As of the first 2 weeks in July: Most of the restaurants and shops are open in Cruz Bay. There is electricity and water everywhere. There is still some road repair going on, but the main roads are all open from one end of the island to the other. The beaches are clean and lovely, and the north side ...

Thanks to everyone for ideas and encouragement on visiting StJ with my 3-year-old granddaughter. It was a great trip. I posted a long and detailed trip report over on the TA forum, but I thought I'd just put a few notes here specifically about traveling with Little L. She turned out to be an intrepi...

If anyone is wondering, I did finally get all the zippers working again, but it was a CHORE. I followed everybody's advice - used both CLR and baking-soda vinegar. Multiple times for each zipper. First I carefully painted the stuff onto the zipper pull, scrubbed at it with an old toothbrush, yanked ...

@cocosmom. Wow, a 4-year-old that can not only swim but free-dive with a camera in her hands is pretty impressive! Did she grow up to be a Navy Seal?

Thanks for all the great ideas, Rick! Since I was already ordering stuff for the trip on Amazon (so much for all the money I saved with award flights!) I ordered the Sieco Clear Bottom Inflatable Raft and a little car pump. One more thing for our luggage - so I guess this won't be one of those "...

Thanks, Rick! Great suggestions. I did buy a little shade tent, but hadn't thought about the float toy with window. I wonder if we could rent one on the island? We should be able to rent a little float vest at the snorkel shop, right? Little Lena LOVES eating out and is unlikely to fall asleep. In P...

Our 7th trip to STJ is coming up in July, and for the first time it won't be adults only: our 3-year-old granddaughter will be with us. Her favorite movies are "Moana" and "Finding Dory" so you can bet that she is excited to be visiting "a island!" I'm looking for ideas...

I have a nice beach bag with an insulated section on the bottom for snacks and multiple zippered compartments for towels, books, wallets, etc. Unfortunately, since our last trip to St. John, ALL the zippers have corroded and gotten permanently stuck. :( I tried lubricating well with WD-40 and wrench...

Coming back July 2-12 (7th time in 17 years, so we are loyal but not regular). I stopped posting in these forums when my first grandbaby was born in 2014 and we shifted our travel habits to visiting the west coast to see the little chickadee. But this year my daughter convinced me that we should ALL...

Never stayed at Tree House, but it looks like an incredibly good deal to me. It's clearly an "older" home (by St. John standards), which is probably why it is so affordable. As @gottogetaway commented, you have to decide if the view is more important than the decor. No matter how carefully...

Just following up here - although I'm still a bit confused as to the outcome. Taking my cue from some of the posts here, I decided it would be a good idea to call STJ Car Rental to report the bumper dent before returning the car. Cynthia seemed to appreciate that I'd called, was very nice about it, ...

I would say Salt Pond if it weren't for that killer hike back to the parking lot. It's only about a quarter-mile, but very steep and in full sun much of the day. If you arrive before 9am you can walk down in shade, and if you leave after 3pm you'll have at least partial shade coming back up, but it ...

Theoretically, all the CC insurances cover Loss of Use. But if they tried to charge for loss of use in this case, it really would be a scam. It's just a dent in the bumper - no body work required. If they can't just pop the dent out again, they'll probably just leave it that way. A dented bumper cer...

On island now, leaving tomorrow. This is our first March trip, so I can't compare to previous years, but the beaches are busy. Your best bet is to get up with the sun, have a leisurely breakfast, and head out for the beach by 9am. By 11am, parking can be hard to find. Go even earlier if Salt Pond is...

Oh, never mind; I figured it out. It's the beautiful little villa with the blue roof and red shutters just down the road from Creolla. I've been admiring it every time I drove by. There's no villa name on it, but it's very recognizable from the picture in the VRBO listing. It's also for sale: only $...