St.John's lodging
 

I am on stand-by and would like to go to St.Johns for 2 - 3 nights end of June. Beach and snorkeling off hotel are prime to us. Would like area that has trees and do not want commercial perks, service or anything other than a clean room (would like pool, but not necessary) Do not want to pay over $125 per night. Help! At least tell me what side of the island or area I should be looking.

Nina- Most of St John is a national park and the most beautiful beaches and best snorkeling are inside the park area. The only hotel on the water with great snorkeling is Caneel Bay- a very expensive place- there are two campgrounds- cinammon Bay and Maho- cinamon is a a georgeous beach with some excellent snorkeling- Maho is on a smaller beach but within walking distance of a few other beaches- if you don't like tents cinammon has concrete camping cottages pretty close to the water. Good luck. Patrick

Nothing to add to Patrick's advice/help except (being VERY picky!) the island is St. John, not St. Johns! The latter is in Antigua!

Caneel Bay is about the only one that I can think of that has snorkeling within walking distance. But you won't be staying there for under $125 a night. Even still, the snorkeling there isn't as good as other areas. St. John is quite hilly so you will find most lodging is on a steep hillside or at least quite some distance from the water. <BR> <BR>We stayed at Coconut Coast Studios twice last year and loved it. Coconut Coast is a villa on the water with all you need for a weeks stay (kitchen, grill, coffee maker, cooler, beach chairs). It is walking distance to town, though we rented a Jeep. I think it is around $110 for a 1 bedroom off season. Someone said they snorkeled off the coast, but the water seemed too choppy for that. <BR> <BR>Most of the beaches are on the north end (I think that was north) between Hawksnest and Maho Bay and can be reached by within about a 15 minute drive from town. The island is only 10 miles long after all. And there are plenty of eager taxi drivers to take you there. We found the best snorkeling at Waterlemon Cay and Salt Pond (on the southeast end nearer to Coral Bay). <BR> <BR>Don't worry, my parents still call it St. Johns. Any questions feel free to email me. — miler

H, Nina - <BR> <BR>I'm afraid everyone else is right on with their post. We vacation to STJ each year, and there are only two hotels on the island, Caneel and Westin. They are both very expensive and most folk don't like the Westin nearly as well as Caneel. Try condos at Gallow's Point to see if they have a vacancy for the nights you need. You really do want to rent a 4-wheel drive to see the island. You would be missing out on all the wonderful beaches and snorkeling spots if you choose to stay put for your stay. You probably want to stay on the west side of the island - both near the island's "better" beaches as well as Cruz Bay for dining and shopping. Feel free to e'mail direct if you have any questions.

Nina, <BR>Sounds like you have some good advice from the other posts. Just remember that finding a "nice" place for under $125 is a bit unrealistic. I have been researching St John for months, and the best way to go that I have found so far is to rent a villa. There are not a lot located directly on the water, and the ones that are waterfront, are more expensive. I would plan on renting a jeep, so you can explore the many beaches, and look through the long lists of villa rentals on the USVI website listed above...great site!!

Doubt you can do it but you might try a couple of the B&B's on St. John or St. John Inn in Cruz Bay. Have no idea of the rates and they aren't on the beach but a short taxi ride away!! Try www.stjohnlinks.com or maybe www.st-john.com to see if anything comes up!