Making travel with a one or two year old bearable: Travel with a “Travel Magnadoodle” and stickers. This provided hours of quiet non-messy fun. When the airplane landed, we had about 10 people say “wow, she was really good, I didn’t even know she was there”. Her being good was accented by the other three screaming, bored 2 year olds on the plane.



Saving Money: We enjoyed the Ritz Beach and Pool with free beach chairs and umbrellas... the beaches (even the Ritz's) are all free to the public.

Coral World was definitely worth a trip with kids. Shown: shark feeding!

We stayed in an apartment in a house below the family’s first floor, this saved about $200 a day in lodging costs and we have a full working kitchen which saves about $150 a day in food. St. Thomas runs about 35% more expensive than the US for dining out.

Driving: unless you plan to spend your entire vacation at the resort, then rent a car. There are two places to rent from Avis and Hertz. We were able to rent a car for $200 for a week. Driving in St. Thomas is tricky as they drive on the left side of the road.

St. Thomas USVI 

The Beaches

COKI BEACH, ST THOMAS: Spent the morning at Coki Beach, Loraine (our accommodations host) gave us dog biscuits and snorkels and fins to feed the fish, they swarmed around us. There is also fish food available at the beach. Three pelicans also visited the beach and graced us with some awesome dives for fish food. The warm shallow waters on the soft white sand beach and the hills of Thatch Key across the way, make this beach a great stop.

A swarm of little fish 10 feet by 20 feet made one part of the ocean look like it had a black bottom; this was a great prey for our visiting pelican! This is a funky little beach with colorful, thatch huts behind it offering food, drink, snorkel gear, lounge chairs, jet skis and scuba equipment.

We ate at the Coki Beach Café - Almost no selection, a typical greasy spoon, we ate cheeseburgers and hotdogs, as that’s all they served. * Food was good but as there was only three selections… we rate it with only one star, find a nice place in Red Hook instead! Cost $35

We returned to Coki Beach after our two year old had her nap to discover that it was completely in the shade. We were told by Loraine (our host) to go to Secret Harbour Beach in the afternoon, as that is sunny but offers shady areas.


MAGEN’S BAY: Named one of the ten most beautiful beaches in the world, Magen’s beach is absolutely breathtaking, it’s an all white sand beach in a very shallow bay. As there are no rocks or coral reef, this beach is not for snorkelers looking for exotic fish. On the return trip from Magen’s Beach we stopped at Udder Delights for their famous Mochoco Milkshakes (coffee icecream, chocolate icecream and kaluah), it was rich and a must stop on your way back from Magens.

Ritz Carlton Beach: So you've never heard of this one... eh?  All beaches are free to the public, including the one at the Ritz Carlton (condos section).  What we liked... great upscale restaurant just 10 steps from the beach... free chairs with pads on them and umbrellas... nearby pool and jacuzzi (I'm not sure we were allowed to use this but noone asked or complained). :)

THE ACCOMMODATIONS:  
We chose an apartment for the cost /value ratio

"The Houston's Apartment"  The apartment is the lower floor of the light yellow house with grey shutters where Loraine, Bob and their family live. It’s the perfect cross between a hotel, villa and bed and breakfast and can be as private as you want it to be.  You will not wake up and walk out your door to the ocean or to room service. Instead you have the option of walking up to the top floor of the house to see Loraine and Bob and their family of four and get suggestions on places to go and eat. Like the best of a bed and breakfast, you can learn from your hosts as to the best places to see and things to do, or the best of a hotel where you can be as private as you want and not see or socialize with anyone.

The apartment is ideal as a “hub” for your vacation and trips to explore the various beaches and destinations in St. Thomas and St. John if you're on a budget.  Since it’s not directly on the beach, rather it’s on a hillside with views of the ocean, you will save about $200 a day in nightly charges compared to a villa on the ocean. Furthermore with the full kitchen, we never had to eat out for breakfast and were able to bring our own snacks to the beach and eat lunch and dinner in (if we wanted). This can save easily another $100 a day. Since vacationing in the Caribbean can get expensive we felt this was a great way to save without feeling like you were missing anything! The house is off a private drive in a very upscale section of town.
 

NIGHTLIFE:

Duffy’s Love Shack was a blast, who would think that a shack in the middle of a parking lot could be so much fun? No wonder why the top travel magazines tout this destination as a “must stop”.

Restaurant Reviews:

There is nothing like having a gourmet chef (who studied in France) as your guide to restaurants. Loraine never steered us wrong. Only when we ventured from her suggestions were we disappointed.

THE BLUE MOON CAFÉ ON SECRET HARBOUR BAY: The food was superb. A pianist plays jazz and lively tunes that perfectly match the incredible atmosphere of the sound of the waves, just right lighting and perfect summer ocean breeze – even in the rain, we were automatically relaxed and ready for a great evening! The escargot was so tender it almost melted in our mouth. The blackened scallops were moist and cooked to perfection, spicy but perfect with the mangos which countered the spice perfectly with sweet fresh fruit. The ripened tomatoes and fresh mozzerella with balsamic vinagrette reminded me of being in Italy. The crab soup was spicy and really really delicious. The surf and turf, cooked just right. Rating ***** five stars. Cost $100

OFF THE HOOK SEAFOOD, RED HOOK ST THOMAS: I had a salad with mango, asparagus and house dressing, it was great! Mark had the salmon which was very good. Although the food was good, the atmosphere was bland inside, the lighting was too bright and if there was music it was not memorable. If you sit on the lower deck it would probably be much better as that was closer to the ocean. *** Three ½ Stars.

LATTITUDES: A great funky beach bar and restaurant. The food was great, perfectly spiced and the atmosphere even better. A fun, energetic, six man band played everything from Reggae to their own unique songs which were quite funny. Everyone was clapping, joining in and interacting with the band. The restaurant is right on the water and open air, super casual which makes it a really great place to relax. Five Stars ***** A locals favorite spot