Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ONLINE TRAVELER'S TOOLBOX
Veteran travelers usually carry some
essential items to make their trips easier.
Following is a selection of handy online
tools to bookmark and use.
•
Virgin Islands Now
(www.vinow.com)
•
Virgin Islands Daily News
(www.virgin
islandsdailynews.com)
•
B.V.I. Online Travel Guide
(www.
b-v-i.com)
•
St. John Beach Guide
(www.stjohn
beachguide.com)
•
GoToStJohn.com
(www.gotost
john.com)
•
GoToStCroix.com
(www.gotost
croix.com)
•
Airplane Food
(www.airlinemeals.net)
•
Airplane Seating
(www.seatguru.com
and www.airlinequality.com)
•
Maps
(www.mapquest.com)
•
Travel Warnings
(http://travel.state.
gov, www.fco.gov.uk/travel, www.voyage.
gc.ca, and www.dfat.gov.au)
•
Visa ATM Locator
(www.visa.com),
MasterCard ATM Locator
(www.
mastercard.com)
•
Weather
(www.intellicast.com and
www.weather.com)
7
directly with the owners. The company also arranges specialty cruises, yacht charters,
airline tickets, rental cars, and hotel reservations. Annual membership is $195.
Villas
of Distinction,
P.O. Box 55, Armonk, NY 10504 (
&
800/289-0900;
www.
villasofdistinction.com), offers “complete vacations,” including car rental and domes-
tic help. Its private villas have one to six bedrooms, and almost every villa has a swim-
ming pool.
In the U.K., browse the options offered through
Holiday Rentals
(
&
020/8846-
3441;
www.holiday-rentals.co.uk).
Island Villas,
340 Strand St., Frederiksted, St. Croix, U.S.V.I. 00840 (
&
877/788-
0361
or 340/718-0361; www.stcroixislandvillas.com), offers some of the best proper-
ties on St. Croix, specializing in villas, condos, and private homes, many of which are
on the beach. One- to seven-bedroom units are available, with prices from $1,000 to
$15,000 per week.
Renting Your Own Island
Extremely well-heeled escapists can look into renting a private island in the British
Virgin Islands. Here's what's up for grabs (and see chapter 6 for more details):
W
Guana Island
(
&
800/544-8262;
www.guana.com): For a negotiable fee, up to
35 guests can take over this privately owned, 344-hectare (850-acre) island, the
sixth largest of the British Virgin Islands. Guana Island is a nature sanctuary with
seven pristine beaches and a network of hiking trails.
W
Necker Island
(
&
212/994-3070;
www.neckerisland.virgin.com): This 30-hect-
are (74-acre) hideaway is enveloped by its own unpolluted coral reef. It's owned by
Richard Branson (of Virgin Atlantic Airways), who is well acquainted with its trio
of sugar-white beaches. When he's not around, he leases the entire island to
friends like Eddie Murphy. At the core of the island is a 10-bedroom villa, sur-
rounded by three one-bedroom guesthouses. Sun pours into the lush tropical
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