BVI: Tortola, Long Bay Beach Resort and Villas Family Vacation Fun. Making sure families experience a sense of place and have a great time in the Caribbean is what the staff at Long Bay Beach Resort and Villas do best.  The resort offers off-the-beaten-path tropical elegance. The atmosphere is serene, green and family friendly. There are activities for the whole family and opportunities to educate children about the environment in an area where ecological preservation is a top priority.

Resort: The 52-acre secluded hillside estate provides a variety of two and three-bedroom, luxurious full-service homes, as well as apartments located on and around the resort. Each property is unique, but all have views of the ocean and many have pools. Guests have access to all resort facilities, and meal plans are available. All accommodations are fully appointed and beautifully furnished. Each room comes with air conditioning, direct dial telephone, wet bar, coffee maker, alarm clock, hair dryer, and security safe. These villas are ideal for families, group vacations or a private getaway. For the ultimate in luxury, Long Bay also has some of the Caribbean's most exceptional private estate villa rentals. Each of these three or four-bedroom villas has a private pool and awesome views of the island and the sea.

Activities: In addition to the private pools guests may enjoy the two pools onsite, one with a swim-up bar. The resort overlooks a beautiful, mile-long, powdery white sand beach perfect for walking. Snorkeling and swimming are daily rituals for families. Tennis lessons are available. Excursions may be arranged and include horseback riding, kayaking, hiking, sailing to nearby islands, scuba diving, or exploring the island. Horseback riding is available by the hour from Shadow's Stables. Trails lead through the tropical forest in Mt. Sage National Park or the shores of Cane Garden Bay.

Value Added:  Long Bay has a children’s pool with waterslide. In addition, the resort has a reputation for having the best restaurant on Tortola.

Discovery: Wedding planning? Long Bay is a lovely resort in a beautiful tropical setting. They maintain high standards and often exceed expectations. For families with wedding plans in the future it may be the perfect location. The property is romantic, restful and family friendly. Best of all they have a wedding coordinator on staff. (To get more details try 1-800-729-9599.)

 Long Bay Beach Resort Location: Long Bay Beach Resort & Villas, PO Box 433, Roadtown, Tortola. BVI Contact the resort directly (not for reservations) 1 (284) 495-4252. From the continental US, Canada, Puerto Rico and the USVI: 1-954-481-8787 or 1-800-345-0356. From the UK and Europe, 0870-160-9655. Go to www.longbay.com.

 

Island Details
For families planning a Caribbean holiday, Tortola is a special find. Spanning three miles by 12 miles, it is the largest and most populated (about 13,000 residents) of the British Virgin Islands. The capital and official government seat of the B.V.I. is Road Town, on Tortola. It oozes off-the-beaten-path charm with miles of uncrowded beaches, picture perfect coves and glamorous sunsets. The glitzy resort atmosphere, prevalent on many other islands, is nonexistent. It is an island where sea turtles and coral reefs thrive and days are blessed with sunshine and sea breezes that nurture mind, body and soul, naturally. Discovery: Unique to the island is a soft drink called “ting”. For a sweet treat try potato pudding.    

Remember Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson? It is said that the inspiration for the book, Norman Island is just south of Tortola. Pirate legends provide hours of storytelling opportunities. Locals also claim many of the missing treasures stolen by such infamous characters as Blackbeard Teach, Bluebeard, Captain Kidd and Sir Francis Drake, remain hidden in undiscovered caves.

The story of Long John Silver is one of the most popular. It is said that he punished his crew by leaving them on a deserted island for a week. The island, thought to be Deadman’s Chest, remains uninhabited today. The folk song, “Fifteen Men on a Deadman’s Chest, (Yo ho, ho and a bottle of rum.)” is a musical account of the story.

Kiss a fish. The protected waters of Norman Island provide ideal snorkeling for all ages. Because it is not overrun by tourists the density of tropical fish is remarkable. The water is calm and absolutely clear making it easy for young snorkelers to kiss a fish.

Get PADI certified to dive. UBS Dive Center is the only private diving service on Tortola. They provide all things water, including kayaking, fishing, scuba diving, snorkeling, and island hopping.  They can organize a private dive boat for a family or group of friends, making the dive experience one-of-a-kind and world-class. No predetermined schedules or group quotas inhibit the planning. They can organize easy paced sightseeing or naturally wild, totally fun days for families with kids. They do adventure wreck diving as well as night, deep and eco dives. They rent the equipment needed for the fun and provide free delivery on Tortola. Discovery: Naturally they are able to certify divers but of special note is their PADI Junior Open Water Scuba Diver course is ideal for a teen that takes to the water. 1(284) 494-0024, cell (284) 496 8475 or www.scubabvi.com

Dive the wrecks. Once pirate waters, the area is rich with shipwrecks. The most famous is the RMS Rhone, which sank in 1867. It is the centerpiece of Rhone National Marine Park which includes not only the wreck site but an assortment of awesome underwater coral caves, Blonde Rock and Deadman’s Chest Island.

Walk in the rain forest. Sage Mountain National Park frames Mount Sage is the highest point in the island chain (elev. 1,780 ft). Pathways wind through what remains of primeval rain forest rich with exotic plant life and tropical birds. The view from the mountaintop is spectacular.

Smell the flowers. J.R. O'Neal Botanical Gardens, a four-acre park located on the edge of Road Town, features an orchid house, rain forest garden, cactus garden, regal palm grove.

Visit a fort. Fort Recovery is the ruins of a Dutch stronghold; the stone tower is believed to have been built by Dutch settlers.

Take the ferry. The Roadtown Fast Ferry travels from Charlotte Amalie on St. Thomas to Roadtown at the heart of Tortola, Roadtown. The Fast Ferry does not stop at St. Johns Island on the return trip to St Thomas. Because they dock where there is a US Customs office in Charlotte Amalie, saving time and money. Caribbean Maritime Excursions, Inc. On St. Thomas, 1(340) 777-2800, on Tortola, 1(284) 494- 2323 or www.roadtownfastferry.com 

Need to know. To enter the island visitors need a passport, voter registration, or a birth certificate along with a photo ID. There is an island departure tax levied.

Vacation Book Connection

Curious Clownfish. By Eric Madde & Adrienne Kennaway, Little Brown & Company; (July, 1990). This book is a pure delight to share with young children. The large, bright illustrations and the endearing story make this an ideal airport companion. At my teen’s insistence, this book will remain in our family library for the next generation. (Ages 2-5) 

A Caribbean Counting Book. By Faustin Charles. Houghton Mifflin; (March 3, 1996). The perfect trip companion for parents with young travelers, this book engages tykes in the island culture with rhymes and rhythms typical of Jamaica, Martinique to the Dutch West Indies.  Count pawpaws, breadfruit guava, centipedes or tropical fish, just for fun. This book works really well with A Caribbean Alphabet by Frane Lessac. Both provide entertaining ways to convey a sense of place to young traveling companions while they are eager to learn. (Ages 2-5)

Pirates. By Dina Anastasio & Donald Cook, Grosset & Dunlap; (March 1, 1997). This book is both fun and educational. Illustrations on every page create a sense of what a pirate’s life was like. A replica of the "Pirates’ Code of Conduct" shows the odd sense of honor among thieves. Elementary school children will enjoy the examples of pirate flags and the stories about infamous pirates too. (Ages 6-11) 

Treasure Island. By Robert Louis Stevenson & Milo Winter. Gramercy Books; (September 1, 2002) anyone heading to Long Bay needs to snap up a copy of Treasure Island. Robert Louis Stevenson's classic adventure story makes perfect sense in the islands. The version mentioned above is ideal for kids.  Jim Hawkins, Long John Silver, and Ben Gunn come to life. And there’s murder on the high seas; violent battles on an island full of treasure. (Ages 10-14)

For fun, kid-friendly things to do in the US Virgin Islands check out Uptake.com. They search 5000 travel sites...so you don't have to!