Water Island, Jost, Great Camanoe?

paulandtracie · Post by **paulandtracie** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 6:39 pm

We are heading back to STJ for Carnival/Festival this year in July but got good flight prices (for once!!) if we added three extra nights. We'll be in STJ for the first week, but we want to try something new on another island, and are considering Water Island. We like small, quiet places and are also looking into Jost and Great Camanoe but are having trouble finding a place that will rent for only three nights. We'll have 2 adults, one teenager for sure, possibly two. We need 2 bedrooms but other than that we're not fussy. I like that Water Island transportation is by golf cart - it seems a world away from St. Thomas but would provide easy travel back the the airport. We eliminated Virgin Gorda and Anegada because of travel/ferry times. Any ideas or suggestions on where to stay?

bill · Post by **bill** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 7:54 am

Check out Cooper Island, a really great beach and some good snorkeling. Perfect place for a few days.

Ken · Post by **Ken** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 7:27 pm

We stayed on Great Camanoe for 4 nights this past summer. If you contact the villa owners directly, you can typically get them interested in a stay for less than a week if the time is right (summer certainly helps). However, on Great Camanoe, there is so much hassle getting the villa ready and then cleaning up that they might ask for a little more $$ to make it worth their while.

PM if you have more questions about Camanoe. We loved our stay!

Ken · Post by **Ken** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 7:35 pm

Here are a couple of photos from our stay on Camanoe:

From Stargazer villa looking at Marina Cay

Snorkeling in Lee Bay

Scrub Island from Stargazer Villa

Lee Bay and our ride for the week (the small one)

Muhaha · Post by **Muhaha** » Wed Jan 25, 2012 2:57 pm

Wow!!! Great Camanoe looks incredibly amazing. Looking at villa listings there, they all seem very affordable? What's the catch, besides being totally isolated (which to me is a plus)?

paulandtracie · Post by **paulandtracie** » Wed Jan 25, 2012 3:25 pm

Wow is right! The picture of you looking out over Marina Cay is awesome! Great Camanoe is our first choice but we haven't had any luck finding a place--no one will rent for three nights. Muhaha, where did you find affordable villa listings for Great Camanoe? We agree, isolated is fine with us!

Muhaha · Post by **Muhaha** » Wed Jan 25, 2012 3:57 pm

Here is a listing of several. http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/ca ... at-camanoe

Interestingly, all but one come with the use of a boat for the stay. Seems perfect with views like that, plus every day is dinghy day.

Ken · Post by **Ken** » Wed Jan 25, 2012 8:31 pm

Well, you've pretty much identified the "catch." You are very isolated. We loved it. It is hard to get there if you fly into St. Thomas (which we do with Delta miles). If you fly into Tortola, it is a snap. Short ride over in your boat for the week and leaves from right by the airport in Trellis Bay.

You need the boat. There are no services on Camanoe - no food, no gas, nothing but houses and beaches. Our 16' Boston Whaler took us all around Camanoe, over to Marina Cay a couple of times a day, to Scrub Island, and over to Trellis Bay. We had a great time. If you love the sound of this stuff, Camanoe is hard to beat.

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