St. John ... with kids?!
 

We are headed to St. John on March 5, our third trip to this beautiful place. But this time we have a 15-month old ... new territory for us!

I have no idea how to plan or what to expect. On both prior trips we went with another couple, stayed in private villas, rented a jeep, explored a different beach every day, snorkeled a lot. Slept late. That kind of vacation is over I think! Or at least the sleeping late is.

On this trip we're going alone, and staying in a Westin villa. It seemed like a good idea to be near the pool and beach and other families with kids. But we still want to rent a jeep and do our own exploring -- St. John for us is all about those beautiful and isolated beaches.

Do we need to haul a car seat down there or should we try to rent one? Are there things that I wouldn't think of that I should bring along for the baby? I would like some kind of beach tent or umbrella -- do you think I can rent one there?

We're not sure if we can snorkel -- it doesn't seem safe for one person to be off snorkeling while the other is on the beach watching Will. Maybe there's a family-friendly charter, so one of us could be on the boat with the baby and the other could be snorkeling with the group?

Ideas for restaurants, things to do, tips for traveling with a toddler? We're bringing a portable DVD player for the flight from Boston to St. Thomas, and I think (hope) he'll sleep on the plane.

But once we get there, I'm not sure how we should spend our time. I definitely don't want to sit at the Westin pool all week (although I'm sure plenty of people do just that, and never realize how much there is to explore in this magical place!)

Thanks for any suggestions!

Laurie
Georgetown, Mass.

I was in St. John last May with my daughter's family, including my 2 year-old grandson. We stayed at the Weston and spent a couple of hours one afternoon at the Weston Pool. Otherwise, we spent all of our time at various beaches. Our favorites were Trunk bay, Francis Bay, and Maho Bay. Each of these had calm water and very gradual dropoffs, which made them perfect for the toddler. Before we left the States, I bought an inexpensive plastic pail and shovel set that included other pieces. My grandson spent hours playing with them, especially the watercan that was part of the set, on the shore and in ankle-deep water. We took a car seat with us; there is a place where one can be rented, but unfortunately, I don't remember the name. My grandson is very fair- skinned, but we didn't use an umbrella. Instead, we used a lot of baby sun block and made sure that he spent part of his time in the shade under the trees at the beaches. We had a marvelous trip, and I am sure that you will also.

Laurie,

You'll do fine in St. John with your son. We are headed to St. John next week with my 2 1/2 year old (also named Will) and my 1 1/2 year old daughter). We have made the trip around this time for the last two years with no major problems.

We are also staying at the Westin, although we really only spend our nights there. We still go to all the great beaches on the island as well as many of the restaurants. With the restaurants, we have found that all have been very accomodating to our kids. We just try to go early, around 5 or 5:30, to beat the crowds and be considerate to others.

For this trip, we are taking both car seats. Both kids have seats on the plane ride from Philly (I have a lot of airline miles...) My daughter will be using her car seat on the plane and we will check my son's seat with our bags. We rent a car in St. Thomas and take the car ferry to St. John. With the kids along, it allows us to take a break after the long flight. We make the final part of the trip to St. John at our own pace, change diapers, have a snack, etc. Also, the rentals are significantly cheaper in St. Thomas. If want more details on the car rental and the ferry, just let me know with a response.

The Starfish Market has baby food, diapers, etc. and is well stocked with beer, wine, and adult food.

Right across from Starfish is the Chelsea Drugstore. They have all the usual drugstore things as well as some basic beach toys for your son.

Just behind the Starfish Market, in the rear of the shopping complex, is a hardware store. They have coolers and beach chairs. I don't remember if they have umbrellas. We generally go to Hawksnest Beach that offers shade for the kids. My wife usually drapes a sarong over the seagrape tree branches if we need some extra shade. Pack a blanket from home for your son to sleep/hang-out on. I take a soft sided cooler from home that we use on the beach for kids drinks and beer and sandwiches for us. There is a little gourmet market called The Simple Feast. It is just outside of the Westin entrance in the Palm Plaza. They do a nice job with sandwiches, etc. that we usually take with us to the beach.

We take turns snorkeling and haven't had any safety concerns.

The DVD player is a good idea, we do the same thing. We also take books and a few key toys. The trip down is during nap time and they sleep for a couple of hours. The trip back has been trickier, we have had to work harder to keep the kids happy. I would't worry about forgetting anything for you son, you can find most essential items on the island.

Good luck on your trip. Let me know in a response if you have any questions. Have fun!

I just returned from a week vacation with a 18 month old. t was great. We went to the beach every morning, back to the house for lunch & nap, then out for dinner, and back for bedtime. Very easy. My advice is to take along some sort of inflatable float or raft for the baby (we used a Swimways spring float), it works great in the calm water of St. John, and take along a beach umbrella (we took 2 in checked baggage, they came through fine, along with the pack-n-play). While we were there, the north shore had high swells, so we spent most of our time in the calmer water of Salt Pond & Lameshur. Maho was also pretty calm, and the water was very warm. A plus to Maho is that there is a lot of shade until early afternoon. The problem with a beach tent is that it can get hot--the umbrella worked well with bug spray. I'd be hesitant to book a snorkel charter, it seems so easy for a 15 month old to fall or be bounced out (from crossing a wake) of a boat. It was easy to take turns snorkeling, the water is so clear, you can easily see the other person.

Forgot to add that we also took a carseat (used it on the plane, the taxi to the ferry, and in the rental jeep on St. John). There is a baby gear rental place on St. John that you can rent a seat from if you'd prefer. I can't remember the name, but you can find them by calling any of the big villa rental agencies. Also, you will probably have to face the fact that you can no longer carry all your luggage. Luckily, there are porters all along the way willing to help out with the bags. Finally, bring a stroller, even a $15 Kolcraft. It's great for the airports, the ferry docks, Cruz Bay streets, basically anywhere you want to make sure the baby can't wander off. The airlines will check the stroller at the gate and have it waiting for you when you get off the plane.

Wow, this is fabulous! Thank you SO much for these really specific and helpful tips. Trust me, I'll be printing this out and taking it with me -- knowing for example which beaches have shallow drop-offs and that Maho has a good amount of shade in the AM is really helpful.

So a St. John beach vacation really IS possible with a toddler! (KrispyKreme, if you can do it with TWO little ones, we can certainly do it with one!) Would love to hear an update on your trip when you get back!

Does anyone know if we'll be able to get swim diapers on the island or if I should pack those? I'm assuming I'll be able to buy regular size 3 diapers there, so I'm only planning to bring enough for the first few days.

Petepie, good point about the beach tent getting hot -- I hadn't thought of that. We have one we could check and take down there but we've only used it here in the Northeast -- might not be worth taking down there if we can use an umbrella or look for shade instead.

I love the float idea. I'm going to go to Target and see if I can find one.

I hadn't even thought about the taxi to the ferry. We're going to spring for the Westin ferry this time (although I always enjoyed the other ferry from Red Hook too). So I guess we'll be in a Westin van or something over to their ferry, and I think it's just a short trip. We will have checked the car seat, though -- if we even bring one at all (we might just try to rent one). Think I can just hold the baby in the Westin van??

When we went to Montreal last fall, we took a couple short taxi trips and I just held Will in my lap, figuring it was only a few blocks and not like highway driving. St. Thomas roads ... I don't know though, hmmm.

Thanks for all these great ideas!

Laurie

We took swim diapers with us (small package), and bought diapers at the Starfish Market. I can't remember if they had swim diapers or not, but I'm sure they are somewhere on the island. Starfish had Huggies in stock, all sizes. A small pack (approx. 10-15 diapers) was $16! Also, a gallon of whole milk is $7. As for the carseat, I think you'll be fine with the baby on your lap for the St. Thomas taxi ride. If you strap the carseat in, they'll charge the baby as a passenger. We used the seat on the way to Red Hook, didn't use it on the way back from Charlotte Amalie ferry to the airport (shorter trip, too many people in the van). The roads are slow, so there is no risk of a high-speed crash. For specific information on the beaches, I recommend the book "Feet Fins and Four Wheel Drive", it has a lot of detail on the features of each beach, how to get there, snorkeling, etc.

The Starfish Market does have lots of regular diapers, but no swim diapers. You might be able to get them on St. Thomas, but it is probably easier just to pack some in your bags.

The St. John Beach Guide by Gerald Singer is a great book that has photos and detail on all the St. John beaches. I highly recommend it. It is available on Amazon.

Good luck with you trip. If I think of any tips while we are there next week I'll post an update.

I'm glad I asked about swim diapers. Now I have to find some -- we have some serious snow on the ground here in northeast Massachusetts so swim diapers might be hard to come by!

Does anyone think a baby-backpack would be worth bringing down to St. John? We'll have an umbrella stroller for just walking around, but I'm thinking for getting onto the beaches or maybe short hikes etc. ..?

We have one from L.L.Bean that I use here when I'm walking our dogs in the woods and want to bring the baby along. It's pretty big and bulky though. I'd hate to lug it down there and not use it but I'm thinking if we went to beaches where you have to park and then walk a little bit, the stroller isn't going to go through the sand so maybe we should bring it.

Krispykreme, cannot wait to hear how your trip was -- hope it's fabulous!! Please post when you get back!!

Laurie
Georgetown, Mass.

When we've been in Florida, we rented a jogging stroller which works great on the beach. You might want to check with the hotel or see if there are any rental companies with baby stuff. we also rented a high chair.