usvi-on-line
Questions from a first timer
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cubsfanone
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Fri May 18, 2007 1:19 pm
- Location: Cincinnati, OH
Questions from a first timer
In less than two weeks my fiancee and I will be in St. John for our honeymoon and we can't wait! This will be our first trip to the VI and the forum has been a huge help to us...thanks to everyone!
As we are making final plans for our trip we've thought of a few questions that we're hoping some of you could help us with. Thanks for your input:
- We'd like to purchase some pastries (muffins, danishes, doughnuts, etc) to have at our villa for breakfast most mornings. Is there a bakery you'd recommend for this?
- I know that for the most part attire is very casual on STJ. Though, what is expected at some of the nicer restaurants like Asolare, Chateau Bordeaux, Pardisio? How about at a place like Havana Blue on STT?
- In low season do we need to make reservations for things like day sails, kayak rentals, and dinghy rentals before departing? Or can it be done on the spur of the moment once we're on the island?
- Okay...lets talk Money. We plan on having approximately $1600 to spend while we are there. This would include things like food, drinks, activites, souvenirs, etc. (though not jeep rental, flight, & villa rental which has been paid in advance). Of the $1600 how much should we bring in cash, traveler's checks, and have available for charging? We're just not sure how widely accepted traveler's checks and credit cards will be.
- We want to buy some rum...where should we get it? Can it be purchased at the few grocery stores on island?
- We want to experience the BVI while there. Is it best to take the ferry or would you recommend a day sail/charter? Should we try to fit both Virgin Gorda and Jost Van Dyke in one trip...or just experience one island this time?
If you've gotten this far...thanks so much for reading my lengthy post and offerring any help that you can!
Thanks,
Brian
As we are making final plans for our trip we've thought of a few questions that we're hoping some of you could help us with. Thanks for your input:
- We'd like to purchase some pastries (muffins, danishes, doughnuts, etc) to have at our villa for breakfast most mornings. Is there a bakery you'd recommend for this?
- I know that for the most part attire is very casual on STJ. Though, what is expected at some of the nicer restaurants like Asolare, Chateau Bordeaux, Pardisio? How about at a place like Havana Blue on STT?
- In low season do we need to make reservations for things like day sails, kayak rentals, and dinghy rentals before departing? Or can it be done on the spur of the moment once we're on the island?
- Okay...lets talk Money. We plan on having approximately $1600 to spend while we are there. This would include things like food, drinks, activites, souvenirs, etc. (though not jeep rental, flight, & villa rental which has been paid in advance). Of the $1600 how much should we bring in cash, traveler's checks, and have available for charging? We're just not sure how widely accepted traveler's checks and credit cards will be.
- We want to buy some rum...where should we get it? Can it be purchased at the few grocery stores on island?
- We want to experience the BVI while there. Is it best to take the ferry or would you recommend a day sail/charter? Should we try to fit both Virgin Gorda and Jost Van Dyke in one trip...or just experience one island this time?
If you've gotten this far...thanks so much for reading my lengthy post and offerring any help that you can!
Thanks,
Brian
we found the muffins at Star Fish to be quite good. Fresh every day and good variety. We also got some nice baked things at Deli Grotto - Baked in the Sun was closed when we were there last Oct. but you can check them as well.
I think nice shorts are acceptable at all the places you mention for dinner. My husband wore shorts to Asolare last year. He did bring on pair of pants but I can't recall that he ever wore them.
As for money we took half of our alloted budget in cash and left the other half to use on our Visa ATM/credit card. It worked out well for us. AMEX not widely accepted, nor Discover. I know Ruth takes Discover but can't recall seeing it anywhere else.
Will leave it to others to chime in on the rest of your questions!
Enjoy and congrats!
I think nice shorts are acceptable at all the places you mention for dinner. My husband wore shorts to Asolare last year. He did bring on pair of pants but I can't recall that he ever wore them.
As for money we took half of our alloted budget in cash and left the other half to use on our Visa ATM/credit card. It worked out well for us. AMEX not widely accepted, nor Discover. I know Ruth takes Discover but can't recall seeing it anywhere else.
Will leave it to others to chime in on the rest of your questions!
Enjoy and congrats!
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cypressgirl
- Posts: 2178
- Joined: Tue Dec 26, 2006 2:42 pm
- Location: houston
I'll try to answer a few of these: Bakery......IMHO Deli Grotto is the best for not only baked goods, but their chicken salad is the best I've ever had. Attire.......at the more upscale restaurants you will be fine in a polo shirt and nice shorts and your wife could do the same or if she wants to "dress up" a little a sundress or capri's and a little top would be perfect. Reservations for activities...........a lot of day sails are out of town for hurricane season, but there's a guy that has a little booth at Mongoose Junction named Trevor (SUPER nice guy) who can fix you up with a daysail. If you want to do VG, New Horizons II has a web site and they used to offer a 10% discount for booking online. You might check that out. Rum........any little store that sells snacks, sells Rum. $$$$$$$$$$$...........if you're going to eat at Asolare, Chautau Bordeaux, Paridso, ect., do a day sail, go to the BVI, you better plan on using your plastic or take more than 1600. Most places take MC or Visa. There are a few exception, but they are not the most expensive places. Deli Grotto does not take plastic, but they are not expensive. I would not even take Travelers Checks. If your place has a safe, just take what you need for the day and lock up the rest.
I hope this helps a little. I'm sure others have more advice and different opionions.
Have a wonderful Honeymoon. You picked the right place!
I hope this helps a little. I'm sure others have more advice and different opionions.
Have a wonderful Honeymoon. You picked the right place!
Credit cards are pretty widely accepted on St. John, and there are atms on island at the Starfish Plaza, Love City mini mart in Coral Bay, and the Scotiabank in downtown Cruz Bay. I prefer not to carry very much cash, so tend to use my cards and then hit the atm if I know I will need cash.
Shorts will be fine for your hubby at all the restaurants. The only places with a dress code are at Caneel Bay, and with al of the other great places to eat on island, I would not recommend those places to you anyway.
The bvi charter will take up a big chunk of your spending money, plan on at least $200/pp for the boat if you take a group charter, that would include your customs tax, lunch, and the tip to the captain. You can make a reservation when you get there by stopping into Connections in Cruz Bay. They will know what's available and help you book.
Baked in the Sun at Starfish plaza and the Deli Grotto in Mongose Junction are good places to find breakfast stuff.
Congratulations on your wedding!
Shorts will be fine for your hubby at all the restaurants. The only places with a dress code are at Caneel Bay, and with al of the other great places to eat on island, I would not recommend those places to you anyway.
The bvi charter will take up a big chunk of your spending money, plan on at least $200/pp for the boat if you take a group charter, that would include your customs tax, lunch, and the tip to the captain. You can make a reservation when you get there by stopping into Connections in Cruz Bay. They will know what's available and help you book.
Baked in the Sun at Starfish plaza and the Deli Grotto in Mongose Junction are good places to find breakfast stuff.
Congratulations on your wedding!
It's like looking in your soup and finding a whole different alphabet.
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California Girl
When we went to STJ in May, we allotted about the same budget. My hubby & I each took $500 in cash and left the rest in the bank. We used our VISA/ATM card for larger purchases (like at St. John Spice and dinners) and hit the ATM a couple of times. Never had a single problem with money.
What everyone else has said about clothing is right-on and we did a daysail with Capt. Phil, who, I believe is down island now for the season, so I can't add anything there.
The only pastries we had were from Deli Grotto and I can say they were super yummy!
Originally I had planned to bring the regular 750ml bottles of rum home in my empty cooler for myself & to give to friends & family, but I found these awesome little 5-paks of Cruzan at Mixology. 5 half-pint bottles (vanilla, coconut, mango, raspberry, and.. uh..I can't remember the 5th one) all packaged in a neat little carry box. I brought home 4 of those and gave out a couple "whole" and broke up the rest and gave out individual bottles. The 5-paks were $15.00 each and I got a lot of people at home each a nice souvenir for $3.00! Everyone who received the smaller bottle loved and appreciated it just as much as if it were larger. I don't think people really expect much, just a little souvie! Besides, I have now found out that with a BevMo membership, I can get Cruzan here at home for only a few more $ a bottle than if I drag it home from St. John (but I'll still get the cute little 5-paks next time for presents!)
What everyone else has said about clothing is right-on and we did a daysail with Capt. Phil, who, I believe is down island now for the season, so I can't add anything there.
The only pastries we had were from Deli Grotto and I can say they were super yummy!
Originally I had planned to bring the regular 750ml bottles of rum home in my empty cooler for myself & to give to friends & family, but I found these awesome little 5-paks of Cruzan at Mixology. 5 half-pint bottles (vanilla, coconut, mango, raspberry, and.. uh..I can't remember the 5th one) all packaged in a neat little carry box. I brought home 4 of those and gave out a couple "whole" and broke up the rest and gave out individual bottles. The 5-paks were $15.00 each and I got a lot of people at home each a nice souvenir for $3.00! Everyone who received the smaller bottle loved and appreciated it just as much as if it were larger. I don't think people really expect much, just a little souvie!
Besides, I have now found out that with a BevMo membership, I can get Cruzan here at home for only a few more $ a bottle than if I drag it home from St. John (but I'll still get the cute little 5-paks next time for presents!)
CG- Great idea for the little bottles of rum for souveniers.
Brian,
I can't really add much more to everyone's good suggestions. We took about that much money for a family of 4 and it was enough. We only charged the boat charter and a few souveniers. We didn't spend too much as we were at the beach all day and with kids did not hang out at the bars real long.
Have a great honeymoon. You picked a great destination!
Brian,
I can't really add much more to everyone's good suggestions. We took about that much money for a family of 4 and it was enough. We only charged the boat charter and a few souveniers. We didn't spend too much as we were at the beach all day and with kids did not hang out at the bars real long.
Have a great honeymoon. You picked a great destination!
Hey Brian, I will throw in my 2 cents on some of your questions:
Clothing...very casual (shorts and shirts ok) everywhere. Just dont wear only your bathing suit into a bar, shop or eatery.
Reservations: I would make daysail reservations ahead of time, however, we found last minute offers on lots of boat trips and other rentals.
Money...do not take an AMEX or Discover card. Visa and Mastercard are taken just about everywhere. We took $900 in cash for 3 people for the week. We used about $700 of it. We put another $2,000 on a credit card. This was for food, ferry tickets, cabs, shopping (clothes, jewelry, booze, t shirts etc...) groceries and restaurants.
Rum...you can get it all over the place! Best prices are on STT though...and a marvelous selection to be had.
BVI...5 of us took the ferry to JVD on a Friday for $50 each r/t. Then there is a short taxi ride to White Bay. We felt like it was not enough time there, but did not have the extra money in the budget for a private or group sail. We wound up with about 3 or 4 hours on JVD. The rest of the time was spent on the ferry or in the taxi. We will definately go back, as we all LOVED it.
Hope that helps...have a wonderful time, I know you will!
Clothing...very casual (shorts and shirts ok) everywhere. Just dont wear only your bathing suit into a bar, shop or eatery.
Reservations: I would make daysail reservations ahead of time, however, we found last minute offers on lots of boat trips and other rentals.
Money...do not take an AMEX or Discover card. Visa and Mastercard are taken just about everywhere. We took $900 in cash for 3 people for the week. We used about $700 of it. We put another $2,000 on a credit card. This was for food, ferry tickets, cabs, shopping (clothes, jewelry, booze, t shirts etc...) groceries and restaurants.
Rum...you can get it all over the place! Best prices are on STT though...and a marvelous selection to be had.
BVI...5 of us took the ferry to JVD on a Friday for $50 each r/t. Then there is a short taxi ride to White Bay. We felt like it was not enough time there, but did not have the extra money in the budget for a private or group sail. We wound up with about 3 or 4 hours on JVD. The rest of the time was spent on the ferry or in the taxi. We will definately go back, as we all LOVED it.
Hope that helps...have a wonderful time, I know you will!
Re your BVI question, we’ve done both VG (last year) and JVD (3 weeks ago) via the public ferry from STJ.
It really depends what you want to do and maybe best this time to pick one or the other, unless you are going for more than a week total.
JVD is for chilling in lounges and hammocks on beautiful White Bay, and actually we got in almost 5 hrs there which was fine, because more boats start coming in there at 1-2pm anyway. Think we got a decent flavor for what its like there in that short time. Direct JVD ferry runs weekends from STJ.
The ferry ride to Virgin Gorda (Sunday and Thurs only from STJ) takes a lot longer (further away = close to 2 hrs each way) so you get even less time there on land (we were staying on VG so it wasn’t an issue for us).
In season, we watched them herd the ferry riders into the big taxi vans for the trip down to The Baths which can get crowded if there are cruise ships in Tortola.
Should be way less crowded in Sept., but that would certainly be more of an on-the –go day, and not sure how much you can get a “flavor” of VG doing that day trip (but the Baths are very cool). Others have taken the power boat charters to VG = faster than the ferry, maybe with other stops, etc.
It really depends what you want to do and maybe best this time to pick one or the other, unless you are going for more than a week total.
JVD is for chilling in lounges and hammocks on beautiful White Bay, and actually we got in almost 5 hrs there which was fine, because more boats start coming in there at 1-2pm anyway. Think we got a decent flavor for what its like there in that short time. Direct JVD ferry runs weekends from STJ.
The ferry ride to Virgin Gorda (Sunday and Thurs only from STJ) takes a lot longer (further away = close to 2 hrs each way) so you get even less time there on land (we were staying on VG so it wasn’t an issue for us).
In season, we watched them herd the ferry riders into the big taxi vans for the trip down to The Baths which can get crowded if there are cruise ships in Tortola.
Should be way less crowded in Sept., but that would certainly be more of an on-the –go day, and not sure how much you can get a “flavor” of VG doing that day trip (but the Baths are very cool). Others have taken the power boat charters to VG = faster than the ferry, maybe with other stops, etc.
When we come to place where the sea and the sky collide
Throw me over the edge and let my spirit glide
Throw me over the edge and let my spirit glide
Congrats on the upcoming wedding... wanted to add my two cents worth!
You didn't mention how long you would be on STJ, but since it's your first trip, you seriously will have plenty on STJ to enjoy without taking a side trip to the BVI's unless you just think you'll never go back and want to squeeze that in. There are so many fabulous and different beaches on STJ plus the hiking trails or restaurants or just relaxing and taking in the views well, you could just be delighted on STJ for a long time without leaving and adding the expense of a side trip. You could take a less expensive sunset cruise or something that might be romantic but not take up the whole day and budget. Just a thought.
You didn't mention how long you would be on STJ, but since it's your first trip, you seriously will have plenty on STJ to enjoy without taking a side trip to the BVI's unless you just think you'll never go back and want to squeeze that in. There are so many fabulous and different beaches on STJ plus the hiking trails or restaurants or just relaxing and taking in the views well, you could just be delighted on STJ for a long time without leaving and adding the expense of a side trip. You could take a less expensive sunset cruise or something that might be romantic but not take up the whole day and budget. Just a thought.
"By the time we hit Miami, the cell phones will ring and life as we know it will draw us back in, so tonight we will just continue to soak in the sounds, the sights, the tastes and the feelings of St. John."
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cubsfanone
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Fri May 18, 2007 1:19 pm
- Location: Cincinnati, OH
Thanks for all of your pointers! And FYI we will be on STJ for one week. Based on timing and costs I think that we may consider taking the ferry to JVD towards the end of our trip, if we don't feel like we'd be missing out on some quality time on STJ. Do we need to make reservations for those ferries or just show up? Also, is the customs/immigration fee included in the ferry cost or is that extra?
We definitely don't plan on eating at all of those higher end restaurants that I mentioned in my original post, I was just trying to gauge dress code at some of the nicer places. Obviously prices vary, but a lot of those restaurants don't have prices on their websites...about how much should we expect to pay for a couple (excluding alcohol) for dinner?
Waterguy, we very well may be up for hanging out with some forumites at the Beach Bar that Sunday...thanks for the offer! I'll even wear my Bears hat, though it's your Packers who are in first place today.
Thanks!
Brian
We definitely don't plan on eating at all of those higher end restaurants that I mentioned in my original post, I was just trying to gauge dress code at some of the nicer places. Obviously prices vary, but a lot of those restaurants don't have prices on their websites...about how much should we expect to pay for a couple (excluding alcohol) for dinner?
Waterguy, we very well may be up for hanging out with some forumites at the Beach Bar that Sunday...thanks for the offer! I'll even wear my Bears hat, though it's your Packers who are in first place today.
Thanks!
Brian
Shoes for women should be 2-3 pair of flip flops...jeweled ones for dressing up with a sundress.Most of your questions have been answered, but I can elaborate on Jost a little. You do not make reservations for the ferry, just show up. The ferry is with Inter Island Boat Services and is not the same dock you will arrive at on the ferry from STT. It is a short distance and is across from the VI National Park Building. Leaves at 8:30, you will need to arrive at 8:00 to get in line for your tickets. This is trivial, but bring a pen to fill out your customs forms, they are scarce. It leaves from Jost at 3:00pm. It leaves on time, so don't be late. We always arrange for a pickup form the driver who drops us off. $5pp each way.
If you wanted to do The Bath's and Jost on the same day, New Horizons II might be worth looking into. Otherwise, I would recommend them on separate days. We have found that we have around 5 hours on Jost as well doing the ferry option. Works for us and is not as expensive as the day trips. BTW, the customs fee was included in the price.
If you wanted to do The Bath's and Jost on the same day, New Horizons II might be worth looking into. Otherwise, I would recommend them on separate days. We have found that we have around 5 hours on Jost as well doing the ferry option. Works for us and is not as expensive as the day trips. BTW, the customs fee was included in the price.
Going "home" again October 26th!
I agree with MBW about the muffins at Starfish. They were surprisingly good and fresh, with a good variety of different flavors. Their fresh baked breads were also good - had a nice whole grain type. The cookies and pastries at Starfish were also good.
We tried the other bakeries and liked everything we got there too. It was just easier when we were in Starfish to pick up breakfast items along with the other groceries.
We usually take part of our money in cash and part in travelers checks, but charge everything we can. Most businesses take charge, but not all. We get frequent flier miles on our Mastercard, so we charge as much as possible to get miles for the next trip.
When you are going on an excursion, be sure to check ahead of time if they take charge, so you reserve enough cash for it if they don't.
We tried the other bakeries and liked everything we got there too. It was just easier when we were in Starfish to pick up breakfast items along with the other groceries.
We usually take part of our money in cash and part in travelers checks, but charge everything we can. Most businesses take charge, but not all. We get frequent flier miles on our Mastercard, so we charge as much as possible to get miles for the next trip.
When you are going on an excursion, be sure to check ahead of time if they take charge, so you reserve enough cash for it if they don't.