USVI-On-Line

As always, the only thing that gets me through the walk of woe is planning the next trip as soon as we get home. Our original plans called for the next trip to be during college spring break next year so my boys could come. After this last trip, I was also toying with the idea of a solo trip in the fall. Got word at the end of last week that there is a very good chance that my youngest son will be deployed next spring break (he's in the army national guard), so now we're looking at a summer trip before they go back to school at the end of August. (looking at the second week in August)

My questions - how is the weather in August?
Are we more likely to have days where it rains all day then when we typically travel in April?
Should I only be looking at villas/condos with A/C?
Does travelling at this time make trip insurance more important?

Now, for accommodations: Although I am a Coral Bay girl through and through, I think it makes more sense when traveling with my 20 and 21 year old boys to stay in Cruz Bay, so they can do their own thing and not have to depend on me driving them. We would need to stay on the lower end price wise for accommodations, as I hope to be able to take them on a BVI charter as well and they are, after all, college students.

My questions - Any recommendations on places right in Cruz Bay? 2 bedrooms would be fine, or even a 1 bedroom with 2 couches or roll away beds. I just want it to be an easy walk into town.
I'm also looking at the Cruz Bay Boutique Hotel - does anyone know if they have parking there? - I will be renting a car.

Thanks in advance!

I too asked the question about parking at the Boutique Hotel awhile back and sad to say I was told they do not offer parking. I was/am looking for 4 nights near town before going over to Coral Bay for a week. Good Luck on your search!

Sherry in SC

Cruz Bay boutique hotel is nice- would you be renting the one bedroom apartment? If you rent from St John car rental you can park in their lot which is very close to Cruz Bay Boutique. There is also a large public free parking lot in Cruz Bay near the car ferry dock. We parked there last Feb. because the St john Car rental lot is small and crowded in Feb. but probably won't be in August. We didn't mind the walk.
We have also stayed in the two room unit at the St john Inn which allows parking on the street right in front of the Inn. This might be cheaper than Cruz Bay. I reviewed this unit on trip advisor about a month ago. I also reviewed Cruz Bay Boutique more recently although we stayed at both this past Feb. Both places are nice but are a lot smaller than a villa. However if we were going to stay in one for a week I would pick the St John Inn because there is a large outdoor area that is private for the renters of the two room unit and they have a small pool with a deck area around it that you could hang out at. I haven't seen the one bedroom unit at Cruz Bay Boutique.
Friends who have gone in August say that it is very hot and humid.

We were there last August and stayed at Lavender Hill. It was hot and humid. We have to have air conditioning otherwise we get very cranky. I think you'd probably want air. I think we had daytime rain once; barely sprinkled for a few minutes. We had trip insurance, just in case. Lavender Hill was very nice. We had a 1br unit for $160/night (they were offering a discount at the time). Going back this August again, but staying at Grande Bay this time.

So far, I'm leaning towards a condo at Battery Hill - anyone know anything about these?

We stayed in the two bedroom Lavender Hill unit three times several years ago and the Battery Hill two bedroom once.Both are nice but the Lavender Hill unit was huge with a lot more deck area. It was much bigger that Battery Hill and since it is two floors there is more privacy and there were two bathrooms. Our Battery Hill unit had only one bathroom. I thought that some of the units at Lavender Hill had AC now.

Late August more likely to get tropical storm systems that can linger for days/take days to move thru. Last week of August we arrived at the tail end of a system that just went thru. Good news was that the trailing bits of clouds made for one spectacular sunset after another. Daytime heat and humidity didnt seem that much different than it does many other times of the year, probably because we are more used to it by that time at home too. You would of course need AC to sleep anywhere except for perhaps a few breezy locations at the top of the island.

Re Battery Hill, we looked at this unit last month managed by Suite St. John and were offered 15% off posted rate. Unit itself looks smallish/narrow but nicely updated with a pretty big deck.
http://www.suitestjohn.com/batteryhill/sea_breeze.html
You will love the ability to walk into town, and may not even feel the need to rent a jeep on the day of arrival or day of departure = more $avings.

jmq wrote:You will love the ability to walk into town, and may not even feel the need to rent a jeep on the day of arrival or day of departure = more $avings.

I was thinking this same thing, but then I can't go grocery shopping that first day, right? Or can I get a cab to bring me back with groceries? I don't mind walking to the market, but don't want to have to walk back with a bunch of bags (20 something boys eat A LOT)

michigan girls wrote:

jmq wrote:You will love the ability to walk into town, and may not even feel the need to rent a jeep on the day of arrival or day of departure = more $avings.

I was thinking this same thing, but then I can't go grocery shopping that first day, right? Or can I get a cab to bring me back with groceries? I don't mind walking to the market, but don't want to have to walk back with a bunch of bags (20 something boys eat A LOT)

Tell em they eat what THEY can carry!
Or, on day of arrival just eat out, go next day after you get the car(?) No first hand experience on how that cab thing would work and some of that cost would start to negate the savings of not getting the car right away...

We did an August last minute trip with my daughters that was one of their favorites so far. Staying in Cruz Bay on Frank Bay at one of the Star Villas was location the girls loved.

I'll do that trip again, with Grande Bay favored as a place to stay. Just so very easy.

Cheers, RickG

I was on island last August. We had a great time. The house we rented had ac in the bedrooms but not the great room. It was fine for us, yes it was warm but we like being warm. The water temperature was fantastic, we snorkeled for hours at a time.

We visited last year in early August and stayed at Grande Bay. Weather was great - a passing shower here and there but nothing major - the sun was strong - A/C was a must at night.

We thought Cruz Bay was great at this time of year. Most of the restaurants are still open but we never waited anywhere for meals or a drink. We had the beach to ourselves most of the nights at the Beach Bar. There is abosolutely no need for a taxi when staying at Grande Bay. You can easily walk to anywhere in town, Salomon is a 25 minute hike, and we took taxis to/from the North Shore beaches.

We're planning on going back again this summer and really can't wait!!

Glad to hear some of the positive things about August. This will be the first time during the summer to visit STJ. All the other trips were late winter early spring. Still a bit too early to start counting the get ups left but the ticker keeps going down each day!!!

I suggest you take a look at this excellent page of weather information on Vinow.com:
http://www.vinow.com/usvi/weather.php

When considering trip insurance, scroll down and look at "storm activity from 1819-2001." Although hurricane season is technically June-November, note that 75% of the hurricanes have occurred in August and September. I'm not getting trip insurance for my upcoming trip in July, but I did buy it for September. (And now that I've given this advice, just watch me get clobbered with a rare July hurricane!)

Here's one thing I wish I had known before I planned a September trip. Sometime in the August-September time frame there is a period where the trade winds die away for 2-3 weeks. Trade winds make a huge difference to your comfort sitting on a deck at night. As it turns out, we had wonderful weather in September - we got there about a week after the trade winds started up again. If we'd arrived during the lull I think we would have been uncomfortable in the villa we chose. If I were going again in August or September I would choose a villa with full AC and if possible a screened porch.

First of all Thank You and your son for the sacrifice you are making for our country! Second MSG Coleen stayed at a really nice budget place in Cruz Bay that gives discounts for Military!!! PM her!!! I can't just now remember the place and have to leave for work now so I don't have time to look it up.