I am finally getting around to writing my trip report. Thanks to all of your input to help make this an incredible vacation that my family and I will never forget. My wife and I spent our honeymoon on VG 20 years ago and we returned 10 years ago on a second trip. It was time to show the kids this beautiful place.

Day 1 – Packed up and headed off to the airport. We grabbed some dinner on the way and we at the Continental terminal with plenty of time. The flight was on schedule and off we headed from Phoenix to Newark.

Day 2 - Arrived at Newark ahead of schedule (red eye) and quickly found our gate for our next leg. Next flight was again on schedule and off we went to San Juan. Again arrived a little early. SJU has its challenges as you all have stated and we soon realized there were no working arrival/departure screens anywhere to be found. We were flying Cape Air and we ended up mistakenly going out of security and having to go back before finding the elusive 31A gate in the basement. No worries..we made it on time. The flight to STT was very nice and we arrived on schedule and with all our luggage. We called over to Ace Flight center and was picked up and driven over to their building on the other side of the runway. Filled out customs paperwork and we loaded up and had a wonderful flight over to Anegada. The pilot circled the salt pond so we could see the flamingos fly and we touched down. Dan Wheatley was waiting for us at the airport with the rental car..but there was no one else there to take our customs paperwork. We checked into Neptune’s Treasure and found the downstairs apartment to be very clean and comfortable. We were tired of the travel so relaxed until dinner, which we had ordered when checking in. Dinner was fantastic, I had Swordfish and the wife had Grouper and the kids had chicken. We soon crashed.

Day 3 – Awoke and had a great breakfast at Neptune’s before heading over to Cow Wreck Beach for the day. The snorkeling was okay and the beach was beautiful. Had lunch which was a little expensive and only so so, and after relaxing we headed back. My wife and I took a walk down the beach towards the ARH and passed a few places getting ready for their lobster BBQ’s. We wandered down the road and found Little Bit Taz and Sue’s Purple Turtle. I noticed a stack of Walker’s reef charts for sale. After the walk, we relaxed and again enjoyed a wonderful meal at Neptune’s.

Day 4 – Awoke and did the same breakfast routine and headed down to Loblolly Beach. We had a great snorkel for nearly 1 ½ hours and had a nice lunch. We snorkeled a bit more and then headed back to relax and read. We had another great meal at Neptune’s splitting the lobster and grouper. I asked about Big Jim’s chair and I was able to enjoy a cocktail in this infamous chair. We sat on the porch that evening reflecting on much we felt at home on Anegada. I know Anegada is not for everyone, but that does not include me and my family.

Day 5 – Slept in a little and had breakfast. We headed back to the room and read and wrote in our journals. We soon had to pack up and head down to the ARH to drop off the rental car and meet the Dive BVI boat. We were hitching a ride back directly to Leverick Bay where we are staying for the remainder of our trip. We met Cori at the dock, loaded up our stuff and off we went. The run back to VG was smooth and we dropped some folks off at Biras Creek on the way. When we arrived at the dock, there was Nick ready to greet us with that oh so welcoming smile. We packed up his truck and headed up to our villa Dos Sols. We had arranged through Nick to provision from Buck’s. It was all waiting for us, not one thing missing. We soon found ourselves entranced by the view. After some unpacking, we headed down to see the Jumbies. The dinner buffet was fantastic, and it was some of the best Mahi Mahi I have ever had. The Jumbies came out a bit late, but we enjoyed the band and the ambiance. We headed back up to the villa and called it a night.

Day 6 – We awoke and had breakfast on the patio. It was great looking out over the North Sound watching the boats come and go and even a seaplane landed. My wife and youngest son went over to the Marina, while my oldest and I headed down to the little beach. They were soon rounding the corner in the kayak and we spent some time snorkeling and kayaking. The snorkeling out to the point was pretty good with lots of fish and baby barracuda. We spent the afternoon swimming in the pool and relaxing and awaiting the arrival of our fiends from Florida. Our friends arrived around 7pm with our rental car for the week. We greeted them with cold glasses of wine and dinner all prepared. We had a great evening catching up, talking of past good times and having cocktails on the deck.

Day 7 – We awoke, had breakfast and made plans to head to The Baths. We drove over the hill were soon paying our fee and heading down the path. We arrived, dropped our towels and put on our snorkel gear. We snorkeled all the way around to Devil’s Bay and saw wonderful corals, fish and a Sea Turtle. We then made our way back through the caves back to the beach. It was not too crowded and we just love this one of a kind place. We grabbed lunch at the Bath and Turtle, grabbed a couple of items at Bucks and headed back. After cleaning up, we headed down to the Dive BVI shop to arrange for our weeks diving itinerary. My son’s, 12 and 16, had finished their classroom and pool training and were there to finish certification. We scheduled Monday and Thursday for 2 tank am dives. We spent another great evening swimming and taking in the view.

Day 8 – Time to Dive! After a quick breakfast we headed down to the docks. The Dive BVI folks were there to greet us and get our equipment set up. Andrew and Zani were our guides for the day and we soon were headed out with a quick stop at Little Dix for 2 more divers. Andrew took to boys to work on the skills and the remaining six of us went diving with Zani. My wife and I hadn’t been diving for nearly 18 years, but we did some pool practice while the boys were getting their training. It felt so comfortable and we decended down to 45 feet or so. We dove the Chimney. It was a great dive and there was so much to see. The boys got all thumbs up and we were off to Mountain Point for our second dive. Mountain Point was nice but the visibility wasn’t quite as good. Again the boys did fine and we headed back. We cleaned up and grabbed the water taxi to Saba Rock for lunch. We enjoyed another wonderful evening back at the villa.

Day 9 – After breakfast we grabbed the rental car and went exploring. When my wife and I came down 10 years ago, we were taken to a beach and dropped off for a few hours. We found the snorkeling to be fantastic so I hoped to find the same spot. On the dive boat the day earlier, Zani mentioned taking the road to Nail Bay and at the end of the road we would find this same beach. Sure enough, we found Mountain Trunk again. We did 2 snorkels that were each over 1 ½ hours with some lunch in between. When we arrived there were only 2 others on the beach and when we came back from the second snorkel, we had the beach to ourselves. The coral reef here is amazing. Another great evening at the villa. We took turns cooking and it worked out great.

Day 10 – Double D Charter Day. After breakfast we packed up and headed down to the VG marina to take the Double D Charter for the day. The boat was full at 12 people, but there was sufficient room and everyone was very nice. We made a stop at Peter Island before heading to the Norman Island Caves. We had brought our flashlights and enjoyed exploring the caves. We stopped for lunch at the Willy T and although I had a low expectation for the food based on some postings, it was quite good. The boys jumped off the roof and we packed up and headed to the Indians. To put it simply, the Indians is an amazing place and it was the best snorkeling we have ever done. The fish variety, the corals, the topography, truly a stunning place. My youngest, wife and our friends all dove down and went through the tunnel. We also had a close encounter with quite a large Baracuda. Then it was off to the Wreck of the Rhone. My wife and I dove the wreck 20 years ago, but even the snorkeling was nice. I chased around a good sized school of squid. The whole day our captain (I think Rosemary..she is from Sweden) single handedly skippered the boat. It was a great day and Double D comes highly recommended. We capped the day off with swimming in the pool, dinner and a fairly early evening.

Day 11 – Dive Day again. We headed over to Ginger Island and dove Ginger Steps. This is an amazing dive with these larges steps at varying depths to about 85 feet. Andrew again took to boys and we dove with Cori. The boys saw 2 spotted eagle rays on their dive and I could see them on the higher steps working with Andrew. The second dive was Gingers Backside which was also a very nice dive with lots of fish and coral. My boys had finished their 4 training dives and became certified Scuba Divers. We headed back and repeated the Saba Rock lunch. The lunch was great but we had to wait quite awhile for the water taxi in the heat. Another great dinner and evening at Dos Sols. Just before bedtime, my 12 year old began to lobby for another dive day. I was feeling tired, and our friends passed, but how can you say know to a cute face.

Day 12 – Family Dive Day. We awoke early and headed out for our 3 day of diving. Our first dive was at a place called The Ledges. At the bottom of the ledges was a large coral head. Cori had us lay low near the sand and watch as large Stingray’s made passes over the coral where tons of small fished cleaned them. We spent nearly 10 minutes watching this amazing process. Dive # 2 was at the Chimney again, except this time the boys got to dive through the Chimney rather to working on their skills above. Our friends did some exploring of their own finding the old Copper Mine ruins and doing some snorkeling at Savannah Beach. We ate leftovers for lunch and relaxed the rest of the day. It was Jumbies night again, and we headed down to our reserved table by the water that Nick had arranged for us. He soon founds us and introduced us to Warlock and his lovely family and Sweetsailing and their family. Dave didn’t look too wounded when he was making his moves on the dancefloor with Bonnie and his daughters. My son’s were not interested in the dancing thing, and just hung out while we danced. The Jumbies were great again and we couldn’t make it until the end.

Day 13 – Time to head home. We packed up and said our goodbyes to Nick. We grabbed a few things at the gift store and dive shop and headed to the airport. We got some curious looks at the airport when we checked in and still had our customs paperwork that was never taken at Anegada. We caught our Air Sunshine Flight to STT without issues and enjoyed the sights of the islands below. STT was a zoo, and we barely made it to our flight, but we made it. We flew direct to Newark and after a small delay there we made it safe and sound and tired in Phoenix.

I know this is long, but we experienced so much. What a great trip and we are already planning next June’s trip. Again, thanks to all the TTOLer’s for all their wisdom and suggestions that truly made this trip for me and my family.

The pictures are not quite finished but here is a work in process

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