muddymoose

First off, this is a great forum and I have learned much from reading about everyone's experience.

My wife and I are planning a trip to St. John but we're open to other possibilities in the Caribbean (or even the Pacific/Indian Ocean). We have a total budget of $5000 (though it's a bit flexible for the right trip). We'd like to square this away for November, but if anything goes awry we can wait until April or May to avoid the high season prices/crowds. This will be our first visit to the Caribbean, outside of a four day trip through the Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas last spring.

As of now here's what we want:

Few people (crowds are our single biggest no-no)
Little traffic (see above)
Seclusion (we hate people, okay?!)
White sand beaches
Decent-to-excellent snorkeling
Remote hiking through rainforests, mountains, and/or desert environments
Abundant wildlife (including exotic insects, plants, and marine invertebrates,,,not just the flashy big fluffy colorful stuff most people are into)
Freedom to explore (we're fiercely independent)
Rental Jeep (ten years of off-road experience throughout America)
A visit to a US National Park (all 59 are on my bucket list with 28 down so far...my wife isn't so partial)
Relative affordability (doesn't have to be dirt-cheap, but we don't want to pay a premium)
Relative ease (we're not out to a little island hopping to get where we want to be, but don't want to navigate a logistical nightmare)
NO RESORTS

As of now we're looking at flying into Charlotte Amalie, renting a Jeep, driving to Redhook for the ferry, and driving out to Coral Bay for a rental villa like this: http://www.vrbo.com/482620

We like the idea of a private beach with Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument right off our back porch. We like the relative proximity of the restaurants and stores of Coral Bay nearby, with the restaurants and stores of Cruz Bay being not much farther. The roads don't scare me, even at night. We're fine with cooking our own meals with the option of restaurants. We also like the proximity to all the high points like Salt Pond Bay, Watermelon Cay, etc.

We've also looked at Aruba (kind of touristy/crowded/sparsely vegetatedAmericanized?), Barbuda (too remote to be reliable?), Turks and Caicos, and others in the Caribbean. We've also considered Australia, New Zealand, American Samoa, and the Maldives (probably all outside our budget).

Ultimately my wife wants white sand and turquoise waters. I want exotic US national parks. It seems as if USVI or American Samoa fit both requirements. In particular it seems that St. John is the most economical for now. Does the above plan fit us or is there something else we should consider?

Thanks in advance for your input.

Jimmie

Sounds good to me. Wow, that's a nice villa. They're right that beachfront villas on STJ are relatively rare. Not too much in Coral Bay (see recent related thread) and the drive to Cruz Bay is a little farther than you think, and tougher at night. But it will give you the seclusion you crave.

Bassguy66

I think you absolutely nailed what you are seeking with St John. Coral Bay will have you plenty secluded. Renting a jeep an exploring is what STJ is really all about....so many secluded beaches, and some excellent snorkeling. Plenty of hiking to be had as well. My only suggestion is to look into your jeep rental on St Thomas and Make sure you are allowed to take it across to STJ. Some frown on it. Plenty of jeeps to be rented on STJ if that's the case. By far my favorite island out of many that I've been too, for many of the same reasons. I like people....just not crowds!! LOL

RoamsAround

St. John ticks off every item on your wish list with the possible exception of "abundant wildlife" - you'll find lots of fish around the reefs, plenty of birds in the forests, several types of lizards, plenty of insects (bring insect repellant if you hike the National Park), a few ground animals and of course the ubiquitous goats, sheep, chickens and roosters but the island is not a zoo.

Don't hesitate - book your trip to St. John.

eastenderusvi

The snorkeling at Round Bay is great. Lots of hikes in the National Park. If you go with the ranger guided one of Reef Bay, you will see lots of wildlife from spiders to bats. RoamsAround forgot donkeys and feral pigs...LOL

November can be rainy.

brenandg

If you want remote, East End of St John is what you are looking for. Just wanted to reiterate that it will easily be a 15-20 minute drive to Coral Bay and a good 45 minutes to Cruz Bay. But, it sounds like that is exactly what you want. For sure lots of donkeys there and the occasional mongoose. The roads are crazy steep and winding, but, it is one of the most beautiful drives! Traffic is a non issue on that end of the island. Vie's beach (Hansen Bay) is on Round Bay and gorgeous if you don't mind passing a cemetary and some rusted out junk on your way in.

iguanabeach

Don't forget about the iguanas! This villa does appear to have a wonderful "private" beach...even with your own beach, you'll want to attempt to visit the other 50+ unique beaches on the island! and as brenandg pointed out it is a good drive to anywhere - speed limit on the island is 25 mph! The curvy roads even make 25 fun to drive!
If interested in other options, our villa still has availability for November, will be a bit less expensive, closer to Cruz Bay and has a pool.
http://www.vrbo.com/466293
if you want a challenging hike, try the Bordeaux Mountain trail. You can use your jeep to get to the start at Lameshur Bay and hike up then back down. We started at the top, hiked down then back up and it nearly killed us!

muddymoose

Thanks for the input!

Although that particular villa is right on top of a great beach and snorkeling, we love getting around and seeing as much as possible. I doubt we'll be getting too cozy in one spot for long. It is nice to have the option to step out back into a great environment, however.

Although I would expect some rain in November, I don't think it would necessarily be a trip-killer. Some of the best times my wife and I have had have been in the rain. Afternoon showers or thunderstorms are especially manageable, I would just hope we wouldn't have an extended rainy period or a tropical storm to deal with. Trip insurance may be on the table. Or we may schedule this for the spring.

Is there a way to make insect pests manageable? The 10am-3pm window is also when other people are most common, and I would love to visit beaches near sunrise and sunset when they're most beautiful and less crowded. Although insects are a concern, does DEET or some other repellent work well against them?

RoamsAround

Yup, DEET works fine as do the "usual" insect repellants you can purchase in most stores (either at home to pack in your checked luggage or locally on the island).

brenandg

Deet does work well, but the main consideration with particularly with the mosquitos is the amount of rain the island has had. If there has been heavy rain, about 10 days later they are fierce! That however you can't predict. We have had 2 trips where the mosquitos were horrible!!! We actually were chased off Maho by them! I think November is a great time to go and it is usually when I travel. It's the tail end of hurricane season, the water is still warm, and the rates are still lower. You might get some Christmas winds later in November which can make for some North Shore swells. But, usually the east side of the island is calmer if this occurs. I'm leaving on Thanksgiving this year for a week .

greenie

Check out Virgin Gorda...less people than STJ...great snorkeling...harder to get to.

Peace Greenie

steviegene

St John is great. Coral Bay will fit the bill.

The only thing I would mention is that we were dissapointed with our jeep rental. We went several years ago and spent the week with the top down enjoying the sunshine. This past trip last year our rental company only had hard top jeep which have removable panels they don't allow you to remove!! So its essentially like driving a regular car - - just fyi.

DebitNM

And one more FYI - realize that diving is done on the left; the roads are narrow, DARK at night, steep, twisty and there are some pretty lead footed truck drivers on the roads along with the goats, chickens and donkeys. Just be careful.