Planning For St. John in 2006
 

We would love to hear from couples who have rented the perfect villa on St. John! We are socking the $$ away for a big splurge and have never been to the island before. The only Caribbean we've seen has been off a cruise ship 15 years ago. It's been our dream since then to fly down to one island & stay a lovely, long 2 weeks.

I've been told that we can probably start booking about 9 months to 1 year in advance. There are a dizzying array of possibilities out there--I've been looking at online web sites for weeks and am exhausted. I hope that some fellow Fodorites can help us narrow it down to what would fit our wish list:

We want a very private home. It's hard to tell from some photos whether you're in a "neighborhood" or off by yourself. Would prefer not to have on-site management, but are interested in hearing if you did, and were happy with it.

BUT--don't want to be SO remote that it's a hassle getting to town, getting groceries, going to a restaurant, etc. We're mainly interested in snorkeling, exploring the island, possibly going to Virgin Gorda for a day, and lots of kicking back & enjoying the view. Want a pool, spa would be nice too.

We've heard that dealing with a property management company that is right there on St. John eliminates a lot of hassle--true?

Any couples that have flown from California & can tell us how they handled getting in late at night, going across the ferry, renting a car & finding the villa at night? We're wondering if it would be better to spend first night on St. Thomas and do all that the next day.

We're also getting very conflicting advice on the best month to stay there. We want to go at a quiet time & my apologies to parents, but we'd like to avoid a lot of kiddies around. We were thinking Aug-Sept.

Thanks so much for any help you can give us!

I'd stay in St Thomas the first night and head over to St John the next morning. I'd recommend going in November, you'll be past hurricane season which you'd be in the midst of in August or September and most of the kids will be in school.

We rented the Dream Catcher from http://www.caribbeanvilla.com/index.asp a few years ago. There are other villas around it, but it still felt very private. I would call them and explain what you're looking for, I'm sure they could recommend some villas that would fit your criteria. The beaches on St John are just gorgeous - have a great trip!

I second the recommendation for Caribbean Villas. We rented through them this past January, and they were very responsive and helpful. Our portable crib didn't make it on the flight the first night down, and they got a replacement for us (free of charge) for that first night until the lost baggage showed up the next day. We got our rental car through them as well and it was in excellent condition (a few scrapes on the outside, but once you see the roads in St. John you'll understand that's not a big deal! Inside of the car was very clean!). As for locations, if it's your first time to St. John, I recommend renting near the Cruz Bay side of the island, rather than Coral Bay or the East End. Cruz Bay has more restaurants for dining out in the evening and is generally more active than Coral Bay. I've been in April and didn't see a lot of kids, and just went in February (with a toddler) and there were kids everywhere! But the island is so spread out, with so many beaches, that even on a "crowded" day, there was 50 feet between people on the beach. Call the villa companies and they will start to steer you in the right direction for locations/villas. Another site to look at is the USVI-on-line.com forum, where there are villa reviews and lots of St. John discussion.

Anna, We just booked Dream Catcher for
November. Did you like the villa? Do you have any details or photos you can share? Anything would be great - it is hard to tell too how big it is and such.

Thanks!!

We have had excellent experiences
with www.caribbeanvilla.com.
Our favorite villa is <b>ARIA</b> up on
Bordeaux Mountain. Remote, not isolated. Very private.Has a dreamy pool and spa.
http://caribbeanvilla.com/
aria/aria.html

Cruz Bay was just a little too touristy for our tastes,we spent barely a morning there for t-shirts and some groceries. Yet St. John is quite small
and we found it very easy to venture
out everywhere on the island.

We fly from SFO or LAX and always do a red-eye. We stop in FLL and SJU or from
JFK get a direct in to STT. We arrive in STT anywhere from noon-2PM and the ferry ride is heaven.

You will be met by one of the CV&amp;R
reps who will lead you and your rental car to your villa. Oh, and in St. John
you drive on the left, BTW.

We typically go end April-mid May
at the beginning of the OFF season as the prices go about 40% off as well.

We also got our air through them-good fares!

I love St.John !!!
R5

Aug.-Sept is hurricane season. Probably better for low season prices late April-July or November-mid December. We've flown from LAX to Caribbean several times. IMO the way to go is overnight to Miami or San Juan, then to St. Thomas, where you can get in in the middle of the day. There is an outfit there www.cateredto.com which has villas. One is Terrahawk, which is up a driveway just above Hawksnest Beach. It is a rare find because it is actually in the National Park with minimal development nearby, and walking dist. to Hawksnest Beach, one of the fine north shore beaches with shade and wade-in snorkeling. Also short ride into Cruz Bay. St.John is wonderful!! Enjoy!

I heartily second Razzledazzle's comments about ARIA. My husband and I love staying there!! It is a lovely home in a private, natural setting, tucked away from prying eyes....perfect for clothing optional swimming and lounging ;-)! The views are truly fantastic....and if you get up early you'll be treated to out of this world sunrises over Coral Bay.

Actually, ARIA is located on Ajax Peak. We loved that it was only 5 or 10 minutes to the North Shore Beaches, and a 10 minute hop down into Coral Bay for dinner. Everything on St. John is 'close' considering the size of the island overall. Cruz Bay is just a short drive away, easily convenient to stock up on food or to go into town of an evening for dinner. Other than that, if you're like us, you'll spend most of your time at the beach or in the pool. If you are fortunate enough to stay at ARIA when there is a full moon you will never forget the sight of the moon rising over the water and the way it lights up sea!

We have stayed on St. John many times at all different times of the year and there really isn't a bad time, per se. No one can predict the weather, of course, but even in hurricane season, provided there isn't a storm brewing, St. John is heaven.

Have a great trip! You might want to check on ARIA's availablity if it sounds interesting to you as it tends to book up quickly!

Enjoy!!

St. John is a perfect vacation destination. We went with another couple 2 years ago and stayed at a wonderful villa -perfect for a couple or 2 couples...Drake's Lookout - the view was simply amazing (it's still my screensaver). The decor was so nice, private pool...private location - up on a mountain though...getting there was part of the fun - you'd need a rental car but that gives you the opportunity to explore the island and see a different beach every day. Pictures are at: www.destinationstjohn.com/drakes_lookout.htm
We LOVED it and are hoping to go back next year.