USVI-On-Line

as I sit here with a house full of people and the thermometer stating it's only 9 degrees out......I need to start thinking about packing! Leaving in under 3 weeks! All that comes to mind is swimsuits and sundresses! what do you suggest that I don't forget. Thanks!

sunscreen (not the spray on kind please)
hat with wide brim or visor
Long pants and socks (in case the skeeters are bad or the nights are chilly)
jacket for chilly nights (a light weight white cotton blouse works nicely)

sense of fun and adventure

Baby powder to help wipe sand off your feet. It works great! Have a great trip!

Since it has not been above zero here in Minneapolis today I have little sympathy. But counting down the days to STJ as well. I throw in a couple pounds of my favorite coffee beans for grinding and brewing at villa. Less expensive and less hassle. Sunscreen for same reason. Never bring long pants except to wear on the plane. Lastly, beach reading materials. I just follow my basic rule for packing for all vacations...Half as much clothes, twice as much money. Works!

Pack half as much and bring twice the money....repeat as needed

I mostly pack sundresses & bathing suits & throw in a couple sandals . Half my carryon is used for rawhide bones , lg. milk bones , toys & other treats for the ACC dogs !!!! Then I have plenty of room for bringing things back home : ) !!

1 Pr. of sandals, Keens, 1 sundress, 2 pr. shorts, 2 bathing suits, 2 tank tops, 2 long sleeved rash guards, sunglasses, hat, under ware and jammies if you like , sunscreen, bug spray, off clip on and refills, camera and charger, anti-chafe cream, snorkel gear. Wear long pants, long sleeved top, tennis shoes, and a light jacket on the plane (we do hiking zip offs and use them as one of our pair of shorts). Fill the rest of your suit case with preferred snacks, shampoo etc., and food stuffs and things for the ACC, do a Polar bear 24 pk cooler with frozen meat and you are good to go. Oh, and twice the money you planned.

Thanks for all the replies. We have never had problems with bugs before but it sounds like I need to think about this.....

In case you like to cook in the villa some, or pack lunches for the beach- I always like to bring along some ziploc bags and foil for grilling veggies and such. Takes up no space in luggage and one less thing to buy at the store when we arrive! Also, not sure if this was already mentioned, but at least two big water bottles that can be attached to a backpack are a must for me. Have a fantastic trip!! I think we may be down there the same time as you

One of the things we like to bring is a manila envelope with various plastic bags. We include snack, sandwich, quart and gallon zip-locks and a few kitchen and large size trash bags. Since we generally don't need too many of a given size, we stick a few of each in the envelope, use what we need and leave the rest for the next guests.

JIM

We bring the items mentioned above. Here are a few more things to consider:
- light weight long sleeve cotton shirts for coverup when I've had too much sun.
- pareo for covering up on beach, or laying across my legs when I've had too much sun.
- we bring two wide mouth bottles to fill up with ice, so we have plenty of ice water with us, whether we are hiking or at the beach.
- flashlights and extra batteries, in case of power outage
- chip clips
- bug whacker (looks like a tennis racket) - we've had 2 trips with major bug issues and 2 trips with no bug issues at all
- Splenda packets and tea bags for making iced tea
- pre-measured ingredients for chocolate chip cookies. Got this idea from Eagle Ray Lover. On our last trip we made home made cookies and ate them on the deck at Coconuts villa with the wonderful view. Yum!
- 2 credit cards: we pay for everything we can on CC, but we have had it shutdown due to several "foreign transactions" in a row, so we always take a backup card now. We tell the company when/where we are going, but it gets shut down occasionally anyway.

Happy trip planning!

Earplugs! I am a light sleeper and those noisy roosters wake me up a bit too early for my liking!

So many great suggestions! We are in the middle of the another huge snowstorm......Kim we will be down there jan 20-30. If you are around and want to meet let me know!