Due to expense, we will be at the Emerald Beach Hotel on Lindbergh Bay. Does anyone know if this is an alright place to stay? Is the bay clear enough to do good snorkling in? What restaurants around St. Thomas are favorites for local cuisine? I've heard of Craig and Sally's. We will go to Trunk bay one day any ideas for charter for the day? Any info helpful, thanks.

<BR>In terms of restaurants on St.Thomas, I don't have any suggestions. But for an excursion, I'd suggest taking the ferry over to St. John, renting a diggy for a half day and taking it along the shoreline. Trunk Bay is beautiful but very crowded. The chartered boats anchor here and drop off large groups. It is a nice beach, but the others are just as great and you won't find many people there at all. Would definitely suggest Waterlemon Cay over Trunk Bay for the snorkeling! But the great thing about the diggy is that you can stop at them all! Will never forget that little boat ride, it was the highlight of our trip!

Hi Hayden, <BR>Don't know where the hotel is, but I know that Lindbergh Bay is around Frenchtown. One of the restaurants that we would have liked to have done around in that area was The Pointe at Villa Olga. I'm a huge Prime Rib fan and my understanding is that theirs is delicious and it's an open terrace. We heard the bartender makes a mean Bailey's Banana Colada and the Mud Pie is supposed to be great, too. I think if you are looking for a special dinner, this might be it. If you go, please let me know what we missed!

Craig and Sally's is in FrenchTown and not necessarily the place to head for one on a budget. Not much snorkeling in LIndbergh but you can drive or taxi to Coki Beach, Sapphire or even further ont he EAst End to Secret Harbour. YOu can take the public ferry to St. John and taxi to Trunk. No need for a charter unless you want to do it by boat but the boat charters usually head to the less busy spots that are unaccessable by land and have better snorkeling. If you need amenities on the beach, I suggest Cinnamon instead.

Emerald Beach is just fine.<BR>You won't see much as far as snorkelling is concerned but the visibility is fine.<BR>Just hop on the ferry from downtown to St. John for a trip over there and enjoy the far superior off-beach snorkelling there. The taxi drivers are very helpful. <BR>Trunk Bay on STJ is OK for a novice but it does tend to get rather crowded on a cruise ship day and there are far better unspoiled snorkelling places to discover and I'd suggest you take a daysail trip. <BR>One suggestion would be Captain Nautica (www.captainnautica.com) for a daysail to the BVI (you shouldn't miss out on experiencing the incredible waters and snorkelling while here) or check out &quot;Independence&quot; captained by Pat Stoeken at (340) 775-1408 and whose wonderful website I've misplaced...duh<BR>As far as restaurants go (and particularly since you're on a budget) you might want to try Cuzzin's which is downtown and serves excellent West Indian cuisine.<BR>If you want REALLY local flavor and the best fish, check out the almost-never-advertised &quot;Seafood Inn&quot; which is on the mangroves at the East End. You might feel hesitant about going in there but the folks are real hospitable and the food is great.<BR>No doubt that Toad and Tart on the Smith Bay Road (East end) serves the ultimate in prime rib on Saturday night. DEFINITELY a place to go any night of the week because Anna's food is awesomely good and it's really inexpensive compared to others. Seriously, you can have a fantastic 3-course dinner, served quickly and HOT for under $20 pp.<BR>Go to www.usvi-on-line.com for a bunch of info which you might want to research.<BR>Enjoy!

Thank you for all the responses. I really appreciate it. It is good to hear visibility is good in the bay. We will see lots of fish in St John. We are chinching on hotel, but nothing else. We don't plan on being there at the hotel often. Thanks for the good info. Any other $$$ restaurants worth a try? Thank you again. Hayden

I happen to like Randys and Lulus can be fabulous or just ok. There is a nice one on the hill in town and I can't remember the name...went for a great lunch,,,marigolds maybe? Maybe the &quot;resident will remember&quot; Right now I'd give anything for a cuban sandwich at the little shop in town just up the hill from Little Switzerland. We checked out Emerald Bay last time and it looked ok. There's also the Best western near the airport and brewers beach. Just take a cab to Magens or Coki. We love to snorkel and just take the ferry to SJ and one of the group cabs to Cinnamon or Trunk. Cheap and fun and pretty good snorkeling. Wish I could go.<BR>Cuzzins is good food too

LuLu's is long gone and the spot on the hill that overlooks town might be Malfolie. New owners/operators and reviews seem varied but the view is terrific. Inn at BlackBeards (in CA), Victor's HideOut, Alexanders and Epernay are in FrenchTown. Duffy's is opening a new place in FrenchTown that sounds interesting and not the bar scene like at the Love Shack. In town Virgilio's for Italian or out in Smith Bay, Romanos not far from the Toad and Tart - an english-style pub. Red Hook and East End have some good places - Off the Hook, Blue Moon at Secret Harbour and a new place, Roberts on Cowpet BAy. Bonnie's is there too for casual with music some nights. A vote for Cuzzins here too. If you like snorkeling there is one operator who does a night snorkel and then has a bbque dinner at his home after. Might be interesting to try for something unusual.

Thanks for the info. What about any of the charter snorkle trips, someone mentioned captain nautica, are there other good ones, open bar and all. Do any have transportation? What do you prefer St John Snorkle or BVI's? Thanks again, narrowing it down.