St. John USVI in July
 

Long range planning here - we are thinking of a family trip to St John USVI in early July 2014.
A couple questions -
Flights, are they cheaper in the off season? I'm not seeing it when I check now for this July, but it's getting pretty close.
Weather - from what I read July is not a heavy rain month, although it is in the official hurricane season. It looks like it rains less in July than in April on average. Hotter though. Is the heat really bad in July?
Rentals are about 1/2 the winter rates. Any other saving in the off season? Car rentals?
Are restaurants still open? We'll be staying on the Coral Bay side of st john. Is skinny legs open all summer? Shipwreck landing, or the Concordia restaurant?
What kind of things are going on for carnival on st john in early July? Looks like big parades on July 4th.
Thanks!

I'll try to answer some of your questions:

1) In my experience there's not a big difference in airfares during the summer months unless you are comparing them to fares around peak holidays. No one can predict what airfares will be for next July. Monitor fares and sign up for "Air Fare Alerts" on sites like Kayak or the airline websites. When you see what looks like a good fare go ahead and book it as it may not be there too long.

2) Expect daytime temps in the mid-to-high 80's F. with occasional forays into the low 90's F. The sun will be "strong" and humidity high so it will feel hotter. You might experience an occasion very brief afternoon shower - not enough to ruin your vacation. Hurricanes in July are rare - records show that since 1852 there have only been 6 hurricanes?tropical Storms that have affected St. John in July.

3) Car rentals will be the same as in High season - the difference is you won't have trouble finding availability. Doubtful you'll find any other savings.

4) Most restaurants will still be open in July but you could find a few that are closed or operating under reduced schedules.

Hope this helps.

St John Festival ends with fireworks over Cruz Bay on the 4th, but there are activities- boat races, parade, music, food fair, etc.- for a couple of weeks before the 4th. July can be warm, but then you can just go to the beach!

Thanks, the festival sounds great.
Was expecting lower airfare, but I guess the airlines reduce flights because of less demand.

Actually, Festival time is pretty popular. Lots of visitors from all over. Also it's primo sailing weather, so folks are flying down and chartering boats. It used to be that there was "season" and "off-season", but it has morphed into a couple of shoulder seasons (early summer and early fall) and September, which is deadsville.

This will give you an idea of the types of events happening during St John's Festival ... http://www.stjohntradewindsnews.com/

It will obviously change for 2014.

We are returning to St John in about 10 days and visited last time in July as well. The weather was great - a few rain showers but nothing significant - so we are hoping for the best this time as well.

We also stay in Coral Bay so I'm familiar w/the restaurants you mentioned and all are open and keep their same high season hours. Cafe Concordia serves just breakfast & dinner, and they do have a speical summer menu (it is posted on their facebook page).

Not sure about airfare as we are using ff miles, but we did get a small off-season discount on our rental car.

I've been in late June / early July several times, and from what I understand the hurricane risk is pretty low that time of year, but ramps up in September & October. You do get some rain, but generally the weather has been pretty good the times I've been there. Most, if not all, restaurants are open. Last time there I stayed out in Coral Bay, on a hill over Skinny Legs. Beautiful area, but a bit of a hike from Cruz Bay by car. If you've never been there, the roads are narrow, steep and winding, and you drive on the left. It's not so far from the north side beaches, however.