Jeff and Teresa's Trip Diaries
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We love to travel! We have taken some great trips during the past few years. Another of our favorites was to St. John, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Read on for details, suggestions of things to do, good restaurants, etc.
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St. John, U.S.Virgin Islands
Overview
St. John is one of the most beautiful islands we have seen during our travels to the Caribbean. Most of the island is designated as a national park (about 75%), so it is a wonderful place to go if you like to hike along beautiful beaches and on uncrowded trails. A stop at the National Park Headquarters near the dock is a must. The Park Rangers can provide you a wealth of info about what to do and see on the island and will take you on guided hikes to the Annaberg Sugar Plantation ruins. If you are interested, they will also tell you about the "unofficial/unauthorized" naturist beach on the island, Solomons Beach, which is a short hike from the Park Service Office.
Cruz Bay is a beautiful small harbor and the point of entry to St. John. The harbormaster’s office and the lovely shopping/dining area next to the dock are absolutely immaculate. The buildings are painted pastel colors and face the beach. What a wonderful introduction to St. John!!! Note that all restaurants, vendors, etc. mentioned below are very easy to find once you get to St. John. Look for the free St. John Guidebook, What To Do - St. Thomas & St. John, and many other guidebooks at the airport, your hotel, the harbormaster’s office, etc. You can phone ahead or simply walk to any of these places or vendors from the harbor.
The locals are very friendly and helpful. We were there for a week and found that we began to recognize waiters, bartenders, resort staff walking around town. We were on St. John at Christmastime and attended a large "island formal" Christmas party, hobnobbing with local business owners. Most of them are folks who loved St. John so much on vacations that they moved down to start their own business in paradise. We felt very welcomed and accepted. There is also good shopping - particularly at Mongoose Junction - from native crafts and art work through upscale jewelry (though the best deals on jewelry are found on St. Thomas). Many of the restaurants serve food that rivals the best we have had anywhere! More about restaurants to follow.
Resorts
There are NOT a lot of resorts on the island, so there are never too many tourists. Most of the resorts are expensive. The last time we went to St. John, we stayed at a beautiful resort, Gallows Point, which is right on Cruz Bay.
We were only a five minute walk from the harbor area. Gallows Point is an absolutely wonderful place, reasonably priced considering the large unit sizes, closeness to the harbor, and beauty of the rooms. The grounds are fabulously landscaped and suites offer either Cruz Bay or Ocean views. All rooms are suites. Ours had the master bedroom and bath on the upper/loft level, with a full kitchen, full bath with huge shower, and living area downstairs. We breakfasted each morning on our private terrace, watching the harbor come to life. There are no windows, instead, huge shuttered floor-to-ceiling doors on at least 2 sides of the units.
No screens are needed, as the breezes keep any insects away. Bananaquits (birds) are frequent companions in the morning inside your suite at breakfast.
You can also CAMP on St. John. Really upscale tent buildings with solar heater showers, etc. Cost is a lot lower - $60-100/night. Check out www.where2stay.com/islands/islands/stjohn.html for more info on resorts.
Transportation
We flew in to the airport on St. Thomas, the closest airport to St. John. After a short taxi ride to either the Charlotte Amalie or Red Hook ferry dock, take a water taxi to St. John. The trip is quick and fun and costs either $3 or $7 one way for adults, depending on which dock you depart from. The ferries run regularly all day and the taxi drivers are very helpful in getting you to your ferry on time.
You can take ferries to St. Croix, and rent a sailboat or take a party boat cruise to The British Virgin Islands from St. John, too. Virgin Gorda seemed to be a hot destination! Prices are significantly more expensive than the ride from St. Thomas. I don't know what an accurate price is these days - check one of the links below for costs.
We rented a Jeep-type vehicle for only one day during the week and found that we had plenty of time to explore the other side of the island, and make the rounds of several of the gorgeous beaches. Cost was about $50. We found that it was more cost efficient to take a taxi to shuttle to various beaches on the rest of our days on the island.
We found that the most lovely beaches for relaxing and sunning are on the West or North side of the island. The South/SouthEast side beaches are covered with small ROCKS, not sand, due to the fact that they are on the most windy side of St. John, where the surf is much rougher. There are some spectacular cliffs on that side, though, falling right down to the sea. Makes for beautiful pictures.
There are several types of watercraft to rent. We chose a dinghy from Noah’s Little Arks and explored some of the close-by islands. We "discovered" Henley Cay and found our own private beach! The dinghy cost about $35 for half a day and $50 for all day.
Restaurants
We found so many good ones! Here is a list of some of our favorites:
- Mongoose Restaurant at Mongoose Junction - a really neat place. Cages of birds, the resident cat, and extensive indoor gardens add to the ambience. Decorated in a trendy, upscale fashion that would make a meal there worthwhile even if the food weren’t soooooo good! We had a sesame grilled swordfish with a watermelon salsa that was absolutely the best we have ever eaten! They offer some killer, rich dessert drinks (alcoholic) that are wonderful, too.
- The Lime Inn - we had the all-you-can-eat-shrimp one night. What a deal! The food was good, drinks also good. The outdoor bar is a lot of fun, especially on a night when a band is playing across the street. What a party!
- The Fish Trap - more really good seafood! The conch fritters, an island staple, left a lot to be desired, though.
- Morgan’s Mango - we hear the food is great, though we just stopped in for dessert (sinfully good) and a drink one night.
- There is an outdoor barbeque place (chicken and ribs) on the way to the National Park Headquarters where you can pick-up some good food for a little money. Carryout or eat there. Don’t remember the name of it, but you can smell the ribs and find it on any evening.
- We also picked up sandwiches for lunch from one of the many delis most days. We enjoyed hiking all morning, taking a lunch break on a lovely beach and then swimming and snorkelling away the afternoon!!!! There is a supermarket right in town, too, the Starfish Market. They will make deli sandwiches to go, also. We stocked up on breakfast stuff, fruit, water, juices, beer, etc. to keep in our room. Saved a lot on restaurant bills!
Snorkeling
Ahhhh!! The snorkelling. We used Low Key Watersports, in the harbor at Cruz Bay. Snorkel, fin, mask rental was about $35 for 3 days. They also have maps and suggestions about good places to go. They linked us up with the Sadie Sea crew for night snorkeling, too. That was a lot of fun.
Please see the links referenced for more info. St. John is one of our favorite destinations and we will definitely be back!!! We hope this short trip report has given you the desire to find out more about the island and perhaps go make some of your own memories there!
Try these links:
USVI Page - more general info about St. Thomas and St. Croix, as well as St. John.
Travel Facts - wealth of all kinds of info about St. John, what to do, where to eat, lodging, etc.
Please MAIL US at munnjt@munnwerks.com
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