Hello--- just returned from 10 days in St. John and had a wonderful time. I haven't been there for 12 years and was a little depressed by all the development, but that was inevitable, I guess. We did a lot of snorkeling which was still great, although the coral seemed really bleached in some areas. Waterlemon Cay is still my favorite and we saw turtles right as we were swimming out. I was suprised by how nice the snorkeling was at Caneel Bay...that was one of my favorite spots and it was close to town. Also hit Little Lamesur, Salt Pond Bay, Jumbie and the other northshore beaches.

We stayed in Paradise Revisited in Chocolate Hole which was located about 5 minutes from the Westin. Beautiful home with great views from a 30' window in the living room with a retractable screen. It's for sale for $2,000,000.00 .... I thought about buying it but ran out of money after shopping, eating out and buying Painkillers all week. I think I am now officially addicted to Painkillers and even found a recipe today which is not such a good idea since I am back to work tomorrow......maybe just one for lunch???

My favorite meals were at Cafe Roma and the Lime Inn. Also enjoyed the Balcony and Panini Beach. Good breakfasts at Chilly Billy's. Never made it to La Tapa or Stone Terrace which I wanted to try. Hung out at the Beach Bar which had live music the first week we were there. I have to concur with everyone on the board that Uncle Joe's ribs were fantastic as was the brunch at Miss Lucy's.

The upside to all the development, much to my husband's dismay, was great shopping...I loved all the island jewelry. The selection was really overwhelming, so I just bought everything I saw ( again, the Painkillers were a great help in this department.)

We rented a car in St. John from Conrad Sutton and it was nice to have their lot to park in as parking is hard to find. They gave us the SUV that we requested and they picked us up from our villa the morning after we arrived, which was very convenient.

But, alas, I am now home in Ohio and would be suicidal except for the 60 degree temps were are currently experiencing. I am suffering from a severe case of reality....my money is gone, my tan is fading and my hair color is destroyed from 10 days of snorkeling. So I did the only thing I could think of to perk myself up...bought 2 tickets to Negril for New Year's. I really need to put away my blender and get back to work!! Later......Lori

hi lori!

i loved your post. not only was it very informative, it was a blast to read! glad you enjoyed your trip.

I loved your trip report too!! We are going for the first time in 16 days

ltilson: Thank you for the wonderful report. Drats! Someone else who has seen turtles! I have to admit, I don't like all of the development going on either. Luckily, 2/3 will always be national park. The bleaching of the coral is due to the unusually warm summer/fall which kept the water temperatures too high too long. It's actually better now than it was in November. Hopefully, we won't have another bad season.
Brenandg: Enjoy!

Hi, Tuxedocat --- I was wondering about the coral bleaching when you said it was worse in November. Isn't the coral permanently damaged when that occurs? Will cooler water temperatures reverse the bleaching? I have noticed that more and more on our trips to the reefs in the last few years and I was sad to see it at St. John. That said, the off shore snorkeling in St. John is still fantastic, surpassed in my experience only by Bonaire. The only place I have ever seen turtles has been at Leinster/Waterlemon Cay. I saw my first turtles in 1993 and another one this week. Do you think the turtle likes the fish that hangs on his back and the little one that seems to be going up his turtle butt? I have always wondered what the deal is with those fish!

The coral bleaching if it hasn't gone "too far" (and this was how it was explained to me by the locals) is reversible. Supposedly, the coral is doing something to cool itself off in response to the prolonged high temperatures. I wish Robert would kick in about now and tell us what he knows about this phenom. We were there in November and January and some places looked less bleached out later.

ltilson: I love your style! Especially the way you deal with your affliction (or addiction) by booking a trip to Negril only hours back from STJ. I am envious of your spontaneity. I am glad you had a nice time. It had been 12 years between trips to STJ for myself when I returned in 2002 and I was amazed at all the development. If only I had the resources and foresight to invest in a little property back in 1990!

Itilson,
Glad to here that you had a good trip!I love St John and wanted to go back for our next trip with the family..but we are going to Grand Cayman instead.Somewhere new this time!We wanted a resort and the Westin on St John is a little over the budget for this trip.Maybe we will make it back during late Summer.

Christie

Itilson,

It was great to read your report--thanks. We love Caneel and are going back for the third time in November. What really jumped out at me was your comment about the snorkeling on Bonaire. Was it really that much better than St. John? We are going to Bonaire for the first time in October in our never ending search for the best shore snorkeling. Thanks again, Owa

Owa,
Have you ever been to Grand Cayman?
My family and I are going there in May and like you...we are looking for the best shore snorkeling.I have heard that the Cayman Islands has some of the best diving and snorkeling in the Caribbean.

Christie

christiegr,

Yes, we were in GC last November. I'm giving you OUR experience when I say we were hugely disappointed. Not only in the snorkeling, but in the fact that so many curise ships frequent GC. Maybe we didn't find the best snorkel sites, but when we asked at local dive shops, for the best locations, they named the ones where we had been, or they didn't give us any help. Maybe it is as some have said on this site--go to GC for diving. We thought we would see wonderful coral and beautiful fans. We actually found both on Vieques in December. We will go back to Vieques, but not to GC. I don't know if this is what you wanted to hear from me. You may have a totally different opinion after you have been there. Let us know. Owa

Owa,
I sure will.I will do a trip report when we return.

Christie

Owa....I haven't been to Bonaire for over 10 years but will always remember the beautifully colored coral and sea fans and the piles of shells that we found on some of their beaches. I hope that it is still the same. That island is very dedicated to the preservation of their reefs. I suppose that some people judge their snorkeling experience by the amount of unusual fish, turtles, etc that they see, but I am a sucker for the coral. That is what disappointed me in GC. We did see tons of fish, but I wasn't impressed by the condition of the coral. I did love the rays which I don't always see and of course, Sting Ray City, which was cool. I also thought the coral and aquatic life in Belize was fabulous, but you did need to take a short boat ride to the good spots. Another thing that impressed me about Bonaire were the people....so friendly and welcoming. In fact, this one local couple that we met invited us to their house and offered to give us their unborn child since we didn't have children and they had "more than enough" !!! Usually people are just trying to sell us timeshares, not give us their kids Anyway, I think you will really enjoy the island. It is very stark and desert-like compared to some islands, but very beautiful in it's own way. Be sure to check out the pink flamingos in the National Park sanctuary....it is something to see when they all lift off at once. You are so lucky....Bonaire in October and Caneel Bay in November?? That is quite the fall lineup.....have a great time! Lori

OMG how we miss Uncle Joe's barbecue! We're jealous. We would go back to STJ just for that and the beaches. LOL. Glad you enjoyed your trip. Thanks for the report.

Kris

Hi, we just got back from st. John's too. Sounds like we liked the same restaurants. Maybe we saw you!!! We stayed at Caneel & so ended up using their beaches most of the time & loved them all but speant one day driving to the island beaches but unfortunately didn't make it to Watermelon Cay!! We saw lots of turtles on Scott's beach on Caneel property & it was one of the highlights of my trip!! Funny about booking Negril, that is the place I keep toying around with too. Also Anguilla seems to get rave reviews. Have you been there? Wondering which would be best with 3 elementary school age kids. Thanks for the report!

That's it!!! I'm over the top with jealousy at the report of yeat another turtle sighting.

Our experience (based on several times each island): snorkeling best on St John; diving better on Bonaire and Cayman. Off-beach snorkeling not great at Bonaire, in part cause there's not much beach and in part because many of the put-ins are a little tricky to get to (over rocks, etc.) If you don't mind lots of scrambling over sometimes-treacherous obstacles, Bonaire is just fine for snorkeling too. Cayman good too-- but imo doesn't hold a candle to Virgin Islands.
Have fun!

Mae,
I was thinking of you because of all the turtle sightings that people have had.I am hoping that on your next trip..you will see a whole bunch of them!

Christie

Mae,
Also go to the grassy area at Francis bay and I would bet that you will see some there.

Christie

Thanks, Christie. I think I'm going to have to stake out a location like a fan waiting for a rock star sighting. Oh well, I suppose there are few more delightful frustrations to have in life.