How About A New Destination??

I was reading about a destination I had never heard of, described in the April 7 issue of the magazine for travel agents, “Travel Agent”.  They were talking about an island near St. Thomas named Water Island.  I had never heard of it, but the description sounded really interesting, so I thought I would share some facts about it.

It is a short $4 water taxi ride from St. Thomas, comprised of around 500 acres.  There used to be a hotel on the island, built in 1953, but it was wiped out by Hurricane Hugo in 1989, and no one has built one since.  They do have a campground called the Virgin Islands Campground, Inc., and they have 7 cabins that will sleep four people each.

I’ll quote the author of the article: “There isn’t much to do on Water Island, but that’s the point.  Clients come here to get away from the sometimes annoying tourist scene on St. Thomas and escape to nothing.  Well, not entirely nothing.  There is the beautiful Honeymoon Beach where Brad Pitt visited to film the hurricane scene in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”

There is a place to eat and drink and hang out at Heidi’s Honeymoon Grill, and there is a place called Water Island Adventures where you can purchase a bike tour.  They don’t say, but I’m curious.  Do they ride the bike on the beach, or are there some paved paths to negotiate?

Would you believe. . . .there are approximately 200 residents of this island, and they have had some meetings lately because there is the possibility of a company investigating building a hotel on the island.  They have solicited input from the residents and one of the main requests by the residents is that the hotel be environmentally friendly.  Since the property is owned by the government, it would have to be a lease agreement by the new developer.  It looks like there will be considerable red tape to make that progress a reality, but the commissioner of the U.S. Virgin Islands seems to think that a hotel on the island  will be at least 2 years away.

So, if you are interested in really getting “away from it all” and not expecting too much pampering, then this might be the answer to your vacation desires.  But you will need to do it quickly to enjoy nature at its best.  Call the experienced travel agents at The Travel Factory and if not the Water Island, we can also suggest to you many other vacation options.  We are located at 4150 Southwest Drive, Suite 120, or give us a call at 698-1421 or 800-760-4040.  You might even want to visit our informative website: www.thetravelfactoryabilene.com.