USVI-On-Line

Considering a side trip to VG on our next vacation but I don't know the first thing about it. What are the areas to considering staying in? Car needed (I would think so)?
What is the overall makeup of the island roads? Would you say similar to St. John?

Appreciate anything anyone wants to tell me.

Thanks!

We spent a week on VG a couple of years ago. Really enjoyed it. We were there in mid-October, deep in the off-season. I don't really know how different we might have felt if we'd been there in February. We'd taken a ferry over from STJ once and liked what we saw, wanted more.

For us, a major draw were the boulder beaches (includes--but not limited to--the Baths). These are on the southern part of the island, so we wanted to stay around there. Spanishtown and many of the restaurants are also on that part of the island. We stayed at Guavaberry, which is right in that area, and were totally satisfied with it. More than satisfied. It sounds like you're thinking of a few days rather than a week and Guavaberry will rent for a few days. They also manage some villas close by, but those are by the week. Fischers Cove is another place in that general area that would rent for a few days. If we couldn't get Guavaberry, Fischers Cove would probably have been our second choice.

A lot of people like the villas at Nail Bay or Mahoe Bay. These are newer developments, located on lovely beaches that have reefs and good snorkeling. I don't know if they'd rent for short stays. They're a distance from the boulder beaches and Spanishtown, but I think the roads are finished now and it's not a bad drive. VG roads are in significantly better shape than roads on STJ. Leverick Bay is another area many people like. It's on the other side of Gorda Peak, not really that far a drive from the southern part of the island but I wouldn't stay there unless I was planning to spend most of my time on the North Sound. We were totally entranced by the boulder beaches. We had intended to get around the island more than we did. We did spend a morning at Savanna Bay, but most of our time was spent among the boulders.

You'd definitely want to rent a vehicle. We got ours from Mahogany and were totally satisfied. Spanishtown is more along the lines of Coral Bay than Cruz Bay. To me, VG feels more Caribbean than STJ does. Most businesses are owned and staffed by West Indians. We had much more of a sense of being visitors in a different culture. We'll go back.

I'd be glad to answer anything else. The TTOL BVI forum was the best source I found.
http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/ ... &Board=bvi

Here are a couple of links to maps

http://www.guavaberryspringbay.com/pdf/map_valley.pdf

http://www.guavaberryspringbay.com/pdf/ ... thside.pdf

http://www.britishvirginislands.com/vit_mapvg.htm

http://www.skyviews.com/sv/Public/BVI/B ... ?MapMode=1

Thanks a lot, Lex. That's just what I was looking for. Just a feel for the lay of the land. Already looked at Guavaberry and will likely end up there but wanted to understand what other options I had.
After posting this I ended up finding the map links on the GB site so that helped.
You're right in that this would be a shorter stay and then a ferry over to STJ for the remainder of our vacation.

Haven't heard of Fischer's cove, will take a peek at that as well.

Thanks, appreciate it!

Hey MB, have already advance scouted VG

Ditto just about everything that Lex said.

We spent 6 days at Guavaberry in 2006 (followed by 6 days in STJ). It was one of those "need it bad" vacations, so we didn't want much. We didn't rent a car and were more than happy with Springs Bay, The Baths and Devil's Bay. We walked a lot and used one of the Guavaberry "taxi" drivers to get us to/from dinner, Spanishtown, etc. The staff at Guavaberry is great.

We went in November and it was very quiet. Much like our first trip to STJ in the off season in the early 90's.

We had dinner at Fischers Cove one night and would definitely consider staying there. Little Dix and Biras Creek also get good reviews ($$$). I might even consider the Bitter End Yacht Club after spending a day last spring (again $$$).

We took a day trip from VG over to Anegada - very easy.

We did the ferries from STT to VG and it made for a very long day; one of the reasons we haven't returned. I think I would look into Cape Air for a return trip.

We visited VG several years ago and stayed at Guavaberry and rented from Mahogany. Agree with Lex's writeup. VG has some wonderful beaches and snorkeling, and we plan to go back sometime. (So many islands, not enough vacation time!) Its different from STJ; seems to be a drier island, so not as lush. We had no mosquitoes (unlike STJ where I get eaten alive). Good roads and great restaurants. Loved the boulder beaches too. It definitely has a more West Indian feel than STJ, which we enjoyed. It seems like more of a pain to get to, but not really that different from STJ for us. Last time, we flew to SJU and took Sunshine Air directly to VG. I think the VG airport is still closed, so you have to ferry from STT or Tortola. Happy trip planning.

We stayed in a villa at Mahoe Bay in February 2009. We liked the location. For our next VG trip, I would definately look into staying down towards the Baths. We really like the beaches down there and it is close to town.

Drop Gymnastica a PM. They stay in that neighborhood and she likely can recommend private rental units.

Definately easier driving on VG. Most of the roads were paved at that time and I have since heard that even more of the island is paved. Car is a necessity I think unless you stay put at Little Dix.

One thing that struck us about VG was the friendly residents. Whenever we were out to eat or at a bar, the residents were very invested in our VG experiece, asking questions about what we had seen, making recommendations on different restaurants, suggestions on sites to visit, etc.

Lex hit it good. We've been to VG twice. Do a search here using "guavaberry" and my trip reports and others will come up with even more details. I woulda done the links for you but on the blackberry now so typing is a pain. There is a ferry that runs direct STJ to VG I think 2x week and I'll get u that link later.

jmq wrote:Lex hit it good. We've been to VG twice. Do a search here using "guavaberry" and my trip reports and others will come up with even more details. I woulda done the links for you but on the blackberry now so typing is a pain. There is a ferry that runs direct STJ to VG I think 2x week and I'll get u that link later.

you had actually emailed me your trip report which I did find in a travel folder. Thanks!