Our Happy Place....AKA The BVIs

If you know me and my family, you know how much we love the beach. We especially fell in love with the British Virgin Islands upon our first visit in January 2020 and it quickly became a yearly destination. So we were so excited to finally take our kids there for the first time in January of 2023. I'm happy to report that they loved it just as much! So we booked a return trip and once again, it did not disappoint.

Stay:

We have stayed four separate times at Scrub Island Resort in the British Virgin Islands. It was owned by Marriott but recently separated itself and is now a boutique resort. It is the only resort on the small island, with a hotel complex, villas and marina. There is also a spa, three restaurants, dive shop, fitness center, boutique and market. We got lucky enough to be upgraded to a villa this trip which was fabulous but we have also stayed in the hotel complex, in a suite which was equally amazing. Our villa was two bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, with a full kitchen and living area. It also had a washer and dryer which is such a bonus if you are traveling with small children who happen to dirty up every item of clothing that they wear (Not that I know this from experience!). The suite is also a great setup for families as it is essentially a small apartment with a small kitchen, living space with pull out couch and separate bedroom with one bathroom.

Travel:

Getting to the BVIs is no small feat from our home of Richmond, VA largely because of their lack of direct flights. We flew Delta to ATL then into San Juan and stayed a night (hotel linked here), then flew the next morning into Tortola. There are flights from Miami, Nashville, Chicago, NYC, etc that all fly directly into Tortola without a stop in San Juan. Once into Tortola it’s a quick 5 min shuttle ride to Trellis Bay and a 10 min ferry ride (on their own shuttle ferry which picks up every hour) over to the resort. If your timing doesn't quite work out with the ferry there is a restaurant and bar right on the water which is a great place to hang. It's a great spot for the kiddos to watch all the boats coming and going and see flights from the airport.

*You will need a passport as this is outside of the US. If it's your first time getting passports for either yourself or your kids, I advise doing it at least 3 months ahead of time but preferably closer to 6 months.

Fun:

So while Scrub doesn’t directly have a kid’s program, there is so much to do with kids! There are three separate pools and two beach areas. We would usually spend most mornings on north beach where there are lots of lounge chairs, a bar/restaurant, and a pool. Our kids loved digging in the sand (we did bring our own beach toys as there are none on site) and swimming. The water off the beach is very shallow, great for swimming and snorkeling. Our 4 year old even tried out snorkeling for the first time using this mask linked. They also have jenga, cornhole and a large sized connect 4 game which our kids loved and played with most every day! They also have a sand volleyball area for those with older kids.

In the afternoons we usually ended up at the main pool area where there are two large pools and a hot tub. I love the lower pool because it has a beach like graded entry which is perfect for small kids to wade and play in. For parents there is also a swim up pool bar!! My kids enjoyed a couple virgin pina coladas there too. There is a place to borrow pool noodles and life jackets too if you want those for swimming. And there’s a water slide! Perfect for elementary age kids and older. Our kids took a couple turns down sitting in dad’s lap and loved it. Also near the pool there is another separate smaller beach area. From here there is some fabulous snorkeling for those with older children (you can also rent/borrow snorkel gear if you don’t have your own). There is a swim out trampoline which our kids swam too in their life jackets and had so much fun. You can also take out a kayak (another first time activity our kids tried!) and paddleboard if you are into the non-motorized water sports. You can also swim off this beach too though it’s a little rocky on the bottom and we preferred the other beach for true beach play and swimming.

Another activity I would recommend is chartering a boat for a full or half day. (We have used TRC Charters every time and def recommend!!!) It’s a great way to check out other islands and beaches around the BVIs. The captain will pick you up on the marina and will have life jackets and drinks on board. We have done this every time and this past trip we actually chartered a boat two days. Boat days were definitely everyone’s favorite days! You can choose a half day option if your kids are still in need of an afternoon nap or you just want to try it out for a few hours! (A full post on all the fun things to do in the BVIs is coming!) If you aren’t into the idea of chartering a boat but still want to explore you can take the scrub island ferry to Marina Cay, a little island 5 min away for lunch or dinner. They also have a beach area and snorkeling right off shore.

Food:

There are three restaurants on site. The beach restaurant, One Shoe, has a small menu but a few kid friendly options if you want to spend the whole day beachside. Donovan’s Reef is near the main pool and is a beautiful open air option for lunch or dinner. Your kids can easily be entertained watching the pool or boats in the marina. They have a good sized kids menu which includes (thank goodness!) peanut butter and jelly! I’m pretty sure my kids ate that for most every meal. There is also a nicer, more upscale restaurant Cardamom and Co. You can order off the same kids menu as Donovans. If you aren’t up to eating out every day, there is a great little market off the marina. If staying somewhere with a kitchen you can find food to make your own meals. They also have a great breakfast menu and this is where we chose to do breakfast every morning. They also have sandwiches for lunch and really good pizza which we did two nights there!

So if you are beach lovers like us, hope you can find the time to check out this beautiful spot or another in the BVIs!! Please reach out with comments or questions!