more ?'s for islander....

[ocean waves]

hello islander, its really nice to be able to ask you questions so we all know what to do when we arrive on your beautiful island.. here's a few of my own. we'll be staying on st thomas from may 27th to june 3rd on our honeymoon, we're planing on doing a day sail to the bvi, particularly virgin gorda, any recomendations? also we would like to go to mountaintop, our hotel provides free transport to charlotte amalie so is there a local type bus we can get to go there, taxi fees would seem to mount up if we keep using them to get around. we will also need to get to red hook for the ferry there to st john. would you recomend that we tour st john on our own or do another dail sail? any help is greatly appreciated.

[Jeanne B]

There are some great forums for those planning land vacations (we spent 10 days on St Thomas and St John last June, you'll love it!!). Check out vinow dot com and usvi-on-line dot com.

 

Definitely take the ferry to St John and spend a day there, it's beaches are beautiful, the views are incredible and Cruz Bay is a neat little town to walk around.

 

Two popular day trips to Virgin Gorda are New Horizons II (based at Sapphire Beach resort marina) and Limnos. They make several stops but these are power boats not sailboats. I can't help you with the daysails, hopefully islander can help you out but if you head to the forums I mentioned you'll get great info there as well.

 

Taxis do add up, you may find it's cheaper to rent a car during your stay rather than relying on taxis. The driving isn't that bad once you get used to it.

 

Congratulations and have fun!!

[The Islander]

Hello,

 

Local Event: St. John Carnival events start up on June 2nd...

 

Sat June 2nd, 2007 4:00pm - Franklin Powell Park, St. John

Event: Pan-o-Rama: Various local steel pan groups perform; a great opportunity to enjoy Caribbean sounds!

 

Its a nice opportunity to listen to local steel pan groups.

 

How about renting a car for a few days... or the whole time?

 

Mountaintop isn't on the public bus route so you'd need to take a taxi to get there.

 

I would recommend planning a day on St. John, go over by ferry so you have the whole day on land. If you did rent a car on St. Thomas you can take it over on the barge or if you didn't you could look into renting a car on St. John for the day and exploring the whole island. Otherwise taxis are readily available and can give you an island tour and drop you at a beach. Cinnamon Bay is a nice choice because it has the trail and ruins right accross the street so you get the beach, the ruins/history and the forest/trail - a good sample of the VI National Park.

 

Paradise Point for sunset happy hour is a nice choice http://www.stthomasskyride.com. They usually have live music. You could ask the band to play a song/your song for you and your sweetie to dance to and celebrate! ;) Congrats!

 

--Islander

[ocean waves]

hello islander, thank you for all the information. we were thinking of renting a car on st thomas but my soon to be husband has a fear he'll forget to drive on the left, says it would be more stressful than fun so we'll see.

[The Islander]

Hello Oceanwaves,

 

He's got a point ;). Driver doesn't get to do the ohhh look at that, ahhh did you see the view while they are focused on keeping left and getting where you want to go. LOL. Happy Planning!!

 

--Islander

[KK_Cruisin]

HI Islander, we are coming in on Freedom towards the end of the year. Are their any car rental agiencies near the pier? Do you know their name? Thank you.

[sunlover2]

Islander, is possible to walk from Havensight to Morningstar beach? And from Morningstar Beach to Downtown? Is it safe...for 2 women, ages 20 and 46.

[Betsy's Mom]

It is hot is the Virgin Islands, really hot. The walk is up a rather steep hill and of course down the other side! If you took a cab there you could check with the desk at Frenchmans' Reef (the hotel there) and see if you could take their water taxi ($) to the waterfront. I am quite sure you could. Then shop and walk back to the pier if it is Havensight. That walk is flat and although it will be hot is more doable. It is safe in these areas during day light hours.

B.

[NAVIG8ER]

Islander, if you're still there, can you give a little breakdown on the shopping in St. Thomas? For example, what will we find right off the ship as opposed to further into town and how far or how to get there. We will be coming in on the Mariner May 16th and are interested in seeing some of the town, shopping and sights in the afternoon. Any help would be apprecieated.

[The Islander]

Hello,

 

Car rentals close to Havensight (right accross the street) are Budget and Avis.

 

Havensight to Morningstar isn't that far of a drive, but its a pretty good, hot, not flat, no sidewalk, hike. Morningstar to downtown you'd have to go back passed Havensight so again a good bit of a hike. From Havensight to Downtown alone is about a 30 minute walk and it is flat and has sidewalk most of the way. So good idea is take a taxi between Havensight and Morningstar and from there to town and then walk from town back to Havensight if you feel like you want to.

 

Right off the ship in Havensight are very similar shops to downtown, but downtown has more shops. There are historical sites downtown.

 

--Islander

[NAVIG8ER]

Thanks Islander! You've been a tremendous help to myself and many others.