planning a trip to st.thomas in july w children ages 8 and 10 who want to learn to snorkle..and advice on best hotel/condo beaches with reef( or something that would attract fish ) that the kids can snorkle off the beach???
also if i rent a car in st. thomas can i take it to st. johns or is the ferry only a people ferry???
and finally for this post...im looking at airfar from newark and it seems to be in the $400 ramge...will this change towards the summmer? just spent $225 for london flight, so it seems like alot more ! haa thank you, bill

We have never stayed on St.Thomas, so I can't help you there, but as for your question about St.John...you can take a car over to St.John (there is a special ferry that will do that for you- I think the cost is around $35) as long as you check with your rental agency. However, there is usually no road side assistance from the agency once on St.John. If you are just looking to go out to a beach, I would just take a taxi. Once you get off the ferry there are many taxi drivers that can take you wherever you want to go and then, when you're done, there will be many waiting to drive you back to town. We went to St.John for a week (our third time there) and decided not to rent a vehicle. We had no problems. If you're just popping over for the day, I wouldn't worry about bringing a car...also, if you're just staying in town, there is not alot of parking!

Can't help with STT suggestions other than to say if your children are truly interested in snorkeling, St. John would be a much better destination for your than STT.

For airfare, however, $400 is actually a pretty decent fare from EWR or any other big airport in the northeast. You may find something as low as $300, but the fares to Caribbean go up for travel after June 15 or so--just so they can gouge families traveling with kids after school lets out. You probably won't find a deal as commensurately good to the Caribbean as you found to London--that was a downright steal!

Secret Harbor Beach Resort is a great place to stay on St. Thomas and to learn how to snorkle. The reef comes right up to the shore for beginners, and continues out into the sheltered harbor for some pretty good snorkelling. Also, the "rooms" are studios and suites with kitchens, so it's great for families. Close to Red Hook for restaurants and the St. John ferry.

thank you very much for your input...

Agree with Secret Harbour; or one of the places on Sapphire Beach (Crystal Cove, Sapphire Village, Sapphire Beach Resort). We stayed at Crystal Cove and loved it.

We flew from Newark and I think $400 RT is a good price.

Some St. Thomas car rental agencies allow their vehicles to go to St. John, others don't. There are frequent passenger ferries and less frequent car ferries. One disadvantage of the car ferry is that the last one back is at about 6 pm - passenger ferries run until 10 pm or so.

I agree that if you are only going to one or two beaches, it's not worth taking the car over to STJ.

We stayed at Sapphire Beach Resort in March 2002. Great beach for snorkeling, and there were lots of families there. Rooms have small kitchenettes (microwave, stove, fridge) so you can have some meals in the room if you like. Also have sleeper sofas in the rooms so you could all share a room and still get some privacy, as the sofa is separated from the master bedroom.