Ken R

Planning a late November/early December honeymoon. Was trying to decide between a week long stay at Caneel Bay or the Buccaneer, but am now considering splitting the week at the two resorts. My question is logistics. Any suggestions on minimizing travel time/costs between St. Croix and St. John (know I have to go through St. Thomas, right?). How about this plan: 1) Fly Delta into STT from Atlanta on Sunday, take ferry to Caneel Bay first with the Classic Caribbean BeachFront package - stay through Wed.; 2) on Wed, take ferry back to STT & fly Am Eagle to STX; 3) Stay at Buccaneer Oceanfront Suite no meal plan with one day trip to Buck Island. 4) Leave Sunday out of STX on Delta back to Atlanta through STT. Any thoughts, concerns, suggestions??

Jim

Ken, let me temper my comments by saying that I've never been to St. Croix, but have been to St. John 6 times. <BR> <BR>First, logistics. Ferrys from St. Thomas to St. John run from 2 locations - the first is from Charlotte Amalie, which is about 10 minutes from the airport. Ferrys run about every 1-1/2 to 2 hours (I'm not sure of the exact schedule), and it takes about 45 minutes to get to St. John. Cab ride is a few bucks, and ferry tickets are about $7-8 each. The second ferry is from Red Hook, which is about 30-40 minutes from the airport, but the ferrys run every hour on the hour, and the cost is $3. Cab ride is about $10-15 per person. I'd go the Red Hook route as the ferry ride is only about 15-20 minutes. <BR> <BR>I've never been to St. Croix, but if you want to go, I'd consider taking a ferry if one leaves out of Red Hook. You can figure it will take you about 1/2 day to get to St. Croix with ferrys, cabs and airplanes. There is no ferry between St. Croix and St. John to my knowledge. If you want to go, you might look into hiring a private water taxi to take you there - might be more expensive, but it certainly will take less time, and while you are on the islands, I believe that you want to maximize your time enjoying yourself, and minimize time getting to new destinations. <BR> <BR>However, I wouldn't go to St. Croix at all if it were me. I think you'll find that St. John is paradise, and you'd have a tough time leaving. St. John has about 3,500 full time residents, and St. Thomas and St. Croix each have about 55,000. St. John is 50% National Park, so the majority is undeveloped (and will remain that way). Caneel Bay is a beautiful resort, and if you rent a car (I strongly recommend this), you can look at parts of the island that otherwise are not convenient to get to. A car will cost about $350/week. Yes, there are cabs that will take you around the island, but they seat between 10 and 20 people, and many times they will wait until the cab is full before leaving (again, I don't like to wait on others on my vacation). <BR> <BR>FYI - when we go, we rent a private villa. Usually it is less expensive than the resort, and gives much more privacy. Prices when you are going will be in the $1,500 to $6,000/week range. Downside is there is no room service, and usually no maid service (although that sometimes can be arranged). Most have pools and hot tubs, and all the conveniences of a normal house, except these villas are usually in the $1M - $2M price range. That being said, Caneel is very nice, and I don't think you can go wrong with that selection. Just depends on what you're looking for. <BR> <BR>You didn't ask for it, but let me give you some suggestions on what to do while on St. John: <BR> <BR>1. Skinny Legs. Outdoor bar with great burgers and cold beer. In Coral Bay. Our favorite place on the island. <BR>2. Colombo Yogurt Stand. In the middle of the island on top of a hill. Great place to pick up a picnic lunch, or to stop between beaches for a nice refreshing ice cream. <BR>3. Chateau Bordeaux. Since it is your honeymoon, this is a great place. Probably the best view from a restaurant on the island. Reservations required, especially for the best seats along the window. Pricey at about $100-$150/couple with wine, appetizers, etc. <BR>4. I'd forgo the meal plan at Caneel Bay. I've never stayed or eaten there, but there are so many good places on the island to eat, I would not want to feel obligated to eat there. <BR>5. Fish Trap restaraunt. Excellent fresh fish. In Cruz Bay <BR>6. Lime Inn. Also excellent fresh fish, lobster, and Wednesday night (or is it Tuesday?) all-you-can eat shrimp specials <BR>7. Lucy's. Out of the way place with very good west indian cooking. Between Coral Bay on your way to Salt Pond Bay, but closer to Salt Pond. <BR>8. Shipwreck Landing. Good place just outside of Coral Bay on your way to Salt Pond Bay. <BR>9. Beaches. I'd make sure to see most of these (in no particular order): Hawksnest, Little Hawksnest, Cinnamon, Trunk, Maho, Francis, Waterlemon Cay (our personal snorkeling favorite), Salt Pond Bay (get there early while it is not so hot), Leinster Bay (bumpy drive) and Jumbie Bay (avoid if clothing optional offends you). Of course, there are 7 extremely nice beaches at Caneel. <BR> <BR>Whew. Sorry for the long post. Good luck on your decision. <BR> <BR>- Jim

Cheri

The only problem with splitting your time is the amount of time you lose from your trip packing, checking out, moving, checking in and unpacking again. <BR>St. John is nice but we think it's a little sparse. <BR>St. Croix gets a bad rap but it's one of our favorite islands. It isn't crowded like STT and it has a little more than STJ. Enought to keep it interesting. There is excellent snorkeling at Buck Island, it's a nice day trip to take. <BR> <BR>We stayed at the Buccaneer last time and it was very nice. It had 3 small beaches and there was snorkeling right there from shore. The staff was nice and the food was good. We had an ocean front room that was large and airy and had a great view and patio. <BR>We are going again in Dec, but staying at Chenay Bay because this is my 4th trip this year and I can't afford the Buccaneer!

Karen

Since you are going for a week ... splitting between Caneel and STX, would be pushing it a bit. You will have to fly to STT (or STX) and check in ... that is day 1, right? Then half way thru the week, you will need to repack, check out, back to the airport ... not an easy feat from St. John ... fly (the hydrofoil goes between islands now only on weekends) ... check in and unpack (a lost day!)... and your last day ... departure day ... you will loose some of as well. choose one spot ... stay there the entire time and save the other for that first anniversary! Caneel offers a split between Little Dix and Caneel and their boat goes from dock to dock ... much much easier!!!

Louis

My wife says that a day traveling is a day lost and a week at Caneel Bay is not too long. If you must try another location you both will be delighted with Little Dix. Check out the Island Hopper under Special Packages at http://www.caneelbay.com. It is a very pleasant short trip between the locations and they provide everything. The Baths on Virgin Gorda is something to see and Little Dix is much different than Caneel Bay. It is smaller and in some ways more pleasant.

Ken R

Louis, Karen, Cheri & Jim, Thanks for the words of advice. My plans will have to be changed since Caneel Bay is solidly booked from late Nov to mid Dec. and I didn't book it in time. I'm in at the Buccaneer the first part of the week and may choose to stay there the whole week. However, my fiance and I still want to get to St. John sometime while we're there. They say it's a crime to miss Trunk Bay & the Caneel beaches if you hit the USVI. Do you suggest splitting time between the Buccaneer & the Westin St. John or just doing a day trip to STJ from STX?

Karen

Ken, I have difficulty recommonding the Westin. Although a beautifully manicured property, the rooms are quite small, the big feature is the POOL ... the beach is man-made and not so wonderful (I am being kind). I also dislike the balcony ... when you sit, you can't see over and a/c is not "optional" ... they offer no screens! No way around it, you have to go to St. Thomas to transfer between St. John and St. Croix. You know there are some lovely spots on STT ... and since St. John is a 15 minute, $3 ferry ride from Red Hook, you might want to consider doing that and day tripping to STJ ... that's what I would do rather than pay the Westin's price if I could not get into Caneel! Trunk is beautiful but certainly no crime if you miss it! It has taken a rather severe beating from the last few hurricanes and the hoards of tourists who flock there ... especially when the cruise ships are in STT.

Ken R.

Karen, <BR>Some great news! I called back Caneel Bay to get on the waiting list and....they had rooms available! I'm going to book there for the week and give up my STJ excursion. Now, I'm haggling over doing the Caneel Bay / Little Dix (BVI) split. Only thing is...the Island Hopper plan doesn't seem like a great deal as much as booking the rooms straight & paying out for the ferry. I'm not sure they offer the service off plan. Any ideas?