Budget Travel for the Adventurous Cheap and Inspired Explorer. Beaches, Hidden Islands, Lost Cities, Off-the-beaten Path Lodges and Get-a-Ways. Finding the easy way into the most lavish and expensive destinations in one of my favorite hobbies.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Virgin Gorda's Marvel





All I can say about this place is ...WOW... from the people to the beaches to the food and everything in between.....

Virgin Gorda is truly an amazing getaway for anyone..be it a group of friends, love birds or families...it offers everything anyone could ever desire in an exotic fantasy island and more.

GETTING THERE

Being fairly easy to get to I was surprised at how uncrowded and overpopulated Virgin Gorda actually is. Air Sunshine offers the best and most convenient flights from Puerto RIco to Virgin Gorda, anyone else will be over priced or not direct. So all you really have to worry about is coordinating your flight arrival into Puerto Rico ((i flew Jet Blue from LA and was not an issue at all even though we missed our original Air Sunshine flight due to Jet Blue's random schedule, but were placed on the next Air Sunshine flight with no issues))

Once you land on the small gravel paved strip airport you know you're in for something completely different and unique.

TRANQUILITY

Virgin Gorda offers probably the best in beaches in the caribbean as far as exclusivity and quiet palm lined sands go. No real nightlife to speak of here, though the locals do a good job of keeping a festive buzz going through out the week, with well advertised night parties on the beach or midnight parades for the Moon, and don't worry about not knowing what's going on, everyone from the cab driver to the bar tender get involved in everything involving local culture, and by the way don't be surprised if you Bar tender was your Cab driver :).

Home away from Home

Virgin Gorda has it's share of luxury resorts. Not so many that it becomes overwhelming, but enough to satisfy that type of traveler... these include
both of these resorts welcome visitors, weather to enjoy their Spa services or just take advantage of their beach or marina. Little Dix has a great Spa Pool but Bitter End offers an amazing sea weed wrap which was well received after a long two days in the strong sun.

But as far as where to stay you have several options as Virgin Gorda is versatile in its hospitality, next time I go i will probably look into a Villa Rental because I came to find out they are quite amazing and very very well priced... that being said it will be hard to pass up my beach side, (and I mean BEACH SIDE) bungalow at Fischer's Cove Beach Hotel. When I first booked this hotel I was a bit apprehensive at the low price but the pictures looked amazing, and trust me i had a back up and was prepared for the worst. Upon arrival I could not have been more pleasantly surprised. The Beach front studio room was more that I expected, it had its own paved run way to the water which was about 20 feet away and the room was clean and spacious with its own kitchen and bathroom, but the main prize was the sunset over the water that lit up the entire room in Gold, just breath taking.
There are some obvious visits you are going to want to check out while you're here like THE BATHS which is a must see, but don't leave without stopping by MAD DOG for a mind eraser and peanut butter and jelly sandwich!! And take a fairy to Tortola etc. etc. What i will tell you about is certain things not many know but are must sees....

The Skipper in you!
Virgin Gorda is very much a boating/yachting community, so much so that a lot of the places are only accessible by boat or dingy, but don't fret, the island is fairly equipped with ferries and small boats you can rent depending on your budget. We rented a small four person boat for the whole day for about 100$ (i think less) and we tooled around the whole bay from spot to spot....one of which...



PRICKLY PEAR ISLAND
or just Prickly Pear is a bare island in the middle of the busy Bay of Virgin Gorda. It became a BVI National Park in 1988 ... meaning no further development of the island will take place. Prickly Pear lays claim to several of the territory's bestl beaches including Vixen Point! Swimming, snorkeling, hiking and limin' at the Sand Box Restaurant and Beach Bar are the four main things to do here. The beach bar is great and attracts pople from all over the carribean from ST. Barts to Puerto Rico. the swimming around the island is quite secial, was the first time i swam with a sea turtle. All that said, probably the most memorable part of our visit to Virgin Gorda had to be our dinners and lunches at the



...I am so not a fan of eating in the same place twice while on holiday but OMFG...i still dream about this place. I think i went once a day for one of our meals. You can either take a free ferry from Gun Point or get there on your own boat...yes you might invest in a local map and a fairy schedule, but yes only accessible by boat, but oh so yummy!!

The people in Virgin Gorda are so beautifully friendly and helpful that by our third day we felt like locals we even went to someone's private residence for dinner. Its truly an amazing place to visit.

One of the places around Virgin Gorda i was most interested in was a place called

ANEGADA


I read about this place prior to arriving in Virgin Gorda and was obsessed by its mystery, its a huge island entirely at sea level so otherwise undetectable from a distance but a beautiful place none the less. Well this place delivered an experience like no other!!!

First off ferries from Virgin Gorda to Anegada only run 3 times a week and with our stay those ferry times were a bit too spread out as I only wanted to spend one night if at that since I didnt know the place so I investigated...What we ended up doing is booking a daily excursion to Anegada which ran us about 50$, there are daily trips to Anegada that leave at about 9am and come back to Virgin Gorda at about 5PM..but I hate being on anyone's schedule. So I booked the daily excursion trip the day before the Ferry, so We went to Anegada with the tour on Tuesday to come back on the ferry that runs on Weds. It worked perfectly we went with the tour group and left them in Anegada upon renting our car from the ONE (very very friendly) car rental guy Louis.

Needless to say the beaches and snorkeling here were immeasurable. I was floored by the white sand stretches and crystal crystal clear water, few places in the world offer you the feeling that you truly went as far as you could go. The island is so exclusive NEPTUNE"S TREASURE the hotel we stayed at doesnt even use room keys.."nobody here gonna mess with you mon" and to top that? while we were checking in? "what would you like for dinner tonight?" i was dumb founded... "what do you mean?" I asked....

"Lenny is going out at midday to catch what ever you want to eat" I will never forget



1 comment:

  1. Hi,

    Cancun car rental is famous for its services provide to its customers. you can spend a day exploring, swimming and snorkeling in Virgin Gorda , thanks a lot.

    ReplyDelete