Virgin Gorda Trip Report

foodiechan · Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 Post subject: Virgin Gorda Trip Report

Hello all:

My wife and I just returned from our vacation to Virgin Gorda and here's our report on it.

Please be aware that since this is our return trip to the island we had bypassed the Baths directly (see our Tortola Trip report on the Baths instead) and focused on the other parts of the island. Nevertheless it was a marvelous trip!

1) Airline and Transit

We chose to fly out of JFK via Delta this time to San Juan (instead of JetBlue) and it was hassle free. We chose to spend our first night in Old San Juan instead just to do some shopping and our fill of rum and cokes. Mission accomplished. We stayed at this funky place called "Da House," which was fun but a bit of a mistake because it was right above a famous bar called Nuyorican Cafe and it was really LOUD until the wee hours of the morning. The booze and the Medellas during the day helped but I can't say we had a great night of sleep prior to our departure to VG.

The transit next morning was with Air Sunshine and it was problem free. I was especially impressed with the pilots as they flew "old school:" no GPS, no radar - just plain ole flying by visual markers.

The view from the air both ways were spectacular. We were able to see some of our old "hang outs" like Cane Garden Bay, White Bay at Jost, and our favorite Trunk Bay at St John with great clarity.

2) Villa and Car Rental

This is the first time that we had decided to rent a villa with a pool and BOY did we make the right decision. We rented a villa called Island Dream in Nail Bay and it was perfect. Lots of privacy and in a more secluded part of the island.

The property faces west which means a lot of perfect sunsets right on your porch. The place was very comfortable with two very reasonable sized bedrooms, and the outdoor shower was a bit of a fancy treat. The only thing was, we felt the lighting could be a little better. No problem, as my wife always brought an extra supply of tea light candles to spice up the atmosphere (highly recommended for any of your trips).

If you are not comfortable with dirt road driving with a 4WD, getting to Island Dream would be a bit of a "treat." The road isn't paved and the approach to the villa a bit steep.

The bottomline: you MUST rent a 4WD! Even when you simply wanted to head north to the North Sound the grade of the main road is quite steep up the mountain. By the recommendation of the renter of the villa we got ours from Mahogany and we rented a basic, Suzuki soft top 4WD for $50 a day. It operated fine and did not guzz up much gas. Over six days with some pretty extensive driving we only spent $40 on gas - may be a island was smaller?

3) Beaches, Beaches, Beaches

Our favorite, hands down, was Savannah. It was close by and quiet. Even when there's people around we could walk to the far right-hand-side of the beach where we could claim a hut on higher ground to observe the entire beach. The snorkling there was mediocre - some live coral but not that many fish when we were there.

Our second favorite was Spring Bay to the north end of the Baths. We skipped the Baths this time and instead spent time exploring the fringes of the landmark. There were always an inflow of day-trippers to the site (which we did in the past) so for the sake of privacy we chose to skip. Spring Bay was very pretty with some very interesting rock formations and since we went early in the morning we seemed to have the beach to ourselves all the time. They had picnic tables and bench seating in the shade which meant you could pack a light lunch and enjoy it there while on the beach.

To the south of the Baths is Devils Bay. When we visited there was a high surf warming and we witnessed a few scary incidents of dinghies approaching and the occupants got into trouble because of the high surf. I swam out just to get a dip and the undertow was strong. Visibility was close to zero when I tried to give the bottom a quick look.

We did only minimal snorkling during our trip due to the high surf. Would like to check out Mountain Trunk and Long Bays in the future.

4) Excursions - Food and Beverage

First things first. When we rented this villa we knew we will spend a lot of time there and had planned to cook most of my meals. So please excuse if the restaurant reviews were a bit sparse.

Island Dream had a great gas grill and I used it everyday. I especially liked the cheese brats (hey man they were Johnsonville!) and the cajun ribeye that we brought.

As far as going out, our best time out was our "bar hop" between The Bitter End and Saba Rock. One evening we decided to head over to The Bitter End for a quite drink and snack. It was awesome. The surroundings were very cool and the setting was just perfect. On our way back we hopped on to a water taxi from Saba Rock to take use across for a night cap. That was just perfect. The lighting at Saba Rock after dark was especially amazing.

We also heard that there was some good food and entertainment at Leverick at night (we made a quick stop there during one day) but had decided to not go because of the drive back (not friendly with alcohol in the system).

We focused our time and effort experiencing the famous local delicacy, Conch Fritters. Of the few we tasted we liked the ones at The Bitter End Pub the best because there was a great briny flavor in the conch meat. The others were a little bland.

We also looked forward to some nice local Goat Water (stew) at the Bath and the Turtle but too bad they didn't make it the 3-4 times we had checked in.

Sugarcane (f.k.a. The Dog and the Dolphin) in Nail Bay also was good. The owners - Leslie and Martin were new to the island and Chef Martin brought his refined cooking from The Caymans to VG. Worth a stop for a Carib and a snack. Great hospitality!

Otherwise we had always enjoyed a Carib (or two, or three) at the dock at Spanish Town while picking up supplies at Bucks (more on this later).

5) Provisions

Comparatively speaking the quality of supplies at VG was average to above average as compared to our prior visits to other islands. We liked Bucks at the dock.

We pretty much gave up on fresh produce and had utilized frozen veggies as our source of greens. We brought a lot of frozen meat for this trip but felt good when we saw that there was some decent meat and poultry on display (let's say its average to below average by Stateside standards).

Beer and rum were cheap. About $27 for a case (about what I pay wholesale in NYC which means I am not complaining) of Carib and Red Stripe, and about $10 for a bottle of rum. Wines? Didn't even touch because they were of lesser quality and much more expensive. Variety and selection also were inferior.

CONCLUSION

We loved our trip to VG this time around. Granted we both needed this time off I think there's something about the friendly people at VG and the laid back spirit there just made us felt very welcome. Hey, let's say as New Yorkers we felt safe to not lock the door to our villa AND car when we are out and about!

Highly Recommended!

See the following link to our photo album of the trip!

http://community.webshots.com/user/foodiechan

Peace!!!

Peg and Ed (New York, NY)

ejcrowe · Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 Post subject: Virgin Gorda

Your trip report brought back some very strong memories of my own trip to VG last year. Island Dream is a villa that we had strongly looked at it but then passed over--you're the second Fodorite in a few months to post about how much you enjoyed Island Dream, so I'll certainly consider it next time.

Was the road between Mango Bay and Nail Bay repaired at all? It was the only road on VG that we drove that was pretty bad. Everywhere else that I saw I was impressed with the conditions of the road.

So, you didn't snorkel at any of the Nail Bay beaches? Any particular reasons or that you just didn't get to them?

foodiechan · Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 Post subject:

ejcrowe:

The road from Mango Bay into Nail Bay is still a work in progress. Sections of it had been paved, and during our stay there there is a crew working on another section. That said there are still some pretty tricky sections.

As for Snorkling, there was not particular reason for us to skip the other spots like Nail Bay. Our main purpose there really was to just rest and chill and by the time that we got around to snorkle we had some pretty strong surf so we missed the window. Would like to revisit the next time!

Jayneann · Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 Post subject: Virgin Gorda Trip Report

Hi Foodiechan,

Great report and pictures!! We are going to VG next February and have been toying with the idea of staying at Island Dream. How far away from the beach is it? Is Nail Bay Resort including the restaurant within walking distance? Poster TT loved this place also.

I am concerned about the strict cancellation policy since we'll be flying out of New England during the winter and dealing with the weather. Was the owner easy to communicate with?

Right now we have Upper Sunset Watch in Nail Bay booked because it looks like it's closer to the ocean, but we would have to share a pool. I like the idea of a private pool.

Any suggestions and thoughts would be much appreciated! Glad you had such a good time!!

foodiechan · Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 Post subject:

Thank you all for your great responses, and glad that you liked the pictures! We had several days of nearly perfect weather and the color of the water was just unbelievable!

Here are a few answers to your questions.

From Island Dream you probably will need to take a short drive to the beach. Mountain Trunk, Nail, and Long Bay are all very close. Savannah Bay our favorite is about 10 minutes driving away.

The fact that we are not right by the beach never bothered us because we know we will always have a jeep. If you want to be closer to the water I suggest loooking into Mahoe Bay or Guvaberry in Spring Bay. All in all we chose Nail Bay because it offered the most privacy.

Mary Dawn the owner of Island Dream is very nice and quite flexible. We actually had to switch our dates due to a last minute conflict and she was very cool with it. Their housekeeper Irma and their maid Jackie are both very nice.

As for potential transit problems (especially during winter) I highly recommend having a one night layover in San Juan or St Thomas on your trip from the states, whichever your hub is. That buys you an entire afternoon to "catch up" with the flights. Rescheduling flights on Air Sunshine or any other island hopper is a bit trickier because most planes can only seat 9 people.

As for our next vacation here are some of the candidates: Cat Island, St. Croix, or returning to Vieques. If we could string together our family trip to South Africa we might do Zanzibar or Seychelles.

One last thing - we do love Eleuthera. I think Eleuthera had nicer beaches but Virgin Gorda is smaller, more accessible, and had better infrastructure (search for my Eleuthera Trip Report from October 2007). Not to mention the uniqueness of Saba and the Bitter End!

ishkribbl · Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 Post subject:

That was very helpful- thanks. I am considering VG for 2009. You said you "chose a villa this time"- could you tell me where you stayed before on VG and any comparison that might help? I am interested in Nail Bay but I am a little concerned about the road. If you are familiar with the horrible road in N. Palmetto Point in Eleuthera (our most recent adventure) then you can perhaps see why I am hesitant. If you know what I am referring to, how do those roads compare?? Thanks again. I appreciate any advice or help.

Nelson John · Joined: 12 Jan 2010 Posts: 17

The trip report about Virgin Gorda is just so nice and fantastic. It provides a motivation and enthusiasm to others to travel and explore the lovely island.
_________________
Romantic bed and breakfasts