Review of my first trip

I feel full after reading this! Great report. Is your hat the last one to the right? It really does fit in! As for bringing your children...do it! We started bringing ours when they were about 5 and 8. It is their favorite spot in the world now (they are 20 and 23 now). Renting a villa with kids is also great because you have a kitchen to rustle up small meals if you don't want to eat out every meal, which can be expensive and exhausting with kids. And having your own space with a pool is sometimes more relaxing then constantly running after them at a resort. I highly recommend bringing them! But as your husband commented, "better start saving now". ;)
 
Fabulous report. Interesting to follow your dining venues & habits . . . not to mention my appreciation of others who enjoy three delicious daily meals! I also am pleased to read your favorable assessment of Le Sereno. I love the scene, food, & service! On your next trip, I think that you’ll very much enjoy Zion.
 
Nice report. One small bit of advice. You went pretty high end on the dining. If you balance out some of the high with some more moderate priced places (which have pretty fab food too) you can bring the cost down so that you don't have to spend 3 years saving. Especially important when you bring the kids otherwise you can get heart palpitations when you get the check when you have hungry kids who love sushi. I absolutely encourage you to bring your children. We did and we have great family memories from those trips. Hopefully you can make trips back a regular occurrence.
 
I will post more pictures. We went all out on the dining options this trip. We learned a lot for next time. I felt like we were prepared. We ate a lot. The food was so good. If we bring the kids we will probably balance it out because they will not be as adventurous as we were.
 
Really cool to have both husband and wife newbies posting on the forum. Anita and I have been bringing our children and grand-children since infants. Makes for a grand time making family memories. What we love most is the laid back atmosphere and safety (as in not worring about crime) like has to be a consideration on other destinations. The Island is extremely kid friendly, lots to see and do. Soooo many great restaurants for kids as well. Anita and I alternate between couple and family, we get the best of both worlds. Next up for us (Couple time) Thank you both again for sharing your adventure.
 
Hey Celeste: BRING THE KIDS! While I never brought MY kids, I did bring my 12 year old granddaughter last year and she had a BALL. I gave my Sofia a GoPro with the handle grip and the floating apparatus prior to getting to St Barth - it provided hours of entertainment, allowing me to dive into a book periodically.
 
What fun to read your great trip report. By all means take the kids! We took our first grandson (and his parents) when he was 18 months old. They love it and have been back many times. You may find old trip reports (some are mine) about taking kids on the forum. I agree with bkeats - there are many lunch and dinner options that are excellent that are not as expensive. AND, particularly in the "off season" you can find a place to park without using valet.
 
Welcome to the Forum. Very much enjoyed your trip report. Sorry Le Repaire was not up to other restaurants. You have joined the ‘fanship’ of a wonderful little island. Glad you had such a wonderful first experience. Now you know when people talk about tingling in anticipation of returning to Ouanalao!
 
Note on valet parking- only place we use it is at Maya’s where we feel it is necessary. Otherwise everywhere else we park it ourselves. Believe at Manypany it is required as they have very limited space.
 
Thanks for all the info. This might work best for seeing some of the pictures we took. https://photos.app.goo.gl/cFeCo7uqArZp8y6S6

We took over 1,700 photos! For example we vacation every year in Cape May, NJ and I was looking at those pics recently. In the nine years we have gone there, we have taken 2,000 total photos. In our one week in St. Bart's almost went over that.

I know the kids would love the island because they like the beach. But I agree that I would probably rotate it. One trip with kids, one without kids.
 
Wow! You all sure packed a lot of experiences during your trip! You did “get” SBH! Great dining and a wonderful place to stay. I hope to be back next year, but will continue to explore other options. I love reports like yours that really get the vibe of the island. It is a truly great place.
 
Enjoyed reading about your first experience in St Barth. You had me laughing out loud about the valet parking. Only in St Barth.
 
Down load Microsoft image resizer onto your computer if you don't already have it and resize your photos down to smaller file sizes.
 
Your "observation" regarding valet is TOO funny! We had the same experience at Tamarin and reading your post has me laughing out loud. Thanks for sharing!
 
I was jpa742001's trip companion...aka his wife...I know it has given him great pleasure to finally be able to post something on this forum as he has become literally obsessed with it. I think he was hoping to bump into someone whilst there! he was upset we missed some kind of meet up that happened I think prior to our arrival..his inner journalist has come through in this review....we really had an amazing trip...has anyone brought their children with them? Ours are age 3 1/2, 11 and 13...not sure what people's experiences have been traveling with children to St. Bart's ...we saw enough children but wondered about folks here on the forum...Please do share with us any other highlights that you think we should consider on our next trip....I'm a bit of a nervous traveller but it was just so beautiful there that I want to return again soon!
First visit was in the late 1980's. My wife and I, her sister for some babysitting duties, and four children. We all traveled together in a Moke, with a cooler and towels to go to the beaches. Don't believe you could do it today. We have been back too many times to remember, but the first trip still stands out. Stayed in a four bedroom villa that has been torn down and I believe has a new villa on that location. We had our anniversary dinner at Mayas and still our favorite. Should have bought property back then. One of my many mistakes in life.
 
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