St John Trip Report -- some info that might be useful
Feb 24th, 2007 | 05:29 PM
#1
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Joined: Dec 2005
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St John Trip Report -- some info that might be useful
This was our first trip to STJ (family of 4; kids 15 and 12). We owe a big thank you to Tuxedocat for recommending the New Horizons II boat trip to BVI -- what fun (more on that later) -- and many thanks to the other Fodorites for sharing insights and recommendations from restaurants to bug sprays.
A. THE THINGS WE LOVED:
Our villa high atop Ajax Mountain (Orion’s Hill booked through Book-it VI) with breathtaking views both east and west. We woke up to the first rays of daylight and relaxed with sunsets over St Thomas and Puerto Rico (yes, you can see PR on a clear day). If you don’t mind traversing steep and twisting mountain roads, the villa location, 1000 feet above Coral Bay, is ideal. Very convenient to North Shore beaches and snorkeling spots (the villa driveway feeds into the intersection of Centerline Road and North Shore Road) and terrific for exploring eastern and southern beaches and snorkeling spots. The day-time ride to Cruz Bay is only about 15 minutes by Centerline Rd, a little longer by North Shore Road. [For night time driving – see “Things we did not like” below]. The owners Doug and Sharon Ehle are very friendly and helpful. The villa has been 15 years in the making – a labor of love – with a few finishing touches still to go (e.g., paving certain parts of the driveway). The villa is very nicely furnished; appliances and kitchen utensils were new and clean.
The East end of St John – the quiet pace of Coral Bay was to more to our liking than Cruz Bay. We did a lot in and around Cruz Bay (e.g., went on a dive boat, took a day trip to BVI on New Horizons II, ate two dinners, shopped at Mongoose Junction, and went grocery shopping). Parking was frequently a problem in Cruz Bay. The North Shore beaches closer to Cruz Bay were crowded with parking limited or non-existent. The East End (including northern beaches toward the East End) were les populated, and parking was rarely a problem. The drive back to our mountaintop villa was substantially shorter and less challenging from Coral Bay.
New Horizons II high-speed boat excursion to BVI (Virgin Gorda). This is a fast boat that shaves a lot of time off the long ferry ride to Virgin Gorda. You can get to multiple islands in a day. As luck would have it, a cold front pushed far enough south to bring wind, rain, and choppy seas to the Virgin Islands. The winds exceeded 25 knots and seas were running 5-7 feet (nothing compared to the following day when swells reached 9-13 feet). It was an exciting ride but the sea conditions prevented us from engaging in a number of planned events, including snorkeling into the Baths at Virgin Gorda, and swimming to the Soggy $ Bar on Jost Van Dyke). Lunch at Pusser’s on Marina Key (BVI) was a highlight. We all agreed it was more fun zipping around on a boat than staying ashore and wondering what to do with a less than perfect day. On a clear and calm day, this would have been non-stop fun.
Sailing with Rick and Robin Gallup aboard their 40 ft Pearson "Long Distance" (operating out of Coral Bay). They are terrific hosts and have the cutest “crew dog” (named Kiwi). After a bit of a wild ride on a cigarette power boat (New Horizon II) we enjoyed a perfect sail in 12 knot winds, and found a great snorkeling spot in Round Bay – a place that is accessible from Vie’s Beach (see below).
Vie’s Shack for lunch (10 am to 5 pm but closed Sundays). It is a beautiful drive out to the East End location and the local (and limited) menu at this roadside shack is worth the trip. Other reviewers (particularly Tuxedocat) have praised Vie and her food (especially the garlic chicken, conch fritters, and beans and rice with a curry meat sauce). She was out of garlic chicken when we showed up but the rest was great. Vie owns a small beach right across the road, which is accessible for a small fee ($2.50 I think), with ample parking. She also runs a camp ground. The snorkeling off the beach is terrific – it was where our sail/snorkel trip went. Another great nearby snorkel spot is Haulover Bay – you can snorkel both north and south shores on either side of this picturesque isthmus (sea conditions on the north side may preclude snorkeling; it is always calm on the south). No matter where you stay on STJ, we strongly recommend an East End day-trip that includes Haulover, Round Bay / Vie’s beach and Vie’s Shack for lunch.
Mosquito Bites (Coral Bay) for breakfast. Creative yet simple breakfasts (rum / banana French Toast). Delicious, fast and reasonably priced. Nice view of Coral Bay with covered outdoor seating.
Uncle Joe’s BBQ (Cruz Bay). Tiny place near Ferry Dock (follow the smell). Only a couple of tables. Parking difficult. Yummy ribs with a sweet sauce.
B. THINGS WE LIKED:
Villa rental agency (Book-it VI). Cathy Dove and her staff were very professional and easy to work with in arranging transfers (airport/ferry taxi pick up on STT) and jeep rental on STJ. Went like clockwork.
The dining experience generally was uneven and our overall conclusion is that you come to STJ for reasons other than the food. We met a couple who regularly visit STJ and forgo any pretense of dining out, opting instead for “bar food.” Even so, we really liked Sweet Plantains (Coral Bay) for higher-end West Indian cooking, and liked Lime Inn (Cruz Bay), and both Skinny Legs and Island Blues (Coral Bay) for burgers and simpler fare. We regret not getting to Lucy’s and the Donkey Diner (both in Coral Bay) which locals raved about (time ran out).
C. THINGS WE DID NOT LIKE:
Parking in Cruz Bay. A royal pain. Public parking is hard to find (or even understand where public parking is permitted). The owners of our villa gave us several suggestions on where we could find day-long parking when we took our all-day boat trip, even identifying two spaces next to the Texaco station in the middle of the intersection (a place you would NEVER think was public parking). Early morning parking proved to be available but as the day gets busy – good luck!
Centerline Road at night. The drive from Cruz Bay back to Coral Bay at night is a challenge, and one best undertaken without any alcohol in the system. The cast of your headlights rarely lines up with the twists in the road. This forces you to drive very slowly, which is a good thing since animals frequently share the road. I was surprised one night to come across several cows sauntering down the road; one was almost hit by oncoming traffic. I had to brake for the following wildlife at one point or another during our stay: donkeys, goats, deer, and one very big iguana.
The costs of groceries on the island. We read all the comments saying bring your own food. My wife was skeptical – what could we bring and how to pack it (especially perishables like meats)? These concerns proved to be valid since weather delays on our travel day (2/16) caused us to miss a connecting flight in Newark, and our only option was to overnight in Newark. Our luggage stayed at the airport overnight. What would have happened if our luggage had perishables? What would we have done if the perishables were in our carry-on? We wound up losing a day on the island and losing one of our bags for another day. Any suggestions out there for carrying meats and other perishables? In any event, grocery shopping was a combination of limited supply and high prices (e.g., one tomato cost $2.65 at the largest grocery store in Cruz Bay). We pulled off a very nice home cooked meal of steaks (cooked outdoors on a gas grill) baked potatoes and salad, but that was our only dinner at home (over 6 nights).
Our rental Jeep Wrangler from Cool Breeze. The vehicle itself is poorly designed in many respects, including its four doors. The vehicle lacks automatic door opening/closing (no surprise) but locking and unlocking the rear doors requires sliding your arm between the side of the front seat and B pillar, and hitting an awkward open/close button (an odd circular pad). I was flummoxed by the design initially and asked the Cool Breeze agent how to open the rear door. He rudely said “you just open it.” When I demonstrated the difficultly of reaching around the front seat, he instead reached through the partially open window on the rear door and reached the button to open it. I pointed out that having to leave the window open so the door can be opened manually from the outside defeats the purpose of the lock. His response? “I did not design the car.” A true enough statement but hardly the way to make the customer feel good about the vehicle or the agency renting it. The design of the button is so poor that my kids often left the doors unlocked when they thought they were locked. Also, the switch from 2-wheel to 4-wheel drive was at times difficult, for no apparent reason. I would not rent a Jeep Wrangler or rent from Cool Breeze again.
Bug bites. We took a variety of DEET and non-DEET sprays and never used them because we never saw or heard anything in the way of mosquitoes, and barely laid eyes on any noseeums. Yet we each came away with a dozen or more little bites on our arms and legs. We think we were getting bitten at the villa, perhaps when we slept. But aside from the regular sighting of very small ants, we saw noting inside the villa. The ammonia sticks worked reasonably well (“After Bite “ stick).
American Eagle Airlines. Our return flight started with American Eagle from STT to San Juan, and then two legs on United. Upon checking in at STT, we were told that they could not issue boarding passes on the United legs. Much to our surprise, when we landed in San Juan, we had to leave the secure American Terminal area and go out to the public area where United ticketing was done – and then go trough security again. The airport was busy; we had only 50 minutes to accomplish this. We would have missed our flight but for the help of TSA personnel who took us up to the front of the security line – and even then, we had to run to the gate as our names were being paged. I purchased the tickets through Priceline and reconfirmed all legs of the trip with each carrier. No one identified this critical problem.
All in all, we had a great time on St John and really appreciate the information we received through this forum. We hope our trip report is of value to others.
Zanabill
A. THE THINGS WE LOVED:
Our villa high atop Ajax Mountain (Orion’s Hill booked through Book-it VI) with breathtaking views both east and west. We woke up to the first rays of daylight and relaxed with sunsets over St Thomas and Puerto Rico (yes, you can see PR on a clear day). If you don’t mind traversing steep and twisting mountain roads, the villa location, 1000 feet above Coral Bay, is ideal. Very convenient to North Shore beaches and snorkeling spots (the villa driveway feeds into the intersection of Centerline Road and North Shore Road) and terrific for exploring eastern and southern beaches and snorkeling spots. The day-time ride to Cruz Bay is only about 15 minutes by Centerline Rd, a little longer by North Shore Road. [For night time driving – see “Things we did not like” below]. The owners Doug and Sharon Ehle are very friendly and helpful. The villa has been 15 years in the making – a labor of love – with a few finishing touches still to go (e.g., paving certain parts of the driveway). The villa is very nicely furnished; appliances and kitchen utensils were new and clean.
The East end of St John – the quiet pace of Coral Bay was to more to our liking than Cruz Bay. We did a lot in and around Cruz Bay (e.g., went on a dive boat, took a day trip to BVI on New Horizons II, ate two dinners, shopped at Mongoose Junction, and went grocery shopping). Parking was frequently a problem in Cruz Bay. The North Shore beaches closer to Cruz Bay were crowded with parking limited or non-existent. The East End (including northern beaches toward the East End) were les populated, and parking was rarely a problem. The drive back to our mountaintop villa was substantially shorter and less challenging from Coral Bay.
New Horizons II high-speed boat excursion to BVI (Virgin Gorda). This is a fast boat that shaves a lot of time off the long ferry ride to Virgin Gorda. You can get to multiple islands in a day. As luck would have it, a cold front pushed far enough south to bring wind, rain, and choppy seas to the Virgin Islands. The winds exceeded 25 knots and seas were running 5-7 feet (nothing compared to the following day when swells reached 9-13 feet). It was an exciting ride but the sea conditions prevented us from engaging in a number of planned events, including snorkeling into the Baths at Virgin Gorda, and swimming to the Soggy $ Bar on Jost Van Dyke). Lunch at Pusser’s on Marina Key (BVI) was a highlight. We all agreed it was more fun zipping around on a boat than staying ashore and wondering what to do with a less than perfect day. On a clear and calm day, this would have been non-stop fun.
Sailing with Rick and Robin Gallup aboard their 40 ft Pearson "Long Distance" (operating out of Coral Bay). They are terrific hosts and have the cutest “crew dog” (named Kiwi). After a bit of a wild ride on a cigarette power boat (New Horizon II) we enjoyed a perfect sail in 12 knot winds, and found a great snorkeling spot in Round Bay – a place that is accessible from Vie’s Beach (see below).
Vie’s Shack for lunch (10 am to 5 pm but closed Sundays). It is a beautiful drive out to the East End location and the local (and limited) menu at this roadside shack is worth the trip. Other reviewers (particularly Tuxedocat) have praised Vie and her food (especially the garlic chicken, conch fritters, and beans and rice with a curry meat sauce). She was out of garlic chicken when we showed up but the rest was great. Vie owns a small beach right across the road, which is accessible for a small fee ($2.50 I think), with ample parking. She also runs a camp ground. The snorkeling off the beach is terrific – it was where our sail/snorkel trip went. Another great nearby snorkel spot is Haulover Bay – you can snorkel both north and south shores on either side of this picturesque isthmus (sea conditions on the north side may preclude snorkeling; it is always calm on the south). No matter where you stay on STJ, we strongly recommend an East End day-trip that includes Haulover, Round Bay / Vie’s beach and Vie’s Shack for lunch.
Mosquito Bites (Coral Bay) for breakfast. Creative yet simple breakfasts (rum / banana French Toast). Delicious, fast and reasonably priced. Nice view of Coral Bay with covered outdoor seating.
Uncle Joe’s BBQ (Cruz Bay). Tiny place near Ferry Dock (follow the smell). Only a couple of tables. Parking difficult. Yummy ribs with a sweet sauce.
B. THINGS WE LIKED:
Villa rental agency (Book-it VI). Cathy Dove and her staff were very professional and easy to work with in arranging transfers (airport/ferry taxi pick up on STT) and jeep rental on STJ. Went like clockwork.
The dining experience generally was uneven and our overall conclusion is that you come to STJ for reasons other than the food. We met a couple who regularly visit STJ and forgo any pretense of dining out, opting instead for “bar food.” Even so, we really liked Sweet Plantains (Coral Bay) for higher-end West Indian cooking, and liked Lime Inn (Cruz Bay), and both Skinny Legs and Island Blues (Coral Bay) for burgers and simpler fare. We regret not getting to Lucy’s and the Donkey Diner (both in Coral Bay) which locals raved about (time ran out).
C. THINGS WE DID NOT LIKE:
Parking in Cruz Bay. A royal pain. Public parking is hard to find (or even understand where public parking is permitted). The owners of our villa gave us several suggestions on where we could find day-long parking when we took our all-day boat trip, even identifying two spaces next to the Texaco station in the middle of the intersection (a place you would NEVER think was public parking). Early morning parking proved to be available but as the day gets busy – good luck!
Centerline Road at night. The drive from Cruz Bay back to Coral Bay at night is a challenge, and one best undertaken without any alcohol in the system. The cast of your headlights rarely lines up with the twists in the road. This forces you to drive very slowly, which is a good thing since animals frequently share the road. I was surprised one night to come across several cows sauntering down the road; one was almost hit by oncoming traffic. I had to brake for the following wildlife at one point or another during our stay: donkeys, goats, deer, and one very big iguana.
The costs of groceries on the island. We read all the comments saying bring your own food. My wife was skeptical – what could we bring and how to pack it (especially perishables like meats)? These concerns proved to be valid since weather delays on our travel day (2/16) caused us to miss a connecting flight in Newark, and our only option was to overnight in Newark. Our luggage stayed at the airport overnight. What would have happened if our luggage had perishables? What would we have done if the perishables were in our carry-on? We wound up losing a day on the island and losing one of our bags for another day. Any suggestions out there for carrying meats and other perishables? In any event, grocery shopping was a combination of limited supply and high prices (e.g., one tomato cost $2.65 at the largest grocery store in Cruz Bay). We pulled off a very nice home cooked meal of steaks (cooked outdoors on a gas grill) baked potatoes and salad, but that was our only dinner at home (over 6 nights).
Our rental Jeep Wrangler from Cool Breeze. The vehicle itself is poorly designed in many respects, including its four doors. The vehicle lacks automatic door opening/closing (no surprise) but locking and unlocking the rear doors requires sliding your arm between the side of the front seat and B pillar, and hitting an awkward open/close button (an odd circular pad). I was flummoxed by the design initially and asked the Cool Breeze agent how to open the rear door. He rudely said “you just open it.” When I demonstrated the difficultly of reaching around the front seat, he instead reached through the partially open window on the rear door and reached the button to open it. I pointed out that having to leave the window open so the door can be opened manually from the outside defeats the purpose of the lock. His response? “I did not design the car.” A true enough statement but hardly the way to make the customer feel good about the vehicle or the agency renting it. The design of the button is so poor that my kids often left the doors unlocked when they thought they were locked. Also, the switch from 2-wheel to 4-wheel drive was at times difficult, for no apparent reason. I would not rent a Jeep Wrangler or rent from Cool Breeze again.
Bug bites. We took a variety of DEET and non-DEET sprays and never used them because we never saw or heard anything in the way of mosquitoes, and barely laid eyes on any noseeums. Yet we each came away with a dozen or more little bites on our arms and legs. We think we were getting bitten at the villa, perhaps when we slept. But aside from the regular sighting of very small ants, we saw noting inside the villa. The ammonia sticks worked reasonably well (“After Bite “ stick).
American Eagle Airlines. Our return flight started with American Eagle from STT to San Juan, and then two legs on United. Upon checking in at STT, we were told that they could not issue boarding passes on the United legs. Much to our surprise, when we landed in San Juan, we had to leave the secure American Terminal area and go out to the public area where United ticketing was done – and then go trough security again. The airport was busy; we had only 50 minutes to accomplish this. We would have missed our flight but for the help of TSA personnel who took us up to the front of the security line – and even then, we had to run to the gate as our names were being paged. I purchased the tickets through Priceline and reconfirmed all legs of the trip with each carrier. No one identified this critical problem.
All in all, we had a great time on St John and really appreciate the information we received through this forum. We hope our trip report is of value to others.
Zanabill
Feb 24th, 2007 | 11:05 PM
#2
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 872
Likes: 0
Thanks Zanabill - I really enjoyed your report.
Our family will be visiting St. Thomas for 8 nights in June and we plan to spend 3 or 4 days on St. John. Our kids will be the same age as yours at the time of travel (our daughter will be 2 weeks shy of 16 and our son will be 12).
Any tips on what the kids enjoyed best while on St. John? Did the kids like the Coral Bay side of the Cruz Bay side best?
We had a reservation with NH II also, but have now cancelled it as we have decided to spend 5 nights on Virgin Gorda after our St. Thomas stay.
Thanks for the tip on grocery prices. I think we'll bring a cooler with snacks and lunch materials over from St. Thomas if we decide to do the car ferry (can't seem to come to a final decision on that one... car ferry vs. passenger ferry and renting a car for each day we are on on St. John).
Thanks again!!
Carole
Our family will be visiting St. Thomas for 8 nights in June and we plan to spend 3 or 4 days on St. John. Our kids will be the same age as yours at the time of travel (our daughter will be 2 weeks shy of 16 and our son will be 12).
Any tips on what the kids enjoyed best while on St. John? Did the kids like the Coral Bay side of the Cruz Bay side best?
We had a reservation with NH II also, but have now cancelled it as we have decided to spend 5 nights on Virgin Gorda after our St. Thomas stay.
Thanks for the tip on grocery prices. I think we'll bring a cooler with snacks and lunch materials over from St. Thomas if we decide to do the car ferry (can't seem to come to a final decision on that one... car ferry vs. passenger ferry and renting a car for each day we are on on St. John).
Thanks again!!
Carole
Feb 25th, 2007 | 03:18 AM
#3
Guest
Posts: n/a
Great trip report Zanabill!! We are going with our family of 10 in August (grandkids 12-18). I appreciate the food suggestions.
I am searching for a day trip to the BVI's. I'm thinking I would like to go with just our family so that we can pick where we want to go.
Thanks again, Owa
I am searching for a day trip to the BVI's. I'm thinking I would like to go with just our family so that we can pick where we want to go.
Thanks again, Owa
Feb 25th, 2007 | 03:19 PM
#5
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 32
Likes: 0
Zanabill
Thanks for the great trip report! I would like to take my family to St John as well and Orion's Hill was one of the villa's that are on my list.
We also are a family of 4- kids 8 & 12- It appears the bedrooms are all internal access is this correct, one on each floor? Would you recommend for kids are ages?
Thanks!
Thanks for the great trip report! I would like to take my family to St John as well and Orion's Hill was one of the villa's that are on my list.
We also are a family of 4- kids 8 & 12- It appears the bedrooms are all internal access is this correct, one on each floor? Would you recommend for kids are ages?
Thanks!
Feb 27th, 2007 | 08:01 PM
#6
Original Poster
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 16
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In reverse order:
Michelle763 -- Orion's Hill has two master bedrooms on different floors, both inside the same four walls -- connected by internal stairs. Both bedrooms are equipped with queen beds. There is a queen fold-out sofabed, for which the mattress is thin and as to which the owners have supplied an extra foam mattress. Our 12 year old daughter slept on it fine; an adult would complain. As for home safety and convenience, the layout was great. I would have no reservation for kids your ages. The outdoor decks are quite broad and are well protected by railings. The front entrance stairs were somewhat slippery when wet, producing one slip and fall in flip flops.
rxtennis: I don't know if the menu is the same at Lime Tree for lunch and dinner. Two in our family ordered the special fish entree offered that evening, a Jamiaca jerk seasoned whole red snapper. Great!
Owa: The NH II boat trip is a great way to tour the BVIs in one day. Highly recommend it even though you don't get to choose where you go (the itnerary is set, weather permitting).
Cawhite: Our kids especially enjoyed both boat trips, with the 1/2 day sail excursion getting the best overall review, in part because the kids got a turn at the helm. It was also perfect weather with a great crew dog. The island is so small that wherever you stay it does not take long to get to the other end of the island. So even though we were in quiet Coral Bay, the "action" in Cruz Bay was not far away. I think our kids found the driving / animal encounters pretty amusing. The kids enjoyed the villa, including going on the widow's walk (with parental supervision) which requires climbing up a ladder and opening a hatch. Not for everyone.
Have fun!
Zanabill
Michelle763 -- Orion's Hill has two master bedrooms on different floors, both inside the same four walls -- connected by internal stairs. Both bedrooms are equipped with queen beds. There is a queen fold-out sofabed, for which the mattress is thin and as to which the owners have supplied an extra foam mattress. Our 12 year old daughter slept on it fine; an adult would complain. As for home safety and convenience, the layout was great. I would have no reservation for kids your ages. The outdoor decks are quite broad and are well protected by railings. The front entrance stairs were somewhat slippery when wet, producing one slip and fall in flip flops.
rxtennis: I don't know if the menu is the same at Lime Tree for lunch and dinner. Two in our family ordered the special fish entree offered that evening, a Jamiaca jerk seasoned whole red snapper. Great!
Owa: The NH II boat trip is a great way to tour the BVIs in one day. Highly recommend it even though you don't get to choose where you go (the itnerary is set, weather permitting).
Cawhite: Our kids especially enjoyed both boat trips, with the 1/2 day sail excursion getting the best overall review, in part because the kids got a turn at the helm. It was also perfect weather with a great crew dog. The island is so small that wherever you stay it does not take long to get to the other end of the island. So even though we were in quiet Coral Bay, the "action" in Cruz Bay was not far away. I think our kids found the driving / animal encounters pretty amusing. The kids enjoyed the villa, including going on the widow's walk (with parental supervision) which requires climbing up a ladder and opening a hatch. Not for everyone.
Have fun!
Zanabill
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Feb 28th, 2007 | 06:10 AM
#8
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,532
Likes: 0
Thanks for the great report. Condolensces on missing the garlic chicken and Miss Lucy's. Oh well, you'll just have to go back! I know those cows well. There's also a gigantic sow that wanders around too. That's another good reason for the 20-25 mile speed limit.
Mar 7th, 2007 | 06:49 AM
#9
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 13
Likes: 0
Zanabill,
Thanks for your trip report - I will be staying at Orion's Hill in April and haven't heard much feedback about the villa as of yet. I had a few questions...does the villa supply beach chairs and/or a beach umbrella? I have also heard the villa has wireless internet - is this true? Is there anything you would recommend that we bring from home? Thanks for your help!
Thanks for your trip report - I will be staying at Orion's Hill in April and haven't heard much feedback about the villa as of yet. I had a few questions...does the villa supply beach chairs and/or a beach umbrella? I have also heard the villa has wireless internet - is this true? Is there anything you would recommend that we bring from home? Thanks for your help!
