St Thomas – USVI
Day 1 – This was a travel day – We arrived at Philadelphia Airport around 5:00 a.m. as our flight was scheduled to depart around 8:00 a.m. We ended up with at 3 hr. delay and only departed close to 11:00 a.m. Although our layover in Miami was supposed to be 3 hrs., we basically had enough time to go to the restroom and board on the same exact plane to St Thomas. Upon arrival in St Thomas it was about 30-45 minutes until we retrieved our bags from baggage claim. Finding a taxi to the resort was supper easy. The airport had workers who helped us and directed us. The cost of the taxi was about $12 a person and $6 per luggage bag. Our driver had others for other hotels as well. I would say we still made it to the hotel in approximately 30 minutes.
We stayed at Bolongo Bay which is the only “All Inclusive” resort on the island. Checking in was supper easy. We left your bags at the door, went to the counter, signed a few papers and got our wristband to show we were all inclusive. (Note you can book an option that is not all inclusive). Next, our suitcases were loaded onto a golf cart and we were driven close to where our room was. We ended up with a beach front room which included 2 double beds, a refrigerator coffee maker, bug closet with a safe inside; dresser, nightstand, and table with 2 chairs. The bathroom had shampoo, conditioner and body wash, a blow dryer, hand soap and lotion.
We had dinner reservations for 7:00 p.m. and basically had enough time to drop off our luggage and go eat. The Oasis restaurant does ask for reservations for breakfast and dinner, but I had no problem making them the morning of and getting the time I requested.
Day 2 – We decided to just hang out on the beach at the resort. We met Andrew who worked at the popup stand which provided owels and any kayaking or snorkeling equipment. I think they had scuba diving stuff there as well. Andrew was so nice and told us where to go, where to avoid and could basically tell you any history of the island you would want to know. We really enjoyed talking with him. The beach had both lounge chairs with or without umbrellas and wooden chairs depending on what you were in the mood for.
We skipped breakfast but did have both lunch and dinner at Iggies beach bar. The food was so good and there were big portions. In the evening from 8-11 they have live music or entertainment. On this night they had Land Gang. She was good. We didn’t stay until 11 but close to it. They also have the best root beer!
Day 3 – We decided to do another beach day. I went to the pool while my husband and son kayaked. We had lunch at Iggie’s and dinner at the Oasis. We also went to Iggies in the evening for the entertainment, which was Roxnonstop. They were also good.
We did go to the store where you can book an excursion and of course pick up some souvenirs. We bought some water and sodas for the room.
Day 4 – We did Tim’s Tours City Tour today. Tim picked us up at the Resort around 10:00 a.m. and then picked up another couple at a different hotel. It was so nice because we were the only five people on the tour. Our first stop was the city where Tim told us some history of the island and building. He showed us the very first building and the courthouse/jail. We then got off the bus and walked around the town 4about an hour or so. We did some shopping and just enjoyed going in and out of high-end stores. After that we got back on the bus and went to an outlook point. When cruise ships are docked, they also have vendors there. As no ships were docked that day there were no vendors. The view here was beautiful and breathtaking. It was a great place to take photos.
Our next stop was MountianTop which his had a great shop to get souvenirs. It is also the home of the Banana Daiquiri. I highly recommend that you try one as they were very good. At the back of the shop there is another great photo opportunity of the entire island.
Tim told us about different plants and trees and how the locals use them all. I believe we were there for 20-25 minutes to shop and look around. Once we got back on the bus, Tim made a few more stops to talk about different areas of the island. We saw what was once a golf course but unfortunately had been destroyed by one of the hurricanes. Sadley it was never rebuilt. Tim also drove us through some of the other hotels/beach and stopped at one of the other beaches for us to get out and look around at.
We then returned to our resort where we had a late lunch at Iggies and a late dinner. We skipped the entertainment this night and just went back to our room to relax and sit on the patio outside our room. One thing to note is to always take your room key with you even if you are sitting on the patio as you will need it to get back inside the room from that door as well.
Day 5 – I decided to go to the pool today to read and relax. My husband and son hung out on the beach. After lunch I was back on the beach. The ocean water was so much warmer than the pool water. Lunch was at Iggies and dinner at the Oasis. It was so relaxing to walk on the beach every morning and just take in the view.
Day 6 – We had prebooked the Sunset Champagne Cruise for this day. We spent the morning at the beach and had lunch at Iggies before the cruise. The boat left the resort around 4:00 p.m. We checked in early and just relaxed. You needed to remove your shoes and socks if you were wearing any before getting on the boat. They went over all the safety stuff before setting sail. Once we left the dock we were free to roam around. They had an open bar and snacks. We went up to the top and just stood by the railing. The guides would point out different things and tell us about it. If you were celebrating anything you got a bottle of champagne. My husband made sure they knew it was my birthday, so I did receive a bottle. It was so beautiful to watch the sunset out in the ocean. Once we got back to the resort, we went the the Oasis for our dinner reservations. It was a perfect day. After dinner we went to Iggies as they were playing the movie Elf on the beach. Then back to the room.
Day 7 – Christmas Day – This was the only day we made reservations and had breakfast there at the resort. It was good and again big portions. Santa came in via a boat along with a guy on stilts. We stayed and watched that for a bit. They provided cookies and juice. We purchased all the souvenirs we wanted from the gift shop. Then we started packing up everything as it was our last night in St. Thomas. After that we hung out at the beach. We ate dinner at Oasis again. Then we went back to our room to make sure we had everything packed and ready for our return home.
Day 8 – We had breakfast at the resort . Check out was 11:00 a.m. After we checked out, they called to get us a taxi. The taxi driver took us to the airport. It is important to note you must check in at least 3 hours before your flight and they will not let you check in any later than 3 hours prior to departure. This was a bit confusing. One worker told us to go into the priority line even though we were not priority. They took us anyway and labeled our bags to be checked. Then we had to go through customs. We were in the correct line, but another staff member had us go into a different line which was PSA pre-check which we were not. We were then moved to yet another line which was for But that was just to go through with any carryons. Two of us had to leave that line to put our luggage on the belts to be checked then return to the previous line for security. Thank goodness we had plenty of time. They did try to move it along quickly, but it was very confusing the way they moved you around.
Our flight wasn’t taking off until almost 7:00 p.m. After we got through all of the check ins, we found our gate and seats and played on our phones. We did end up getting food to eat at the airport. There were quite a few options. I will say the airport food is very expensive. I believe my husband spent $20.00 on a hot dog and soda. My son and I got a small pizza, and I believe that it was $25.00. We had no issues with our flight leaving St Thomas. We had a stop in Miami. We found our gate but that flight was late arriving so we had a longer wait than expected. We were just grateful it wasn’t cancelled as a lot of flights to Philadelphia were cancelled due to the bad weather they were getting. We landed in Philly around 1:00 a.m. and baggage claim was at the other end of the airport. Once we retrieved our luggage, we called the hotel for the shuttle and checked in for a few hours’ sleep before heading home.
Overall, I would highly recommend Bolongo Bay beach resort in St Thoms. We could not have asked for anything more. It is important to note that the “All Inclusive” does include 3 meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner, all your drinks with the exception of top shelf and bottled water. If you purchased water the cost was about $1.50 a bottle. We chose each night go down to the store and get some for the next day because it was just easier. All tips are also included but of course you can leave more if you would like. All non-motorized sports were also included. The Resort does have Iguana’s, some of them pretty big. They sometimes get close to you too. There are also lots of little lizards but they really leave you alone and are fun to watch. I’m not a big reptile fan and they didn’t bother me at all.
We met a nice family from North Carolina and Alaska. Everyone was super friendly and always willing to help with any questions or anything you may need. Most things in the store are reasonably priced. The menu for dinner had lobster, steak, chicken, just to name a few. You also get appetizers, entrees and desserts. Honestly, we very rarely finished our meals and ended up taking some food back to our room. There is not a microwave in the rooms. However my husband did see that you could rent one for about $10.00 a day if you really needed one. We did not.
I would go back to this resort and St. Thomas in a heartbeat, Everything was clean and super easy. It is a family owned and operated resort and it shows.