howlermonkey

I will be honeymooning mid-June 2004 and will stay in a villa/condo. I will be renting a car and was told that I would have to drive 20-30 minutes to nearest shops etc if I was on a certain bay. I don't want to be that far away from shops etc..What bay(s) should I stay on?

How many nights should I stay in St.John? What is better:7 or 10? Since I have never been to SJ, I feel like it will take me at least 2 days to get acclimated?

DeborahB

Coral Bay is the bay furthest from "the action" in Cruz Bay where most of the shops/restaraunts are. However, Coral Bay has some as well.

Cruz Bay is where most shops/restaraunts are so you may want to stay near it if that is important to you. If you have the opportunity to stay for 10 do it!

caribtraveler

closer to cruz bay is the best place to stay at, in my opinion.
7 days is certainly enough in st. john. you can stay longer if you want to but it all depends on the type of person you are. st. john is very quiet, laid back, not a lot of "action" as some people would like. i personally loved st. john and could stay there a month if not longer..but it's not for everybody. if you get bored easily (meaning you need lots of shopping, lots of night activities), 10 days might be too much.
enjoy..it's a beautiful island with incredible beaches.

Mermaid

I agree with caribtraveler. Since this is your first time visiting St John and you've already said you'd like to be closer to shops and restaurants you should definitely stay close to Cruz Bay. I'd check out Gallows Point, Lavender Hill condos, Cruz Views and Battery Hill
If you want a villa, ask the agency that you're working with to recommend one that's only a few minutes out of town. I'd also suggest looking at a map of the island and familiarizing yourself with the territory, it will make it easier to decide where to stay.
Good luck!

howlermonkey

I don't like to shop at all and I don't drink a lot, but since it is my first time on the island I don't want to have to drive 30 minutes just to buy some milk or go to a restaurant.

I am certainly not looking to "party" while I am staying in SJ at all!!! More am looking forward to hiking, snorkeling, sailing, boating, eating at different restaurants (they don't need to be high-priced to be good!) and swimming in the beautiful water!!!

I am wondering, though, if being closer to the grocery stores etc makes for an uglier view, more traffic, more noise in general??????

SillyGirl

HowlerMonkey,
Since this is your first time to St John you have no way of knowing that the entire island is very quiet. Even Cruz Bay is only about 6 square blocks.
If you want to be close to town for the sake of convenience then go ahead and be confident of a good time.
The last time I went I stayed about a 1/4 of a mile outside Cruz Bay had a beautiful view of St Thomas, no noise (except the rooster nearby, LOL) and no traffic. It's really hard to go wrong with an island that is 65% national park.

DeborahB

HowlerMonkey, be sure to ask about any construction going on near your villa/conda as you inquire. There have been a few people who ended up right next to alot of construction which put a damper on their vacation.

mm

While on St. John, a good place for dinner is Roma. The portions are large and the food is very good. I had chicken marsala and it was excellent.

It's just up the street from the ferry dock. You walk right past it on the way to Woody's Seafood which is a hot spot for happy hour.

caribtraveler

from what i saw, lots of villas were on hillsides with beautiful views of the water. make sure you get one of those if you pick a villa.
i have no idea about condos.
again, st. john is very quiet...traffic noise should not be an issue.