Hi everyone. I've been a lurker for a while, but thought I'd share my trip with everyone. July 18th-25 my wife and I stayed at the Sandcastle on JVD. On the way there, her luggage was lost somewhere between San Juan and Beef Island and didn't arrive until the next day. Good thing we packed in anticipation of that!
At Sandcastle, the staff was wonderful. They saw to all of our needs and made sure we were having a great stay. Special thanks to Tina, Claire, Roger, and Sandy. The food was top notch. I have eaten in some of Chicago's finest restaurants, and Oliver's cooking was on par with that or even better. Lunches at the Soggy Dollar bar were also great. I think I had flying fish everyday! The painkillers were definitely what the doctor ordered. Thanks to John for grabbing me that Black Seal and Coke, and to KC for the great service.
The cottage we stayed in was # 2, right on the beach. Everything was so comfortable and layed back. The fans and sea breezes were plenty lull us to a deep sleep. Glad to have OFF and the coils though. Outside the cottage, it was nice to have our private area for when the beach started filling up later in the mornings. When all the boats started coming in, we just went to our personal hammock and chaise and read books, slept, and watched the boats.
During our stay, I snorkeled a good deal on the rocks just down the beach. There really is no snorkeling until you get to the rocky areas on either side. Once there, be prepared for some truly great snorkeling! Cuttlefish, Tarpon, morays, boxfish, butterflyfish..... the list can go on forever. The farther you go down the rocks, the better it gets generally. We also ventured out with Collin from JVD watersports. He was the most wonderful guide we could have expected. He treated us like old friends and not "clients". The snorkeling and Virgin Gorda tour he showed us was amazing. We didn't catch many fish when we went, but nobody else around Jost did any better that particular morning either. We will look him up again for tours and fishing and cannot recommend him enough. Collin will treat you right.
The only bad parts of the trip were my wife getting sick a couple of evenings and the departure.
When not eating at Sandcastle, we ate at Gertrude's and Foxy's Sat. night BBQ buffet. Both were excellent. We are already planning our next trip. In conclusion, you CANNOT go wrong with any of the names I mentioned. Sandcastle, Foxy's, Gertrude's, and Collin at JVDWatersports are all top notch.