elaine hoogkamp

<BR>I am planning a vacation to the Caribbean for my friends and I for the first week in September. I am leaning towards renting a villa on Tortola possibly on Cane Bay. Will we be bored? Don't need constant entertainment but a little night life would be good. also can anybody recommend a place to saty that can accommodate 5 comfortably? Thanks

Ann

Elaine, I think Tortola will fit your description of what you and your friends are seeking. Cane Garden Bay, is a very nice location. Most or all of the accomodations there are privately owned by BVI citizens (or "belongers" as they're locally called. Cane Garden Bay is very tranquil, a large bay with calm waters opening on the Atlantic, not the Caribbean. If you go to bviwelcome.com you will find a number of villas in that area. If you go to caribbean-on-line.com/bvi/ttmap.shtml, you will find the identical map that is used all over the island. <BR>Let me suggest that in your search for a villa, anything you find on the West half of the island will be in very nice neighborhoods. By that I mean, anything West of Road Town on the Caribbean side and any thing West of Cane Garden Bay on the Atlantic side. <BR>Personally, my choice has always been Frenchman's Cay Resort which provides a 2 BR villa (with extra beds as needed) and a full kitchen, etc. We have been there several times, once with my S.O. and once with some girlfriends. We agree that the view is the best and having their excellent restaurant on hand was wonderful. We also found the jeep that came with our package to be indispensable. <BR>If I can help in any way, please let me know, but I know less about specific privately owned villas than I do about the resorts. <BR>I'm sure you already know and have taken into account that September is hurricane season for much of the Caribbean. I have typically made September one of my prime months for Caribbean visits, the risk is not all that significant, but I do make it a point of watching the Weather Channel closely beforehand.

elaine hoogkamp

Thank you very much for your reply. Frenchman's Cay has very high ratings on this forum but unfortunately they are closed the whole month of September so I have to keep looking. I am going to take your message and share it with my friends! If I have any questions I will email you. Thanks again!

Rick

Elaine, My wife and I just returned from Tortola/Frenchmans 2 weeks ago (we are also 32). I assume if your interests are beaches, restaurants, bars, lounging, etc. then Tortola will be nice. Honestly you probably already know that it is not the most active of any of the islands but it is very safe, clean, friendly. The other post is right, Cane Garden would probably be a good choice for you, active beach area and very pretty. I posted a trip report a week ago and I still have it, let me know if you would like me to email it to you. From what I read here and in books before going you would think Tortola is sleepy, it really isnt that bad, there are places that have nightly entertainment check in the local newspaper "Limin Times". We partied 3 nights pretty hard. Bombas has live reggae on Sundays and Wednesday, and Quitos has entertainment that is good also. Bombas Wed band was outstanding, played constantly from 8:30/9:00pm to Midnight nonstop. There are many restaurants to enjoy and dont forget about daysails to VG or JVD. Although people brag about shopping in St Thomas which is very close, I would pass because I consider it unsafe. Let me know if you would like more help. Another place you may want to check is Long Bay, they have villas also; bit pricey but very nice.

Alby

Good advice so far, Elaine. I'm a bit discouraged with Long Bay, though. Looks very nice, but the restaurant is lacklustre in terms of variety and service. I would recommend Lambert Beach Resort except it's a long way from the west end which is where most of the action is. I think the best recommendation I can make for 5 is to check the villas for rent at bviwelcome.com. That would be the way to go imo. Many of these will be at high elevations, so you'd swap beach for vistas, but every beach is open to everyone in any case. <BR>Ladies, be sure to allow funds for renting a vehicle, preferably a 4WD for your entire stay. Don't pay the high taxi rates.

Joel

Elaine, I'm not one to often recommend St. Thomas, but my wife and I truly loved Point Pleasant Resort on the East end of St. Thomas. You can have as much activity as you want on St. Thomas. The resort is low key and they feature duplex accomodations (2 suites to a building). Each has complete privacy due to excellent design and landscaping. Beautiful views. You get a car free with your room; i.e., there's a sign-up list for their cars every day: first come, first served. The shopping in Charlotte Amalia is excellent and for those of you that like to bargain, my wife found that she could bargain down 50% in the smaller shops. Pt. Pleasant used to be a botanical garden so, as you can imagine, it is quite beautiful. It is on the side of a hill with parking for each duplex. They do have a big apartment building sort of structure also, but I recommend you stay away from it as the duplexes are so much more cozy and so much more attractive. Check out their website (I found it easily but don't remember the address.) <BR>

Dave

A villa would be good for the 5 of you but they're all hillside. Coordinating transportation between the 5 of you could get touchy. I would suggest staying at Cane Garden Bay (Rymers, Elm, etc). This would allow for loads of fun at your doorstep. If some wish to explore the island and others don't, nobody is stuck at a villa with nothing to do. The spots in CGB are also very reasonable.