My fiance and I are going to St. John ealry June for our honeymoon. We will be staying at the Gallows Point Resort.

I'm looking for advice on things to do! What beaches should we go to, what activities should we do, etc. I'd love to spend a few days exploring and checking out beaches and views, and also would like to do some hiking. I'd also like to go to St. Thomas at least one day...I've been there for 1 day on a cruise before...is there anything worth doing there? I know I want to go on the Paradise Point Tramway again.

Also, should we rent a car? How many days would you suggest renting one for? Should we do this beforehand or wait till we get there to make arrangements?

Thanks so much!

Gallows point is a great location - right near Cruz bay overlooking St. Thomas.

As for car, yes, you should definitely rent a car on St. John. There are a couple of places in Cruz Bay that rent Jeep Wranglers - one of those would give you access to some more remote areas and they're kind of fun on the windy bumpy roads. You can drive around the entire island in about 1 hour so 'exploring' consists of finding a beach to go to and hanging out for 1 hr, 2 hrs or an entire day.

I recently stayed on St. Thomas for a week and spent 2 separate days on St. John. My favorite beach was Hawksnest beach, on the North shore. My least favorite was Trunk Bay.

Pundits say the snorkeling at Trunk Bay is the best anywhere but the place was overrun with cruise ship vacationers, ferried in on a large boat. Every piece of coral at Trunk bay is clipped off at the top due to fins and with the cruise ship crowd snorkeling turned into a contact sport. As in flipper to head contact - not fun.

It's about a 10min drive or less from Gallows Point to Hawksnest, and another 2-3 min further to Trunk Bay.

We planned to go hiking around the Annaberg sugar mill ruins but didn't get there till 10am and it was already blazing hot. Set out very early would be my recommendation.

Horse riding treks depart from Coral Bay into the hills as well.

As for venturing to St. Thomas for the day, it depends what you want to do. If you've been there on a cruise you've seen the shopping mall with all the jewelry stores. In my opinion there's not much on St. Thomas that's unique. It's a beautiful place, some great beaches & excellent restaurants.

A better excursion is to take a charter boat (group or private) out of Cruz Bay to the British Virgin Islands (BVI).

Gotta run now. I'm sure you will get a lot of replies with advice.

Hi wingnutmwc, STJ is one of our favorites.

I would highly recommend getting the guide book "Feet, Fins & 4 Wheel Drive" by Pam Gaffin. This gives lots of good info on all the ways of STJ.

Not to miss:
Salt Pond Bay & Ram's Head Trail Hike
Waterlemon Cay snorkling (10-15 min flat hike in from Leinster Bay).
Burgers at Skinny Legs in Coral Bay.
Jazz Brunch at Miss Lucy's.
Reef Bay Trail hike (make arrangements at the NPS office).
Beers & snacks at Island Blues in Coral Bay.
Dinner at Zozo's at Gallows Point.
Happy Hour at Woody's Saloon.
Dinners at La Tapa & Rhum Lines.

We always rent a car for the full time we're there, but if you want to do a partial, why not rent for a couple days at the beginning of the trip...you can always extend your rental. In June it's off season so demand is much lower for rentals and vehicles are generally readily available.

Have a great trip & Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!

Hi!My family and I will be there also..in early June.We are going over to St Thomas for a day to Coral World,it is beside Coki Beach and looks to be pretty cool.You can check it out at www.coralworldvi.com.We might even go to Jost Van Dyke..have heard great things about it also.Congrats and have a nice trip!!I cannot wait!!

We did an excursion to the BVI on Stormy Petrol. Great scenery on the way to the Baths in Virgin Gorda, then we made a stop for lunch, then snorkeled off Peter Island.

We LOVED Trunk Bay. We got there early before the cruise ship crowd. But we were there as the crowds started coming in, so I can relate to how over-run and unpleasant it is with the crowds.

I wrote up a trip report - it's called Trip Report St. John w/kids or something like that. I know you'll be on your honeymooon, but I think you'd enjoy everything we did. (Although you might not be as impressed as my boys were with the water trampoline at the Westin!)

Thanks for the advice everyone!

The Paradise Point tram is free on Wednesday afternoons beginning at 5pm. Otherwise it's something like $9.

If you stay long after sunset, which is fantastic from the top, and miss the tram going down you can catch a cab at the top.

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We love Cinnamon Bay for snorkeling and we are kind of critical about what is good snorkeling. We've never seen it crowded and there are a lot of nice palm-shaded spots to set down your towels. There are also facilities there and a nice guy who rents out kayaks, etc.. Go down to the far right to see a lot of fish and coral or if you are good swimmers, swim out to the little island. Have fun. I'm jealous, it's one of our favorite places in the world.

We also love St. John and especially Cinnamon Bay. My husband and I stayed at Gallow's for our honeymoon 2 years ago and will be going back this year (our 4th time all together...can you tell it's our favorite). When we went and stayed at Gallow's we actually did not rent a car and it wasn't a big deal at all. I would suggest maybe renting one for 2-3 days, but many of the beaches we went to were not the "remote" ones, so there was alot of taxi service to them. If you want to see alot of the island, renting a jeep for a couple days can't hurt. I have always thought that the taxi rides can be really fun. You just have to be patient sometimes. I remember we were at the beach once and had to wait in the taxi for awhile (maybe 15 minutes). We didn't have a problem with this at all, but a couple in the taxi with us did and they were very rude. Just keep in mind that its their job and they need to make a living! As for going to St. Thomas. We have taken day trips over a few times and always thought it was okay. The shopping is the only reason we go and everytime we aren't that thrilled. I think this time, we'll just relax and stay on St.John! If you are looking for nightlife....keep in mind that you can go to the Westin for dinner or entertainment even if you don't stay there. PS- make care arrangements before you go if you decide to rent. You could always book it for a day or so and extend it if you decide you need to! Good Luck and have fun!