Susanna Henighan: Hi guys and welcome to today's chat. It is a beautiful sunny day here in the Virgin Islands, and I'm ready to answer your questions. So let's get started!

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Durango, CO: We like to travel once a year with our best friends and we each have young teenage/preteen sons. Our trips usually revolve around snorkeling, hiking, and "easy" adventures (nothing too dangerous) for the kids and great beaches, but quiet locale for the grown-ups. We like to stay in condo-type hotels to save on meals and prefer places where we can experience local cultures rather than cookie-cutter, touristy, mega resorts. One of our favorite trips was Ambergris Caye, Belize, but we would like to find somewhere with better, "walk-in" beaches. Any suggestions in the Virgin Islands? Thanks, Mini

Susanna Henighan: Dear Durango:

Thanks for the questions.

The island that comes to mind is St. John. Estate Concordia or Maho Bay Camps are two of my favorite places to stay. Both are within the Virgin Islands National Park and have facilities for you to self-cater. Kids will love the unique accommodations, and there are tons of activities available (hiking, snorkeling, kayaking are the most popular). The beaches on St. John are fantastic -- beautiful white sand, coconut trees, reefs to snorkel on.

St. Croix might also be a good choice -- it has nice hiking, great scuba diving, and a lot of historic sites. The beaches are nice, but not as nice as those on St. John. You could check out Cottages by the Sea, which has some very cute little cottages right along the Frederiksted Beach.

I hope that you guys have a great vacation.

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Washington, DC: Are there any major advantages to visiting the British Virgin Islands as opposed to the U.S. Virgin Islands? Thanks in advance for any information you can provide.

Susanna Henighan: Dear Washington, DC:

The main advantage to visiting the BVI is that it is a little bit more off the beaten path, so you feel less like one of the crowd. That said, there are places in the USVI that are remote and peaceful, and places in the BVI that are crowded. If you are intersted in a charter yacht vacation, than the BVI is your choice -- it has the greatest choice of charters and is closest to the best cruising ground.