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Trip Report 8/2 - 8/9
Trip Report 8/2 - 8/9
This was our 3rd visit to St. John in the last four years, but it was the first time we asked another couple to join us. We enjoyed showing our “newbie” friends around the island and sharing our previous experiences. I didn’t take great notes on our daily activities so I thought I’d break this report down by category. Hopefully pics will follow as soon as the underwater ones are developed…
AIRLINES
US Air from Minneapolis via Charlotte. For the most part it was seamless although the 4:50pm departure time on Sunday made for a pretty long day. We had a 30 min departure delay in Charlotte and arrived in Minneapolis at 12:40am (1:40am STJ time). Good thing I had the next day off!!
CAR RENTAL
This was our first time renting a car, and our landlord Tracy recommended Amalie Car Rental in St. Thomas. We had an excellent experience with them. Someone was waiting for us on our arrival. We loaded our bags into a van for a very short ride to a hotel parking lot where our new 4-door Jeep was located. On our return, we simply drove up to the ticketing area where two young men were waiting for us. No paperwork to complete – just got our bags and checked in. Anyone renting a car should look no further than these guys.
ACCOMMODATIONS
Seaside (2BR) at Grande Bay. This was our 3rd visit to GB and we love the cleanliness, amenities, and convenient Cruz Bay location. One of our favorite things to do is to watch the town come to life in the morning from our patio deck. The sound of the ferries, people taking their morning runs, workers getting the day started – it’s all good. At night, the walk (more like a stroll) home from The Beach Bar or Drink can’t be beat! Put all this together with an assigned parking spot and helpful and friendly staff/landlord and we had another wonderful time!!
BEACHES
It was a bit windy on a few of the days (gusts 25mph), but the water temp was 84 degrees with plenty of sun! Here are the beaches we visited in order of preference:
1. Maho – spent two days here. Love the snorkeling, water clarity/calmness, and overall “vibe”. Saw quite a few sea turtles (one with a decent chunk taken out of his side), a small lemon shark, and the largest remora I have ever seen (easily 3+ feet). What was interesting about the remora was the fish hook/leader attached to its mouth. We had some problems on our second visit with the jellies (more on that later), but still our favorite.
2. Cinnamon – more like “1b” instead of “2”. Our favorite spot is far down on the right side near the rocks and coral. Had a volleyball game next to us on Saturday which was actually good fun. Love the width of the sand and the snorkeling. Only downside was getting sandblasted a few times due to high winds.
3. Trunk – yes it’s touristy and the snorkeling trail was a mass of humanity on the day we visited. It’s still a beautiful beach with gorgeous views and the far right end offers decent privacy and crystal clear water!
4. Salomon – once our favorite, it has dropped off over the years. We still love it, however the secret is out and this is no longer a quiet beach. During our visit we had kids climbing palm trees, playing baseball, and running around. It didn’t feel like the same place it was three years ago when we started visiting STJ. Also, the hike in which we normally enjoy because of the views and vegetation was very different due to the drought. More on that to come later…
5. Little Lameshur – nice water, great photo ops at the ruins, but this is also a beach that doesn’t handle crowds well, and there were quite a few people on the day we visited. I was also a bit disappointed in the snorkeling. Aside from one sea turtle we didn’t see much. The coral was in poor shape as well…
As far as the jellyfish are concerned, we had good luck with them. They were at all of the beaches (excl Little Lameshur), and we only had one time at Maho where it caused us to get out of the water. I still have two bottles of unused SeaSafe, so overall it was not a significant problem.
DINING
We had dinner/apps at Asolare, Cruz Bay Landing, The Beach Bar, High Tide, North Shore Deli and shopped for lunch stuff in St. Thomas and at the Starfish Market. We had good experiences everywhere, but really enjoyed Asolare (twice for apps/drinks), and Cruz Bay Landing (they did a nice job building this out from the previous JJ’s setup, the food was delicious, and Eric the Bartender was a pleasure to talk to). Nightly drink stops at The Beach Bar were in order – sometimes for food too and we are always happy with the appetizers. We visited Drink frequently but were disappointed to learn that The Terrace was closed and no food was available. It’s still a great place to hang out and enjoy a drink or two. It was also good to see The Tap Room open while renovations are taking place!
DROUGHT
This made us pretty sad. Believe what you are reading – the island is bone dry. We had one night where we heard some rain, and a few drops fell during the day, but they are in need of much, much more. No offense meant to any visitors in the next few weeks, but I hope it rains a lot and soon! It wasn’t really the same place without the lush hillsides. We also noticed the wildlife struggling to find water. Best of luck to the locals on getting some much-needed rain!
OVERALL
Another great visit to a very special place. We were very happy to share the experience with our friends and I think they “got it”. We keep learning more and more about St. John, however the one thing I’m noticing is many others are doing the same. Crowds during the shoulder season are increasing and I guess I understand why. The weather is nice, the water is warm, the people are friendly – it’s all good. We’ll be back soon, that’s for sure!!
AIRLINES
US Air from Minneapolis via Charlotte. For the most part it was seamless although the 4:50pm departure time on Sunday made for a pretty long day. We had a 30 min departure delay in Charlotte and arrived in Minneapolis at 12:40am (1:40am STJ time). Good thing I had the next day off!!
CAR RENTAL
This was our first time renting a car, and our landlord Tracy recommended Amalie Car Rental in St. Thomas. We had an excellent experience with them. Someone was waiting for us on our arrival. We loaded our bags into a van for a very short ride to a hotel parking lot where our new 4-door Jeep was located. On our return, we simply drove up to the ticketing area where two young men were waiting for us. No paperwork to complete – just got our bags and checked in. Anyone renting a car should look no further than these guys.
ACCOMMODATIONS
Seaside (2BR) at Grande Bay. This was our 3rd visit to GB and we love the cleanliness, amenities, and convenient Cruz Bay location. One of our favorite things to do is to watch the town come to life in the morning from our patio deck. The sound of the ferries, people taking their morning runs, workers getting the day started – it’s all good. At night, the walk (more like a stroll) home from The Beach Bar or Drink can’t be beat! Put all this together with an assigned parking spot and helpful and friendly staff/landlord and we had another wonderful time!!
BEACHES
It was a bit windy on a few of the days (gusts 25mph), but the water temp was 84 degrees with plenty of sun! Here are the beaches we visited in order of preference:
1. Maho – spent two days here. Love the snorkeling, water clarity/calmness, and overall “vibe”. Saw quite a few sea turtles (one with a decent chunk taken out of his side), a small lemon shark, and the largest remora I have ever seen (easily 3+ feet). What was interesting about the remora was the fish hook/leader attached to its mouth. We had some problems on our second visit with the jellies (more on that later), but still our favorite.
2. Cinnamon – more like “1b” instead of “2”. Our favorite spot is far down on the right side near the rocks and coral. Had a volleyball game next to us on Saturday which was actually good fun. Love the width of the sand and the snorkeling. Only downside was getting sandblasted a few times due to high winds.
3. Trunk – yes it’s touristy and the snorkeling trail was a mass of humanity on the day we visited. It’s still a beautiful beach with gorgeous views and the far right end offers decent privacy and crystal clear water!
4. Salomon – once our favorite, it has dropped off over the years. We still love it, however the secret is out and this is no longer a quiet beach. During our visit we had kids climbing palm trees, playing baseball, and running around. It didn’t feel like the same place it was three years ago when we started visiting STJ. Also, the hike in which we normally enjoy because of the views and vegetation was very different due to the drought. More on that to come later…
5. Little Lameshur – nice water, great photo ops at the ruins, but this is also a beach that doesn’t handle crowds well, and there were quite a few people on the day we visited. I was also a bit disappointed in the snorkeling. Aside from one sea turtle we didn’t see much. The coral was in poor shape as well…
As far as the jellyfish are concerned, we had good luck with them. They were at all of the beaches (excl Little Lameshur), and we only had one time at Maho where it caused us to get out of the water. I still have two bottles of unused SeaSafe, so overall it was not a significant problem.
DINING
We had dinner/apps at Asolare, Cruz Bay Landing, The Beach Bar, High Tide, North Shore Deli and shopped for lunch stuff in St. Thomas and at the Starfish Market. We had good experiences everywhere, but really enjoyed Asolare (twice for apps/drinks), and Cruz Bay Landing (they did a nice job building this out from the previous JJ’s setup, the food was delicious, and Eric the Bartender was a pleasure to talk to). Nightly drink stops at The Beach Bar were in order – sometimes for food too and we are always happy with the appetizers. We visited Drink frequently but were disappointed to learn that The Terrace was closed and no food was available. It’s still a great place to hang out and enjoy a drink or two. It was also good to see The Tap Room open while renovations are taking place!
DROUGHT
This made us pretty sad. Believe what you are reading – the island is bone dry. We had one night where we heard some rain, and a few drops fell during the day, but they are in need of much, much more. No offense meant to any visitors in the next few weeks, but I hope it rains a lot and soon! It wasn’t really the same place without the lush hillsides. We also noticed the wildlife struggling to find water. Best of luck to the locals on getting some much-needed rain!
OVERALL
Another great visit to a very special place. We were very happy to share the experience with our friends and I think they “got it”. We keep learning more and more about St. John, however the one thing I’m noticing is many others are doing the same. Crowds during the shoulder season are increasing and I guess I understand why. The weather is nice, the water is warm, the people are friendly – it’s all good. We’ll be back soon, that’s for sure!!
MN_Bhoy
Take me to 18N 64W!
Take me to 18N 64W!
Re: Trip Report 8/2 - 8/9
Glad to hear you all had a great time. 
The popularity of St. John appears to have increased quite a bit over the years. The secret is definitely out now.
We'll be on island soon and really don't mind rain (I know it sounds strange). The other day a friend of ours, a long time resident of St. Thomas, told me this is the worst drought that she can remember. Parts of St. Thomas and much of St. John were already dry and brown back in June when we were there and I can only imagine what the islands are like now. Rain will, or should, come… I'm hoping it will be very, very soon.
The popularity of St. John appears to have increased quite a bit over the years. The secret is definitely out now.We'll be on island soon and really don't mind rain (I know it sounds strange). The other day a friend of ours, a long time resident of St. Thomas, told me this is the worst drought that she can remember. Parts of St. Thomas and much of St. John were already dry and brown back in June when we were there and I can only imagine what the islands are like now. Rain will, or should, come… I'm hoping it will be very, very soon.
Re: Trip Report 8/2 - 8/9
Its sounds like a great time even with the drought. We will be there in a little over a week... Cant wait to get under the sea... Hope we don't get stung, but it wont stop us... Planning on picking up some safe sea there.
Im sure we will be sad about the dryness too... We are going to donate water for the wildlife... on Centerline rd.
And just saw the BB is going to close for a week, but didn't post dates... So hoping its not the week we will be there. (Fingers crossed...toes too)
Thanks for the TR. Enjoyed it!
Im sure we will be sad about the dryness too... We are going to donate water for the wildlife... on Centerline rd.
And just saw the BB is going to close for a week, but didn't post dates... So hoping its not the week we will be there. (Fingers crossed...toes too)
Thanks for the TR. Enjoyed it!
BetsyV
Re: Trip Report 8/2 - 8/9
Thanks pickle and betsyv!
I hope you both enjoy your upcoming trips - even if it happens to rain a bit and the BB is closed for a week!
I hope you both enjoy your upcoming trips - even if it happens to rain a bit and the BB is closed for a week!
MN_Bhoy
Take me to 18N 64W!
Take me to 18N 64W!