Favorite things to do St John and other islands
 

Just looking for any advice on things to do on St John or other nearby islands. My husband and I will be there in July and any ideas would be greatly appreciated. We aren't much into a nightlife but hiking, swimming, snorkeling, exploring, history... you get the idea, are things we really enjoy. Any secret gems we may not find or find out about on our own? :)

I would suggest looking at two books. Feet, Fins and 4WD by Pam Gaffin and St. John, Off the Beaten Path by I believe Gerald (or Gerard) Singer.

Our favorites - relaxing on the patio, drinking coffee, enjoying the views.

Snorkeling at waterlemon, blue cobblestone beach (1st time last fall after 6 other visits!), salt pond bay, hawksnest, and then at least one beach on the East End Rd.

We love the easy hike across from Cinn Bay. Easy, historic and beautiful. The Reef bay hike is fun. We've done both-boat back thru NPS and hike back up. I liked the boat ride better! Ram's head hike - HOT but very cool. Advise early morning, but we did it at noon. The Brown bay hike was great with good snorkeling at the end. Many other hikes but those are the highlights. I'd like to do all of them, but there are days where you just end up doing nothing. I forgot one of my favorites though, at Peace Hill there is a short hike to Denis Bay where there is great snorkeling.

I love to eat at Vie's on the East End, Skinny Legs, Island Blues, one of the Bar-b-Que places, Cafe Roma (may have changed hands) and many more.

This is off the top of my head so, I may have goofed up on the Denis/Peace Hill, but I think that is correct. There are two Cinnamon hikes - one easy, one not. We've just started doing the hikes over there. I believe we did Margaret Hill which had a great rock that you could sit on and take in a great view.

We liked Annaberg and Catherineberg. Very cool old mills.

We also like to shop at St. John Spice.

If you want to do a day trip I would suggest either a trip to Jost for a day (either with a charter or on the ferry), but this would mainly be a drinking day, or you could do a trip to the Baths on Virgin Gorda. We took a day trip with New Horizons that took us to the Baths, then to a snorkel stop, then to lunch then to Jost. We've been wanting to go the Indians, the Willie T and Norman Island, but alas it has not yet come to be.

Now that I've given you my 18 (or so) favorite things - don't overplan, just enjoy.

Thank you so much for all the info! I'll definitely check out those books and the hikes you mentioned as well. It's just the two of us this time and we live in Colorado so hiking is pretty much all we do :) I really appreciate you taking the time to respond. Thanks again! Too much info is always better than too little when it comes to travel!

Bring your passport & head to the BVI's to visit the Baths on Virgin Gorda.

Thanks carrybean - you will need your passport to visit any of the BVI's (Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke, etc).

I forgot my favorite bar!! Have a drink at the Beach Bar.

Hi Amy,
Have a GREAT time! We loved Saloman bay-our favorite of all. It's a short 5-10 minute hike down to it, with beautiful palm trees jutting out. Just gorgeous.

Do do a day trip to the Baths and Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost Van Dyke. Not to be missed.

Let me know if you would like to see our trip photos, and I'll share the link.

Doh, I forgot. Do try a painkiller drink when you get there. They make the BEST. I've yet to find another island or place that makes them as good. And the Soggy Dollar Bar on JVD as it's told is the "home" of the Painkiller. I have to admit, they were the BEST!!!!

The nice thing about the VI is that you can take the ferry over to explore another island.
If you are interested in buying rum on STT, the Kmart has really good prices.
Skinny Legs bar and grill on STJ is a fun place to go and listen to people's opinions. There is a totally random collection of visitors there.
On Jost Van Dyke, Foxy's is a fun place.

I am not a SJ expert as others are- but now that I have recently been to the BVI's (April '10)I would not hesitate to say look for a day snorkel trip that will take you to Norman Island, the caves, the Indians, Willie T for lunch and even perhaps the wreck of the Rhone- a great day. We did it from Virgin Gorda but I truly do not think it would have been any farther from St. John. On SJ we also loved the peace and quiet-if you hit it like we did- of late afternoon swimming at Francis Bay. SJ is wonderful and you can truly go on a different adventure every day if you want to do so- have a great time!

The two books previously mentioned are KEY. Get them.

Snorkle spots our favorites are Waterlemon and Salt Pond Bay

Reef Bay Trail (with the boat ride from the NPS definitely)
Ram's Head - as PP said it's a hot one but worth it...go early and bring water.

Skinny Legs for burgers, Island Blues, Vi's (conch fritters...hope she's open), Beach Bar in Cruz Bay for limin'.

For lounging at the beach my favorite is Little Lamesur - a bit off the beaten path.

We had a great time with New Horizons on their charter to the BVI's Baths and JVD Soggy Dollar for awesome Painkillers.

St John..former resident here..Practiced law there in 2007/2008
Just explore the North shore beaches with a rented jeep..the most magnificent sights in the world..For local travel advice to the Virgin Islands be sure to check out this local travel site.
http://www.travelaskthelocals.yolasite.com