Pulley

We flew from SAV to MIA and then to STT. We had to fly around Hurricane Fay but made our connection in MIA with little time to spare. We used Chris' Taxi & Dohm's Water Taxi to get us to St. John and we will definitely use them again. It doesn't costs much more, there were 9 of us, but it was so much more convenient. We rented La Papaya for the second time from Destination St. John. We love the house and when we had a problem with an A/C unit they had someone at the house within 15 minutes - great service. Our first day is a pool day, rlelaxing and enjoying the views to St. Croix & Culebra.

Went snorkeling at Kiddel Bay and it was fantastic!! We snorkeld the entire bay. A little bit of a trip to get there but well worth it. Haulover Bay was another great snorkel and as always very impressive. We snorkeled both sides of Chocolate Hole and the left side, facing the water, is the best. Go around the point to Devers Bay. We had some STJ virgins with us so we spent a day at Hawksnest and it looks like the Elkhorn is making comeback farther out from shore. We snorkeled Caneel Bay's main beach. I've always only done the right side around to Scott Beach but after reading on Fodor's about the left side I decided to try it. I went all the way around the point to Salomon Bay and it was very nice especially at the point. We went to Cinnamon Bay and snorkeled around the Cay and the backside of the cay is absolutely beautiful. We took the first timers to Trunk Bay, it is a very nice beach, because they wanted to snorkel the underwater trail. My friend & I went around Trunk Cay, it was rough water that day. Then we proceeded toward the point and around to Peter Bay. This is a very hard snorkel, very shallow at times and with the waves moving in and out I wouldn't recommend it to novice or beginner snorkelers.

We rented two dinghy's from Noah's Little Ark and it was a great day. The water was like glass. We went to Waterlemon Cay and saw 5 turtles, the newbies were going crazy! The backside of Waterlemon Cay is teaming with fish and coral and the water color and white sand contrast is simply nature at it's best. We then went to Henley Cay and then to Honeymoon Beach before returning to Cruz Bay.

In 9 nights we only ate out twice, once at Woody's for it's great bar food and once at Banana Deck which was better than expected. Being as we are all from the town where the Big Chill was filmed we cooked and mingled around the pool late every night. The best part of the trip was seeing the joy on the faces of our friends enjoying what we like so much about St. John - it's beauty both above ground and below water. Already planning 2009's trip.

brenandg

Thanks for the report, Pulley. I can't believe you are back already. Time is flying. Sounds like you had a nice relaxing time. We are heading back the day after Thanksgiving. STJ is addicting!

Pulley

It was relaxing. My only regret is that Cafe Roma is stilled closed. I'm jealous of you already!

Tuxedocat

Thanks for the report, Pulley, but no STJ report is "longish" for me. I haven't snorkeled Kiddle Bay yet so I'll try it next time. It was also fun to read about your newbie friends. I know exactly what you mean! It's so great to share our love of STJ. It's like experiencing the joy and wonder again through their new eyes. That's the reason why I so enjoy contributing to this forum... to share that enthusiasm and to re-experience the joy when I read trip reports from others. Thanks!

WanderingTexan

Enjoyed the report and all the snorkeling info on St. John.

Thanks,
WT

brenandg

I agree, bummer Cafe Roma was closed. It has a new owner, so I hope the food remains as good as it was. We like The Banana Deck too. They have really good rib-eye steaks if you are in the mood for a hunk of beef.