We're planning a family trip to St John in early April and are looking at the cottages in Cinnamon Bay Campground. Can anyone tell me about this place and also about the weather and water temperature at that time. There are 5 of us, all adults, and thinking about renting a car but found weekly prices of $450- $550. Can anyone suggest a less expensive rental company ?

Pag,
Check out Conrad Sutton's..we found him to be really reasonable.

The water temps should be fine for swimming.Cinnamon Bay is a beautiful beach and the waters are usually pretty calm there.Sometimes donkeys are on the beach and can be very entertaining.

Have fun and good luck!
Christie

I think it would be very limiting to stay at Cinnamon without a vehicle, although you can take the "taxis" (open-air vehicles that hold quite a few people) and the campground has some organized excursions to various locations.

St. John car rentals aren't cheap, and the last I knew, $350/week (before taxes etc.) was about the best you could do. Even that price might not get you a car that will hold 5 adults. Also, 4WD is not needed on 90% of the island.

Thanks to both of you. I checked online and did find a little cheaper rental at Conrad Sutton's. Can anyone tell me anything about the cottages at Cinnamon Bay ? I know what they have, electricity, bath houses, restaurant, but I wanted to know if they were kept up, in good shape that is, and especially if they are clean !

Hi -- I'm going to Cinnamon Bay cabins in early April 2006, too, with my 2 60-something parents and boys 3 and 6 years old. I have a pal who suggests renting a car in St. Thomas and taking the car barge over. This saves you a little on the ferry (about 50 bucks per car round trip, not per passenger) and you can get a car at the airport no problem. check out dependablecar.com. they're local st. thomas company. think that may be the way to go instead of taxis. Check it out. I'll be interested in following this thread! Thanks!

I haven't stayed at Cinnamon Bay, but did stay at Maho in April. The weather was good, but we did get a quick daily rainshower. Nothing that ruins a trip, but enough to make you dash indoors for a few minutes. I did find that the wet weather brought out the mosquitos, so be prepared.

We spent a bundle and rented a jeep. I think it's a necessity unless you are staying at a full service resort like the Westin, or are content to spend all day every day on the same beach.

I've never stayed at the cottages but would like to. They look well kept up and clean to me. I've been at that beach at night and after dark in Sept and did not have any problems with mosquitos or other critters. (Well, the Mongoose look pretty tough.)

If you just want to beach-hop, you could do the open air safari taxis. If you want to really explore the whole islands, get a car. I paid $350 for a Vitari and it took us EVERYWHERE....even mountain roads.

Have a great time!

If you go the St. Thomas rental route, I'd definitely rent at the airport with one of the companies which are right there, e.g. Budget or Hertz. You may save a few bucks with a local company but if they are not at the airport, the money you save can't compensate you for the added hassle of having to get to and from the rental place and coming back to the airport to get everybody else because taxis are costly there. If you think you won't need a car for the entire time, you could rent from a local St. John company on a daily basis. This would mean you'd have to take a taxi into town (about $6-7 one way/pp) but if you're only needing a car for 3-5 days out of the week, this might work for you. I would suggest a compact SUV like the Jeep Liberty or similar which can fit 5 snugly. The Jeep Wranglers may be too tight for adults. Cinnamon is one of my favorite beaches. I've never stayed at the campground but these cottages are really pretty basic. They are sort of modernistic in design and made of formed concrete. There are picnic tables and basic charcoal grills outside. It is "camping." I would definitely bring bugspray because it will get buggy at night. The weather and water temperature in April will be warm.

A couple of car rental comments:

Some of the STT rental outfits allow their vehicles to go to St. John; others don't.

Even if they do, you may have problems if you have a breakdown or accident while on St. John.

I believe some of the non-airport rental firms on STT will pick you up at the airport for free.

One advantage of renting on STT is that you can stock up on groceries at Pueblo before ferrying to STJ.

We will be visiting Cinnamon Bay for the first time from April 6 - 8, 2006 with another family, then moving onto a villa rental for another week. we are really looking forward to this trip!

We stayed at Cinnamon Bay campground with another family for 2 weeks last February and loved it. We have 3 kids (4, 6 & 10 at the time) and they have 3 kids (7, 11 & 12 at the time.) We are going back for another 2 weeks this February and are taking 2 more families with us. We can't wait!

Cinnamon is NOT for everyone!!! The cottages are really not "cottages" but 4-sided cement structures. You will be camping. If you have a sense of adventure and like camping I think you will love it. If you are expecting more of a "quaint" cottage then you will be disappointed.

Water temps should be 79-80 degrees.

February is the driest month on STJ and we had a few rain showers. If you get a lot of rain there will be more bugs and in the Cinnamon Bay cottages you are not as protected as you would be in a villa or hotel. Bring bug spray and maybe a coil to burn in the cottage just in case. Bugs were not a problem for us in February.

The restaurant on site got a lot of business but we never made it there. We either cooked at our camp site or went into town for meals. Our kids loved Skinny Legs in Coral Bay.

It is wonderful waking up each morning to the beach just a few feet away. Grab one of the beach front cottages if you can - spectacular beach access and view. Some of the cottages are in higher traffic areas and are not as private. Pay close attention to the campground map posted on their website.

Let me know if you have any other questions. We will be leaving again in 6 weeks!

If you're staying at Cinamon Bay, I have three words for you......"DEEP WOODS OFF" and lots of it!

Actually, anywhere on St. John you will need repellent, but the deeper you get into the trees the more of it!

We have been to St John and had NO bugs and another time lots of bugs. You just never know so be prepared. Be aware that there are LOTS of stairs at the campground, and I mean lots. So everyone needs to be in decent shape.