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Overdue trip report - Feb '12 - New location, new villa
Overdue trip report - Feb '12 - New location, new villa
Four months later, I finally had time to upload some picture. Better (or maybe not) late than never, our February 2012 trip report-
We started our 2012 Winter Trip in Old San Juan,
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=22706
Trip participants ¡V
When we get settled in on STJ, the bag is nowhere to be found. We are 100% sure that it was packed when leaving SJU because my husband has OCD and always checks the hotel room about 100x before we check out. We both remember him packing it in the outside pocket of one of the suitcases, underneath our son¡¦s PFD. When we unpacked the PFD when getting on the water taxi, the bag was missing. I just think it is such an odd thing to take from someone¡¦s luggage, a well-used, $20 monogrammed beach bag, really?
Transfers
We have used Christopher/Dohm¡¦s Water Taxi again and were very happy with their services. I have said it before on the forum, with a group that has luggage, it is just a few bucks more to go with them and it is so quick and relaxing. There is a little stand at the dock where we could grab cold beers for the ride over.
Wheels
Our two jeep rentals came from STJ Car Rental. We reserved a two door but where given a four door for the first two days of the trip. Apparently, who ever had ¡§our¡¨ jeep neglected to return it and my husband said the women at the counter were going bonkers because they didn¡¦t bring it back. Two days later, we ran back into town and exchanged it for the two-door. Next time we will reserve a four door, it was a pain to have our son crawling in and out of the back of the two-door.
House
We rented Bay Rum Breeze and it is an absolutely fantastic house.
Some pictures of the view.
My interior pictures aren¡¦t any better than the website so I just linked to it
http://bayrumbreeze.com/
I will do a full review under the review area but the short list of what we loved about the house:
1. Equal bedrooms, king beds, AC in bedrooms, high quality ceiling fans
2. Large outdoor living area with highest quality furniture
3. Huge kitchen, plenty of room for everyone to do their own thing in the morning
4. Outdoor shower to rinse off before going into the house or pool area
5. Well stocked kitchen and outdoor grill. This combined with the view would make it a perfect house for those that like to eat in at the villa.
6. The view and location. This was our first time staying on that part of the island (loved it) and we were smitten with the views over Coral Bay and the BVIs.
My little swimmer, I was amazed by his diving skills ¡V
Provisioning and Rentals
We used Christy¡¦s to provision food and drink for the house. I also rented a bed and car seat. What was provided feel well short of my expectations. The provisioning was fine but I would not use them for rentals again, I should have brought our own stuff like I typically do but live and learn. I shared my feelings with them already.
Beaches and Snorkeling
We had great snorkeling days but the first was the best. We were at Maho and our 6yo wanted to snorkel right away. He has been snorkeling since he was 4.5 yo and can easily go 45 minutes with me.
Within minutes, he saw large starfish, conch and rays when he was with his dad and by the time I got in the water, a couple staying at Maho called us over to a bunch of turtles.*
We spent the day alternating between swimming and snorkeling and saw sea life each time we put our on gear.
*Interactions like this make STJ so special. This couple could have easily enjoyed the turtles on their own but had such a generous spirit to invite us over to join them, running that risk that additional people (with a little kid!) might cause the turtles to go elsewhere.
We also had a nice long snorkel at Francis and a visit by a too friendly iguana. I am cool with iguanas but not under my chair!
Snorkel buddy -
The highlight of our Francis snorkel was seeing baby fish hanging out in the needles of the sea urchins. My son immediately understood they were using their location to hide from larger fish so they didn¡¦t get ¡§eaten.¡¨
The crowds at Hawksnest rivaled the Jersey Shore. This picture was taken early in the morning before the swarms arrived. No joke, there were two lines of people in front of us by early afternoon.
I am boycotting Salt Pond after a past near-death march, which is a good thing since there was a crazy number of cars (probably 50-75) when we drove past on our way to Little Lameshur. I am glad we saw it but I didn¡¦t love it, too rocky, it reminded me of swimming in the river at home with the slippery rock entry. There were sandy areas but the beach was rather crowded and the only open spot was in a rocky area.
Eating and Drinking
We go out most meals on STJ. In no particular order, we visited:
Skinny's - My attitude about Skinny¡¦s is improving
Island Blues - go enough for a basic dinner of fish sandwiches and such
Aqua Bistro - loved it for dinner
Miss Lucy's - enjoyed our dinner, the waiter took our son out to see the goats come home
Sweet Plantains - Pleasant outdoor seating. I was surprised how much our ¡§plain¡¨ eaters enjoyed their meals.
Morgan¡¦s Mango - Sentimental favorite for us. We went on lobster night, which everyone ordered. Note to Caribbean lobster newbies ¡V it is very different than Maine lobsters and yes, grilling it is the common preparation. Someone in our group was very disappointed!
Lime Inn - went twice for dinner, we are fans. I love the whole grilled fish and the seafood sausage.
Beach Bar - our friend¡¦s mom watched us on the webcam. He joked that he never should have taught her to use the computer as she commented about the number of drinks ordered and consumed.
High Tide - nice mid-afternoon snacks
Smoothies - did they change the ingredients? Not as good as I remembered from prior years.
Shipwreck - our favorite post-beach snack/drink stop
Ocean Grill - lunch twice, I like their fish tacos
Caneel - for breakfast, it takes us straight back to our honeymoon
Firsts
For the first time, we didn¡¦t do a BVI trip. Having started on Puerto Rico, we wanted our beach days.
We took did a half-day kayak, hiking and snorkeling trip at Caneel with this company ¡V
http://viecotours.com/index.php?option= ... &Itemid=88
Our 6yo said it was his favorite part of the trip.
We have stayed at Caneel several times but never did the Mary¡¦s Point walk so that was a first for us. The snorkel portion of the trip was at Scott Beach and the guide did a good job finding interesting things for us to see. (The water conditions weren¡¦t the greatest)
It was a great trip for kids and/or anyone who likes to learn about plants and trees. Our guide was Thaddeus and he was very enthusiastic.
Vie¡¦s Beach. I don¡¦t know why we never visited before, what a great day! Now, this is probably specific to our group but we enjoyed watching the new house construction going on to the right side of the beach.
Staying at a new part of the island. Our villa was located off of Mammy Peek Road. We loved the location and enjoyed the quick access to Coral Bay for evening meals.
Other Observations
The airport was an absolute zoo upon departure, the worst I have ever seen it. Our trips and actual travel days are dictated by work and school schedules so we just accept the craziness but holy cow, I don¡¦t know how much worse it can get. We do use a porter.
On all flights, the FA were brutal about carry-ons. Many people were forced to check their carry-ons.
The island was hopping. Again, that¡¦s what you get during high season but I never saw such crowds on the beaches and we have at least six high season trips under our belts.
Security was super-tight as Caneel. We were there twice (our trip as delayed at the last minute due to high seas) and both times we were approached by security. All exchanges were professional and courteous but they were making very sure non-guests were obeying the main beach rules or moving along to Honeymoon Beach.
We have stayed at Caneel several times and always visit for a meal or two each villa trip and we never saw such a security presence.
My husband asked one of the guards about the increased presence and got a response along the lines of ¡§making sure our guests are safe.¡¨ The second day we were there, one couple got on the ferry alone. (no other guests, odd during high season) There was quite a fuse over their departure and I suspect they were someone famous and/or very rich. We didn¡¦t recognize them but there were several security guards hanging around during their departure and they were escorted down by the new manager and his assistant. Pictures were taken and hugs and kisses given and away they went.
Our plans for a July 2012 fell apart ƒ¼ and now we are planning for winter 2013 but I suspect we will be heading back to Virgin Gorda or Culebra. Mr. PA gets restless once in a while and to keep him happy, I agreed to plan a non-STJ trip.
We started our 2012 Winter Trip in Old San Juan,
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=22706
Trip participants ¡V
- The PAs - dad, mom and 6yo son
B & J - our very dearest friends and frequent travel companions
M & L - twin sister to J and husband and semi-frequent travel companions
When we get settled in on STJ, the bag is nowhere to be found. We are 100% sure that it was packed when leaving SJU because my husband has OCD and always checks the hotel room about 100x before we check out. We both remember him packing it in the outside pocket of one of the suitcases, underneath our son¡¦s PFD. When we unpacked the PFD when getting on the water taxi, the bag was missing. I just think it is such an odd thing to take from someone¡¦s luggage, a well-used, $20 monogrammed beach bag, really?
Transfers
We have used Christopher/Dohm¡¦s Water Taxi again and were very happy with their services. I have said it before on the forum, with a group that has luggage, it is just a few bucks more to go with them and it is so quick and relaxing. There is a little stand at the dock where we could grab cold beers for the ride over.
Wheels
Our two jeep rentals came from STJ Car Rental. We reserved a two door but where given a four door for the first two days of the trip. Apparently, who ever had ¡§our¡¨ jeep neglected to return it and my husband said the women at the counter were going bonkers because they didn¡¦t bring it back. Two days later, we ran back into town and exchanged it for the two-door. Next time we will reserve a four door, it was a pain to have our son crawling in and out of the back of the two-door.
House
We rented Bay Rum Breeze and it is an absolutely fantastic house.
Some pictures of the view.
My interior pictures aren¡¦t any better than the website so I just linked to it
http://bayrumbreeze.com/
I will do a full review under the review area but the short list of what we loved about the house:
1. Equal bedrooms, king beds, AC in bedrooms, high quality ceiling fans
2. Large outdoor living area with highest quality furniture
3. Huge kitchen, plenty of room for everyone to do their own thing in the morning
4. Outdoor shower to rinse off before going into the house or pool area
5. Well stocked kitchen and outdoor grill. This combined with the view would make it a perfect house for those that like to eat in at the villa.
6. The view and location. This was our first time staying on that part of the island (loved it) and we were smitten with the views over Coral Bay and the BVIs.
My little swimmer, I was amazed by his diving skills ¡V
Provisioning and Rentals
We used Christy¡¦s to provision food and drink for the house. I also rented a bed and car seat. What was provided feel well short of my expectations. The provisioning was fine but I would not use them for rentals again, I should have brought our own stuff like I typically do but live and learn. I shared my feelings with them already.
Beaches and Snorkeling
We had great snorkeling days but the first was the best. We were at Maho and our 6yo wanted to snorkel right away. He has been snorkeling since he was 4.5 yo and can easily go 45 minutes with me.
Within minutes, he saw large starfish, conch and rays when he was with his dad and by the time I got in the water, a couple staying at Maho called us over to a bunch of turtles.*
We spent the day alternating between swimming and snorkeling and saw sea life each time we put our on gear.
*Interactions like this make STJ so special. This couple could have easily enjoyed the turtles on their own but had such a generous spirit to invite us over to join them, running that risk that additional people (with a little kid!) might cause the turtles to go elsewhere.
We also had a nice long snorkel at Francis and a visit by a too friendly iguana. I am cool with iguanas but not under my chair!
Snorkel buddy -
The highlight of our Francis snorkel was seeing baby fish hanging out in the needles of the sea urchins. My son immediately understood they were using their location to hide from larger fish so they didn¡¦t get ¡§eaten.¡¨
The crowds at Hawksnest rivaled the Jersey Shore. This picture was taken early in the morning before the swarms arrived. No joke, there were two lines of people in front of us by early afternoon.
I am boycotting Salt Pond after a past near-death march, which is a good thing since there was a crazy number of cars (probably 50-75) when we drove past on our way to Little Lameshur. I am glad we saw it but I didn¡¦t love it, too rocky, it reminded me of swimming in the river at home with the slippery rock entry. There were sandy areas but the beach was rather crowded and the only open spot was in a rocky area.
Eating and Drinking
We go out most meals on STJ. In no particular order, we visited:
Skinny's - My attitude about Skinny¡¦s is improving
Island Blues - go enough for a basic dinner of fish sandwiches and such
Aqua Bistro - loved it for dinner
Miss Lucy's - enjoyed our dinner, the waiter took our son out to see the goats come home
Sweet Plantains - Pleasant outdoor seating. I was surprised how much our ¡§plain¡¨ eaters enjoyed their meals.
Morgan¡¦s Mango - Sentimental favorite for us. We went on lobster night, which everyone ordered. Note to Caribbean lobster newbies ¡V it is very different than Maine lobsters and yes, grilling it is the common preparation. Someone in our group was very disappointed!
Lime Inn - went twice for dinner, we are fans. I love the whole grilled fish and the seafood sausage.
Beach Bar - our friend¡¦s mom watched us on the webcam. He joked that he never should have taught her to use the computer as she commented about the number of drinks ordered and consumed.
High Tide - nice mid-afternoon snacks
Smoothies - did they change the ingredients? Not as good as I remembered from prior years.
Shipwreck - our favorite post-beach snack/drink stop
Ocean Grill - lunch twice, I like their fish tacos
Caneel - for breakfast, it takes us straight back to our honeymoon
Firsts
For the first time, we didn¡¦t do a BVI trip. Having started on Puerto Rico, we wanted our beach days.
We took did a half-day kayak, hiking and snorkeling trip at Caneel with this company ¡V
http://viecotours.com/index.php?option= ... &Itemid=88
Our 6yo said it was his favorite part of the trip.
We have stayed at Caneel several times but never did the Mary¡¦s Point walk so that was a first for us. The snorkel portion of the trip was at Scott Beach and the guide did a good job finding interesting things for us to see. (The water conditions weren¡¦t the greatest)
It was a great trip for kids and/or anyone who likes to learn about plants and trees. Our guide was Thaddeus and he was very enthusiastic.
Vie¡¦s Beach. I don¡¦t know why we never visited before, what a great day! Now, this is probably specific to our group but we enjoyed watching the new house construction going on to the right side of the beach.
Staying at a new part of the island. Our villa was located off of Mammy Peek Road. We loved the location and enjoyed the quick access to Coral Bay for evening meals.
Other Observations
The airport was an absolute zoo upon departure, the worst I have ever seen it. Our trips and actual travel days are dictated by work and school schedules so we just accept the craziness but holy cow, I don¡¦t know how much worse it can get. We do use a porter.
On all flights, the FA were brutal about carry-ons. Many people were forced to check their carry-ons.
The island was hopping. Again, that¡¦s what you get during high season but I never saw such crowds on the beaches and we have at least six high season trips under our belts.
Security was super-tight as Caneel. We were there twice (our trip as delayed at the last minute due to high seas) and both times we were approached by security. All exchanges were professional and courteous but they were making very sure non-guests were obeying the main beach rules or moving along to Honeymoon Beach.
We have stayed at Caneel several times and always visit for a meal or two each villa trip and we never saw such a security presence.
My husband asked one of the guards about the increased presence and got a response along the lines of ¡§making sure our guests are safe.¡¨ The second day we were there, one couple got on the ferry alone. (no other guests, odd during high season) There was quite a fuse over their departure and I suspect they were someone famous and/or very rich. We didn¡¦t recognize them but there were several security guards hanging around during their departure and they were escorted down by the new manager and his assistant. Pictures were taken and hugs and kisses given and away they went.
Our plans for a July 2012 fell apart ƒ¼ and now we are planning for winter 2013 but I suspect we will be heading back to Virgin Gorda or Culebra. Mr. PA gets restless once in a while and to keep him happy, I agreed to plan a non-STJ trip.
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