thanks for posting. always fun to see how much others enjoyed an island i liked so very much. we had a small house near rum point a couple yrs ago & loved it! we did most of our own cooking so enjoyed reading your restaurant reviews.

Thanks for the trip report! Grand Cayman is on our radar for a trip in a few years. I've been there once but only on a cruise stop. Virginia, which villa did you stay at and would you recommend it? We're always looking for good villa recommendations. Thanks!

we stayed in thatch hill. small, older, 2br/2b house. pool was not huge but larger than many villa pools. i did like it but it's closer in style to your place in the bahamas as than to the one on virgin gorda. very clean & great property manager. we haul a huge cooler & upon arrival found the ice machine would not stop running so huge build up of ice & not much space for food. they had a brand new frig in the next morning! also one of our group was older & found the slider too stiff to open/close, so manager sent her son to spray on some sort of easy-glide the evening we mentioned it.
rum point is approx 45 mins drive from seven mile/georgetown so if you want to dine out a lot it may be to far to drive. roads are good & once you're out of town it'd be hard to get lost but if you want to cocktail it's a bit far.

there were numerous wonderful looking houses in the area. our fav was the last house on the right on water cay road. i can't recall the name but i'll try to find it. water cay rd is where you turn to go into kaibo yacht club. actually any of the houses on the right side of that road would be nice. (facing ocean rather than bay)

Thanks Virginia! I'll check it out. My husband loves cooking in, so we would probably eat out only once anyway. So all in all you liked the rum point area? Did you find yourself driving to seven mile beach a lot or is that good for one day trip and then there are other things to do closer to "home"?

January, we'll have to bookmark Outrage Stingray City EcoTour. Thanks for the tip! Do you have any pictures you can share of your trip?

On another note, we're headed for Provo next week (renting a villa of course And we just booked the villa Island Stones for next June overlooking Cinnamon Bay in St. John!

we stayed almost 3 weeks and ventured to town twice. did turtle farm -did not like it, grocery shopping, snorkeled cemetary beach, ate at guy harveys restaurant (excellent!) & looked his art gallery, generally drove around to see the area. we were thrilled to be away from the traffic & wall to wall hotels (when you drive along seven mile beach you can't see if most places) at our house. we went to the botanical gardens (wonderful) & hiked the mastic trail. my friend did several dives from east end near the reef resort. we hung out at rum point a couple times. good beach food & strong drinks. each night we took cocktails & went out to starfish point/beach to watch the sunset (passing that favorite house on the way). snorkeled in front of our house, rum pt., starfish, & several beaches between us & the reef. we like a pretty laid back vacation
near thatch hill we ate lunch & a breakfast at over the edge, dinner at kaibo & wonderful dinner at the rum point restaurant at sunset.
red sail sports operates a branch at rum point.

which house on provo??? i'm so jealous.

Virginia-that's great to know! Sounds like we have similar tastes in vacations! I'll have to check out the villas in that area, although we already have our 2 future trips planned (back to St. John in June '12, then Staniel Cay the following year) but after that!

We're staying at Crystal Sands villa on Sapodilla Bay for a week, and then on Grace Bay at The Sands for 1 night. Leaving next Saturday! It'll be our first time there. I'm now counting down the minutes I can't remember-have you been to Provo? I'll be sure to post a TR when get get back.

have been on provo 3 times. i really love it. crystal sands is a good house. you'll love sopadilla bay beach.
go just up chalk sound road (1/2 mile??) on the left you'll see sign to ocean point villas. turn in & park just before the stone pillars. walk down the sandy path on right (was a road now blocked by a couple large boulders) to taylor bay beach. it is shallow shallow for a long way out. you can swim on the left in the channel - the sand is the softest i've ever felt - like talcum powder!
continue out chalk sound road to check out lots of fancy houses. you'll come to a fork, if you go left & to the end of the road you'll deadend at this little place i have my eye on: http://www.luxuryhomes.com/lh/listing/Turks_amp_Caicos/56261c61-42bc-4e0a-8f67-441fac1762d0
be sure to check out the infinity bar at the grace bay club.
have conch at the da conch shack in blue hills.
snorkel coral gardens. go as early am as possible for parking & fewest ppl.
try rib/chicken night at the tiki hut at turtle cove marina.
snorkel smith's reef. just east of turtle cove marina is a dirt road towards the beach. pass yacht club bldings on left. dead end. turn left. go to end of road. park in sandy lot behind 2 tiny villas. walk back down the beach past ?? 6 villas. there should be a rock carin on the beach marking where to enter sea through narrow cut in ironshore. swim out to left to find good sized round piece of reef. caution as some parts are really shallow.

Thanks for the great info Virginia! We'll check out most of your suggestions. Since I'm such a planner we already have our week's activities booked. We're doing: Las Brisas for lunch and 2 hour pontoon boat ride around chalk sound, professional photo shoot of our family w/Tropical imaging at our villa/beach, 1/2 day Caicos Dream tour, Tuesday night beach bbq at the Somerset, snorkeling at Coral Gardens with lunch following at Da Conch Shack, glow worm cruise w/Atabeyra, Provo Ponies ride, "date night" at Anacoana and drinks at the infinity bar and lounge, lunch at Hemmingways, a night at The Sands, and dinner at Coco Bistro. Whew! That's a lot, so any downtime will be spent relaxing at our villa. Oh, and that house is just crazy!

January-sorry! I didn't mean to hijack your thread here!