Trip report from St. John
May 30th, 2006, 11:35 AM
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Trip report from St. John
Just returned from our trip down May 21-28, Even better than we could have hoped!! Thanks so much for all the wonderfull info. Here is my trip report:
Rented a villa called Astral Cottage on the Coral Bay side. Our contact was first rate. They Pre-arranged for a private taxi service to the ferry, rental jeep w/ a 10% discount, and met us at the ferry to take us to pick up the jeep, go to the grocer's, and take us to the villa, this all went as smooth as silk. We bought mainly breakfast and snack stuff, this turned out to be a good decision as we were on the go so much it was easier to eat out. The villa was way beyond our wildest expectations. Beutifull, clean, four seperate porches with stunning views of coral bay and beyond. 1'st nights dinner was at Sweet Plantain for the east indian curry, wow.
1'st day: Hike from Cruz bay up the Lind point trail and down to solomon beach for our first swim. Fantastic beach, plenty of shade, great snorkeling to the west and east, saw some reef squid, COOL, along with an abundance of fish. Lunch, Skinny Legs for burgers, yum. Afternoon snorkel at salt pond. This ended up being our favorite snorkeling spot. We swam all the way out to the rocks partially submerged on the north side, it looks like a long way but its easyjust float and look around. Saw our first turtle, flounder, trumpet fish, blue angel, parrot, etc.. Dinner Shipwreck Landing. Best app. award for the jerk shrimp with wasabi dipping sauce. Food very good and this was the closest retaurant to us, so became our fav.
Day 2: Morning snorkel at waterlemon, no problem swimming around the cay, (now that we had our big swim at salt pond everything seemed do-able), great snorkeling, giant starfish!! Lunch at Cinnamon Bay, decent food, Jen had a jerk chix. sand. that was very tasty, and then down to the beach. Great beach, I swam out around the cay, stopped using flippers and swam to combat some of the calories. Cinnamon has it all, wide open beach, place to eat, bathrooms, showers, beach chair rental. We had a great time. Dinner: Chateux Bordeaux, expensive and not worth the money. I had a $12.00 salad that was all greens w/ a little piece of brie, and lamb chops that were not high quality enough to be served rare.
Day 3: Wedding day! Went to St. Thomas for our wedding liscence, yuk! Couldn't wait to get back to St. John. Downtown was packed with people off cruise ships buying jewelry, and thats it! Period! Back on St. John phew! Married at sunset on Trunk Bay. unbeleivably beutifull!! Ann Marie Porter conducted the ceremony and took the pictures. Very intimate, private, and spiritual. I can't imagine a better way to be married. Dinner at Stone Terrace, expensive and worth every penny!! This was by far the best meal we had on St. John.
This is the first half, I'll post part two a little later, Dave
Rented a villa called Astral Cottage on the Coral Bay side. Our contact was first rate. They Pre-arranged for a private taxi service to the ferry, rental jeep w/ a 10% discount, and met us at the ferry to take us to pick up the jeep, go to the grocer's, and take us to the villa, this all went as smooth as silk. We bought mainly breakfast and snack stuff, this turned out to be a good decision as we were on the go so much it was easier to eat out. The villa was way beyond our wildest expectations. Beutifull, clean, four seperate porches with stunning views of coral bay and beyond. 1'st nights dinner was at Sweet Plantain for the east indian curry, wow.
1'st day: Hike from Cruz bay up the Lind point trail and down to solomon beach for our first swim. Fantastic beach, plenty of shade, great snorkeling to the west and east, saw some reef squid, COOL, along with an abundance of fish. Lunch, Skinny Legs for burgers, yum. Afternoon snorkel at salt pond. This ended up being our favorite snorkeling spot. We swam all the way out to the rocks partially submerged on the north side, it looks like a long way but its easyjust float and look around. Saw our first turtle, flounder, trumpet fish, blue angel, parrot, etc.. Dinner Shipwreck Landing. Best app. award for the jerk shrimp with wasabi dipping sauce. Food very good and this was the closest retaurant to us, so became our fav.
Day 2: Morning snorkel at waterlemon, no problem swimming around the cay, (now that we had our big swim at salt pond everything seemed do-able), great snorkeling, giant starfish!! Lunch at Cinnamon Bay, decent food, Jen had a jerk chix. sand. that was very tasty, and then down to the beach. Great beach, I swam out around the cay, stopped using flippers and swam to combat some of the calories. Cinnamon has it all, wide open beach, place to eat, bathrooms, showers, beach chair rental. We had a great time. Dinner: Chateux Bordeaux, expensive and not worth the money. I had a $12.00 salad that was all greens w/ a little piece of brie, and lamb chops that were not high quality enough to be served rare.
Day 3: Wedding day! Went to St. Thomas for our wedding liscence, yuk! Couldn't wait to get back to St. John. Downtown was packed with people off cruise ships buying jewelry, and thats it! Period! Back on St. John phew! Married at sunset on Trunk Bay. unbeleivably beutifull!! Ann Marie Porter conducted the ceremony and took the pictures. Very intimate, private, and spiritual. I can't imagine a better way to be married. Dinner at Stone Terrace, expensive and worth every penny!! This was by far the best meal we had on St. John.
This is the first half, I'll post part two a little later, Dave
May 30th, 2006, 05:06 PM
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Congratulations on your wedding!! And thank you for your trip report. I can't wait for the 2nd installment. We are staying in Coral Bay as well so it was nice to read about the restaurants there. I can't wait to eat at Sweet Plantains. They're menu looks wonderful!!
May 30th, 2006, 05:59 PM
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Congratualtions on a wonderful start to your marriage! Thanks for taking time to post your trip report, with its info on restaurants and snorkeling spots that we'll make use of in July. Looking forward to Part 2 for more travel St John tips.
May 30th, 2006, 08:07 PM
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Congradulations on the wedding! Gosh, if I had only known about St. John all those years ago, I would have done the same. Best wishes for a wonderful rest of your lives. Looking forward to the rest of your report.
May 31st, 2006, 05:00 AM
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Welcome home Dave! Sorry we didn't run into you guys at Skinny's or Aqua Bistro...
Sounds like you had a great trip so far...looking forward to the next installment.
We got home Saturday night and I'm working on my trip report now.
Trish
Sounds like you had a great trip so far...looking forward to the next installment.
We got home Saturday night and I'm working on my trip report now.
Trish
May 31st, 2006, 11:38 AM
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Howdy All: St.John part 2
Day 4: Went on a day trip to the Baths on Virgin Gorda aboard the Pirate Penny. Nice people, cool trip. Lotts of cruise ship people at the baths, but stopped on the way back and snorkeled at the Indians, ( a rock formation off of Norman). The water was very calm and visibility was prob. 60'. Very cool place to snorkel, but I think we could have saved our money and stayed on St. John. We had only one other day trip planned,(scuba), but cancelled it early in the week bacause there are so many nice beaches and plenty of free snorkeling on fantastic coral. I've been to a few places in the caribbean but have never seen coral right off the beach in shallow water like St. John, truly unique. Met a couple on the trip that we later dined with at Shipwreck Landing for dinner. Another great meal.
Day 5: Morning snorkel at Jumbie, very private small beach with awsome snorkeling! I used the book St. John Feet, Fins, and Four Wheel Drive to find this beach. I can't reccomend this book enough. It not only told us about which beaches had what, but gave very accurate descriptions of the coral,( where it gets too shallow, etc.). To get to Jumbie look for stairs on the right side of the road just past Trunk Bay while headed West. There is no marker, but easy to spot.
Afternoon: Drove to Vie's on the East end, (weird, but cool out there), Lunch of red beans and rice and then out to the beach. Very private, we were the only ones out there. Beach chairs provided which was nice, great snorkeling, cool beach,( sound familiar), Dinner at Aqua Bistro, another hit.
Signing off for now, finish the trip with the next post, Dave
Day 4: Went on a day trip to the Baths on Virgin Gorda aboard the Pirate Penny. Nice people, cool trip. Lotts of cruise ship people at the baths, but stopped on the way back and snorkeled at the Indians, ( a rock formation off of Norman). The water was very calm and visibility was prob. 60'. Very cool place to snorkel, but I think we could have saved our money and stayed on St. John. We had only one other day trip planned,(scuba), but cancelled it early in the week bacause there are so many nice beaches and plenty of free snorkeling on fantastic coral. I've been to a few places in the caribbean but have never seen coral right off the beach in shallow water like St. John, truly unique. Met a couple on the trip that we later dined with at Shipwreck Landing for dinner. Another great meal.
Day 5: Morning snorkel at Jumbie, very private small beach with awsome snorkeling! I used the book St. John Feet, Fins, and Four Wheel Drive to find this beach. I can't reccomend this book enough. It not only told us about which beaches had what, but gave very accurate descriptions of the coral,( where it gets too shallow, etc.). To get to Jumbie look for stairs on the right side of the road just past Trunk Bay while headed West. There is no marker, but easy to spot.
Afternoon: Drove to Vie's on the East end, (weird, but cool out there), Lunch of red beans and rice and then out to the beach. Very private, we were the only ones out there. Beach chairs provided which was nice, great snorkeling, cool beach,( sound familiar), Dinner at Aqua Bistro, another hit.
Signing off for now, finish the trip with the next post, Dave
Jun 1st, 2006, 05:13 AM
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I am looking forward to the next installment also. We return in November.
Welcome home Trish. I'll be watching for your report also.
jackiehammond, Have a wonderful time, you will love it there. Are you planning any day trips? We really loved White Bay Beach on Jost Van Dyke.
Welcome home Trish. I'll be watching for your report also.
jackiehammond, Have a wonderful time, you will love it there. Are you planning any day trips? We really loved White Bay Beach on Jost Van Dyke.
Jun 1st, 2006, 06:42 AM
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Dave, wow! My husband and I must have known you and your wife in a former life! My husband and I were married by Anne Marie Porter in April 2003 on Hawksnest Beach, and we happen to be returning to St John in July and staying at the Astral Ridge (which I'm sure you know shares the property with Astral Cottage). I'm taking notes on all of the things you and you're wife loved in St. John. Since it appears we're two very similar couples I'm sure we'll love them when we go too! Keep on posting...
Jun 1st, 2006, 07:45 AM
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Trip report part 3:
Day 6: Morning hike up to Ram's Head. I highly reccomend this hike, fantastic views, dramatic cliffs, lots of barrel cactus with edible berries, (tasted like kiwi). One thing to keep in mind when hiking is that it's a good idea to go EARLY before the sun gets intense, and bring plenty of water. I also kept powerbar gel packets in my pack. These I use when biking and you can find at any bike store or sporting goods store. Great for instant energy when you dont want to carry allot of food, just drink at least 8 oz. of water because they are highly concentrated. This reminds me if you do pack food in your pack hang it up in a tree, some people next to us at waterlemon had pb$j's eaten by some mongooses. To find the trailhead for Ram's Head you need to go way to the left, (south), when you get to the beach. After we came down from the hike went for a very refreshing swim at salt pond. Great snorkel!! It was easier just to take mask and snorkel on the hike, but this is all we needed for a great little swim.
Afternoon: Picked up lunch at A Simple Feast in Cruz bay and took them to Maho Bay Beach. This is an awsome place to go where you can back your car right up to the beach. Perfect for bringing coolers, chairs, etc... Swam all the way East for snorkeling around the rocks LONG BEACH! Great workout. Fantastic snorkeling!!
Dinner we at chicken off the grill at our Villa. I highly reccomend Astral Cottage and Astral Villa, the two share the same driveway but we didn't see our neibors the whole week. The larger side has a small pool, both are beutifull. No AC but we didn't miss it, breeze was always great and the owner/ manager Susan Brierely was first rate, cheking to make sure things were going O.K., and available for questions about anything on the island.
In closing, what I learned:
Always take your snorkeling gear,( at least mask and snorkel, and stick your head in the water every time you hit a beach.
If your not on to tight of a budget try some of the fabulous restaurants, we had 1'st rate dining experiences. Drink lots of water when hiking.
Going one one day trip was more than enough. There are so many beutifull things to see on St. John, and you can be on your own schedule.
Go to the beach early and late. Early in the morning is a great time to swim and the sun isn't so intense. same with later in the afternoon, but these are times of more bugs, so bring the bug stuff.
Already planning my next trip, I think I've been spoiled for anywhere else. Dave
Day 6: Morning hike up to Ram's Head. I highly reccomend this hike, fantastic views, dramatic cliffs, lots of barrel cactus with edible berries, (tasted like kiwi). One thing to keep in mind when hiking is that it's a good idea to go EARLY before the sun gets intense, and bring plenty of water. I also kept powerbar gel packets in my pack. These I use when biking and you can find at any bike store or sporting goods store. Great for instant energy when you dont want to carry allot of food, just drink at least 8 oz. of water because they are highly concentrated. This reminds me if you do pack food in your pack hang it up in a tree, some people next to us at waterlemon had pb$j's eaten by some mongooses. To find the trailhead for Ram's Head you need to go way to the left, (south), when you get to the beach. After we came down from the hike went for a very refreshing swim at salt pond. Great snorkel!! It was easier just to take mask and snorkel on the hike, but this is all we needed for a great little swim.
Afternoon: Picked up lunch at A Simple Feast in Cruz bay and took them to Maho Bay Beach. This is an awsome place to go where you can back your car right up to the beach. Perfect for bringing coolers, chairs, etc... Swam all the way East for snorkeling around the rocks LONG BEACH! Great workout. Fantastic snorkeling!!
Dinner we at chicken off the grill at our Villa. I highly reccomend Astral Cottage and Astral Villa, the two share the same driveway but we didn't see our neibors the whole week. The larger side has a small pool, both are beutifull. No AC but we didn't miss it, breeze was always great and the owner/ manager Susan Brierely was first rate, cheking to make sure things were going O.K., and available for questions about anything on the island.
In closing, what I learned:
Always take your snorkeling gear,( at least mask and snorkel, and stick your head in the water every time you hit a beach.
If your not on to tight of a budget try some of the fabulous restaurants, we had 1'st rate dining experiences. Drink lots of water when hiking.
Going one one day trip was more than enough. There are so many beutifull things to see on St. John, and you can be on your own schedule.
Go to the beach early and late. Early in the morning is a great time to swim and the sun isn't so intense. same with later in the afternoon, but these are times of more bugs, so bring the bug stuff.
Already planning my next trip, I think I've been spoiled for anywhere else. Dave
Jun 1st, 2006, 08:29 AM
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hi brenandg,
my husband and i are planning on going to the baths. those rock formations remind me of seychelles (a place i really wanted to visit). we're still deciding on which boat...we think the limnos, but i didn't realize there were different ways to book (activities information center/trevor, etc.). i wish there was a half day trip to the baths, but haven't found it. my husband is going to dive (i think with 6-paq). he keeps going back and forth about diving the rhone or not. he's also looked at low key pricing and scuba mom's website. i can't wait!!! i'll be sure to post a trip report upon my return. have a great day!
my husband and i are planning on going to the baths. those rock formations remind me of seychelles (a place i really wanted to visit). we're still deciding on which boat...we think the limnos, but i didn't realize there were different ways to book (activities information center/trevor, etc.). i wish there was a half day trip to the baths, but haven't found it. my husband is going to dive (i think with 6-paq). he keeps going back and forth about diving the rhone or not. he's also looked at low key pricing and scuba mom's website. i can't wait!!! i'll be sure to post a trip report upon my return.
have a great day!
Jun 1st, 2006, 09:23 AM
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Sounds like you had a great time in St. John and that you made the effort to see as much as you could during your stay. May your married life continue to be as adventurous and fun-filled as it started.
Jun 1st, 2006, 10:49 AM
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I did like the day trip to the baths, but it was PACKED with people. We booked through Stormy Petrel/Penny Pirate and they were good, however, I would look into a private charter so that you could either go early or late to avoid the crowd. Next time I am going to dive the Rhone. The people I talked to said that it was a great dive, with all the great snorkeling it wasn't a must for the first trip.
