What a great vacation!Lots of take aways from this place but the biggest is how absolutely safe we felt. All the time. Everyone was so friendly- okay except for the lady at the deli counter in the market at Sopers Hole grocery store, but hey one person on the whole island cranky?? I will take that any day!

We stayed at Villa Sirenetta which is by far the best villa we have stayed at in the Caribbean yet. Fully stocked kitchen down to a cheese grater, deck chairs, a cooler- they thought of everything! One thing I didn't really understand was that the third bedroom is downstairs and outside, with no adjoining bathroom and you had to go outside at night in the dark to use the lower level bathroom. Quite common, but the girls weren't too keen on that so our son took that room. Also the most disappointing thing of the entire trip was the lack of sun on the pool. Maybe it is the time of year, because I know I checked the website for sun on the pool and there is a picture but I was truly bummed there was no sun and I mean only like 20 minutes a day on a corner of it and it wasn't heated either. Besides that this villa has a million dollar view - I mean spectacular, and is so private! I would totally return to this villa if it was a a time of year that the pool had sun, even if only for a few hours- just lovely! Sylvia the housekeeper was so nice and helpful and the owner Leanne was so nice to work with- go for this villa if you don't care about the sun on the pool/time of year. It is located on the west end so it was a quick trip from the ferry, very close to Smugglers Cove our favorite beach.

We rented from Jerry's no problems, met us with the car at the ferry. The only issue we had with the car was the lack of turning radius- I mean those are some hairpin turns on that island and we would have to take a couple of shots to get around a turn- we could have done better with our old suburban from home!

We brought a cooler full of meat which really worked well for us - I would do it again- and I would also have the villa provisioned for when we first get there. We were so tired and had been up for over thirty hours by the time we got to the grocery store it would have been nice to have some staples in the fridge and just chill that night. Sylvias friend - I cant remember his name- Ging??- was SO NICE and let us follow him to the store and then helped us at the store and showed us a better way to the store than we had gone. Just a super nice guy.

We went to Smugglers Cove, Long Bay, and Cane Garden Bay. Love the paddle board rentals at CGB and we all took turns and did it- even me!Long Bay I needed help getting out of the surf so we didn't go back but lots of surfing going on there. Smugglers was our fave- just packed the cooler and went. Heaven.

We went to Myetts for lunch one day, had lots of drinks from Tony's - my first Bushwhacker- my oh my!! We went to the Sugar Mill for dinner- what a treat! It was my daughter Molly's 21st birthday and they printed her special happy birthday menus and sang to her! We went to D'Coal Pot for dinner too. Both had great food but I prefer a little less formal so D'Coal Pot was my fave- jerk rib steak- yes please!

We took a day sail on the Aristocat which was very cool to JVD. On one stop while I was holding the kyak in the water for Andy to get back in it shot towards me and hit me in the head pretty hard- I had quite the egg on my head! So having to swim so far (Andy says 250 ft at least) from the cat to get to Soggy Dollar was really difficult for me. We were only allowed 1 hour and twenty minutes there too- including swimming time to and from. If I had to do it over again I would not cat to JVD I would ferry there (or actually stay there) and then cat to Norman for snorkeling. I have dreamt of going to JVD for a long time and the little bit of time I was there was enough to let me know I wanted to go back!

We went to Stoutts lookout bar one day on our way to CGB and what a cool place that is. We took our Seahawks 12th man flag everywhere and even though he was a Steelers fan he welcomed us and let us take a picture with it in his place! We really like the Green Glass Guys by Myetts who do the glass blowing with recycled glass from the island- way cool! The kids thought the coolest place was Callwood Distillery- I love that they have an appreciation for history. We went to Road Town twice - both were stressful disasters. If we couldn't get it at the grocery at Soper's Hole we figured we didn't need it!

All in all my best vacation yet! I loved that I got to be their when my kids saw the beaches for the first time! Best advice I can give any other newbies going would be to write the dates in the correct order when going through customs at Tortola -20-12-2014, not 12-20-2014 - we held up the hole line- so embarrassing! Beyond that just relax and remember that you can't get lost - you're on an island full of very nice people that will help you! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" />

Glad you had a great time. We are still 5 months out <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Sad.gif" alt="" /> But, here is a funny for you: years ago I obtained a recipe for Bushwhackers from a BEYC newsletter. Detailed instructions regarding ingredients, quantity of ice in the blender, etc. The very last instruction for after the bushwhacker was made said: "Now take a good look around so you will remember where you are..." I got a good chuckle out of that. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for sharing your report. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />

Sounds like a great trip, minus the egg! I found the villa on VRBO and it looks very nice, I'd take a shady pool right now! Do you have any photo's you can share?? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Cheers.gif" alt="" />

Great info. Thanks for sharing.

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Awesome!! Sounds like you had a blast! Thanks for sharing!

I think this will work... https://www.facebook.com/leigh.greshock/...7224&type=3

Awesome trip report. GO HAWKS! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" />

Great report. Thank you. I started reading this with regret over your love for your villa and then kept reading...the third room with no en suite bathroom and my fear of no sun on the pool caused us to not pick that same exact villa. I have regretted it ever since I said no. Our dates didn't line up well but the sun and the bathroomless bedroom for my 15 year old daughter were the biggest factors. It's a tough call. It sounds like you loved the villa and I thought it looked amazing in the pictures. Maybe a pool heater would help? And your comments about the sail to JVD are my concerns exactly. I will update you on the villa we picked and let you know about the sun on the deck and also will plan on taking the water taxi from CGB to Soggy Dollar and save the sail for another destination. Was there no quality meat on the island? We use to bring it to Bonaire in the mid90s but have not done it to the other islands we've visited lately. Your post pretty much helped me more than most posts I have ever read. Thanks again.

I do believe the whole no sun on the pool had to do with the time of year.I would totally go back to that same villa in the summer it was so great! I'm sure there is quality meat, but you will pay a lot more for it. If I am going to pay $13.00 for a whole chicken i would rather have someone else cook it you know what I mean? When we go on vacation with the kids we bring most of the dinners just to save a bit of money. I have a friend going in July so am excited to hear about her first time there as well as what the summer weather is like as the villa they picked has no AC! It is high on a hill and close to the one we had. About the bathroom, my son did feel totally safe, with the girls it was mainly about any kind of spider they may cross paths with LOL! We have never felt safer while on vacation then when we were on that island! Cant wait to read your trip report!

GO HAWKS!!!!!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" />

Great post and thanks for the tips on what your kids enjoyed. We are heading down mid-February with three kids 14-12-8.