usvi-on-line
Trip Report...Part I
Trip Report...Part I
Our first visit staying on St John
I had been planning this trip for years…reading the forum religiously…reading and rereading Feet Fins and Four Wheel Drive and St John Off the Beaten Path (which I received as Christmas Gift) We had a wonderful time…and tried to see it all…..
This trip report will be missing underwater pictures since I didn’t buy an underwater camera or waterproof pac. We are beginner snorkelers, and I didn’t want to be bothered with trying to capture those perfect shots. (But after snorkeling Waterlemon Cay, everyone in the family wished we had a camera to capture all of the sea life!!) Please forgive some of the food shots…we occasionally forgot to capture before we started eating. But I would rather see half a plate than none, if I was trying to decide whether I wanted to eat somewhere.
Wednesday: Travel Day 06/20
Plane was delayed….so I called Amalie Car Rental to inform them we would arrive later to St Thomas…Magdalena was already watching our flight online…no worries….
Arrive after 3 (instead of 1:30) which changes our plans somewhat…Amalie Car Rental is there waiting with our jeep….sign papers….off in just a few minutes….(wonderful company, can’t say enough good things about them)
We make a quick stop at Food Center for breakfast, lunch items, sunscreen, and drinks. Total $188
We had planned on eating lunch since our last meal was breakfast at airport at 7 am…but we wanted to catch ferry and make it to our villa before dark. Drive right onto next ferry
…Call villa rep who is meeting us at Coral Bay triangle…Head up the hill to Fun and Contentment and this view
Since we haven’t eaten since 7 am….we are ready for food. Pictures of our food were taken at 7:19, so it was past time for another meal.
Aqua Bistro
Macadamian Down Island Grouper with mango chutney
Scallops
Seafood Pasta in Pesto Sauce
Wahoo in Ponzu Sauce
Total for meal and drinks for four people $134
Head back to villa to rest up for our first full day on island
Thursday June 21st
Wake up early, hoping to catch a sunrise photo….never quite captured a good one…but tried most everyday…hazy from Sahara dust, and I finally realized the sun was rising behind a hill. I never could see it rising in the distance until it was over the hill.
These are my attempts from the week
Thought I saw on website that Crabby’s opened at 8, but the sign says 9. Since we wanted to rent snorkel gear before we headed to our first beach, we took this opportunity to explore a little. We drove from Coral Bay to the Salt Pond parking lot and back. When we arrive back around 9:10 he is ready to assist us. Get snorkel gear and head to Francis.
We are interested in beaches and snorkeling at this point..so no trail for now…
Real cloudy this morning
We had a pretty good snorkel here. A huge school of fish caught my daughter by surprise, swimming by her. When we finished the snorkel, bugs were biting up on the beach so we decide to drive on to Maho.
The kids snorkel here and see a sea turtle.
We had packed sandwiches so we ate lunch on the beach at Maho. We decide to head back to villa and go to Cruz Bay for happy hour and dinner.
North Shore drive back to town
Stopped by Woody’s and High Tide and then dinner at Banana Deck
Conch Fritters
Shrimp and Scallops Alfredo
My daughter and I shared a Seafood Platter with Mahi, Scallops, and Shrimp. My husband had the Ribeye. Total for meal and drinks for four $111.00
Head back to villa which is a 20-25 minute drive back to Coral Bay.
next day...Salt Pond..Drunk Bay...Tourist Trap and Lamashur much better pictures since the sun shined and not as hazy....
I had been planning this trip for years…reading the forum religiously…reading and rereading Feet Fins and Four Wheel Drive and St John Off the Beaten Path (which I received as Christmas Gift) We had a wonderful time…and tried to see it all…..
This trip report will be missing underwater pictures since I didn’t buy an underwater camera or waterproof pac. We are beginner snorkelers, and I didn’t want to be bothered with trying to capture those perfect shots. (But after snorkeling Waterlemon Cay, everyone in the family wished we had a camera to capture all of the sea life!!) Please forgive some of the food shots…we occasionally forgot to capture before we started eating. But I would rather see half a plate than none, if I was trying to decide whether I wanted to eat somewhere.
Wednesday: Travel Day 06/20
Plane was delayed….so I called Amalie Car Rental to inform them we would arrive later to St Thomas…Magdalena was already watching our flight online…no worries….
Arrive after 3 (instead of 1:30) which changes our plans somewhat…Amalie Car Rental is there waiting with our jeep….sign papers….off in just a few minutes….(wonderful company, can’t say enough good things about them)
We make a quick stop at Food Center for breakfast, lunch items, sunscreen, and drinks. Total $188
We had planned on eating lunch since our last meal was breakfast at airport at 7 am…but we wanted to catch ferry and make it to our villa before dark. Drive right onto next ferry
…Call villa rep who is meeting us at Coral Bay triangle…Head up the hill to Fun and Contentment and this view
Since we haven’t eaten since 7 am….we are ready for food. Pictures of our food were taken at 7:19, so it was past time for another meal.
Aqua Bistro
Macadamian Down Island Grouper with mango chutney
Scallops
Seafood Pasta in Pesto Sauce
Wahoo in Ponzu Sauce
Total for meal and drinks for four people $134
Head back to villa to rest up for our first full day on island
Thursday June 21st
Wake up early, hoping to catch a sunrise photo….never quite captured a good one…but tried most everyday…hazy from Sahara dust, and I finally realized the sun was rising behind a hill. I never could see it rising in the distance until it was over the hill.
These are my attempts from the week
Thought I saw on website that Crabby’s opened at 8, but the sign says 9. Since we wanted to rent snorkel gear before we headed to our first beach, we took this opportunity to explore a little. We drove from Coral Bay to the Salt Pond parking lot and back. When we arrive back around 9:10 he is ready to assist us. Get snorkel gear and head to Francis.
We are interested in beaches and snorkeling at this point..so no trail for now…
Real cloudy this morning
We had a pretty good snorkel here. A huge school of fish caught my daughter by surprise, swimming by her. When we finished the snorkel, bugs were biting up on the beach so we decide to drive on to Maho.
The kids snorkel here and see a sea turtle.
We had packed sandwiches so we ate lunch on the beach at Maho. We decide to head back to villa and go to Cruz Bay for happy hour and dinner.
North Shore drive back to town
Stopped by Woody’s and High Tide and then dinner at Banana Deck
Conch Fritters
Shrimp and Scallops Alfredo
My daughter and I shared a Seafood Platter with Mahi, Scallops, and Shrimp. My husband had the Ribeye. Total for meal and drinks for four $111.00
Head back to villa which is a 20-25 minute drive back to Coral Bay.
next day...Salt Pond..Drunk Bay...Tourist Trap and Lamashur much better pictures since the sun shined and not as hazy....
-
indianaizzy
- Posts: 51
- Joined: Sun Oct 04, 2009 11:32 am
- Location: indiana
We are sitting on the beach in Ft. Morgan, AL enjoying your trip report. Sounds like a great start. Can't wait to get back to St. John.
<img border="0" src="http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/ ... t.png"></a>
-
ColumbiaSCTraveler
- Posts: 528
- Joined: Mon Apr 18, 2011 9:33 pm
- Location: Columbia, SC
Augie: We had stayed on St Thomas for a week at a friends condo back in 2004. For four it just seemed to make sense to move luggage one time (we only had carryon though) and to have the jeep on our day back to airport.
and we had never driven to Coral Bay....once we found Centerline...(Cruz Bay was a little confusing driving through the roundabout and picking the correct route for the first time) it was breeze....Our villa greeter lived in Coral Bay and it seemed pointless to make her drive all the way when I thought surely it wouldn't be that hard to find.. and it wasn't...
Caribert: I knew we would rather be closer to all the beaches than town. We live in the country so are used to that. After I looked at the restaurants on Coral Bay side I knew we would be fine. We did drive back over 3 days to Cruz Bay. In my wrap up I will give my observations on our stay on that side of the island and why I think it works best for us.
thanks
and we had never driven to Coral Bay....once we found Centerline...(Cruz Bay was a little confusing driving through the roundabout and picking the correct route for the first time) it was breeze....Our villa greeter lived in Coral Bay and it seemed pointless to make her drive all the way when I thought surely it wouldn't be that hard to find.. and it wasn't...
Caribert: I knew we would rather be closer to all the beaches than town. We live in the country so are used to that. After I looked at the restaurants on Coral Bay side I knew we would be fine. We did drive back over 3 days to Cruz Bay. In my wrap up I will give my observations on our stay on that side of the island and why I think it works best for us.
thanks
-
Kentuckygirl
- Posts: 1903
- Joined: Sun Oct 08, 2006 10:17 am
- Location: Kentucky
[/url]
-
Capn Dan and Ruby
- Posts: 1006
- Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2009 10:08 pm
- Location: PC Florida
