Trip Report 2/3/07-2/10/07 -part 1

[jmq]

liamsaunt, the last time I could snorkel Hart Bay was 1997. I try EVERY time I go down, but it's been too rough. There's a lot of very shallow reef there with deep grooves between the coral heads. It's delightful. But, unless its calm you're going to be hamburger.

Rick - that sounds similar to Haulover North where you also need calm waters to negoiate the shallow coral.

[RickG]

Ya, I like Haulover North. It's rather more sheltered with Tortola to the North than Hart Bay. We hit Haulover South in November and it was dead calm with no current. We saw some fun critters.



Cheers, RickG

[VaGirl]

A trip report! YES!! I'm reading and closing my eyes and wishing I was on the island at the same time, as here (like a lot of places) we have ice out the wazoo.....love your name, too - a nice martini would help me get through the afternoon. Looking forward to hearing all about your trip - April can't come soon enough!

[chrisn]

OMG! Thank you!!! I was practically salivating waiting for someone...anyone to post a trip report. Great start, can't wait to read more.

[MIG]

M.G. -

We'll be at Great Expectations later this year. Would really appreciate any details and/or advice you can provide. Was it well stocked?

Thanks!

[martini girl]

MIG - we had some people stop by Great Expectations to check the place out while we were there last week. We gave them a brief tour. I believe they were on our flight from Phila....was that you?

[martini girl]

Liams Aunt - no we did not snorkel Hart....keep in mind that we were all newbies to snorkeling and it seemed as though Francis and Maho were certainly more our speed. Even with some experience, I don't think I'd attempt Hart....it looked quite choppy to me. We did, however, enjoy the view of both Hart and Chocolate Hole.

[martini girl]

MIG - yes, G.E. was stocked fairly well. The coolers, Rubbermaid thermos (held large quantity of husband's awesome rum punch), beach buggy/cart, snorkel gear, noodles, and beach toys were plentiful. Bath towels were acceptable, sheets were fine, extra blankets available. The only thing I would criticize in this area would be they provided only one beach towel per person. In fact, now that I think about it, we had 9 in our party and they only gave us 8. There were warnings about not putting beach towels in the washer and/or dryer due to potential damage to the units by the sand, but how on earth were we to dry the one towel per person so we could use them the next day??? Strange.

We couldn't hang them out on the lounge chairs because we had a rain shower everynight....ooh that was such a nice sound. Last night, I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of rain and thought I was in paradise....then I realized it was SLEET and I was about to enter into a world of snow, freezing rain, snow boots, pants, mittens....UGH. But I digress. Anyway, feel free to let me know if you have other questions.

[MIG]

MIG - we had some people stop by Great Expectations to check the place out while we were there last week. We gave them a brief tour. I believe they were on our flight from Phila....was that you?

I wish! We've been freezing here at home.

[martini girl]

Allie - you seriously do not need to bring anything dressy to wear. We did shorts and shirts all week to every restaurant. I can't speak for the finer dining spots as we always had the girls with us, but all the places we went were very casual. We went from PJs to bathing suits to shorts for dinner. I brought two casual cotton skirts with me, never took them out of the suitcase.

But bring the cash. We can attest to the fact that the ATMs definitely work on the island, and you can take a maximum of $400 per visit.