Try It, You May Like It
Written: Aug 07 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Excellent for snorkeling and scuba.
Cons: Locals seem "envious" of tourists, 50% warm-n-fuzzy; 50% not so WNF.
The Bottom Line: Nearby for eastcoast vacationers, same time zone.
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| meilie's Full Review: British Virgin Islands |
I spent a week with my husband who was on business, trying out the local tourist scene on my own during the day. We stayed at the Prospect Reef Resort on Tortola, BVI. The resort has multiple buildings, some of the older buildings are located in a garden setting, these do not have an ocean view view but there are newer villas that are closer to the seashore. We stayed in one of the garden-side buildings that have about 8 rooms on each side, with a sheltered garden walkway that runs through. Not fancy but quaint and modestly accommodating. The room included a TV, small refrigerator, safe, coffee maker and A/C unit. Expect frequent "brown-outs" of the generator failing, usually during the wee hours of the night which only caused slight discomfort for the A/C being out for about 30-45 minutes. For those who enjoy the ocean air, this is no problem, as there is a decent breeze through the slatted front door and you can open the jealosy windows on the opposite door.
I found their package tours available through the hotel to be a good deal price wise and still adventuresome. I recommend the day trip on a glass bottom boat to the nearby island of St. Peter, which I believe they have a private beach. The day tour [$20.+/-](4-5hrs) takes about 45 minutes to the island that includes a nice lunch [fresh/frozen fish w/ fresh sauteed veggies] and unlimited use of water equipment [snorkel/fins, paddle boat, kyak, windsurfer] and 3 hours of "on your own" time to do as you please, be it lay in the sun/shade on one of their provided lounge chairs, or snorkel, kyak, beachcomb, etc. I chose to snorkel as this was the main attraction that I could not get back in Maryland.
I ventured out past the main beach around a bend that brought me to an isolated beach that was more picturesque than a postcard. The sealife was incredible! At first it was sparse by the occupied area of our party, but soon numerous species of large and small fish emerged and I could easily swim among them in water ranging in depth of 3-30 feet, so as a novice snorkeler, I did not feel overly intimidated from the vastness of the water. I meandered around and found myself in a large school of what seemed like minnows or sardine like fish. They ranged from 1-2" to 8-10" each, amazingly they school in their own size range and they eventually formed an enourmous cloud around me, but carefully avoiding any immediate contact with me. I was the only human around to experience this, as the rest of my group was several hundred yards around the bend. A small baracuda and stick fish swam by, but didn't bother with me.
The beach off of this was isolated from my party and unused at the time so I was able to enjoy a brief rest alone before heading back. My only caution is to make sure you have enough energy to get back, as the current was quite strong trying to get around the rocky cliff that secluded this cove from the other and it took a lot longer on the return trip. Since I was alone, it may be wiser to go with a partner or at least make sure someone knows you're around the bend! I believe they do a headcount before departing, but one may be missing for a while!
The other snorkle tour I took was a bit intimidating. I went with the scuba boat that seems to have more scuba customers than snorkle as I was the ONLY snorkeling fool. I had a fellow who was suppose to keep an eye on me, but we went into a cove that went some 80ft down and we were surrounded by very high cliffs, so there was absolutely no where to put one's feet down to rest. He kept submerging down 20 ft or so, but I wasn't confident or knowledgable enough to follow suit, so I stayed afloat on top and went to the rocks where I could see the fish come to ME! The little alcove I found was spectacular! There were more species of fish than I'd ever seen before, just like a major aquarium collection.
All in all, the sea sites were great, but the locals are a bit envious of us tourists. Some were wonderful, others couldn't give a hoot as if you came back or not. One major disappointment was the lack of fresh fish available at restaurants under $30./per person. One would think an island surrounded by water and life would have fresh fish on every menu. Most available was frozen, brought in from the mainland. Fresh produce was also scarce, which you would assume would be plentiful.
One excellent sidewalk cafe is a place on the main street across the ferry? that has about 8 tables just off the sidewalk, pass Pusser's Bar, I don't remember the name but they have the BEST Italian food this side of the Atlantic and prices are reasonable. Try the Volgone (sp?) baby clams with linguine and their Tiramisu is FABULOUS!
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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Epinions.com ID:
meilie
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Reviews written: 6
Trusted by: 0 members
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