Customer Reviews

Frommer's Virgin Islands (4th ed)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book covers all essentials for travel to the Virgin Islands. It is much more in-depth than Fodor's & seems more updated. Fodor's 2000 edition is a little outdated. The 1st time I went to the BVI, I took this book & it really helped. It is an excellent resource to the beaches, shopping, & places to stay. Even though I have been to the BVI several times, this summer I am taking this new updated 5th edition for reference

I thought I was pretty good at picking them but man, was I off this time. It's hard to tell when you've never been to the location before but after a week on St. Thomas and St. John, I wish I would've read all these others reviews before I bought this book. I was very disappointed. There were SO MANY unacceptable errors in this book. Maps were wrong...there's an error on the St. John map that shows a road when actually it's only a walking trail. There were typos that got us lost in the city. The reviews weren't accurate at all. Places where it read "live carribean music nightly" were false. The restaurants never had a live band!
Please consider purchasing another publication unless you don't mind wasting your money.

We just returned from a trip to St. Thomas. We stayed at Saphire Beach Resort based on the ratings in Frommers - "One of the best resorts on the island" and "one of the best restaurants". Saphire Beach resort is one of the worst resorts we have every been to. Service is very poor - sometimes rude. Staff could not provide much insight into activities at the resort itself - let alone the rest of the islands. The food at the restaurant is awful - we actually got sick - we think from eating spoiled food there.

Several great resaurants that we found later were not even listed in Frommers (Whale of a Tale in Red Hook, and Blue Moon Cafe at Secret Harbor).

Don't buy this book, and don't go anywhere near Saphire Beach Resort.

This book is a definite non buy. We relied on it and had major issues. Some of the information was flat out wrong. As mentioned by one of the reviewers, the book implies it is easy to get around St Thomas on the bus when in reality, taxis are really the only way. We saw 4 buses in 6 days! The cabs run 8 to 12 dollars per run. Assuming you go to a different beach every day and out to dinner, you are looking at $40 a day to get around (we ended up getting a car).

Also, the maps are poor. We ended up relying on a free map handed out by one of the hotels to drive around.

The beach descriptions are off also. Some were no more than sandy patches.

You're better off saving the $12 for your first cab ride!

I have used Frommer's books on several recent vacations, and have typically found them quite useful and easily filled-in. However, I was somewhat disappointed in this guide to the Virgin Islands.

The listings of hotels are very good, adn will help a traveler make a wise decision concerning which of the beautiful hotels to choose. The lists of beaches is also wonderful; and to many travellers this may be enough to plan a complete vacation. As recommended, I visited Trunk Bay and Coki Beach, and both had a wonderful atmosphere and great snorkeling.

I was very unnerved, however, by several errors in the book. For example - a favorite restaurant of locals and President Clinton is listed as Eunices's, which has changed names twice; the number listed for hydrofoil service to St. Croix is incorrect (and, while my travel agent tried to find another number, she was told the service is no longer available); and, contrary to the information contained in the walking tour of Charlotte Amalie, the Pissaro paintings owned by the USVI government are in private offices and may not be viewed by the public. All perhaps small errors - but they add up when a traveler is trying to make the most of limited vacation time!

Use the book as a resource, certainly. But make sure that you do not rely on it - call ahead for more information on sites you want to visit!

I bought this book because it had more detailed info about the Virgin Islands than any of the other books in the store. When I tried to use it, I found that some important info was missing or not adequately explained. For example, the means of transportation for St Thomas are bus, taxi, car and foot according to this book. In reality the only way to get around is taxi. For a traveller on a limited budget, this was frustrating. Another example is the walking tour of Charlotte Amalie. The directions were hard to follow and the descriptions of the monuments were sparse.

I bought this book for a recent trip to the British Virgin Islands, having used Frommer's guides on several vacations in the past.
Most of the reviewers highlight problems in the sections on the USVI, but the sections on the BVI are worse. For example, there are none of the useful maps showing where hotels and restaurants are on the island, which makes planning day trips or dinner trips difficult. Also, it gives no hint that cabs are really the only way around, extremely expensive and highly unreliable.
I think for my next trip to the Caribbean, I will just rely on their overall Carribean book (I've used the US and Europe ones and like them) and don't see the added value of the country/island/area specific book (most of the guides are recycled content anyway).

My wife and I just got back from our 3 1/2 week honeymoon in the Virgin Islands. We island hopped, starting in St. Croix, then moved on to St. Thomas, and wrapped things up in St. John where we spent a lot of time exploring Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke and the other British Virgin Islands.

We took several books on the islands, and this was HANDS-DOWN the best. Look no further, this is the best book available on the Virgin Islands.

Definately suitable for getting from point A to point B. If you are seeking more local knowledge of St. John specifically, than a directory of whats what of all the islands, check out St. John Off The Beaten Track by Gerald Singer. $20 and you pretty much have your own guide through every nook and cranny St. John has (and ever had) to offer! A good combination for us was both books- enjoy!

if you had no idea what to do or what to expect when heading to the virgin islands for the first, then this is the read for you. the ideas in activity as well as the breath taking sites are completely cataloged in this book. incredibly necessary.