USVI-On-Line

Hi,

im new to the forum, greetings to everyone. My Girlfriend and I are taking a vacation for Parental leave, shes of work fopr 12 Month, I am for 2. We come from Hamburg, Germany. Our Baby is 6 Month old.
We planned on going to Thailand first, since we like asia alot and Ive been to thailand a few times. Because of dengue fever risks we changed our minds. So carebean it is!
So I have stumbled upon the Virgin Islands and they seem to be a valid, beautiful option.

Maybe you can help me with finding a place for us. We dont care about a pool, we just need one bedroom, no whirlpool or tv needed, none of that stuff. What matters is a great view, preferrably being on the beach already.
Should be clean of course.
We plan on staying 4-8 Weeks. We dont want to pay more than 100 USD a night. So far what i found was alot more. So maybe this is not possible - I dont know.

Sorry, maybe im being naiive

thx alot for any hints

Chris

Welcome Chris,

I can't think of a better place to spend two months than STJ. It is great for babies too because the water is so calm and warm.

What time of year do you plan to visit? Rentals are less expensive in the "off" season during the summer.

You are correct, most rentals are more $100US per night but since you want to rent for two months, you may be able to find a place within your budget.

This unit is a forum favorite -

http://www.sailviewstjohn.com/

There are several vacation apartment rentals in Cruz Bay but I don't know the names off the top of my head. There are also several condo rentals like Lavendar Hill and Cruz Views.

There is an active forum member by the name of Pia that lives on STJ. Hopefully she sees this post and can offer assistance.

You will need to rent a vehicle. It is hard to get around STJ without one. The bus service is not reliable and services a limited area of the island.

hi-- just so you know, Dengue is endemic in the Puerto Rico and the USVI. Though 2012 has been pretty much a banner year for Dengue in SE asia (apparently it cycles like this every several or so years???) That aside, St john is a lovely place for travelling with children-- it is fairly easy to get around hitch hiking (but MUCH easier with a car) and as noted by others there are many shallow beaches that are great for kids . However, cabs and food are fairly to quite expensive (MUCH more so than Thailand and other parts of southeast asia) so the costs of day to day living (outside of housing fees) is something you should consider.

As much as I love St John, I do not think it is a great choice for an extended stay with an infant, primarily because you will not be staying right on the beach. So, whenever you want to go to the beach it involves packing up a rental car (which will cost you a lot of money for an extended trip!), and then you are basically stuck on the beach the entire time. You didn't say what time of year you'll be visiting, but don't rule out a beachfront rental on the mainland in Florida or North Carolina. Good luck and congratulations on your newborn!

PS It doesn't matter how shallow the beach is - a 6 month old isn't going in swimming.

Hallo und herzlich willkommen

Costs are high, St Thomas may be a better idea.
However during High season Dec- Apr you will have no luck
There is a campground that is in your price range
http://www.maho.org/Destinations.cfm

good luck

You will not be able to indoor accommodations on the beach on St. John; the island is mostly national park and therefore is protected and unbuildable. The only sand beach villa rental (Gibney Beach Cottages) rents for around $5000/week.

The only way to rent in your price range would be to camp, in which case you would be right on the beach:
http://www.cinnamonbay.com/

wow you guys are amazing - so much feedback!

im at work and will read it thouroughly later. were going this october, first week already !

Yes we havent rules out mbe Miami Beach or the keys as a start. Have been only to NYC and California sofar.

thx alot!

you could try looking at culebra or vieques off of Puerto Rico-- they might have more affordable options (not very much ON the beach though. in FLa, you could try little gasparilla, but if you are spending he entire winter there-- well it does get cool there.

good luck!

Virgin Gorda, BWI is worth investigating. There are many more basic/simple rentals to be found in areas close to the beach. The island is comparable to STJ in many ways. The VBRO site was recommended to me for Virgin Gordon rentals.

Hi again,

im checkin out the VBRO Site and found a great place by the beach. im waiting for an answer from the owner. Its Virgin Gorda.
I have asked another location on Bahamas which seem nice aswell. (long island)

Ill let you guys know what happens.


thx so much for the feedback! (have received zero feedback from a german forum, doh!)

greetings from Hamburg, Germany!

Chris

Chris...one place you may want to check out is Sanibel Island on the West Coast of Florida. It really is a beautiful place....

I second Sanibel or Anna Maria Island Florida!

Anna Maria Island - great suggestion ! looks beautiful and special . im lookin into it, maybe fly to tampa from germany, goto Anna-maria island for a week, get a rental and drive down to the keys and fly from miami to BVI.
Does that sound not totally stupid ? im just talking out of my head here. What you think ?

Guys cant thank you enough we have almost settled for this:

http://www.mangobayresort.com/garden_view.php

I managed to get the price down and were already so happy.

thank you, youve been all very helpful!

Chris

You are going to love Mangobay resort and being right on the beautiful beach of Mahoe bay. The snorkeling there is great (towards the right of the beach) and swimming is also perfect. Wish I could spend a month or more on wonderful Virgin Gorda.

Maybe you can check out Guavaberry Spring bay vacation homes also (my favorite place to stay).

Good luck!

ok now im looking for flights from miami to bva, you got any hints on good websites in the US to compare prices ? Or an airline that makes most sense?
So far ive found out there are no nonstop flights , right ? I must go over purto rico ?

thank you for any hints on that.

Chris