Dipping my feet into the pool that is the USVI....

Virgin_USVI · Post by **Virgin_USVI** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 3:55 am

Hi, My fiance and I and our friends are going to St. Thomas for a week, with a day or two ferry trip over to St. Johns. Hopefully, one trip of many ...

If any of you kind folks have any input (good or bad) with the plans I have set up, please don't hesitate to reply or give reccomendations of your own.

A day with Captain Maxine.
(http://www.sailwithcaptainmax.com/)

A day to the BVI (Baths and Jost Van Dyke)
(http://www.piratespenny.com/bvi.html

A 2-tank dive with St. Thomas Diving Club
(http://www.stthomasdivingclub.com/)

Have anyone had any experiences with any of these companies?

Are there any highly reccomended land activities or sites experienced USI travelers have?

I am furiously browing through these forums for food suggestions for both St Thomas and John as the trip is merely days away.

Thank you for taking time to read this.

mindehankins · Post by **mindehankins** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 9:20 am

I can't help you with dive information, but a perfect day for us would be to drive the North Road to Waterlemon, first thing in the morning. We'd snorkel Waterlemon and then head over to Miss Vie's on the East end, for lunch and then lounge on her beach for the afternoon.
Miss Vie's is only open Tues-Sat and you should call first, to make sure she's open.
If it looked to rough to snorkel Waterlemon, you could snorkel the right side of Francis Bay.
If Miss Vie's turned out to be closed, then I'd go to Tourist Trap for lunch in Coral Bay, and then Salt Pond/Drunk Bay.

mindehankins · Post by **mindehankins** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 9:21 am

Oh, and then we'd get ribs at Candi's, for dinner!

Exit Zero · Post by **Exit Zero** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 11:25 am

Hopefully you will come back again and again - yes - the 3 tours you mentioned are all quality operations with professional crew, well kept vessels and excellent local reputations.

mrscaptainjay · Post by **mrscaptainjay** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 12:06 pm

Since you're staying on St. Thomas, you have to go to Magens Bay. Beautiful beach and great beach bar. But check the cruise ship schedule and only go on the days that have no ships or the fewest ships during your stay. When there are several ships in, the beach is packed.
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/c ... ules.shtml

Sapphire is another really nice beach, good snorkeling, restaurant, water sports, etc. Also, Secret Harbor.

Food - anything in Frenchtown
Fun - take tram up to Paradise Point on a Wed night to see sunset and the cruise ships lit up, listen to a really good calypso band and have a bushwacker.
Redhook - several good restaurants and then go to Duffys Love Shack for dancing and drinks
Shopping - nice stores and restaurants along water front. Stores close at 5pm and don't even open if there are no ships in.

Beware on Tuesdays, it's a really big cruise ship day, crazy traffic. Oasis of Seas (largest ship in the world) will be here every Tuesday. Maybe a good St. John day.

You will love it and will be back many, many times. Enjoy!

Virgin_USVI · Post by **Virgin_USVI** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 2:11 am

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my thread. =)

mindehankins:

I will add Watermelon to our list, I had also written down Hawknest, Trunk Bay, and Cinnamon.

Ms. Vie's, Tourist Trap, and Miss Lucy's were what I had for eating.

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mrscaptainjay:

Awesome, I had Magen as a definite on the list. The others include Brewers, Coki's, Lindquist, and Cowpel. We are going to Paradise point on the tram.

I will go research RedHook and Frenchtown. The specific places to eat I had on my list were Glady's Cafe, Craig and Sally's, and Havana Blue.

Printed a copy of the cruise schedule. Thanks!

I love real people's reccomendations (like yelp), rather than magazines, or articles. Anything else anyone could add would make this even more amazing. =)

mindehankins · Post by **mindehankins** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 8:41 am

Are you choosing your beaches for the facilities, accessibility, the beauty or the snorkelling? That might help us make suggestions. For instance, Trunk has facilities and location but the coral's beat up.

BuffaloGal · Post by **BuffaloGal** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 6:49 pm

You may find that the BVI trip is unnecessary. Jost and the Baths are very nice, but if you're looking for great beaches, you can't beat St. John. If you rent a car, consider heading over to Coral Bay and hit Little Lameshur - very pretty and nicely uncrowded. You can grab a burger at Skinny Legs! I second the Waterlemon recommendation. And Hawksnest is beautiful and easy to get to if you don't have a car. As I listen to the sound of my husband snowblowing our driveway right now, I'm longing for white sand instead of this other white stuff!

Virgin_USVI · Post by **Virgin_USVI** » Fri Dec 11, 2009 1:14 am

mindehankins:

We're just looking for a unique fun experience. =) Facilities do not matter so much, I'm just making selections based off of random reviews of websites. Basically something that is different in the USVI than elsewhere like Hawaii or Jamaica.

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BuffaloGal:

Thanks! That's #2 for Waterlemon. We'll be using the car barge ferry to bring over a sedan we rented from St. Thomas over to St. John. I have already looked up directions for Coral Bay, and this is the first time I've heard of Little Lameshur, so I'll be sure to research it. Uncrowded is definitely our kind of beach, we enjoy partying as much as the next guy/gal but beaches are best enjoyed at peace in our opinions. Thanks!

mindehankins · Post by **mindehankins** » Fri Dec 11, 2009 8:47 am

Your sedan might not make it to Lameshur. I'm pretty sure it takes a 4 wheel drive vehicle to make it there. Vie's is a pretty, quiet beach with easy access and chairs already there for your use. It costs $2.50/person to cross her land to use the beach, but I think it's worth it.

InTransit · Post by **InTransit** » Fri Dec 11, 2009 1:29 pm

Hello:
St Thomas Diving Club is a top notch operation. You will have no worries. They do some "simple" wreck dives such as Navy Barges. They have great staff and well maintained equipment.
If you are closer to Red Hook, I would also recommend Red Hook Dive Center. They do more shallow and intermediate depth reef diving. Again, great staff and well maintained equipment.
Both operators are very customer focused. Enjoy!

Virgin_USVI · Post by **Virgin_USVI** » Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:59 pm

We are packing as I am typing this. =D

Dangit, So I guess I'm out of luck for Lameshur. But at least the other spots are still accessible I hope.

I will have a look at Red Hook Diving next time we're back as long as nothing scares me away from the USVI. lol.

mindehankins · Post by **mindehankins** » Fri Dec 11, 2009 6:07 pm

Please consider a trip report for those of us longing to be there! Safe travels!

brenda · Post by **brenda** » Fri Dec 11, 2009 8:50 pm

If you do two days on St John, I would do some of the Northshore beaches one day and do a little East End tour the second day. Even when Trunk Bay is crowded, it is still a really beautiful beach! We loved Vie's Beach on the East End. It is quiet and she has beach chairs available. The Tourist Trap is a "must stop" for us. Great food and wonderful people

.

BuffaloGal · Post by **BuffaloGal** » Sat Dec 12, 2009 10:46 am

Sorry, Lameshur's a wild ride even in a jeep. You won't be dissappointed with any of the other suggestions here. Cinnamon is nice, too, and you can rent kayaks or windsurfing equipment if you're so inclined. Have a wonderful trip!

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