Help us choose a week

momto3boys · Post by **momto3boys** » Wed May 14, 2014 8:11 am

Trying to pick between 3 weeks for our next trip. We have been twice before. Once in May and once in April. This next trip we are looking much earlier in the year. We are trying to decide between the last week in Feb. or the one of the first 2 weeks in March.
The villa we plan on renting I believe looks over Pilsbury sound. We have heard that the sun sets over the water there in the winter then over St. Thomas. Not sure if Feb. or March would get us those sunset views from the villa or not. That is not a deal breaker for us either way. It would just be a bonus.

So I guess our question is if there is a difference between those weeks at all? Planning on taking our entire family this time. first time sharing it with them.

Oh, and one thing that may help with decision making is we may extend one week before or after for just the 2 of us. Prefer after. If MIL can watch our 11 year old we may spend a week on Tortola, Virgin Gorda, or St John alone. The thinking being that it may be cheaper to stay than to fly back later in the year. May not be since the Villa's are higher though. Just looking at the options.

stjchica · Post by **stjchica** » Wed May 14, 2014 9:07 am

I think those weeks are all together so it doesn't really make a difference. Probably any week you pick will be similar. Might be different if you were trying to decide between a week in December and a week in September or something like that..

BillVT · Post by **BillVT** » Wed May 14, 2014 9:56 am

Keep in mind that at that time of year the island will be much busier than you've experienced in either April or May. Consequently planning your days and getting every one to move early becomes important as parking and favored spots on the more popular beaches get more difficult to find. We have a timeshare from the middle to the end of March. The crowds won't limit your experience, you just have to beat them to it. We also know that getting a larger group in gear can be a challenge. BTW the sun sets directly over the middle of STT in the middle of the month of March. You can check it out here. http://sunsetridgevillas.com/SRVrightNow.shtml

News of St. John · Post by **News of St. John** » Wed May 14, 2014 10:06 am

Another thing to consider is 8 Tuff Miles. Next year's date is February 28. The island will be a tad busier that week than normal because of the race.

momto3boys · Post by **momto3boys** » Wed May 14, 2014 1:36 pm

I knew you all would be able to help.

Bill,
Thank you for that link. The advice for getting the group moving will come in handy.
We have only traveled as a couple so far so this will be alot different. Planning on doing more with them than we do on our own. One of the reasons we were thinking of taking the week after to relax afterwards before returning to the grind.

NewsofStJohn,
I had forgotten about the 8 Tuff miles. I was thinking it was in January for some reason. Thank you for the reminder. Do most people stay the week prior or the week after?

BillVT · Post by **BillVT** » Wed May 14, 2014 1:49 pm

As you probably know, there is a natural inertia that settles in when you arrive and get settled. So getting the boys going in the AM might be tough. But then again maybe the boys will have to get you going. And yes, you'll probably need that next week.

News of St. John · Post by **News of St. John** » Wed May 14, 2014 2:21 pm

I think it really depends. Last year, it fell at the end of President's Week so I think people came a week early. This year it's after President's Week so it can really go either way. Personally if I were a runner (and that probably will never happen - lol), I'd like to do the race and then relax the following week.

david@va.beach · Post by **david@va.beach** » Thu May 15, 2014 12:56 pm

The last two weeksin feb and the first 2 wks in march basically suck for weather on the east coast (virginia).Soooo any of those weeks are good one for good ole st.john...Yes there will be more people so rent your car early!!! The extra people
don't realy bother us as we don't go to cruz bay that often or places like trunk bay..

as for moving around to different islands --nah--travelling back and forth just kills precious vaca time iho...hey, you already are in paradise!!!

Coconuts · Post by **Coconuts** » Thu May 15, 2014 1:34 pm

MT3B: FWIW, from Gifft Hill, the sun sets behind St. Thomas from the first week of March to mid-May (and from mid-August to mid-October). Shortly before or after those times, you will get a water sunset, but behind low lying points on St. Thomas. In mid-winter and summer, the sun sets quite a ways south or north of St. Thomas: behind the southern tip of Great St. James and Vieques (winter solstice), and between Thatch Cay and Great Hans Lollik (summer solstice); photos at these two extremes were in an earlier post of mine: http://virgin-islands-on-line.com/virgi ... 27#p268263. The photo below was taken shortly before sunset on October 17th, but the sun's azimuth on that evening is nearly identical to what it will be on February 21st. The sun sets on the water then, behind Long Point on St. Thomas. The photo in our banner ad was also taken during that visit in October. Gifft Hill has the highest sunset views on St. John; from villas lower down, the sun would set behind St. Thomas during February. Hope this helps.

: Sunset October 17 or February 21

Oh, and speaking of crowds, the worst that I have seen was last month, during the third week of April. That is when many villas drop their rates to low season levels, and it is also a school vacation week for several New England states. We were amazed at the traffic on the north shore road that week.

All the best,

Kevin

petepie · Post by **petepie** » Tue May 20, 2014 7:49 pm

The north swells may be up if you visit in winter. When they're up, it's a bummer, many of the north shore beaches unswimmable. So you may want to stick with March.

momto3boys · Post by **momto3boys** » Wed May 21, 2014 8:42 am

Kevin,

That sunset is beautiful! We hope to one day stay at Coconuts. Last trip is was booked for the week we had chosen.

Petepie,

Hoping we can miss those swells. Our 10 year old has only been to a beach once when he was 18 months. The calmer the better for his first trip.

David,

Thanks for the reminder on the jeep. We need to do that this week.

We have decided on the 1st week of March. I thought second week Husband thought first because of getting close to spring break. Hope it was the right one. Just sent in the deposit. Have only been back for a month since our last trip. This feels so good!

Not sure about the addon week for just the 2 of us. There was one particular villa on Tortotola that interested us and it is all booked for March. Virgin Gorda just doesn't seem to have a villa with the privacy that we seek in our price range. Adding on at St.John is a possible option. But right now things there seem too high for March. Was really hoping to keep the second villa as close to 2k as possible. Peak season that is tough!

PatrickMcc · Post by **PatrickMcc** » Mon May 26, 2014 4:43 pm

I think that you picked a good week- in case you decide to return the following year at about the same time remember that President's Week can be the last week in February and several states in the Northeast have that as a school vacation week and St. John can get very crowded that week. College spring breaks shouldn't effect St John a lot- it never seemed to be a big spring break place for college kids although private high schools often have a March break.

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