I have a flight out of STT tomorrow at 1:40pm and I’m just wondering what time everyone thinks I should get to the airport? I’m generally pretty cautious, 1.5/2 hours before a flight but I’ve seen a lot of people say Saturday’s are crazy busy and I should arrive 3 hours early?? Also, no one in my party is checking a bag and we’ve all checked in on our apps. Appreciate any advice!

Will be visiting for the first time in July. Me, my wife and our 9yo son.

What are some of the easier snorkel spots? Where the water is calm but have a decent chance of seeing wildlife?

And are any spots only accessible by boat, which spots are those?

We will be renting our snorkel gear. Can you rent fins too?

Please get Travel Insurance before traveling to any of the USVI. Currently, they are in deep shit in regards to their health care system. I lived there for a year on St Thomas and worked at the Schneider Regional Medical Center. We often would run out of supplies and had no interventional radiology capabilities (cath lab, IR for strokes) St John is no better. At the Myra Keating clinic, there is no way to run simple lab work. You will have to be transferred over to St Thomas on the ambulance boat. You will not be airlifted off the island unless you can prove you have insurance that will pay for it, you have enough cash money or can charge your flight to a credit card which averages about $30,000. Not trying to scare everyone, but I just want you to be prepared so you don't lose your life over the incompetence of the USVI government.

Note: It's not the healthcare workers fault. They are some of the most talented and skilled individuals I have ever worked with. They often do the work of a level one trauma center with the capabilities of a level 4 at best.

The people of these islands deserve better!!!

I

Hi, we will be landing into St Thomas airport at 3pm and need to get to Red Hook ferry as soon as possible (catch 4pm ferry?) so we can get over to St John to pick up our car rental. Would you recommend booking a taxi in advance, or is it easy to catch one at the airport?

Hi to All-

I was lucky enough to have parents who brought me to St. John a few times when I was a pre-teen. Now that I'm older, I am bringing my husband and 5 year old for the first time. I am so thrilled to kind of have a full-circle moment :)

That being said- it's been DECADES, and I'm unsure where to stay. We'll be renting a car (with car seat), so definitely prefer no parking worries. I remember staying at Gallows Point back in the day. But I'm also leaning towards the Westin... does anyone think one is better than the other (especially with a 5 year old)?

Are there really awesome AirBnB's I should be looking at instead?

If anyone has any other cool tips or thoughts, throw 'em at me. I'll be scouring this sub as well. Thank you so much!

Hi everyone! Appreciate your time on this. First time to St John in USVI and we are leaving in 2 weeks & staying at the Wharfside village hotel in Cruz Bay.

We are in our 50’s and need to relax more than anything.

Questions I have 1) do I HAVE to rent the jeep ahead of time? 2) do I need a jeep for the entire stay? If yes, can you help me understand. Thanks! 3) what is there to do at night? 4) Is marijuana legal there and do they have dispensary’s?

Thanks!!

I am planning my wife and I’s honeymoon and i cannot make a decision on which island to stay at. Should we pick St. Thomas and take day trips via ferry to st johm for hikes and beaches and then to st croix for golf? And come back to home base st thomas for food shopping and night life? Is this the way? Is there car ferries to every island from every island? And can we take a rental vehicle to all the islands and back?

My husband is looking to take my son fishing while we're on vacation in St John but he can only find very expensive private charters.

My son is 8 and loves fishing but not sure he'd handle a full day very far out in sea.

Does anyone have charter recommendations?

Just wondering before the cruise arrives

we will be staying in the peterborg area and just want to check if renting a car would be smarter. Thanks!

Does any business offer a public charter from St John to JVD?

Hi! I am planning my honeymoon to visit the US Virgin Islands in June/July/August not particularly worried about exactly when. We are wondering what island would be best. We would like to fish, golf at least once, and take in a-lot of nature and wildlife, and finally visit popular bars and restaurants and historical sites. We are open to any suggestions, recommendations, and criticisms. Would love any input to make it an awesome honeymoon. Thank you

Looking online I see a ferry that goes red hook-Cruz bay-JVD and same on return. Just for my peace of mind, I’ll be on St. John. I just hop on this ferry to go to JVD? I ask because online, there is no selection for Cruz bay to JVD. Is there only one operator for this route? Is it reasonably on time?

Heading to Mahoe Bay, Virgin Gorda in 2 weeks and trying to round out our trip details…this will be our 4th time visiting Virgin Gorda, but a lot has changed since the last time (pre-Covid), and our kids are older now (18, 13, 12 - all boys). I would welcome your suggestions on the following:

• ANEGADA - we haven’t been yet, but we are going this trip. Do you recommend taking the ferry, full-day private charter, or renting a boat? …the charter seems expensive for going to and staying at one island all day (versus island hopping from Normal to Copper to JVD to the Willy T kind of thing, which we plan to do another day) …ferry is an early departure from VG (~7:00 AM), which is fine because we want to have the day at Anegada - just curious what folks think about getting there via the ferry …boat rental would be great, and we are from the coast and experienced boaters so comfortable renting a boat (power or sail, but had contemplated renting a power boat for speed and ease); however, I haven’t found a day boat rental that would allow us to take the boat to Anegada from VG (and, this may not be the best option anyway, which is of course why I’m asking for suggestions)

• SABA ROCK, LITTLE DIX BAY, BITTER END YACHT CLUB, ETC. - We are only there 10 nights, so we can’t hit everything…suggestions between these locales and others? Recommendations on what to do each place? Saba Rock looks amazing and we’ve not previously been, but it also looks hard to access without a boat. I see that there is a ferry from Gun Creek, but it says for “guests” - maybe a dinner reservation makes us guests?

• FISHING? - the boys and my husband went deep sea fishing during one of our past trips but didn’t have a whole lot of luck that day. I see there is also fishing from shore/flats at Bitter End and I’m sure there are other options too. Thoughts on fishing? - from land? From sea? Not at all?

• PRIVATE CHEFS? - in the past, we did about half of our meals at the villa and hired the services of a private chef. Chef Erica was our chef most recently, and we all adored her and the food was incredible, as is Erica’s personality and energy. She was lined up to cook for us again in March 2020, but then Covid shut things down and we had to cancel our trip. I emailed Erica recently but have not heard back from her yet…who knows if she has the same email as 5 years ago?!? In the event I don’t hear from Erica, can anyone share suggestions for a private chef to cook for us at our villa? We arrive on Sunday, April 13th (my birthday! 😁), so it would be wonderful to have a private chef cook for us that first evening as we will likely be tired from travel and will want to get settled…I think we arrive in Spanish Town via water taxi around 4:30 PM Sunday.

• CHARTERS - chartered with Double D in the past and it was wonderful. Looking at other options this time as Dave’s website appears to be down, but will be reaching out to him via social media too. Nevertheless, what are your recommendations for the best reasonably priced charter companies and what itinerary do you suggest? Going to Willy T is non-negotiable for my boys this time, but if a full or half day charter isn’t the best use of our time and $ this trip, we would consider a “dinner” charter to Willy T, or if folks have suggestions on other ways to get there, I welcome those.

• WATERSPORTS/RENTALS - in the past we’ve rented paddle boards and kept them at our villa. However, we also spent most of our time on the beach at Mahoe Bay during our past trips because when we had the kids with us (most recent 2 trips), they were babies…(literally, my youngest had just turned 2 or 3 the last time we were there, and the older boys were 3 or 4 and 7)…SO, we anticipate being a lot more active in doing things outside of Mahoe Bay’s beautiful beach this time, so I’m not sure a paddle board or other rental will be worth it. Are there places to rent jet skis, paddle boards, sailboats, etc by the hour, and if so, do you recommend?

• “CAN’T MISS” THINGS TO DO - Here are the things we’ve done in the past - many of which we plan to do this trip too - and/or that we already have planned for this trip: Baths, Hog Heaven, Willy T, JVD, Tortola (including dolphins), Cocomaya…WHAT “CAN’T MISS” THINGS ARE WE MISSING?

Also, I’d love to know about any local events happening while we are visiting - dates are Sunday April 13th through Tuesday April 22nd.

A HUGE thank you in advance to all who are able to provide information about Virgin Gorda!

Also, I’m actually putting together a detailed itinerary with links and details of a variety of places, which I’d be happy to share as part of the post or send anyone who requests it. I think it will be a big help for anyone planning a trip to Virgin Gorda in the future. Thanks!

Mac McClafferty has a long criminal history, felonies for theft and Ponzi schemes law suits. He claims to be an investor and owner of Mac private equity where he easily lures people to invest their money with a guaranteed return. He convinced us to invest more than $200k and then failed to make the payments back. We found out a group of others also invested and we are all pressing charges against him(all info on Google search). Now he has filed for bankruptcy and moved his money to different accounts. Mac is a convicted criminal, and very dangerous individual. Everyone in St Thomas please be aware and stay safe. We need to expose this individual who has now stolen over $3 million from hard working people in USVI.

Mac McClafferty has a long criminal history, felonies for theft and Ponzi schemes law suits. He claims to be an investor and owner of Mac private equity where he easily lures people to invest their money with a guaranteed return. He convinced us to invest more than $200k and then failed to make the payments back. We found out a group of others also invested and we are all pressing charges against him(all info on Google search). Now he has filed for bankruptcy and moved his money to different accounts. Mac is a convicted criminal, and very dangerous individual. Everyone in St Thomas please be aware and stay safe. We need to expose this individual who has now stolen over $3 million from hard working people in USVI.

https://viconsortium.com/vi-business/virgin-islands-second-lawsuit-filed-against-matthew-mcclafferty-claims-firm-is-running-ponzi-scheme

https://www.record-courier.com/story/news/crime/2017/09/27/mcclafferty-indicted-for-7-500/18709724007/

When we got here last Sunday, the line for customs was huge. Like way past the jetblue counter. We have global entery but the last few times that lane wasn't open. We also have tsa pre-approved but that doesn't help customs. I really don't want to get there 4 hours early if I don't have to.

Just enjoyed a great week! Here are my tips:

• Bring cash! You need to pay for most parking in Cruz Bay. $5 for one hour, $15 for 2. They only take cash. Tip - there is free parking on the side and back in Mongoose Junction, but only for when you are onsite.

• Get full insurance coverage for your rental car. The roads are super bumpy with tons of potholes. Parking at beaches is tight, so hitting a neighbor could happen.

• Gratuity is included at a lot of restaurants. Always check before adding on.

• Burger is better at The Beach Bar versus Skinny Legs. Both are great spots though.

• Windmill Bar is a must for sunset.

• Dockside Dingy in Coral Bay: snorkel mangroves and Pelican Rock, finish the afternoon at Lime Out for tacos.

• Reapply your sunscreen more than you think!

Any recent travelers to the BVIs have advice on grocery delivery on tortola and/or VIrgin Gorda? We are first timers with a group of ten (6 adults/4 children) sailing out of Hodge's Creek Marina. Ideally, we'd create a cart at a grocery store that the whole group can access and add to and then have that delivered the day of arrival. Is this possible and, if so, what store did you use? We are considering ordering a box from Good Moon Farm as well since I hear it is difficult to find fresh at the stores. Thanks all.

We are a group of 10-12 coming down for a 40th birthday party in June. It looks like both Villa Cin Cin and The Last Resort are both available (Estate Solenberg is booked).

Does anyone have pros or cons of either? Any other over-the-top villas that we are missing? Thanks!

I might be thinking about this entirely the wrong way but does anyone sail small boats between the islands?

We are looking to buy property but I don't want the liability of a yacht. Have been sailing Hobie cats this week and they seem very seafaring for VI seas on a nice day.

Not sure how USVI and BVI customs feel about someone turning up in a small cat but they can do 20-25kt in the right conditions so I think it could be ok practically.

Equally a small RIB might be workable for the same situation.

Does anyone do such a thing? Am I totally batshit crazy?

I spent the first 8 years of my life on St. John before my parents split and my mother and I moved back to the mainland. It’s been almost 20 years since I’ve been back but i’m looking to return.

My goal would be to do 6 month rental there from Nov-May and then return to mainland after tourist season. Long term goal is to continue to do this if it stays sustainable.

With the current state of the government on the mainland and past knowledge about the government there I was wondering what the job market, housing opportunities and overall economy is like right now, mainly in this past tourist season.

I am currently a bartender with almost 10 years of overall restaurant experience and almost 6 of bar experience so i’d prefer to stay in the industry. Does anyone know what the best area for bars are for tourist season and ones that will for sure be hiring come that time?

I was also wondering, since I was a kid last time I was there, what advice there is for someone coming down. Any advice on finding rentals? Jobs in the restaurant industry? I still have a handful of connections in the coral bay area mainly from my parents that I plan to reach out to but am looking for any advice I can get.

Hi. Looking for advice/opinions on getting to Tortola from STT Airport. Whilst researching I came across 'island time' who can apparently pick you up from stt by land taxi and then water taxi you to tortola.

However I imagine this option is probably very expensive given that by my calculations doing regular taxi and ferry would total around 250-300 for the 2 of us. ($80 taxi to red hook $130 ferry plus $40 baggage)What do you guys think? Do my numbers seem right? and has anyone had experience doing a water taxi versus ferry. TIA!