ltbbhts

Hi -

We (myself, DH, 3yo DD) are in the early planning stages of a February trip to St John. We've stayed on Jost Van Dyke (pre-baby) and Anguilla and Provo with the kiddo, but have concluded that Anguilla is too much hassle and Provo not quite warm enough. We loved Jost - the water was perfect, and we stayed at the little place by the Soggy Dollar, so we're clearly not hung up on super luxury - but with DD we need a kitchen and easy (but not too easy, for safety reasons) access to a pool. We're considering a 1 bedroom unit at Grande Bay for 5 nights, with a night in St Thomas either on the arriving or departing end. My preference is for arrival so we can stock up on groceries, rent a car at the airport etc. Any tips for a place to stay 1 night on STT? We'd be okay with a hotel for 1 night. Tips for shopping for supplies on STT/STJ? Restaurant and beach recs? I may do some snorkeling, DD will just want very calm warm water. Can we rent a crib on STJ? (we may invest in an inflatable toddler bed) ANything to avoid? TIA!

virginia

have not stayed on st.john so can't help with nights there. if you're going to rent a car on st. thomas and take the car ferry from red hook you're going to pass a large grocery store on your left about 5-10 mins before you come to red hook. this store has a liqour dept as well. it's called Food Center. (you'll also go by cost-u-less but it's more bulk things) there is also a more deli-ish grocery, the Marina Market just across from the ferry with nice cheeses & maybe better meats. maybe bring a soft sided cooler with you?
tips: we always buy a case of water bottles. they will easily freeze overnight and thus stay cool in the heat when you take them to the beach. determine if your condo/villa has a bbq for you to use as we find this makes a huge difference in menu planning. we actually travel with a full size cooler but also take things like pb&j, coffee/tea, goldfish, tuna in our checked luggage. maybe bring a ziploc full of dd favorite cereal a/or mac & cheese? in fact a stash of zips is a good thing to have as EVERYthing gets stale as soon as you open it. do not duty free shop for booze - on st.thomas a bottle of rum or vodka is less than a gal of milk

re night on st. thomas. i've stayed 3 different times at secret harbour beach resort. i just love it. gorgeous beach, all units are condo style. excellent on site dining at the blue moon cafe. 5 mins west to grocery, 5 mins east to red hook. you can snorkel and the water is always calm for dd to enjoy.

i love my soggy dollar tshirt!

could you post a link to the inflatable bed? i know a few ppl who might be interested.

hawksbill

For what it's worth, there's also a Kmart on St. Thomas.

Your shopping options on STJ are more limited. The best supermarket on STJ is Starfish Market, which is located in the Marketplace shopping center, just outside of Cruz Bay, but it's not as large as the bigger supermarkets on St. Thomas, and the meats and produce aren't as good as you'll find at Marina Market. The Marketplace also has Chelsea Drug Store, which is pretty big, and your best choice for that sort of supplies on St. John.

The St. John beach for you is Maho Bay. Maho will usually have the calmest water on the North Shore, particularly in February. The sand slopes out very gently into the water, so that one can easily play in water just a few inches deep, or walk relatively far out and still be in water only up to your ankles. There are little jack fish that often swim over and say hello. It's perfect for the little ones. For you, there's pretty good snorkeling, usually better by the reef on the right side than the one on the left (as you face out into the water). If you decide to snorkel back and forth across the more sparsely populated grassy areas in the middle, you'll eventually find turtles and stingray. The one thing that you may miss at Maho is facilities (i.e. bathrooms, food, gift shop). There are none at Maho. There's not even a parking lot -- you have to just park by the side of the road. Also, if you drive out to Maho on the North Shore Road (which you will presumably do), you'll have to drive through the switchbacks. That's no big deal for most people, but people who are especially skittish about driving on hills may want to be in the passenger seat for that part of the drive.

Me personally, I'd skip the night on St. Thomas and head straight to St. John, unless you need the night on St. Thomas for logistical reasons (renting a jeep, picking up supplies, etc.)

ltbbhts

Thanks! Will definitely check out Maho - we are thinking of getting one of those cool iSnorkel window floats for her to look at some fish (DH will probably use it too, he hates snorkels). I'm not too worried about the lack of facilities since we're still in the potty training stage and the Potette is a miraculous revelation. (DH and I will just have to hydrate judiciously.)

Secret Harbour looks promising for STT. The point of staying one night on STT is to get ourselves organized and supplied, and also so we can basically get right off the plane and into the water. Last year's slog from STM to the van to the boat to Anguilla to the taxi to the resort ate up the whole day, and mama and baby were cranky. (I know, poor us.)

The inflatable bed I've been looking at is this one, though there are several on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Shrunks-Anywhe...ef=pd_sbs_ba_5

We have a PeaPod and may use that if she's cool with the tent still - haven't tried it in a while.

If we wanted to rent a car seat instead of bringing it on the plane (we use a CARES harness when we're traveling somewhere that we know there's a good car seat on the other end) would Hertz/Budget on STT reliably have one that's not too sketchy? I'd hate to get there and find they ran out or something.

brenandg

Here is a website that you can rent a crib from.

http://www.islandbabyvi.com/

We have stayed at Grande Bay and liked it. It is really just steps from town. Restaurant recs that are kid friendly really are most except the upscale dining. We like The Banana Deck, Cafe Roma, The Lime Inn. Joe's BBQ for take out is also good and reasonably priced. Haven't been yet, but La Plancha Del Mar gets rave reviews. If you like spicy food, then definitely Rhumblines. There are a couple of place to get pizza, Cafe Roma, Ronnie's Pizza and Joe's Rum Hut is currently expanding their kitchen to include pizza. All of these are walking distance from Grande Bay. For authentic island cuisine, Shela's Pot right across from the ferry dock is good. It's just a little kiosk. In Coral Bay, definitely The Tourist Trap and Skinny Legs. Tourist Trap is only open until dark. La Tapa in Cruz Bay also very good but not sure how kid friendly the food is. Another suggestion is The Beach Bar. You can sit on the beach and your DD can play in the sand. Some restaurants come and go pretty quick on STJ. These have been solid every trip.

In addition to Maho Beach, Trunk Bay and Hawksnest are good for kids. Hawksnest usually has a lot of local kids playing. They have a little picnic are there that the local often use. If you take a drive to the east end, Vies Beach is really nice and calm and she has beach chairs there.

hawksbill

It is worth noting that Hawksnest and Trunk Bay, unlike Maho, have some facilities. Besides the picnic tables, Hawksnest has a paved parking lot that almost never fills up. Brenandg, does Hawksnest have changing rooms and a bathroom too? I can't remember.

Trunk Bay, on the other hand, has everything. Bathrooms, picnic area, gift shop, snack bar... the works. You have to pay a few dollars just to get in. It's the most famous beach on St. John, and one of the most famous beaches in the Caribbean. Be sure to pause at the turnout on North Shore Road just before you get there, and take in the famous view, which you'll frequently see all over the Fodors web site, among other places. Trunk has a large parking lot that's often so jam-packed that you can't even park there. Cars park in non-spaces, making it hard to get around, and they spill out, sometimes dangerously, onto North Shore Road. During the day, the beach is mobbed by hundreds of people who spill out of cruise ships on St. Thomas, and are brought over, like waves of attacking Marines, on armadas of ferries and convoys of taxis. Dozens of first-time snorkelers don life jackets and take to the famous (though not very exciting) underwater snorkel trail. You would think they'd scare all the fish away, and destroy centuries-old coral with their inexperienced thrashing fins, but actually the snorkeling is quite good at Trunk Bay, in my experience, particularly if you stay on the leeward side of the little island.

I have snorkeled at Hawksnest a few times, but never with good results. Besides a lack of fish, the water just tends to be a bit choppy. Neither of these beaches can come anywhere close to Maho in terms of the calmness of the water, and the gradual slope of the sand into the sea. They're both closer to town, however. Hawksnest is the first public North Shore beach from Cruz Bay, which I guess is why locals sometimes go there.

I have never been to Vie's Beach. I assume this is the "private" beach by Vie's Snack Shack? Do you gain access by paying Vie herself? I have been to Vie's only once. It was fun to see all the animals walking around and everything, but the food was heavily deep-fried and not very good, in my opinion. And Vie herself was kind of brusque.

brenandg

I'll try and answer some of the questions. Hawksnest does not have changing facilities, but I'm pretty sure they have some sort of porta potty facility that I have not used. I agree that Trunk Bay can get "crowded" by St John standards. But, it is one of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean. We had not gone there in the last few trips but went last November. I realy think I forgot some of the beauty of it until I was there again. Maybe it is because we go on off/shoulder season, it has not been unbearably crowded for us. There is a little cove at the far left if facing the water with some big black rocks that no one seems to bother to walk down too. At any rate, it is gorgeous and worth a visit for first timers. The fee pp last year was $4, not sure about kid price. I agree that there probably isn't a beach as calm and shallow as Maho. There are also alot of pelicans there which can be fun to watch.

As to the Vie's question, the beach is across the road from her "snack shack". It is Hansen Bay. There is a $2.50 fee pp and if Vie is not there, there is a box by the gate where you leave the fee. Honor system . Lets be clear here, Vie's is kind of a different experience. Walking past a grave and some rusty crap to get there might not be everyone's idea of a nice beach! But, when you get there the setting is beautiful and I even love the ratty beah loungers. There were only two people there last time besides us. I have never tried the food at Vie's shack. It doesn't sound like my thing. We did however get some Red Stripes from her to have on the beach .

hawksbill

Thanks brenandg. Having sampled the garlic chicken and johnnycakes, I'd say a Red Stripe is probably just about the right thing to order from Miss Vie. It was fun to go out there anyway, but it's certainly a long trip from Cruz Bay. I love your description of the beach.

For snorkeling fans: most of the time on St. John, especially in the winter, the swell comes in from the Northeast. With that in mind, if you look at a map, you'll see why Maho and Francis are usually the calmest beaches on the North Shore. And you can also see why the South Shore beaches, and beaches on the southern side of East End like Vie's place on Hansen Beach, tend to be even more protected. Also-I like to look for congregations of pelicans, not only because it's fun to watch them splashing into the water at high speed to scoop up little fish, but also because where there are little fish, there are often interesting bigger fish that like to join the pelicans in eating the little ones.

mnag

Great thread. We go to St John in April next year so will save this information for reference. thanks all. We have not yet booked a hotel for one night on St Thomas. We would like something not too far from the airport or close to the ferry. Nice pool (am not so concerned about the beach since we'll be spending the next week on St John). Maybe close to town so we can get in some shopping. Any recs?

brenandg

Our friends that we travel with always stay at The Best Western Emerald Beach. It is close to the airport and a short taxi ride to Charlotte Amalie if you want to do some shopping. Bear in mind that the shops are only open on cruise ship days and I believe pretty much wrap up at dark.

http://www.emeraldbeach.com/

Virginia also recommended Secret Harbor which is closer to Red Hook.

http://www.secretharbourvi.com/default.asp

What time do you arrive? Not sure I would bother staying the night on STT. If you really wanted to see STT, shop, etc, I would recommend just taking the ferry over for the day.

Here is the link to the ferry schedules.

http://www.vinow.com/general_usvi/interisland_ferry/#St. John Passenger Ferry: Red Hook to Cruz Bay

brenandg

Wish this forum had an edit function . Our friends overnight on STT because they travel a day before they can get into their timeshare.