BVI with young kids

[CaptainFitz]

Hello All! It's been a while (like 12 years) since we sailed in the BVI. 12 years ago it was pre kids/pre marriage, etc. We even hit Foxy's over the Millenium/New Year's! Anyway, I am taking my parents, my hubby, our 2 girls (9 and 11) and my sister and her daughter (6). We are bareboating through The Moorings / Tortola on a 48' Cat for 5 nights. Some of us will go earlier and get some more time. We are going in June (school's out).

PLEASE - need your help. What are the best spots for kids? Love itinerary suggestions. We will have our own provisions for B/L but plan to eat out for dinners, at least 3 nights. We also need to get off the boat and exercise (run/hike/beach workouts etc.).
I am all EARS! Thanks.
CaptainFitz

[Stu Jackson]

We always enjoyed Leverick Bay in Gorda Sound vs The Bitter End. Cane Garden Bay is fine for kids, saw Donald Sutherland there once with his kids.

We just avoided the party-hearty places, even before we brought the kids.

[Capt. Aubrey]

Our 8 and 12 year olds enjoyed Cooper Island. Nice beach and easy snorkelling from the boat or the beah. For parents, the beach is steps away from the restaurant, bar and the couple of shops which made is very easy to keep an eye on the kids.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Fitz.

[Perstarebob]

We lived there for more than ten years and really enjoy the hike up into the rain forest on Tortola . Take a sweater it is chilly even in June !
The Baths will be nice for kids !

[CaptainFitz]

Thanks all for your replies!

[GreenIssue]

Josiah's Bay and Lambert bay on Tortola were fun for us as well as little apple bay. We have two girls (9 & 3). Little apple bay has some waves, as well as some more mellow areas where the kids can snorkel in just a few feet of water and actually see quite a few fish. Sebastian's as well as several other restaurants are right there for food and drinks. Sebastian's also has a small market which comes in handy for snacks for an around the island adventure. Josiah's had some small waves for surfing boogie boarding etc and the beach is long enough for the girls to go on an adventure yet still be in parental view the whole time. There are two little spots for food, drinks beach rentals etc. Lambert is run by the Lambert Resort but they welcomed us let us use the beach chairs they had set up on the beach. They also had food and drinks available and would even bring it down to the beach. The Water was much more tranquil here than at Josiah's. A little "secret" adventure to hidden beach at the end of Lambert was fun for the kids. Enjoy your trip.

[reprise]

There's a great forum for BVI visitors in this domain:

www.traveltalkonline.com

This topic has been covered a jillion times there, and you can search for the threads.

Have fun.

[capnmatt]

We've sailed the BVIs many times with our kids at various ages. Just last June we were there with our three kids who are now ages 6-13 years and we had two other families join us at different times with similar aged kids. Some of the places I'd recommend, more or less in order of how they could work into an itinerary:

• Cooper Island - Fun beach with good snorkeling at Cistern Point. The restaurant is nice with a good happy hour and don't miss the rum bar. The Rhone is a good snorkel/dive stop either on the way to or from Cooper (it can be a bit exposed and rough though, especially when the winds turn south of east as they do in the summer, but generally not too bad).
• The Baths - This is a must for kids and adults. We stopped there three times on our last trip. Leaving Cooper at the crack of dawn is the best strategy for getting a ball and not dealing with overwhelming crowds.
• North Sound, Leverick Bay - Grab a slip at Leverick Bay and enjoy their pool and restaurant. Some people rent a car and drive across the island and to the Baths from Leverick rather than visiting by boat.
• North Sound, Bitter End Yacht Club/Saba Rock - Bitter End has a lot of fun activities (for a price of course) and Saba Rock is a cool little restaurant/resort. My son and I had a lot of fun blasting around the sound on a Hobie from BEYC on our last trip. I would probably get one of the mooring balls in front of Saba so that you are exposed to the breeze as the BEYC can be sheltered and June can be warm. It's easy to dink back and forth between the two resorts no matter where you moor. The tarpon feeding at Saba is fun to watch - I think they do it daily around 4:00.
• Sandy Cay is a fun stop for a few hours to get some great beach time and the hike around the island is interesting.
• Cane Garden Bay - One of our favorites (when it's not crowded) due to the long sandy beach and plenty of choices of restaurants and bars. Kids can play on the beach while we lounge on a chair and enjoy a beer.
• Jost - You've been there before and know the drill. For something more low key maybe anchor at Diamond Cay on the East end. Hike to the bubbly pool and maybe take the dinghy to Green Cay if there isn't much swell for yet another nice sandy beach.
• The Bight at Norman - There is good snorkeling at the caves around the corner and the Indians are a must do on the way in or out to The Bight. Pirates would be my restaurant of choice with kids.
• Scrub Island - Not for everyone, but a higher end resort with a great dual level infinity pool and a fun slide between the two, nice work out facilities, good restaurants and reasonably priced laundry service. It doesn't have the Caribbean vibe that most other places in the BVIs have, but a nice place for some downtime and pampering. Scrub only has slips and reservations are a generally a good idea, though probably not necessary in June.

With five nights you'd have to cut a couple stops out. Maybe only one night at North Sound, probably skip Scrub, etc... The only tricky thing is North Sound is a bit out of the way and spending just one night doesn't give you much time to explore. You'll just have to decide what is important to you and prioritize your itinerary around that. Should be enough time for a quick loop around Tortola though - and to make a list of stops for your next trip.

[cwyckham]

Also check Windtraveler. They're cruising there with their three young kids (younger than yours).