We are planning a day trip to St. John from St. Thomas. We would like to stay longer, but will only be able to do the day trip via ferry. Any suggestions on a 1 day itineray for St. John? What are the must-sees and what is the best way to get around the island? Ideally, we could stay for dinner and take an evening ferry back to St. Thomas (if that is an option). Thanks!

It depends on what you are going for. Sightseeing? Beach time and snorkeling? Shopping?

St. John has many beautiful beaches . . . Trunk Bay being the most famous and the one you see in all the photos. Are you planning to rent a car? You could drive all around the island, stop at lovely Francis Bay, go to the picturesque Annaberg Sugar Mill (ruins) at Leinster Bay, drive to Coral Bay and swim with the turtles at Salt Pond Bay, a gorgeous little beach on the south shore )and less visited than the the beaches on the north shore).

You won't want to go back to St. Thomas!

http://www.vinow.com/general_usvi/interisland_ferry/

Here is the link to the ferry schedules. The last ferry from STJ to STT leaves at 11:00pm, so dinner is definitely an option. My advice for the day really depends on whether or not you will be renting a vehicle. It's doable without a rental for sure, but you will be pretty much limited to the North Shore Beaches and Cruz Bay. If you plan on staying for dinner, you might want to try Trunk or Cinnamon as a stop before because they have facilities to freshen up. If you just want to do a beach or two, a little shopping and dinner, use the taxi's. If you want to explore the island, rent a jeep. Let me know what type of dinner you are interested in and I can give recommendations.

St John. is fabulous and it is not over "touristy” in fact it is 75% protected by national parks, over 5,000 under water acres are protected, and it is unspoiled. There are two main towns in St John Cruz Bay and Coral Bay. Cruz Bay is the busier side of the island and Coral bay is a little quieter. But the two are only 8 miles apart but the drive takes about 25 minutes due to curvy island roads. I suggest renting a jeep to explore the island and yes you drive on the left but at the top speed of 30MPH. Bring a cooler with some ice and beverages/snacks because some of the best beeches do not sell anything. While in Cruz Bay don't miss Woody’s for some simple but great blackened chicken sandwiches; the Lime Inn for a nice dinner (whole jerked fish); and Sogo's for Caribbean faire (conch in butter sauce). While in Coral Bay do not miss the local night scene at Island Blue's for great food and good live music, Aqua Bistro for lunch or dinner, and drive out to Miss Vie's Snack Shack for lunch and some garlic chicken and conch fritters. As far as beaches go don't miss Maho, Francis, Little Lameshure, and hike the Annaburg Trail to snorkel at WaterLemon Key for starfish, tropical fish and turtles. My advice is to stay cler of Trunk it can get crowded and the draw of the underwater snorkel trail is overrated. No matter what you do I am sure you will have a great vacation! I have travelled all over the World but in the Caribbean and my two favorites that hold a special place in my sole are St. John and St. Barth.

Based on your suggestions, I think it may be best if we rent a car on St. John. That will allow us to see more of the island in a day. I am excited that dinner will be an option for us with a return ferry to St. Thomas at night. We will be celebrating our anniversary, so it would be fun to have a nice dinner, but after sightseeing all day, we may not look so nice! Any restaurant suggestions in/near Cruz Bay since we'll be leaving on the ferry after?

Neetse, glad you decided to rent a car. If you like to snorkel there are so many great beaches to choose from; Hawksnest, Denis Beach, Jumbie, Gibney, Francis, Haulover, Rainbow, Lameshur, etc. I wouldn't waste my time to stroll Trunk Bay, I would enjoy it from the overlook on the North Shore road. If you don't look "so nice" one of my favorite restaurants Uncle Joe's Bar B Q ribs & chicken, they are the best!! If you're clean Zozo's is awesome as is Stone Terrace. Being it's your anniversary and you're on St. John no matter where you eat it will be special. Have fun & enjoy your day.

First off, I would get an early start. How do you want to spend your day? Mainly on the beach or a combination of things? If you want to do a little driving and sight seeing, I would suggest driving Centerline to Coral Bay and either going to Salt Pond or The East End. You could go to Vie's Beach and check out Sloop Jones shop of painted clothing. At Salt Pond, you could take the short, easy hike to Drunk Bay. It is something to see. You could stop at Skinny Leg's or Island Blues for a casual lunch. You could then head back to Cruz Bay on the North Shore Road and stop at the beaches of your choice. Like I mentioned earlier, Trunk and Cinnamon have basic facilities where you could freshen up a bit. Then you could browse around Cruz Bay a little and have some dinner. Uncle Joe's is excellent, but not much seating. Cafe Roma and Banana deck are both casual and good. The Beach Bar also has pretty good bar type food. I read rave reviews of their "Tuna Down Now". If your main aim is snorkeling, then I'm not the one to give advice. Oh, and while Trunk is beautiful, my favorite North Shore Beach is Maho. No facilities though.

I wanted to rent a car in St. John for 1 day in January. I was told by most of the rental car placed they don't rent less than 5 days during this time due to the peak season. If you call the day before and they have a car available then you can rent it. I thought about taking the car ferry from St. Thomas as this is were we are staying but I have been told by several car rental places you can't take their cars on the ferry. Any suggestions. If I do find a rental place that allows me to use the ferry -how hard is to get on the last ferry of the day. If neither of these work out any suggestions?