I have this feeling that whenever someone writes “with
toddlers” at the end of a title or a sentence or a thought, it’s likely met
with a mix of fear and apprehension. Toddlers should be taken on an airplane
with extreme caution! Toddlers need so much stuff! Toddlers are loud and messy
and prone to throwing their little bodies on the floor at totally inopportune
moments!
All this, my friends, is true.
But here’s the other thing about toddlers: they are curious
and engaged and they force you to slow down and notice all the small things you
may have otherwise missed.
It’s with this latter scenario in mind that my friends and I—three
couples with three kids aged 10 months, 15 months and 16 months—booked a 6-day
vacation to the US Virgin Islands for the end of January. We kicked around a
few other ideas: Aruba, Puerto Rico, Turks & Caicos, Mexico, which I’m sure
would have been great. But ultimately the fact that we didn’t need passports,
none of us had been there before and that it was a quick (at least from NY)
4-hour direct flight, made the USVI—namely St. Thomas—the winner.
Overall, the trip was fantastic and I would absolutely
recommend going. As can be expected, we did learn a few things along the way.
So if you’re thinking of going with your family, here are a few things to keep
in mind:
Consider renting a
house
When we first started researching our trip, we thought an
all-inclusive hotel would be the way to go. But the more we thought about it,
the more it became clear that renting a house was a better idea. And in St.
Thomas, it was ideal. First off, we were all in the same place so there was none of that
awkward “let’s meet downstairs at X time” scheduling. We were able to cook at
home, let the kids run around and, once they were in bed, all hang out in the
living room or by the pool. (Also smart: bring your baby monitor!)
We rented this
house and it was gorgeous—a great size for three families with babies and a
view that went on for miles. (Plus a pool and a hot tub.) The house was high up
on a hill, so we did have to rent a car/take cabs to get to the beach and out
to dinners and such. The other thing we noticed—and I don’t know if this was
just us—but we couldn’t find an area where you could have dinner and then walk
around to say, get ice cream or walk along the beach. For us, that made having
the rental even better, since we were then just able to spend that time
together at the house.
Magens Bay Beach is beautiful—and
totally family-friendly
There’s a reason this
beach is so popular. Not only was it absolutely gorgeous and all
crystal-clear waters, but it was great for the little ones: the water was calm,
there was lots of natural shade (we didn’t need to bring an umbrella), the
restrooms were close by, there were picnic tables where you could set up and
the food, which was typical beach-fare, was pretty good. Plus, you could rent
SUP boards, kayaks and floats, and the adults could order drinks and have them
brought towel-side.
Use a stroller as a
backup high chair
While it was great to be able to cook at the house, let’s be
real: it’s not really a vacation unless you go out to eat. Which we definitely
made sure to do. But one thing we noticed at most of the restaurants was that
there was 1, maybe 2, high chairs, max. Since we were with 3 kids who all
needed high chairs—not to mention if there were, you know, other kids at the
restaurant—it was smart to have the strollers on hand. Setting the non
high-chaired kids in them was totally fine—and allowed the adults to (usually) eat
without a baby in their lap.
There’s “kid-friendly”
food that they’ll actually try
So you now how kids’ menus are mostly just bland pasta and
hot dogs and chicken tenders? The worst, honestly, even though sometimes they’re
hard to escape. (And sometimes, let’s be real, it’s easier to give them
something you know they’ll eat.) So while we did order off the kids’ menu at
one restaurant, we found that it wasn’t super hard to find “kid-appealing”
options that still gave them a taste of something other than pasta with butter. The pizza at Pie Whole was a great—and still had
that “kid-friendly food” vibe. Definitely try the Spanish Town pie.) But the
best by far was at De’ Coal Pot, which we
went to on St. John. The food was awesome (like, I wish I could
eat there right now kind of awesome) and they had Caribbean-style sides like
plantains and sweet potato stuffing which the kids were happy to eat.
Have a car if you’re
visiting St. John
We wound up doing a day trip to St. John—we took the ferry
from Red Hook and it only took about 15 minutes. We didn’t do a ton of research
beforehand and assumed we’d be able to walk to a nice beach from the ferry.
Instead, we wound up hanging out at the beach right next to the dock, since all the better beaches were a car ride
away. The idea of lugging all of our stuff, plus three kids was just too much
in the moment. The water was still nice and all, but if you’re going to go,
think about the car situation ahead of time—and bringing less stuff.
Go slow
Ok, I know this is the most clichéd thing ever, but I’m
going to say it anyway. The best part about being on vacation with toddlers is
that you really can’t go a million miles an hour—they don’t want to see that
exhibit and take that tour and go to that must-see sight. And
sometimes, that can be a good thing. And usually, it means that you get to
spend more time just being—which, in my usual frenetic state, is always a good
thing. And St. Thomas, I can tell you, was a great place for that.