jackiehammond

hello everyone,

we leave tomorrow for stj, and i'd love for your opinions/advice on our itinerary. you all have been so helpful in the planning. here it is:

sat. - arrive to stj caneel bay about 4...relax.

sun. - my husband will be scuba diving in the morning, and i'll be relaxing on scott beach. around 1, we are planning on renting a jeep to explore a little, snorkel a little, and go to cruz bay to eat and shop.

mon. - snorkel trip to the baths...might book the limnos, but my husband and i are very fast when it comes to exploring, so we were thinking about a 1/2 day trip with a captain with nauti nymph...we need to book soon though!

tues. - relax?

wed. - some shopping on STT on the way home.

how late are shops open on cruz bay?

thoughts on nauti nymph? i've seen some negative posts about them.

this may be a silly question, but will the activities desk at caneel give us maps so we can navigate around the island? is there a shuttle to cruz bay?

thanks in advance!

smoofus

Just got back from STJ, fantastic trip. 1'st you can get maps all over and it's very easy to navigate. There is basically a Center road, (10) that goes to Coral Bay, and a North Shore road, (20) that goes past all the North shore beaches. I get lost all the time in my home town of St. Louis and was never lost while we were there. To be completely honest I would skip the day trip and snorkel on a different beach on St. John. We did a different beach in the morning and in the afternoon every day and the snorkeling was just as good as on our day trip, and we got to set our own schedule, Have fun!! I miis it already.

jackiehammond

thanks, dave! i'm just kind of set on seeing the baths...

your info on navigating the area really helped ease my mind. thanks, again!

tpatricco

Hi Jackie -

We're just back from St. John after two weeks (I'm working on my trip report & pics).

We did the New Horizons II Charter which picked us up in Cruz Bay and took us to Virgin Gorda to visit the Baths, to Marina Cay to Pusser's for lunch, snorkling at Guana Island and then to Jost to the Soggy Dollar. It was a fun day trip. Small boat with about 15 people max. The Baths are a 1 hour deal and then you're done. Not that much to see once you've walked through that's it. I would be bored with a half a day just there. It's not a snorkle spot, just a rock formation.

I'd recommend NH2 Charter. We had a great time and kept moving so we had a little of everything. We were dropped off back in Cruz Bay around 3:00pm.

As for to do's on St John...

I wouldn't miss:
Snorkling at Leinster Bay / Waterlemon Cay, Little Lamesur Bay, Salt Pond Bay.

Hiking to Ram's Head early in the morning as smoofus said is great.

Hanging out for beers or drinks at The Beach Bar in Wharfside Village.

Skinny Legs in Coral Bay for lunch.

We're not big on dining out while on STJ, but there are plenty of folks on this board who can give you good restaurant recommendations.

Have a fantastic time! Don't worry about cramming everything in this trip...you'll be back! Trish

jackiehammond

thanks for your post, trish!

we definitely are still considering NH2. We were just thinking it might be cool to rent a power boat and do our own itinerary. this way we could leave really early, and go straight to the baths, and hopefuly be back by like 10 or 11, so we have the rest of the day in st john. i really want to do a hike, and with our trip being so short, it is hard to do everything we'd like to do. like you said, hopefuly we will go back!

thanks so much for the recommendations!

CaribbeanSoul

We have used Ocean Runners in Cruz Bay on two occasions and have been very pleased with the condition and quality of the boats. They rent Mako, center console boats from 22-28 feet. It is definitely a highlight of our trip. If you use them, see if you can line up a time the day before your charter to get all of your paperwork filed and do a walkthrough in advance. That way you can show up at 8:30 AM and they’ll throw you the keys and you are off! I highly recommend this for anyone who has boating experience. You don’t need to have a captain’s license and navigating in and around STJ and the BVI is really a piece of cake. Depending on the weather, see if you can get to the Indians off of Norman Island for great snorkeling, have lunch on Willy T’s in the Bight at Norman Island and cruise on back to JVD for a Soggy Dollar experience on beautiful White Bay beach. Time permitting….Sandy Cay off of JVD is a great spot to pull up and pretend you are on that quintessential deserted island. Amazing water! Remember that you’ll need to go through Customs at West End, Tortola for boating in the BVI and again when you return to STJ in Cruz Bay. Let me know if you have questions on anything pertaining to this. www.oceanrunner.vi

CaribbeanSoul

Sorry I didn’t read your post all the way through. I got too excited! I recommend taking a ferry over to VG for the Baths. It really is quite a ways to bareboat there and back….more of a full day trip plus Customs. If you charter a boat, I recommend you stick to an itinerary such as what I have indicated above to maximize your value and experience. A trip to VG in any fashion will most likely be a full day excursion. Remember that you are in the islands and tings move a bit slow, mon. Slow down with the vibe and don’t rush anything. It’ll ruin your trip!

CaribbeanSoul

Sorry I didn’t read your post all the way through. I got too excited! I recommend taking a ferry over to VG for the Baths. It really is quite a ways to bareboat there and back….more of a full day trip plus Customs. If you charter a boat, I recommend you stick to an itinerary such as what I have indicated above to maximize your value and experience. A trip to VG in any fashion will most likely be a full day excursion. Remember that you are in the islands and tings move a bit slow, mon. Slow down with the vibe and don’t rush anything. It’ll ruin your trip!

jackiehammond

CaribbeanSoul,

thanks for your posts. i didn't realize that the baths would take a full day, even if we only wanted to stay there for 1/2 hour or an hour. i need to get on island time, huh? there is just so much i want to do. i am so excited!

CaribbeanSoul

Sure Jackie! Enjoy your mini-vacation….you’ll love STJ. In fact, since you have only about 4 days….just relax at Caneel. There are several very nice beaches on or adjacent to the property. Save the sightseeing and other island excursions for another time. Take a half-day cruise somewhere like JVD and call it good. You’ll have more to do and see on STJ than you will be able to fit in on 4 days. Please post a trip report upon your return….would love to hear about it!!

jackiehammond

thanks! i'll be sure to post a trip report upon my return...in 48 hours i should be at caneel relaxing!

LittleSalty

Definitely take some time to just chill and relax at Caneel! We spent most of our time on their beaches (we went in April) in the morning (one part-day trip to Trunk bay; one day trip to JVD--do not miss the Soggy Dollar!) We headed into Cruz for lunch, beer and then back yet again to Caneel. The Beach Bar is a must! We loved Turtle Beach on Caneel...enjoy!!! I'm sooo jealous!

jackiehammond

hi LittleSalty,

thanks for your post! it does seem like caneel's beaches are very beautiful, so there isn't a lot of need to explore. thanks for your recommendations!

LittleSalty

jackiehammond--have a WONDERFUL time! Have a Virgin Islands Pale Ale at the Beach Bar for me in Wharfside Village