USVI-On-Line

A huge thanks to Gymnastika and Rick G and the others who answered my questions, and calmed my fears and ultimately convinced me to give it a try.

We are currently still on island (STT) but yesterday we did our day with Palm Tree Charters with capt. John Brandi and his boat the Palma Bella. Just to recap...this trip we are a group of 5 which included my husband and myself, my 5 year old daughter, my 3 year old son, and Granpa was along for this trip as well.

The day was unbelievable and so so much fun. I am so glad we decided to do it. We hit every spot we had hoped to and more. The kids did better than I had anticipated. My 3 year old had a "freak out" moment at nap time but then he took a lovely nap on John's boat while we drank....I mean....swam at soggy dollar bar!

For anyone contemplating doing this great adventure with kids...do it! He was very accommodating and the day was one of our favorites as a family for sure!

Feel free to ask any questions. Pictures soon to come!
Holly

Thanks for the update! I'm glad it went well with the kids. Now that you know the kids are great on the water, doesn't it make you just want to do it again and again? Enjoy the rest of your trip!

Yep, John is great and quite empathetic. I'm glad it worked out for you. The youngsters can be, ahem, unpredictable, at least mine were.

Cheers, RickG

Would you mind my asking how much the fuel cost and tip was? Their website says $525 for the day plus fuel, so I'm just trying to figure out what the total cost would be - charter, fuel and tip?

116 dollars and we got on the boat at 8:30 and he picked us up and dropped us off in St. Thomas (which is added fuel/time).....and he dropped us off around 4:30. A long great day. We had to stop by in St. John to get fuel and check in at customs and THEN he brought us over to St. thomas......and then he had to go back again to go home!

The way we thought of it.....every (almost) snorkel trip is atleast 100 per person plus customs/etc.....Well, this way...we made our own itinerary, the kids didn't bother anybody but us, and we set our own pace. We would have paid 525 for the trip regardless because there are 5 of us....so we paid for gas......

so worth it for us. We would have had so much more stress if I was worried that the kids were ruining some honeymooners vacation.....Sam, my 3 year old, did have a freak out...but he ended up napping on John's boat! it was perfect for us. We hit 6 different beaches/snorkel spots...more than a bigger boat trip too I would imagine!

holly

John has fuel efficient Honda engines. We did a lot of driving in big seas for $140 in fuel.

Cheers, RickG

I am debating the day trip with kids idea so this is very useful info. Glad it worked out so well for you all!