family vacation in st john
 

Hi--we are going to the westin in March for 1 week. We have 3 kids, ages 16, 14 and 8. Besides hanging at the hotel (we'll actually be in a villa), can anyone give us some ideas for daytrips, restaurants, etc. etc. Any tips would be helpful. Thanks and Happy New Year.

If you snorkel, I would strongly recommend Captain Cathy (if she is still there) who runs a 1/2 day trip out of Caneel Bay's dock- you do not have to be guests there. She is a naturalist - not just a dive operator- and gives you a great "hands-on" kind of tour where she tells you about what you are going to see then snorkels with you and points things out after she has told you about them. It would not be cheap for 5 but your kids would never forget it. If you are renting a car-jeep- your kids will get a kick out of seeing the wild deer, goats, etc. that you will run across on the way to Waterlimon Cay which is great snorkeling by just walking out from the shore- locals can give you directions.
We rented a little zodiac one day from the little beach bar- can't remember the name but you will be able to find it- in Cruz Bay and tooled around alittle- went over to Hawksnest Beach, etc, and saw things from the water. We saw- but never went on one- several big catamarans on "day sails" that looked like fun- maybe you might want to look into that.
The house we rented from Destination St. John had very helpful tourist information in the villa so maybe you will find other ideas there, too.

i think a great time would be a day/snorkel trip to Virgin Gorda to see The Baths. we did this and it's a wonderful day ! the kids would enjoy crawling through the huge "rocks" ! nice, reasonable, place for family dinner..Bananna Deck and Compass Rose ( pastory gardens ),which has a mini golf course. both are easy drive from the westin. Skinny Legs in Coral Bay is a good lunch or dinner..very basic ! since you have a villa Uncle Joes BBq take out is a nice option. we also went out with Cathy to snorkel and finished up on Jost.. fab day/fun,but i think the Baths are a much better visit since you have the kids with you !

The Reef Bay hike with the Nat'l Park service is a nice day trip. The hike is all downhill through the sub-tropical forest, past ruins of old stone walls and a sugar mill. You stop at the petroglyphs by a waterfall and end up on the beach where a boat returns you to the park service headquarters which is right in town. Enjoy!!

thanks...these are all great ideas!! Keep them coming......

here's a couple of water sports rentals...Ocean Runner/cruz bay/small power boats for rent www.sailsafaris.net , some great snorkel trips around the island. Noahs Little Ark....dingy/large inflatables .. can be lots of fun exploring the coastline. beaches on yor own.

Mt family enjoyed New Horizons II day trip to the Baths at Virgin Gorda, Marina Cay for lunch, Jost Van Dyke (British Virgin Islands. It gives you a taste of these attractions. There were about 12 people on our boat. You can also rent a private charter. I've read good things about Lion in da Sun. If interested in island hopping, think about thr type of boat you want to be on (speed, sail, catamaran), where you want to go, and it you just want to charter something for your family or join a group. The Westin must have a trip right from the resort.

To add a couple of things, If you do the Reef Bay Trail, you might want to look into scheduling it with The National Park Service. I think it only goes a couple of times a week. If you go with the NPS, they have a boat for the return leg. Otherwise it is a hot and steep hike back up.

We did the New Horizons II boat trip also and had a great day. For us it was a wonderful into to the BVI's You could also look at palmtreecharters.com With a group of five, it might be almost as economical. You can take the ferry to Virgin Gorda for the day for a reasonable amount too.

I pretty much agree with the restaurants for a family. Cafe Roma has great food and huge portions. We also like The Banana Deck, Sun Dog Cafe, Skinny Legs, and more. We love Uncle Joe's BBQ, but there is a fairly new BBQ place right on the way to The Westin. It's called Candi's. Haven't tried it yet.