USVI-On-Line

So my best friend & I have been talking about it forever...but we finally bought plane tickets last weekend! An excellent price (I believe)-- $288, from Newark.

We are budget travelers & fairly young (26). So, we were thinking about Maho Bay or Cinnamon Bay (their tents). But I've also been thinking about trying to find a cheaper villa as we might bring a lot of food as we're vegan and I'm not sure about the ease of cooking at Maho/Cinnamon. Any thoughts/advice?

Also, I was wondering if anyone knew how long I could wait? I see that last minute deals are good...but don't want to wait too long and not find a cheap villa AND not be able to book a tent at Maho or Cinnamon.

Thanks for any advice! I've been spending all my time looking at st john stuff (& reading old forum posts) instead of doing my work.

$288 RT from ERW is a good price. Renting a smaller inexpensive villa would be my preference, but I'm a bit older than you . Are you planning on renting a vehicle? You would proabbaly need one for any of the villas or apts except those which are in Cruz Bay. Check out VRBO for economical villas, there is a site called Star Villas, some studios for about $675 a week with full kitchens and AC! You should be able to find something off season for $700-800 a week. Just remember to figure in the 8% tax. I've noticed that most of the last minute specials advertised now are in season dates at off season pricing. You might be able to get 10-20% off, off season pricing but those specials are usually last minute,usually just a few weeks before travel dates.

A final thought, if you find something you like try contacting the owners to see if they will work with you on pricing. the worst that happens is a polite request is refused.
Pia of this forum often reccomends an apartment, the name of which now escapes me ( a senior moment) maybe she, or someone else will chime in with the name.

Honestly I would not screw around on securing your accomodations. Esp the tent sites since they usually go pretty far in advance.

If you can swing a villa do it.

Star villas is decent and cheap. Concordia eco tents on the Coral Bay side are also fun.

Like I said, the slow economy is helping because there are more options this close to your trip than there normally would be but don't push your luck.

Also, definitely secure your jeep rental ASAP.