Advice on first trip to St. John

[AquaGirl]

I didn't mention Trunk, but we go there *every* trip and love it. We've had excellent snorkels around the Cay. We always see lots of fish, including huge schools of tiny silvery fish that are like a "flowing river". There is also some nice coral, even with all the crowds who snorkel there. We love the beach there - its so scenic and lots of shady spots. Its nice to have the snack bar for smoothies and other cold drinks. You just need to make sure to go when no cruise ships are in.

[IA Joe]

Trunk Bay also has the underwater snorkel trail, which is really pretty nice for beginning snorkelers.

[Lindy]

We may try the snorkel out to Water Lemon, but may just snorkel the beach there and not travel out if the water is too deep. Depends on my wife for that one. I know we will probably at least see a couple nurse or lemon sharks on the trip, but I don't want to get her in too deep of water and make her too nervous.

If you don't want to make the swim out to the cay you might want to do the Leinster drift. About halfway thru the hike to the beach area at Water Lemon will notice some large rocks in the water near the shore. There is some excellent snorkeling in that area so you might want to stop on the way in or on the way out and spend some time there. Then when you hike all the way to the sandy beach area (about a mile) spend some time straight out from the beach in the grassy flats - you can almost always find turtle there. Then swim all the way along the rocky shore on the right side and out around the point a ways. It's not overly deep and lots of fish. Once you get out to the point there are some impressive coral formations with lots of fish around them.

[snorkeler525]

Trunk - I think most people avoid it due to crowds. It is a beautiful beach but we didn't find the snorkeling to be up to the other spots. It is good, just not as good as other places, especially if it is crowded with cruise ship passengers. If you go, go early and pick a day when there are no cruise ships - check out this site and pick the month you are going to see the schedule: http://ports.cruisett.com/schedule/US_V ... int_Thomas

As for sharks, the only one we saw on our last trip was a huge nurse shark out at Maho Point (between Maho and Little Maho). She was gorgeous!

[sfarns]

We just returned from our first trip to St. John...definitely won't be our last! So much left to see and do! We thought we could do it all in 8 days +2 travel days. Wrong! I am NOT a strong swimmer (nor hiker!) and loved the walk /"hike" out to Waterlemon Cay. It's flat and mostly shaded. My advice is "travel light"! Not many places to set up and hang out for the day unless you get there very early. Walk out and get as close as you can to the Cay, then snorkel away! We thought the snorkeling between the shore to the Cay was as interesting as it was around the Cay itself (but we did not go around the Cay due to my scaredy cat skills or lack thereof!) Apparently, we had AMAZING weather and calm seas - I've read that right after our trip, the ocean got a little more exciting. That said - if the water is calm - Waterlemon is a "must do", Trunk Bay was kind of a Ho-Hum for us, Salt Pond Bay was a great beach & my husband enjoyed snorkeling there - I was in more of a "sit on the beach and enjoy the sun" mode since it was our first full day on St. John. (Watch out for the prickly weeds in the sand!), Maho was fun and calm when we were there. So many beaches we did not get to - we will have to go back!

[Capn Dan and Ruby]

One thing no one mentioned is to take a ride all over the island. Since you will defiantly want to come back. This will give you a feel for the island and where every thing is. Do a morning snorkel, eat lunch, take a nap and then take a drive before dinner. You will defiantly want to stay more than a few days next time!

[jbpadgett09]

So my wife and I are flying out Tuesday morning, and we are very excited (She is in vacation mode, but I'm currently at work and have to work Monday). Any last minute tips on what to bring as far as clothing or places to eat for lunch/dinner. We aren't looking to eat real fancy, so I doubt we bring anything too dressy, probably just shorts, t-shirts, and flip-flops. However, I'm definitely interested in any good places to eat. Again, we are staying at Grande Bay, so anything around town will be great. However, we also plan to explore the island one day as I would like to snorkel Salt Pond and maybe even Brown Bay or Hansen.

[jimg20]

It's been said before and you'll hear it agian. Bring half as many clothes and twice as much money. Nothing is very fancy. A pull-over shirt with a collar and nice shorts will be fine for almost anywhere. Have a great time. Get on "Island Time" as soon as you can.

JIM