USVI-On-Line

Hello,

this is my first post and I hope you guys can help out with some advice. I recently moved to the US from Europe and am completely new to this part of the world.

We have a 2-year old and would like to have a vacation on the beach during the last 2 weeks of August (pretty much the only time we can go due to my husband's work schedule). Also, we are still waiting for the green card to come through, so we will need to stay in the US territory, which is why we are considering US Virgin Islands (Mexico, Jamaica etc. are not an option at this point).

So my questions are:

1) is it a good idea to go with a 2-year old? We are looking for mostly relaxing fun on the beach, not so much sightseeing.

2) we are concerned about hurricane season in August. Does anyone have experience with this? Would you go in August if that was the only time available to you, or would you choose a completely different destination?

3) we will be on a budget, and I was thinking of renting a villa (like Vista luna or smth similar) OR would you recommend staying on the beach so we don't have to drive? If so, how expensive does it get?

And lastly, if anyone at all travelled with small kids to USVI, I would really appreciate any tips/advice/insight.

Thank you so much in advance!

Send a pm to flip flop she is the kid traveling wizard

Belle
Welcome not only to the forum, but to the U.S. I don’t have small children, but Flip Flop (a regular on here) just traveled to the USVI with 2 small children. I’m sure that she can help out there. As for villas on the beach – there are not a lot of them. I know that Gibney Cottages are right on one of the prettiest beaches on STJ – you might want to check them out. Living in Florida – we get our fair share of hurricanes. I would not let that stop you from going to the USVI. Just get some trip insurance and you’ll be fine. Other then that – you will need a jeep to get around. Hope this helps and I’m sure that the friendly folks on the forum can help you out more.

1) is it a good idea to go with a 2-year old? We are looking for mostly relaxing fun on the beach, not so much sightseeing.

St. John is a mostly relaxing on the beach kind of place, so it might be what you're looking for in a vacation. There is some sight-seeing on both St. John and even more on St. Thomas, but you can definitely avoid it if it isn't your thing.

2) we are concerned about hurricane season in August. Does anyone have experience with this? Would you go in August if that was the only time available to you, or would you choose a completely different destination?

My husband and I always go in hurricane season...June, July, or August. We've never had a problem, but if you're really worried about it you could always buy trip insurance.

3) we will be on a budget, and I was thinking of renting a villa (like Vista luna or smth similar) OR would you recommend staying on the beach so we don't have to drive? If so, how expensive does it get?

There are very few places on St. John where you can stay on the beach since most of the island is National Park, however, there are lots of resorts on St. Thomas that are right on the beach. It's really up to you which kind of vacation you want. St. John is the kind of place where you drive, park, and then walk or hike to the beach...most beaches have few services, if any. If you want to roll out of bed in the morning and out onto the beach and have someone serve you drinks, then St. Thomas is probably a better fit for you.

Hope this helps

Based on Pia's post you might think about a beach vacation somewhere in the continental US.

You could drive there, which would help on the budget, and if you were unlucky enough that a hurricane looked to be headed in your direction you could just pack up and drive back home.

There are a lot of nice beaches (not as nice as STJ) up and down the east and gulf coasts that might work for you.

We are preparing for our third trip to St. John with our 2 year (and two month) old son. Obviously, we think it is a great place to take small children.

I took lots of notes last time and did a detailed trip report. I will PM you if you would like to see it.

We were there in Dec. with our 2.5 yr old. It was a wonderful trip. My daughter had a great time and we never had any problems travling with her. If you search on here for travling w/ toddlers there's a great trip report with lots of do's and don'ts.

I would reccomend not brining a stroller. We brought one and never used it.

Rent a jeep (the only way to go), so nice to be able to come and go as you please. It would have been very, very difficult if we did not have a jeep!

Bring a jug of fresh water to wash off baby before getting in the car.

Post any questions and I'd be glad to help

Thank you for the welcome and responses, guys! You've been really helpful!

Pia~
we do have multi-entry work visas which allow us to come back to the US, we just don't want to deal with applying for visas to Mexico and such.

PA Girl~
I would love to read your trip report! Where are you planning to stay this time around? Also, if I have some more child-oriented questions, do you mind if I send a PM to you? Thanks!

STJ is great for kids. We went with our 3 year old a couple of years ago and just returned in November with her and her baby bro, who was 10 months old at the time. I was concerned it would be a lot harder.

It was great. Every place we went people were kind and accommodating. He went to the beach with us and then back to the house in the afternoon for a nap. While I would not stay too remotely, I would not think you would need to stay on the beach to enjoy yourself.

The only thing we had an issue with on the first time around with the then 3 year old was motion sickness. We had to be very mindful of her little tummy on the hilly roads. We spent the first two nights of that trip at Maho and it was quite the ride.

Great! I am encouraged to see so many of you travelled to St John with young kids. Thanks again for all the tips!

Belle - looking forward to your PM, I would be more than happy to help out fellow travelling parents.

I second Mel's feelings about a stroller. We have yet to take one and never missed it.

We traveled to STJ with our little ones when they were 3 and 18 mo. and had a blast! They loved it. I think it'll be worth it even with all the extra stuff you'll have to take with you.

We will be staying at Luna Vista next month so I can let you know how it is. Can't wait!