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Trip Report – May/June – Part 1
Trip Report – May/June – Part 1
We had a wonderful 2 week stay on St John in May/June this year. This was our 6th trip to St John and we stayed at Hummingbird Hill on Gifft Hill for the 2nd time. It’s managed by Catered To and we can’t say enough about our positive experiences with them. They were a pleasure to deal with and minor maintenance items were addressed right away. We really like the Gifft Hill location for the view and convenience for popping into Cruz Bay to get carryout for dinner or groceries.
We flew the non-stop on United from Washington Dulles to STT and arrived around 12:15pm. We love this flight and hope they keep it in the future. It’s so nice to fly non-stop and arrive on island early in the day. We got the 2pm ferry from Red Hook, so we were on StJ with our rental Jeep headed to the villa by 3pm.
We start every day having breakfast on the covered porch of our villa, enjoying the beautiful view of the water across to St Thomas, the small islands around St John and the boat traffic coming and going. We love the colorful bananaquits crowding the coconut feeder filled with sugar and fluttering quickly away at the least disturbance. We put a small bowl of water on the railing and some of them took a quick bath or drank from it. Of course, the pearly eyed thrasher showed up every morning and yes, we gave him some fruit and water, even though they can be a pest. We love their melodic and varied calls.
After a leisurely breakfast, we scurry around to get ready and head to the beach. We love to snorkel and swim, so we spend many hours in the water. We usually pack a lunch and drinks, so we can spend the entire day on the beach. Sometimes we snorkel a second time after lunch…sometimes we just sit on the beach to enjoy the view of clear turquoise water, pelicans feeding, seagulls bathing at the edge of the water, rays and little sharks swimming by, and turtle heads poking up. When the no-seeums start getting to us, we head back to the villa and enjoy happy hour in the pool.
We enjoyed every place we snorkeled, although some places were a bit cloudy compared to previous years. Here is the rundown:
Maho twice - love this beach, its so relaxing for us; short walk from the Jeep carrying all our “stuff”; always a nice snorkel; snorkeling around to Little Maho we saw huge nurse shark (7-8 ft) and 3 enormous tarpon. Their size makes me a bit nervous.
Francis - love how the water is so calm it’s like a lake. Saw several pork fish here – so pretty with the bright yellow.
Waterlemon twice; first time we encountered a really strong current near the Cay and it was a bit choppy to the left, so not the most enjoyable snorkel; second time had a wonderful snorkel in the beach area to the right and to the left with island friends, Steve, Leslie, John and Pam; they pointed out lots of fun stuff, including the tiniest high hat I’ve ever seen. Snorkeling with them was a highlight of the trip - thank you!
Trunk is such a scenic beach and we had a nice snorkel here; went on a day with no cruise ships, so it wasn’t crowded; took a day off from packing lunch and had lunch and drinks from snack bar which was pretty decent.
Denis Bay – we enjoy the short hike down to the beach; encountered dogs running loose and one ran towards us barking and growling when we tried to get into the water. It was very windy and choppy, so not the best day to snorkel here. Went in anyway and looked at the coral growing around the pilings which was interesting. Lots of shallow areas and didn’t get around to Perkins Cay as it was so choppy. We’ll do this another time when the wind isn’t blowing so hard.
Princess Bay; very nice mangrove snorkel; I would like to do the mangroves from a boat as it’s easier to approach them from deeper water. Our first mangrove snorkel was with Long Distance charter, but Rick and Robin weren’t on island.
Cinnamon – our first time snorkeling to the right, instead of at the cay. Very nice and would snorkel it again on our next trip. Not as many shady spots as some of the other beaches, but it’s a beautiful beach and nice snorkeling.
We had a very nice day on Survivan (day charter) which took us to the usual spots - Little St James, Christmas Cove for lunch, and Lovango for the second snorkel. When we were leaving Christmas Cove, we got a good look at the spaceship looking catamaran that has a huge traveling range.
Next up – Part 2 - A trip of firsts
We flew the non-stop on United from Washington Dulles to STT and arrived around 12:15pm. We love this flight and hope they keep it in the future. It’s so nice to fly non-stop and arrive on island early in the day. We got the 2pm ferry from Red Hook, so we were on StJ with our rental Jeep headed to the villa by 3pm.
We start every day having breakfast on the covered porch of our villa, enjoying the beautiful view of the water across to St Thomas, the small islands around St John and the boat traffic coming and going. We love the colorful bananaquits crowding the coconut feeder filled with sugar and fluttering quickly away at the least disturbance. We put a small bowl of water on the railing and some of them took a quick bath or drank from it. Of course, the pearly eyed thrasher showed up every morning and yes, we gave him some fruit and water, even though they can be a pest. We love their melodic and varied calls.
After a leisurely breakfast, we scurry around to get ready and head to the beach. We love to snorkel and swim, so we spend many hours in the water. We usually pack a lunch and drinks, so we can spend the entire day on the beach. Sometimes we snorkel a second time after lunch…sometimes we just sit on the beach to enjoy the view of clear turquoise water, pelicans feeding, seagulls bathing at the edge of the water, rays and little sharks swimming by, and turtle heads poking up. When the no-seeums start getting to us, we head back to the villa and enjoy happy hour in the pool.
We enjoyed every place we snorkeled, although some places were a bit cloudy compared to previous years. Here is the rundown:
Maho twice - love this beach, its so relaxing for us; short walk from the Jeep carrying all our “stuff”; always a nice snorkel; snorkeling around to Little Maho we saw huge nurse shark (7-8 ft) and 3 enormous tarpon. Their size makes me a bit nervous.
Francis - love how the water is so calm it’s like a lake. Saw several pork fish here – so pretty with the bright yellow.
Waterlemon twice; first time we encountered a really strong current near the Cay and it was a bit choppy to the left, so not the most enjoyable snorkel; second time had a wonderful snorkel in the beach area to the right and to the left with island friends, Steve, Leslie, John and Pam; they pointed out lots of fun stuff, including the tiniest high hat I’ve ever seen. Snorkeling with them was a highlight of the trip - thank you!
Trunk is such a scenic beach and we had a nice snorkel here; went on a day with no cruise ships, so it wasn’t crowded; took a day off from packing lunch and had lunch and drinks from snack bar which was pretty decent.
Denis Bay – we enjoy the short hike down to the beach; encountered dogs running loose and one ran towards us barking and growling when we tried to get into the water. It was very windy and choppy, so not the best day to snorkel here. Went in anyway and looked at the coral growing around the pilings which was interesting. Lots of shallow areas and didn’t get around to Perkins Cay as it was so choppy. We’ll do this another time when the wind isn’t blowing so hard.
Princess Bay; very nice mangrove snorkel; I would like to do the mangroves from a boat as it’s easier to approach them from deeper water. Our first mangrove snorkel was with Long Distance charter, but Rick and Robin weren’t on island.
Cinnamon – our first time snorkeling to the right, instead of at the cay. Very nice and would snorkel it again on our next trip. Not as many shady spots as some of the other beaches, but it’s a beautiful beach and nice snorkeling.
We had a very nice day on Survivan (day charter) which took us to the usual spots - Little St James, Christmas Cove for lunch, and Lovango for the second snorkel. When we were leaving Christmas Cove, we got a good look at the spaceship looking catamaran that has a huge traveling range.
Next up – Part 2 - A trip of firsts
Re: Trip Report – May/June – Part 1
I like the snorkel report good info for future planning.
High in the rockies?
Re: Trip Report – May/June – Part 1
I appreciate the snorkel report, too!
We saw a large Nurse Shark at Hansen - at least 7 and possibly 8 feet long (Nurses have long tails). Her size was intimidating but she didn't seem to mind us hanging around her so we did for a long while. It was one of our most memorable snorkels around St. John.
Did you take any underwater photos?
We saw a large Nurse Shark at Hansen - at least 7 and possibly 8 feet long (Nurses have long tails). Her size was intimidating but she didn't seem to mind us hanging around her so we did for a long while. It was one of our most memorable snorkels around St. John.
Did you take any underwater photos?
Re: Trip Report – May/June – Part 1
We love Gifft Hill also. Never knew of anyone that stayed at Hummingbird. Would love to hear more!
Re: Trip Report – May/June – Part 1
Nice report...TY for sharing.
Hummingbird Hill is one of our Favs. Here's a vid we did for the owner a few years back;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPkMlEEHGJg
Bigcheeze/Dave
Hummingbird Hill is one of our Favs. Here's a vid we did for the owner a few years back;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPkMlEEHGJg
Bigcheeze/Dave
