Jost Van Dyke *Low Budget" Trip Report 3/2-3/9
Mar 26th, 2007, 11:07 AM
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Jost Van Dyke *Low Budget" Trip Report 3/2-3/9
This will likely be interesting primarily to people seeking to enjoy Jost on a low budget, but Ivan¡¦s is frequented by people from all economic walks of life so if you¡¦re thinking of heading there read on!
GETTING THERE & AWAY
(Sorry to be repetitive if you already read the St. John trip report, where I covered out ferry issues!) We went to Jost from St. John. One of the most important bits of information which we did not receive until after missing our ferry to Jost Van Dyke (that report is next) is that there are multiple ferry docks in Cruz Bay. The one you arrive in from St. Thomas is the domestic ferry dock, while a bit further down the road (turning left as you¡¦re exiting the domestic ferry dock, past the gazebo, and through the parking lot) is the international ferry dock next to the customs house. We had planned to take the 3:30pm ferry to Tortola to catch a ferry to Jost Van Dyke. We went into Cruz Bay, had some Shela¡¦s for lunch, and then hung out at the High Tide waiting for the ferry (you can see the ferry dock from the High Tide). Another important thing to note, which really messed up our plans, is that the ticket booth for the domestic ferry dock is never open until moments before the ferry is supposed to leave. So just before it was supposed to leave and an attendant finally showed up, we ask to buy tickets for Tortola, which is when we were informed we had to run to the other ferry dock. Ferries often leave a little late, but naturally that wouldn¡¦t be the case the one time you needed it to! I hope this saves someone else from making the same mistake ƒº. Some kindly locals informed us that the Native Son ferry leaving from the international ferry dock goes to Red Hook at 4:30 and from there on to Tortola, but it takes about an hour and a half and costs a lot more! I think we paid somewhere b/w $50-60. Be sure to tell the captain you want to go all the way to Tortola. Another far more expensive option which the concierge next to the BBQ shack told us about is to call up one of Foxy¡¦s sons, who will powerboat you out directly to Jost for $150 per person. Talk to the concierge if you end up in that situation!
The last ferry to Jost was at 6pm, so we were really worried about missing it. We got to customs at 6pm on the dot. We had filled out our customs forms on the ferry, in pencil (all we had). I told my boyfriend that would probably get us in trouble ¡V a concern he immediately dismissed! Naturally, we ended up with a rather surly customs agent who insisted that we fill the form out in pen. (I say surly because there was no reason for her to insist that, since she was taking the bottom page of a carbon copy that was clearly visibly completed.) I said, ¡§you¡¦re kidding, right?¡¨ Needless to say that was not a good move, but my boyfriend pleaded with her and she finally let us go. It was now about 6:10, so we were sure the ferry was gone. We asked the woman going through our bags how else we might get to Jost, and she was super sympathetic and said, ¡§I¡¦m not going to hold you up any longer, run around the corner and see if the ferry is there!¡¨ So we ran out, with all the locals (who deduced the situation) yelling at us that we could still catch it and where exactly to go. (When you exit customs turn right, it¡¦s right there.) It was just leaving, we made it on! (If you happen to miss the ferry, apparently you can sometimes find a local to take you over ¡V I am very glad we didn¡¦t have to do that! You could probably do the same trick the concierge told us, call Foxy¡¦s and see if one of his sons can come get you ¡V but that¡¦s expensive.)
True to it¡¦s unbelievably laid-back nature, Jost has no taxis lined up to meet the ferry. A few fellow travelers were going to walk it to Ivan¡¦s, but I insisted we take a taxi (we both had on 30lb packs and a huge cooler full of food!). This required walking into town from the ferry (follow the road out of the ferry dock, and bear right downhill and you¡¦ll end up in ¡§town¡¨). I hung out at the picnic table outside Corsair¡¦s and had my first Colombian beer ($4) while my boyfriend walked down to Foxy¡¦s to find a taxi. We had an AWESOME taxi driver, Gregory, who blasted some seriously roots reggae the whole way. It¡¦s only a 5-min. drive, and I believe it cost us $10 total. The walk to Ivan¡¦s is really not that far, but you have to make it up a monster hill¡Xseriously steep. It¡¦s painful under the blazing hot sun! But you might luck out and have someone offer you a lift, that happened to us on our way back from buying water in town.
IVAN¡¦S STRESS-FREE BAR AND CAMPGROUND
We arrived at Ivan¡¦s after dark, which wasn¡¦t ideal for setting up camp but due to the multi-million dollar catamaran docked way too close to the beach (with the motor running all night long) we had light! It¡¦s hard to describe what Ivan¡¦s is like ¡V it¡¦s kind of like a college dorm party in that people sort of come and go and no one really notices. No one greets you, you just sort of figure stuff out. A woman who was on an extended stay there was kind enough to tell us to set up camp wherever, and to inform us that the nicer kitchen is not for use by campers! We found a PERFECT spot on the beach under a gorgeous tree, set up camp, and went into the campers¡¦ kitchen (behind the bar) to unpack groceries and cook (frozen pizza!). Naturally, the oven didn¡¦t work, and no one knew why. After a lot of asking around someone explained to us how to light the pilot light, and we got our pizza in the oven and got a couple of beers from the bar and scoped everything out.
Ivan¡¦s is a really gorgeous place. Everything is open-air, and COVERED in sea shells. It¡¦s really beautiful. It¡¦s right on the beach, there are hammocks and chairs around for people to use (for free). People are always hanging out in the bar, talking, playing cards, and for the most part we had fantastic music the whole time. A lot of Zeppelin and Marley, and the occasional spurt of the newest coolest alt rock you¡¦ve never heard before off someone¡¦s Ipod. The clientele ranges from college kids from North Carolina to seniors (one of whom we are told was a roadie for Lynard Skynard). Most of the people staying there seem to be there long-term ¡V that or they go back so much they all kind of know each other. It¡¦s VERY chill. No one works behind the bar, so you serve yourself and then mark down what you take in one of the notebooks on the bar. (It¡¦s interesting to see some of the tabs in there ¡V HUGE! We actually randomly saw Big Steve (from Cinnamon Bay)¡¦s tab, which made us giggle.) There were tons of boats anchored right off the beach at Ivan¡¦s, so a lot of people swim up to have drinks. It is a lovely place. We weren¡¦t that into socializing, so we mostly hung out on our own. Ivan¡¦s isn¡¦t really conducive to that, because it almost feels like someone¡¦s house. We just hung out in the bar for meals, and spent the rest of the time on the beach.
A few MAJOR drawbacks to camping there: there is no running water, and the kitchen is disgusting. There are cisterns that gather rainwater, that are supposed to provide water for the showers and bathrooms, but they don¡¦t work. The only way to clean yourself is to fill gallon jugs with cistern water, and pour it over yourself. So your hands are constantly dirty (that compounded by the fact that you constantly get DEET on your hands from accidentally touching your arm or leg really bothered me). There is also no running water in the campers¡¦ kitchen, which means the dish cleaning method is one tub of cistern water (which is not potable) with soap, and one tub of cistern water with bleach. Totally gross! The kitchen is also crawling with roaches, which really bothered me. Last, but not least: there are bathrooms right behind the campers¡¦ kitchen, and they¡¦re surprisingly clean, yet one of the resident seniors felt the need to piss in the sand, on the path where everyone walks to the bathroom, instead of using the toilets. That kind of sealed the deal for me: it feels like a house, yet the people who live there don¡¦t treat it like one!
We didn¡¦t eat out on Jost, we actually cut our time there short because we were so unhappy with the no running water issue. That meant missing out on Ivan¡¦s famous Thursday night BBQ ($25 per person) which we heard was fun, but oh well. We only went to town once, to buy gallon jugs of water ($3.50 a piece). I had read that there was a bakery in town, which we found next to the grocery store (both down the main strip along the beach, left after the police station, and down about a block) ¡V but the bread was terrible ($3.50 a loaf). We didn¡¦t buy anything but water at the grocery store so I can¡¦t comment on the prices there. At Ivan¡¦s, a beer is $4, I¡¦m not sure about other drinks (I¡¦m guessing around $6 for a painkiller). We have heard that the food at Corsair¡¦s is good, but given the looks of meat etc. in the grocery store I would avoid eating out. It was a pain getting that cooler around, but it was definitely worth it.
Lastly I'll comment on the weather - perfect! Not too hot (the only time you feel hot is climbing up the monster hill), breezy, cool at night.
Feel free to ask any questions you may have, and I will do my best to answer them.
Cheers,
mp413
GETTING THERE & AWAY
(Sorry to be repetitive if you already read the St. John trip report, where I covered out ferry issues!) We went to Jost from St. John. One of the most important bits of information which we did not receive until after missing our ferry to Jost Van Dyke (that report is next) is that there are multiple ferry docks in Cruz Bay. The one you arrive in from St. Thomas is the domestic ferry dock, while a bit further down the road (turning left as you¡¦re exiting the domestic ferry dock, past the gazebo, and through the parking lot) is the international ferry dock next to the customs house. We had planned to take the 3:30pm ferry to Tortola to catch a ferry to Jost Van Dyke. We went into Cruz Bay, had some Shela¡¦s for lunch, and then hung out at the High Tide waiting for the ferry (you can see the ferry dock from the High Tide). Another important thing to note, which really messed up our plans, is that the ticket booth for the domestic ferry dock is never open until moments before the ferry is supposed to leave. So just before it was supposed to leave and an attendant finally showed up, we ask to buy tickets for Tortola, which is when we were informed we had to run to the other ferry dock. Ferries often leave a little late, but naturally that wouldn¡¦t be the case the one time you needed it to! I hope this saves someone else from making the same mistake ƒº. Some kindly locals informed us that the Native Son ferry leaving from the international ferry dock goes to Red Hook at 4:30 and from there on to Tortola, but it takes about an hour and a half and costs a lot more! I think we paid somewhere b/w $50-60. Be sure to tell the captain you want to go all the way to Tortola. Another far more expensive option which the concierge next to the BBQ shack told us about is to call up one of Foxy¡¦s sons, who will powerboat you out directly to Jost for $150 per person. Talk to the concierge if you end up in that situation!
The last ferry to Jost was at 6pm, so we were really worried about missing it. We got to customs at 6pm on the dot. We had filled out our customs forms on the ferry, in pencil (all we had). I told my boyfriend that would probably get us in trouble ¡V a concern he immediately dismissed! Naturally, we ended up with a rather surly customs agent who insisted that we fill the form out in pen. (I say surly because there was no reason for her to insist that, since she was taking the bottom page of a carbon copy that was clearly visibly completed.) I said, ¡§you¡¦re kidding, right?¡¨ Needless to say that was not a good move, but my boyfriend pleaded with her and she finally let us go. It was now about 6:10, so we were sure the ferry was gone. We asked the woman going through our bags how else we might get to Jost, and she was super sympathetic and said, ¡§I¡¦m not going to hold you up any longer, run around the corner and see if the ferry is there!¡¨ So we ran out, with all the locals (who deduced the situation) yelling at us that we could still catch it and where exactly to go. (When you exit customs turn right, it¡¦s right there.) It was just leaving, we made it on! (If you happen to miss the ferry, apparently you can sometimes find a local to take you over ¡V I am very glad we didn¡¦t have to do that! You could probably do the same trick the concierge told us, call Foxy¡¦s and see if one of his sons can come get you ¡V but that¡¦s expensive.)
True to it¡¦s unbelievably laid-back nature, Jost has no taxis lined up to meet the ferry. A few fellow travelers were going to walk it to Ivan¡¦s, but I insisted we take a taxi (we both had on 30lb packs and a huge cooler full of food!). This required walking into town from the ferry (follow the road out of the ferry dock, and bear right downhill and you¡¦ll end up in ¡§town¡¨). I hung out at the picnic table outside Corsair¡¦s and had my first Colombian beer ($4) while my boyfriend walked down to Foxy¡¦s to find a taxi. We had an AWESOME taxi driver, Gregory, who blasted some seriously roots reggae the whole way. It¡¦s only a 5-min. drive, and I believe it cost us $10 total. The walk to Ivan¡¦s is really not that far, but you have to make it up a monster hill¡Xseriously steep. It¡¦s painful under the blazing hot sun! But you might luck out and have someone offer you a lift, that happened to us on our way back from buying water in town.
IVAN¡¦S STRESS-FREE BAR AND CAMPGROUND
We arrived at Ivan¡¦s after dark, which wasn¡¦t ideal for setting up camp but due to the multi-million dollar catamaran docked way too close to the beach (with the motor running all night long) we had light! It¡¦s hard to describe what Ivan¡¦s is like ¡V it¡¦s kind of like a college dorm party in that people sort of come and go and no one really notices. No one greets you, you just sort of figure stuff out. A woman who was on an extended stay there was kind enough to tell us to set up camp wherever, and to inform us that the nicer kitchen is not for use by campers! We found a PERFECT spot on the beach under a gorgeous tree, set up camp, and went into the campers¡¦ kitchen (behind the bar) to unpack groceries and cook (frozen pizza!). Naturally, the oven didn¡¦t work, and no one knew why. After a lot of asking around someone explained to us how to light the pilot light, and we got our pizza in the oven and got a couple of beers from the bar and scoped everything out.
Ivan¡¦s is a really gorgeous place. Everything is open-air, and COVERED in sea shells. It¡¦s really beautiful. It¡¦s right on the beach, there are hammocks and chairs around for people to use (for free). People are always hanging out in the bar, talking, playing cards, and for the most part we had fantastic music the whole time. A lot of Zeppelin and Marley, and the occasional spurt of the newest coolest alt rock you¡¦ve never heard before off someone¡¦s Ipod. The clientele ranges from college kids from North Carolina to seniors (one of whom we are told was a roadie for Lynard Skynard). Most of the people staying there seem to be there long-term ¡V that or they go back so much they all kind of know each other. It¡¦s VERY chill. No one works behind the bar, so you serve yourself and then mark down what you take in one of the notebooks on the bar. (It¡¦s interesting to see some of the tabs in there ¡V HUGE! We actually randomly saw Big Steve (from Cinnamon Bay)¡¦s tab, which made us giggle.) There were tons of boats anchored right off the beach at Ivan¡¦s, so a lot of people swim up to have drinks. It is a lovely place. We weren¡¦t that into socializing, so we mostly hung out on our own. Ivan¡¦s isn¡¦t really conducive to that, because it almost feels like someone¡¦s house. We just hung out in the bar for meals, and spent the rest of the time on the beach.
A few MAJOR drawbacks to camping there: there is no running water, and the kitchen is disgusting. There are cisterns that gather rainwater, that are supposed to provide water for the showers and bathrooms, but they don¡¦t work. The only way to clean yourself is to fill gallon jugs with cistern water, and pour it over yourself. So your hands are constantly dirty (that compounded by the fact that you constantly get DEET on your hands from accidentally touching your arm or leg really bothered me). There is also no running water in the campers¡¦ kitchen, which means the dish cleaning method is one tub of cistern water (which is not potable) with soap, and one tub of cistern water with bleach. Totally gross! The kitchen is also crawling with roaches, which really bothered me. Last, but not least: there are bathrooms right behind the campers¡¦ kitchen, and they¡¦re surprisingly clean, yet one of the resident seniors felt the need to piss in the sand, on the path where everyone walks to the bathroom, instead of using the toilets. That kind of sealed the deal for me: it feels like a house, yet the people who live there don¡¦t treat it like one!
We didn¡¦t eat out on Jost, we actually cut our time there short because we were so unhappy with the no running water issue. That meant missing out on Ivan¡¦s famous Thursday night BBQ ($25 per person) which we heard was fun, but oh well. We only went to town once, to buy gallon jugs of water ($3.50 a piece). I had read that there was a bakery in town, which we found next to the grocery store (both down the main strip along the beach, left after the police station, and down about a block) ¡V but the bread was terrible ($3.50 a loaf). We didn¡¦t buy anything but water at the grocery store so I can¡¦t comment on the prices there. At Ivan¡¦s, a beer is $4, I¡¦m not sure about other drinks (I¡¦m guessing around $6 for a painkiller). We have heard that the food at Corsair¡¦s is good, but given the looks of meat etc. in the grocery store I would avoid eating out. It was a pain getting that cooler around, but it was definitely worth it.
Lastly I'll comment on the weather - perfect! Not too hot (the only time you feel hot is climbing up the monster hill), breezy, cool at night.
Feel free to ask any questions you may have, and I will do my best to answer them.
Cheers,
mp413
Mar 26th, 2007, 03:31 PM
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In response to someone's question:
We had heard from Big Steve at Cinnamon Bay that the showers at Ivan's are supposed to work but hadn't been while he was there, so we sort of assumed that between the time he left and the time we arrived whatever problem there was with the pipes would have been resolved. True to its nature as the most laid-back place on earth, no one had bothered looking into that!
As for the kitchen, we actually started unpacking our food in the proper kitchen, assuming it was the communal kitchen. I washed my hands there, and there was running water. (And lots of space in the fridge!) That's when someone living there noticed what we were doing and let us know that kitchen wasn't for us! It's right in front of the bar so there wouldn't really be any way to use it without someone noticing. It's definitely a very stress-free place, but not to the extent that there are zero rules! Camping at Ivan's costs $20/day, which we paid on the last day when we happened to see Ivan. We might have been able to bargain considering the water situation, but if you ever meet Ivan you'll see why we wouldn't. He's just way too...unbelievably nice. He's so laid back he probably would have been fine with giving us a reduced rate...but he's just not someone you want to even have a discussion like that with!
We had heard from Big Steve at Cinnamon Bay that the showers at Ivan's are supposed to work but hadn't been while he was there, so we sort of assumed that between the time he left and the time we arrived whatever problem there was with the pipes would have been resolved. True to its nature as the most laid-back place on earth, no one had bothered looking into that!
As for the kitchen, we actually started unpacking our food in the proper kitchen, assuming it was the communal kitchen. I washed my hands there, and there was running water. (And lots of space in the fridge!) That's when someone living there noticed what we were doing and let us know that kitchen wasn't for us! It's right in front of the bar so there wouldn't really be any way to use it without someone noticing. It's definitely a very stress-free place, but not to the extent that there are zero rules! Camping at Ivan's costs $20/day, which we paid on the last day when we happened to see Ivan. We might have been able to bargain considering the water situation, but if you ever meet Ivan you'll see why we wouldn't. He's just way too...unbelievably nice. He's so laid back he probably would have been fine with giving us a reduced rate...but he's just not someone you want to even have a discussion like that with!
Mar 27th, 2007, 03:17 AM
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Great trip report, very honest.
Some people rave about Ivan's (maybe day trippers) but we met this one couple while there a couple months who were staying at Ivans and called it dirty and were looking for other accomodations.
Did you manage to spend any time over at Foxy's or on the rest of White Bay??
Thefood thing is a challenge over there and probably a 2-3 day trip is best for us!
And yes, that hill is a killer! We have done it several times.
The man who taxi'd you over was probably Foxy's son!
Some people rave about Ivan's (maybe day trippers) but we met this one couple while there a couple months who were staying at Ivans and called it dirty and were looking for other accomodations.
Did you manage to spend any time over at Foxy's or on the rest of White Bay??
Thefood thing is a challenge over there and probably a 2-3 day trip is best for us!
And yes, that hill is a killer! We have done it several times.
The man who taxi'd you over was probably Foxy's son!
Mar 27th, 2007, 04:53 AM
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Thanks for the TR. I really enjoyed it. Bummer about your ferry experience. They really do dictate your schedule in the VI's. We went to confirm the ferry schedule to Jost a few days early and went to the main dock also. We then found out about the other dock by the National Park building. I agree that was Foxy's son Greg Callwood. He must have the "snazziest" taxi on the island.
Mar 27th, 2007, 06:13 AM
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Hi soggydollar, I definitely think if there had been running water we could have handled the rest of it (dirty kitchen) - the beach was so empty, and we got to sleep right on it! But not being able to really clean your hands...that was too much! Unfortunately we didn't make it to Foxy's, other than to find a taxi when we first arrived. We had brought all our own food and a bottle of rum so we were pretty content to spend all our time on the beach. But when we go back on a higher budget it's definitely on our list of things to do!
I'm glad to know who Gregory is so we can find him the next time we go back. He was really nice - and yes, his car was super snazzy!
I'm glad to know who Gregory is so we can find him the next time we go back. He was really nice - and yes, his car was super snazzy!
Jul 28th, 2007, 03:38 AM
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I know this is an old post back from March,07.
I was considering staying at Ivan's Campground for a few days but after reading this review I've changed my mind.
The campground sounds wonderful and Ivan sounds like a great guy but that part about no running water and the kitchen being so disgusting is a definite turn-off for me.
Too bad they don't make sure it's clean.
Yuk.
Debbie
I was considering staying at Ivan's Campground for a few days but after reading this review I've changed my mind.
The campground sounds wonderful and Ivan sounds like a great guy but that part about no running water and the kitchen being so disgusting is a definite turn-off for me.
Too bad they don't make sure it's clean.
Yuk.
Debbie
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