usvi-on-line
Travel with Kids (a FIRST!!) - Tips/Tricks/Advice?
We always travel with the kids (wouldn't think about going anywhere without them!). Our son Jack is 4 and has been to STJ twice (3rd trip for him this summer). We keep the rash guard shirt on him the entire trip, for the most part (get the one with the SPF protection). We've never had a problem with him burning, and we go in July. But like Jim said, we are very liberal with the lotion (even with the shirt).
And PAgirl hit the nail on the head. No need for a lot of toys. I think we generally bring a few small shovels to dig in the sand with, but that's about it.
Oh, and as you can see in the above picture, we also bring a few tractors.
And PAgirl hit the nail on the head. No need for a lot of toys. I think we generally bring a few small shovels to dig in the sand with, but that's about it.
Oh, and as you can see in the above picture, we also bring a few tractors.
July 2003 - Honeymoon at The Westin
July 2004 - Glenmar, Gifft Hill
July 2005 - Arco Iris, Fish Bay
December 2007 - Dreamcatcher, GCB
July 2008 - Ellison Villa, VGE
July 2004 - Glenmar, Gifft Hill
July 2005 - Arco Iris, Fish Bay
December 2007 - Dreamcatcher, GCB
July 2008 - Ellison Villa, VGE
Chickadee, we are looking forward to meeting new STJ friends and seeing a lot of people we've already met. That is just one of the great benefits of being a part of this Forum.
JIM
Soxfan, I am happy to see you admit that you are a liberal about some things.soxfan22 wrote:But like Jim said, we are very liberal with the lotion (even with the shirt).
JIM
Man it's like some dream we live down here....
Absolutely! I was also liberal in the amount of Pinot I drank last night.jimg20 wrote:Chickadee, we are looking forward to meeting new STJ friends and seeing a lot of people we've already met. That is just one of the great benefits of being a part of this Forum.
Soxfan, I am happy to see you admit that you are a liberal about some things.soxfan22 wrote:But like Jim said, we are very liberal with the lotion (even with the shirt).
JIM
July 2003 - Honeymoon at The Westin
July 2004 - Glenmar, Gifft Hill
July 2005 - Arco Iris, Fish Bay
December 2007 - Dreamcatcher, GCB
July 2008 - Ellison Villa, VGE
July 2004 - Glenmar, Gifft Hill
July 2005 - Arco Iris, Fish Bay
December 2007 - Dreamcatcher, GCB
July 2008 - Ellison Villa, VGE
Very Good!soxfan22 wrote:Absolutely! I was also liberal in the amount of Pinot I drank last night.jimg20 wrote:Chickadee, we are looking forward to meeting new STJ friends and seeing a lot of people we've already met. That is just one of the great benefits of being a part of this Forum.
Soxfan, I am happy to see you admit that you are a liberal about some things.soxfan22 wrote:But like Jim said, we are very liberal with the lotion (even with the shirt).
JIM
JIM
Man it's like some dream we live down here....
Having traveled with Flip flop many times along with mini flip flop (now 8 ) and belly flop (now 3) and I seem to recall her doing the folllowing:
1) Mail a box of blow up toys, water wings etc to connections or Christy's (if she was renting stuff from them). She then will leave them behind at the villa for future guests. Inevitably she can buy that stuff up here cheaper. She also includes other stuff in the box that they don't want to carry on the plane.
2) Double checking with rental car co to see if they have a booster seat, if not she rented it from Christy's.
3) I know Christy's used to do babysitting, but you prob need to check on that for some reason I thought FF said they stopped offereing that service-- but don't hold me to that.
4) She always goes out and buys small things from the dollar bins at Target and doesn't let the kids see them. She then gives them out in stages throughout the flying process. So there's always something new to keep them entertained and focused.
5) she organizes clothes into zip loc bags to make things easier to sort out and there's minimal digging into drawers to find stuff. She reuses the plastic bags for snacks.
6) rash guards, bug spray, hats and waterproof+ sweatproof sunscreen are a must. Apply as much as possible before leaving the villa.
7) brings snacks and non spill cups to the beach along with beach toys (previously mailed down).
8. We have always found most of the restaurants on STJ to be super fantastic with kids. Coral Bay restaurants in particular seem to delight in having kiddos: Shipwreck, island blues, tourist trap, miss Lucy's, skinny legs, Vies...
9) They always do AM at the beach and plan on hanging out at the villa pool in the afetrnoon for the littler one to nap. Not sure if your youngest is past that point or not.
10) they always bring baby monitors (or rent from Christy's? ) because depending on the configuration of the house these can come in handy.
11) Be prepared for car sickness. Sometimes the kids in the back seat can get queasy on the STJ roads.
If I think of anything else I'll pass along. or you can search for flip flop's posts on traveling with kids...
1) Mail a box of blow up toys, water wings etc to connections or Christy's (if she was renting stuff from them). She then will leave them behind at the villa for future guests. Inevitably she can buy that stuff up here cheaper. She also includes other stuff in the box that they don't want to carry on the plane.
2) Double checking with rental car co to see if they have a booster seat, if not she rented it from Christy's.
3) I know Christy's used to do babysitting, but you prob need to check on that for some reason I thought FF said they stopped offereing that service-- but don't hold me to that.
4) She always goes out and buys small things from the dollar bins at Target and doesn't let the kids see them. She then gives them out in stages throughout the flying process. So there's always something new to keep them entertained and focused.
5) she organizes clothes into zip loc bags to make things easier to sort out and there's minimal digging into drawers to find stuff. She reuses the plastic bags for snacks.
6) rash guards, bug spray, hats and waterproof+ sweatproof sunscreen are a must. Apply as much as possible before leaving the villa.
7) brings snacks and non spill cups to the beach along with beach toys (previously mailed down).
8. We have always found most of the restaurants on STJ to be super fantastic with kids. Coral Bay restaurants in particular seem to delight in having kiddos: Shipwreck, island blues, tourist trap, miss Lucy's, skinny legs, Vies...
9) They always do AM at the beach and plan on hanging out at the villa pool in the afetrnoon for the littler one to nap. Not sure if your youngest is past that point or not.
10) they always bring baby monitors (or rent from Christy's? ) because depending on the configuration of the house these can come in handy.
11) Be prepared for car sickness. Sometimes the kids in the back seat can get queasy on the STJ roads.
If I think of anything else I'll pass along. or you can search for flip flop's posts on traveling with kids...
Last edited by Gromit on Mon May 03, 2010 10:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
*Another fine scatterbrained production
Wow, Gromit, who knew you were paying such close attention. She got most of my must dos! I especially like to ship sunscreen, floats, etc ahead of time. It just makes it easier.
Christy's is AWESOME. Very reliable for rental stuff. Your kids are older than that though, so you should have a relatively easy time of it. I have used them for babysitting since 2005. I don't think they officially advertise it but they probably would do it for you if you asked them in an email. Typically I had them come later, 7ish, when the kids were bathed, fed and ready to veg with a movie and popcorn. They had no issues at all getting my kids to bed. Honestly, I didn't even care if they were still up when we returned as long as everyone was happy and we got a night out.
Also, the Westin Kids club used to let kids come in on a daily basis. Probably depends on in-season vs. off season and how busy they are but that would be a perfect way to get a chunk of a day on your own as grown-ups.
Restaurants are pretty good. I know that Zozo's has a no kids under 5 policy at dinner. I love Zozo's but I wouldn't want to take my kids there. That's just me.
Exceptionally good sit-down places with kids were Donkey Diner, Shipwreck, Rhumblines, and Skinny Legs (when they aren't terribly slow, either way it lends itself to rowdy kids).
Take cords to hook your portable dvd player up should the villa not have a player or if you want to hook it to a bedroom tv. This has come in handy for us. What cords, I have no idea as my hubs is the technical support in our household.
I like to take plenty of fluid with us to keep the kiddos hydrated. I take my own bottles and freeze them the night before and throw them in a little cooler with snacks so we can extend our time at the beach.
Another super obvious tip that it took me a while to learn - PACK UP for the beach the night before. That way you aren't dealing with that in the morning. I also zip lock changes of clothes in the beach back with dry underwear, etc for the kids so I can change them before we leave the beach. They are MUCH happier campers when they aren't sitting in wet suits in the car. Makes them much more pleasant!
Christy's is AWESOME. Very reliable for rental stuff. Your kids are older than that though, so you should have a relatively easy time of it. I have used them for babysitting since 2005. I don't think they officially advertise it but they probably would do it for you if you asked them in an email. Typically I had them come later, 7ish, when the kids were bathed, fed and ready to veg with a movie and popcorn. They had no issues at all getting my kids to bed. Honestly, I didn't even care if they were still up when we returned as long as everyone was happy and we got a night out.
Also, the Westin Kids club used to let kids come in on a daily basis. Probably depends on in-season vs. off season and how busy they are but that would be a perfect way to get a chunk of a day on your own as grown-ups.
Restaurants are pretty good. I know that Zozo's has a no kids under 5 policy at dinner. I love Zozo's but I wouldn't want to take my kids there. That's just me.
Exceptionally good sit-down places with kids were Donkey Diner, Shipwreck, Rhumblines, and Skinny Legs (when they aren't terribly slow, either way it lends itself to rowdy kids).
Take cords to hook your portable dvd player up should the villa not have a player or if you want to hook it to a bedroom tv. This has come in handy for us. What cords, I have no idea as my hubs is the technical support in our household.
I like to take plenty of fluid with us to keep the kiddos hydrated. I take my own bottles and freeze them the night before and throw them in a little cooler with snacks so we can extend our time at the beach.
Another super obvious tip that it took me a while to learn - PACK UP for the beach the night before. That way you aren't dealing with that in the morning. I also zip lock changes of clothes in the beach back with dry underwear, etc for the kids so I can change them before we leave the beach. They are MUCH happier campers when they aren't sitting in wet suits in the car. Makes them much more pleasant!
I would highly recommend Christy's for babysitting. We used them last year for our 18 month old son -- once during the day and once at night. Both times we came home to a very happy little boy. We are heading to STJ in a couple of weeks and I've already made contact with them about babysitting again. It is expensive at $20/hour but well worth it.
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Tracy in WI
- Posts: 1624
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 8:39 am
- Location: Wisconsin
You will have so much fun! Seeing St. John through their eyes is really precious!
My kids are a bit older, but have been going for about four years now. Most things I would mention have been covered, but I will add that my younger son loves being in the water and always has a rash guard of some sort along with a hat and the highest SPF we can find! I have found that the spray on kinds are much easier to apply on kids and would highly recommend that type.
The past two trips, he began getting a rash between his legs from the rubbing of the swimsuit. He also had irritated nipples from the shirts (he wouldn't be happy if he knew I was sharing this!). Anyways, we make sure to bring a few shirts and also ended up with bandaids to help him in that department.
We purchased swimsuits from Quiksilver which have special fabric to prevent the rash between his legs. Otherwise, I might recommend something like bodyglide or simple vaseline.
Have fun!
My kids are a bit older, but have been going for about four years now. Most things I would mention have been covered, but I will add that my younger son loves being in the water and always has a rash guard of some sort along with a hat and the highest SPF we can find! I have found that the spray on kinds are much easier to apply on kids and would highly recommend that type.
The past two trips, he began getting a rash between his legs from the rubbing of the swimsuit. He also had irritated nipples from the shirts (he wouldn't be happy if he knew I was sharing this!). Anyways, we make sure to bring a few shirts and also ended up with bandaids to help him in that department.
We purchased swimsuits from Quiksilver which have special fabric to prevent the rash between his legs. Otherwise, I might recommend something like bodyglide or simple vaseline.
Have fun!
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Iluvstjohn
- Posts: 397
- Joined: Sat Nov 03, 2007 11:02 pm
- Location: Boston, MA
ok....my kids have gone since they were babies..so I highly recommend it. They are 5 and 7 now! A couple of things come to mind.
1. a few toys for the down time at the villa. I let them pick whatever they want that can fit into zip loc bags. Match box cars, polly pockets, card games, etc...
2. I got a floatable snorkel float thing. actually, we've got 2...
http://www.isnorkel.com/product-exec/ca ... ing-window
http://www.isnorkel.com/product-exec/ca ... eling-raft
**my 7 year old had a blast with this. She would go out with her dad and she saw so many cool fish, starfish, turtles, etc!
3. powder for the sand....baby powder will take off all the sand on hands feet, etc....great for getting ready to eat while at the beach or going into the car.
4. sunscreen and rash guards.
5. Pack a carryon with their favorite snacks. FYI a 1 pound box of spaghetti in Coral Bay cost us 4.99. Bring it from home!
Have a blast! The kids will love it!
Holly
1. a few toys for the down time at the villa. I let them pick whatever they want that can fit into zip loc bags. Match box cars, polly pockets, card games, etc...
2. I got a floatable snorkel float thing. actually, we've got 2...
http://www.isnorkel.com/product-exec/ca ... ing-window
http://www.isnorkel.com/product-exec/ca ... eling-raft
**my 7 year old had a blast with this. She would go out with her dad and she saw so many cool fish, starfish, turtles, etc!
3. powder for the sand....baby powder will take off all the sand on hands feet, etc....great for getting ready to eat while at the beach or going into the car.
4. sunscreen and rash guards.
5. Pack a carryon with their favorite snacks. FYI a 1 pound box of spaghetti in Coral Bay cost us 4.99. Bring it from home!
Have a blast! The kids will love it!
Holly