Hi all,
My husband and I and our baby had a wonderful land-based trip to Greenbank Villa on Tortola 3/26-4/2. We have stayed on Virgin Gorda during our previous two visits to the BVI, so Tortola was a little change of pace for us.
1. Leon from Bobby's was terrific for provisioning. The beers were cold in the fridge upon arrival and we were very pleased with the order. Anything that wasn't exact was substituted with something pretty close. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />
2. The seemless trip over: getting into STT early and then catching a 1:45 ferry right to West End ( thanks Glenn!) The ferry ride was amazing and a great way to settle into island time.
3. Greenbank Villa and it's terrific owners Ethlyn and Roosevelt George. The Villa was 1, 100 feet above Brewer's Bay with the most fantastic views and sunsets. The George's were very welcoming and phoned us every other day to make sure that all was well. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Cool.gif" alt="" /> The villa was clean and perfect for a small family complete with it's own little pool. A bit difficult to get to, but worth it once you got there.
4. Stanley's in CGB- we loved Stanely's and went there almost everyday. Dawson took very good care of us. the cheeseburgers and conch fritters were superb. My daughter loved playing with the children we met there. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />
It was great meeting Bobbi Fawcett, a lovely Australian woman who now lives and works on Tortola and her God Daughter Dee Dee.
5. The evening at Skyworld was great. Damien the bartender was accomodating and made a great drink. The food was excellent and the views were to die for. A major plus was that it was right up the road from our villa.
6. Friday night happy hour and 25 cent wings at Big Banana. I can't stress enough how much we loved these wings and the price and service from Eddy could not be beat. The entertainment was also excellent.
7. A lovely painkiller or cold beer at the Jolly Roger while waiting for the ferry. What a great way to end the trip.
As you can see we loved Cane Garden Bay, I think it was more exciting for the baby with the other kids and dogs all around. I could sit in the hammock at Stanley's all day.
Thoughts for next time might be to rent a villa that is in walking distance to a beach or restaurants. The driving was very interesting to say the least and we both have a horrible sense of direction so we pretty much got lost all the time during the first few days. Things improved though towards the end of the week.
The ferry was great, even though we stressed it a bit before hand. One tip is to make sure your bags come off with you at West End, a lovely couple on the ferry had to go to Road Town to retrieve their bag that did not make it off. I recommed the ferry to anyone debating it with SJU. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Banana.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Banana.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Banana.gif" alt="" />
All in all a great time was had by all.
