Yeah, most of the cruises leave/return from the US over the weekends, so they hit GC heavy from Tues-Thursday while Friday-Monday have little to no activity. But even on heavy cruise ship days, if you plan your activities that cruisers would be hitting early morning before they've unloaded or mid to late afternoon when they are due back to the ship, you can still avoid the cruise crowds.

Also, a decent number of businesses close on Sunday, so make sure to check this before building your itinerary. Most touristy things seem to stay open, but it's worth a double check.

Regarding your Rum Point Beach area plan:

"Kaibo" consists of condos, a building with two restaurants, a coffee counter, and a dock. If you aren't eating there, it isn't much of an attraction. Kaibo Crescent is a street with condos and a couple of homes, not sure what there is to see.

You mention Bio Bay, but also say you will be having dinner back at Sunset Cove - just to be clear, the bioluminescence at that time of year won't be visible until around 9 pm and also varies dependent on the moon phase for the days you are there.

To get to Rum Point/Kaibo area, you will cut across the island on Frank Sound Road, and the QE Botanical Garden is accessed from here. You might want to switch that activity to your Rum Point day. I suggest taking the behind the scenes blue iguana tour if you are interested in seeing them. Small groups, lots of iguanas, and a little educational info on a rare species.

You might want to spend more time just hanging out at Rum Point Beach, rent paddle boards or jet skis, eat and drink at The Wreck.

this is so helpful! I just added the Blue Iguana tour to the list - thank you!

I guess we will want to have both lunch and dinner out there at Rum Point so that we can do the 9pm bio-Luminescent Bay stuff so..

• The Wreck sounds great - would that be better for lunch or dinner?
• Not many other restaurants in that area (per google maps) but I see Rum Point Club Restaurant and Kaibo Beach Restaurant - either of those two good for lunch or dinner?

to see Bio-Bay at 9 pm, I guess the place we get paddle boards or whatever we end up doing during the day can also tell us about what you do there? (snorkel around in the dark, right?) is there a place you recommend renting from?

thanks again for your help as I lined this up just right

The Wreck is good+, not 5 star, but was solid and enjoyable beach-side food - it is all picnic tables on the beach. We didn't eat at Rum Point Club.

Kaibo "Upstairs" is good, but upscale and kinda stuffy. My kids weren't fond of it. The beach bar is in the same building, but downstairs and some tables on the beach. They had salads, burgers, sandwiches, pizza, fish. Wouldn't be the best meal you had, wouldn't be the worst. Once a week they have a BBQ buffet and live music and people seem to come over from SMB area or maybe cruise ships.

Island Bites is a trailer near where Frank Sound Rd meets North Side/Rum Point Rd - great food and fresh fruit smoothies!

When we were there, a full wet suit was recommended if getting in the water at Bio Bay due to jellyfish. Not sure if that is seasonal. Most people go on a boat or kayak tour through one of the outfitters, and if you will be getting in the water try to find one that supplies the wet suits. We were staying nearby and had kayaks, so didn't use a company.

ok - so I checked on these and am getting close... they are all about the same price

• Renaissance - must stay 7 days and we are staying 5 so that's out
• London House - wow - very nice videos they give. However, the only 3 bedroom option is the Penthouse - it's not on ground floor so I'm leaning against that
• Sunset Cove - this was the early favorite - found a condo on the beach and it's available. Question - that private cove they built on their beach - is that a big plus? is it made for little kids?
• The Anchorage - I found one that is 3 bedroom and on the beach level - leaning here now... looks a little more secluded than Sunset Cove

Any things I'm not considering that will help our decision?

appreciate the advice!

The small private cove at Sunset Cove is very nice for kids. No waves inside it to speak of, it's probably only about 4-5 feet at the deepest, and there is only a small ingress and egress out of the cove to the ocean. Makes it like a giant saltwater pool.

Make sure that you are going at the right time for the bioluminescent stuff! When we went, the moon was in the wrong phase and they said if we went out, we wouldnt see anything. It is only available 2 weeks out of each month from what I remember.

ok - i'm down to Sunset Cove or The Anchorage.

Key differences:

• Sunset Cove has that man-made cove - not sure if that is a plus or a minus...
• The Anchorage has screened in patio - Sunset Cove does not - is that important? Are mosquitos a big deal? We will be there in May 2020.
• Sunset Cove looks to be more people around - evening outdoors in that hut near the pool with the string lights looks nice, but The Anchorage seems a little more secluded which is nice

Any thoughts???

nosoupforyou said:

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• Sunset Cove has that man-made cove - not sure if that is a plus or a minus...

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from like 2 post above

The small private cove at Sunset Cove is very nice for kids. No waves inside it to speak of, it's probably only about 4-5 feet at the deepest, and there is only a small ingress and egress out of the cove to the ocean. Makes it like a giant saltwater pool.

I personally would go w/The Anchorage. Although I have never stayed there I have stayed a few doors down & walked by it. It is a great location & there are very few people on that stretch of beach. Sunset Cove is closer to town & in a more congested area.

I did book the Anchorage and we were set to go in May -but COVID.

I just booked the flight for July 2021.. hope it all works out and I emailed The Anchorage just now to try to get back in there

hope it works out this time!

I hope it works out for you! GC is beautiful & May should be great.