Planning a budget friendly trip...seeking advice

Chickie · Post by **Chickie** » Sun Apr 14, 2013 4:08 pm

HI:
I am planning a trip to St.John with my family. I have two options currently for places that are available and that meet my "budget".
One is Samules Cottages in Cruz Bay the other is a Studio Apartment located in Coral Bay.
I have two kids ages 5 and 8.
I have traveled to St. John before as a kid and stayed at Maho Bay so I am ok with "roughing it" a bit. Also in the past few years we stayed at Perfect Pineapple on Jost.
However, I am really torn about which location to choose. On one hand being close to Cruz Bay may be nice with the kids so we can walk into town but I also wasn't sure how "noisey" it will be.
We live in the country now so I don't exactly need the peace and quiet that Coral Bay offers.

Has anyone ever stated at Samuels Cottages? Would you consider it realtively safe?
Is it necessary to rent a 4 wheel drive on the island or if we stay in Cruz Bay can we get to the beaches without a four wheel drive?
And any thoughts on Coral Bay vs. Cruz Bay would be very helpful!
Thank you in advance for any thing that anoyone can offer. I am so excited about returning to this beautiful place and I really want to make an informed decision.

mindehankins · Post by **mindehankins** » Sun Apr 14, 2013 4:17 pm

Have you checked with Samuel cottages about availability yet? Every time we tried to rent one, they were already booked, so that may a moot point. You'll get lots of help with your planning, here. Welcome!

loria · Post by **loria** » Sun Apr 14, 2013 4:43 pm

this is so strange!-- i wrote a repsonse, but it doens't seem to be here... hmmm I think ou do need a 4 wheel drive-- even the paved roads can be squirrely after a rain. --what exactlyis your budget? we have done several budget trips and have soem ideas-- pm me if you want.-

mindehankins · Post by **mindehankins** » Sun Apr 14, 2013 5:24 pm

Sent you a pm with a couple of ideas...

Chickie · Post by **Chickie** » Sun Apr 14, 2013 7:44 pm

Yes both of the options are available at this time and it is a peak week!
So I want to commit to one soon

Pia · Post by **Pia** » Sun Apr 14, 2013 8:14 pm

What s the name if the cottage in Coral Bay?

Pia

PatrickMcc · Post by **PatrickMcc** » Sun Apr 14, 2013 9:28 pm

There are reviews of these cottages on Trip Advisor. I never checked these out before but it looks looks it would be hard to beat the price anywhere else.

JJShaw · Post by **JJShaw** » Sun Apr 14, 2013 9:53 pm

Not sure how you consider "roughing it" but Cinnamon Bay has Cottages and Tents as well as bare sites and its near the beach so you may not want to get a Jeep all the time you are there..that would cut cost alot..We went last yr and stayed in a cottage we planned on getting jeep for a few days while we were there but we never did..we taxied where we went..but there was 2 of us..so it was cheaper than getting a jeep..and I think kids would love it..there are always lot of kids there so they would have kids their age near by...and its so nice to wake up and have the beach right there..no getting everyone ready..and having the hassle of rushing to get to the beach...if you want more info they have a website..or PM me if I can help...

www.cinnamonbay.com

Chickie · Post by **Chickie** » Sun Apr 14, 2013 10:03 pm

I was just checking out Cinnamon Bay...it looks interesting and beautiful right on the beach. Thank you for the suggestion.
Oh and I am looking to book for 10 nights so that adds up as well.

PaminMaine · Post by **PaminMaine** » Sun Apr 14, 2013 10:20 pm

I sent you a PM.

dreamshark · Post by **dreamshark** » Mon Apr 15, 2013 4:56 pm

Chickie wrote:I was just checking out Cinnamon Bay...it looks interesting and beautiful right on the beach. Thank you for the suggestion.
Oh and I am looking to book for 10 nights so that adds up as well.

On our first trip we spent 3 days in a cottage at Cinnamon Bay (with no vehicle) and then moved to a villa for 7 days (with jeep). This worked really well. We greatly enjoyed staying right by the beach while we learned to snorkel, and appreciated the relative luxury of a villa all the more after 3 days sharing campground bathrooms.

If you wanted to try a split stay, one way to do it is to look for a villa (or condo) that has an awkward hole in the schedule (say, 5 days) and make a lowball offer for that time slot. Then fill in the rest of your time at Cinnamon Bay.

You might also look at the Caribe Havens villas for affordable digs with more room. (I haven't stayed at any of them and haven't found much info about them other than the website, but they do seem to be great deals). http://www.caribehavens.com/

Rhonda · Post by **Rhonda** » Tue Apr 16, 2013 9:40 am

We have stayed at Samuel Cottages the last six years & will be there again next month. It is very clean & the owners are wonderful people. PM me, if you have any questions.

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