bay. They also mange the rental of a few other villas.

Bitter End and Little Dix are both family friendly but you'll pay a lot more there than you would for a villa. I'm not sure about other places around the island. There was a nice, new condo complex (not on a beach) whose name eludes me but that also looked quite nice for the price.

We rented a villa at Maho Bay on Virgin Gorda a couple of years ago. It is one of our favorite trips. The villa was called Bella Mare and it was awesome! We ate out some nights and had hubbie grill while I made sides a couple of other nights. We had the most beautiful balcony overlooking our pool and the sea beyond that. It was the perfect place for a sunset. We also rented a simple apartment on another Tortola trip at a place called Coconut Coast. I don't think they do short term rentals any longer?? It was not very nice, just basic but it too had a nice balcony overlooking the water and we had a blast. The other 2 trips to Tortola included stays at Long Bay. We had beach view rooms and we booked 2 rooms at caribbean-online.com for $125 each because we always travel with our 2 kids. Tortola is our 2nd favorite island behind St. John and it is a close 2nd! The BVIs are the real deal and you will have a blast there! Just down a dirt road from Long Bay is Smugglers Cove. It is a very remote beach and there are some ladies who set up a little beach bar and bar-b-q there. The food and drinks are awesome!

thanks, you guys! Never considered virgin gorda. I will start searching for a villa now. Sounds perfect for us. Did you travel to other islands? What activities would you recommend? Did you rent a car?

Also, just realized i spelled enthusiasts with an "in". Yikes! Before kids i know i had a brain. Hopefully, i can spell the names of the islands right! Have a super day!

When we were on Tortola we did a daytrip to Virgin Gorda and fell in love with the magic of the Baths, which is why we chose it for our return to the BVI. we didn't daytrip to other islands from VG since we were only there for 5 nights, but if we had, I'd have chosen a daytrip to Anegada, the polar opposite of the rest of the BVI. I'd still like to see it one day. But we did take one of our best daysails from there--we chose a charter boat, not a sailboat, that took us to 4 different snorkeling stops for $100 per person. We got to snorkel at Peter Island, the caves at Norman Island, the Indians, and the wreck of the RMS Rhone, with a stop for lunch at the infamous Willy T, a ship permanently anchored off of Norman Island. I can't recall the name of the charter company offhand--maybe something with a D? Double D? Captain D? But the info is in my trip report on Virgin Gorda, if you want to click on my name to read it.

Re: Tortola...Long Bay beach resort and Ft Recovery villas have been offering auctions at SkyAuction.com for the last few weeks--if you really like the looks of Tortola over VG, you might want to consider bidding on a couple of packages to get a good deal. We loved the Sugar Mill on Tortola, where we stayed with our 13 year old granddaughter. Some of the rooms are well suited to families, with a kitchenette in the room--refrigerator, kithcen sink, microwave, and coffee maker.

Also just wanted to mention the hungry kid factor. We've traveled with various teens from our family and having a refrigerator and cupboard stocked with snacks was very helpful 'cause they were hungry *all* the time. I swear that they could eat every two hours and still not completely fill up. Villas are also nice 'cause kids who want to stay up late to watch tv or play games could do so without disturbing the adults who wanted to hit the hay a little earlier. Or conversely, when traveling with small children who might be tuckered out more quickly, they can go to sleep while still provide plenty of room for the adults to stay up and enjoy some couple-time without having to keep lights down and voices low as when sharing a hotel room or even a suite.

Hi outdoorgirl! We just returned from Virgin Gorda and loved it! If you click on my name you'll find a recent trip report. We stayed in a very secluded villa in Nail Bay which was exactly what we were looking for. There are other less remote villas that look awesome too. Don't know about the cabana boys though!

Your children would love climbing the huge boulders at the Baths and the surrounding beaches. I wish we had taken a trip to VG when all of our boys were your kid's ages!! Also check out Traveltalkonline for more information. Lots of people on that site very passionate about the BVIs! Good luck with your search!

BTW, we loved Costa Rica too!!

Wow! What great info! Since the feedback is so super..any advice on the U.S. Virgin islands? Does anyone like it better than BVI?

You'll find a lot of folks here who are serious St. John devotees: tuxedocat, christiegr, brendang are among them. I've never gone because I have a silly prejudice against the USVI: when I travel to the Carirbbean I want to be in a foreign country, I want to have to show my passport to enter, I want to be surrounded by the West Indian flavour--totally silly prejudices, and I may get there eventually but perhaps not any time soon...

We just stayed a week on Virgin Gorda and it was fantastic!! This is our second trip to the BVI and we're so glad we decided on a return trip. They had lots to do for my niece and nephew (ages 7 and 9). Completely understand about the not wanting to cook on vacation, so we hired a private chef to come to the villa on the non-cooking nights, and it worked out really well. Also agree with ejcrowe that it has been nice to have food stocked in our villa for the kids during the non-meal times. As for adventures, we booked a charter sail to Cooper Island for snorkeling on the Spirit of Anegada, and Captain Keith planned a pirate adventure for the kids too, which they absolutely loved! Best day of the trip by far. Other things . . . Savannah Bay, hiking to Gorda Peak, the Baths, and the Mine Shaft sunsets.