Trip Report - St. John isn't that great!
Jul 10th, 2006, 09:22 AM
#61
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Excellent report & pix bbq!!! St. John is one of those places that makes my 
beat a lil faster when I think of the times Mr. mak & I have spent there. Special times... special place.
As you were describing Carnival in your report, it made me think of our time in the Cruz Bay square... weekend after Thanksgiving... all the Christmas decorations just went up and there was a big local party with dancing to live holiday reggae music... what a fun time.
Thanks for the memories... I also loved snorkeling Waterlemon
AND the conch fritters at Vies... num!
>-
beat a lil faster when I think of the times Mr. mak & I have spent there. Special times... special place.As you were describing Carnival in your report, it made me think of our time in the Cruz Bay square... weekend after Thanksgiving... all the Christmas decorations just went up and there was a big local party with dancing to live holiday reggae music... what a fun time.
Thanks for the memories... I also loved snorkeling Waterlemon
AND the conch fritters at Vies... num!>-
Jul 10th, 2006, 09:24 AM
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Thanks Bill. Oh this web site is really feeding my travel planning obsession - I think I have vacations planned through 2010! Michael at Black Bamboo will give you good advice about his properties - they all seem very special. House of Merriment isn't exactly walking distance to two step but a very short drive. Enjoy!
Carol
Carol
Jul 10th, 2006, 09:56 AM
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aloha makai!
Soooo, conch fritters at Vie's were very delish, and it is a fun place, BUT I must say the the fritters that we bought from the lady at the Carnival food festival were the best in all the island! They were huge and had big chucks of conch in them. Vie's were a close second and Vie's Shack wins hands down on the ambience scale!
On the 28th, they erected the "Village" which is a bunch of food and booze booths built around a music stage in the parking lot in town. We saw some great bands play! I loved it. The lighlight were the two youth steel bands. One was called the Pan Dragons and I forget the name of the other one. They were hot! They were having such a blast playing. It was fun to watch and groove. Since we left on July 2, we missed the major festivities, but the town was definitely gearing up for it.
Where to next makai?
-Bill
Soooo, conch fritters at Vie's were very delish, and it is a fun place, BUT I must say the the fritters that we bought from the lady at the Carnival food festival were the best in all the island! They were huge and had big chucks of conch in them. Vie's were a close second and Vie's Shack wins hands down on the ambience scale!
On the 28th, they erected the "Village" which is a bunch of food and booze booths built around a music stage in the parking lot in town. We saw some great bands play! I loved it. The lighlight were the two youth steel bands. One was called the Pan Dragons and I forget the name of the other one. They were hot! They were having such a blast playing. It was fun to watch and groove. Since we left on July 2, we missed the major festivities, but the town was definitely gearing up for it.
Where to next makai?
-Bill
Jul 10th, 2006, 10:04 AM
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I'm not gonna try to explain it, but I just noticed that one whole section that I typed that I thought had been lost actually shows up, BUT only when you "post a reply". Strange. I cut and pasted it from that and here it is. Lordy, what a mess this report is!
Okay...Food!
We shopped at the Starfish Market in Cruz Bay and bought food and drinks for breakfasts and lunch and ate dinners out. We usually packed sandwiches and munchies with us when we went to the beach for the day.
In Cruz Bay we ate at: The Fish Trap, Inn at Tamarind Court, Uncle Joe's, Lime Inn, La Tapa, and Margarita Phils.
In Coral Bay we ate: Shipwreck Landing, Sweet Plantains, and Aqua Bistro.
We had fresh Caribbean lobster at the Lime Inn. It was DELISH! They grilled it and it had an amazing flavor. Great chowder too. We ate here twice. I liked it there.
I highly recommend a trip out to Sweet Plantains in Coral Bay! Excellent Cariibean influenced dishes. Loved the plantain chips! Order the flan for dessert. It was unlike any flan I've ever had.
We had an excellent meal at La Tapa. We had the Paella and it was very good. Interesting and delicious desserts too. The service here is awesome.
The fresh fish specials at the Fish Trap are very good. Good conch fritters too.
We were lucky enough to eat at the last Greek night of the season at the Inn at Tamarind Court. OMG! I could have made a meal alone out of the dolmas. It was fabulous Greek food. They have even had a belly dancer. "How does she do that?"
We went to the prime rib night at the Pavillion at Maho Bay Camp. It was a little strange eating Prime Rib in this hot, humid, tropical environment, but I have to say that it was very good, and for only $20, it was a great value. I wanted to go back for their other theme nights, but we never made it. It is a great place to watch the sunset as you eat.
Martin had a great hanger steak at Shipwreck Landing. It was better than expected for dinner. Good fried shrimp.
We actually ended up eating here twice. The dinners specials were interesting and tasty.
The Auqa Bistro is worth a try if you find yourself hungry in Coral Bay. We had a good meal.
We ventured out to Vie's Snack Shack in the East End for her garlic chicken and conch fritters. She was open, but was out of the chicken, so we had very tasty beans and rice with her famous fritters. They were very tasty!
We were there just at the start of Carnival, so we were able to partake in the food festival. There were about 15 booths set and we grazed and sampled. Lots of interesting things I had never heard of before like whelks. We had good fried chicken that was served with yummy collared greens with smoked turkey. We picked crab and rice, braised mutton with mac/cheese and rice, and conch fritters which we broght back home for a pigfest. The conch fritters were the best we had the whole trip and the mutton was GREAT! Caribbean soul food! Yum.
-Bill
Okay...Food!
We shopped at the Starfish Market in Cruz Bay and bought food and drinks for breakfasts and lunch and ate dinners out. We usually packed sandwiches and munchies with us when we went to the beach for the day.
In Cruz Bay we ate at: The Fish Trap, Inn at Tamarind Court, Uncle Joe's, Lime Inn, La Tapa, and Margarita Phils.
In Coral Bay we ate: Shipwreck Landing, Sweet Plantains, and Aqua Bistro.
We had fresh Caribbean lobster at the Lime Inn. It was DELISH! They grilled it and it had an amazing flavor. Great chowder too. We ate here twice. I liked it there.
I highly recommend a trip out to Sweet Plantains in Coral Bay! Excellent Cariibean influenced dishes. Loved the plantain chips! Order the flan for dessert. It was unlike any flan I've ever had.
We had an excellent meal at La Tapa. We had the Paella and it was very good. Interesting and delicious desserts too. The service here is awesome.
The fresh fish specials at the Fish Trap are very good. Good conch fritters too.
We were lucky enough to eat at the last Greek night of the season at the Inn at Tamarind Court. OMG! I could have made a meal alone out of the dolmas. It was fabulous Greek food. They have even had a belly dancer. "How does she do that?"
We went to the prime rib night at the Pavillion at Maho Bay Camp. It was a little strange eating Prime Rib in this hot, humid, tropical environment, but I have to say that it was very good, and for only $20, it was a great value. I wanted to go back for their other theme nights, but we never made it. It is a great place to watch the sunset as you eat.
Martin had a great hanger steak at Shipwreck Landing. It was better than expected for dinner. Good fried shrimp.
We actually ended up eating here twice. The dinners specials were interesting and tasty.
The Auqa Bistro is worth a try if you find yourself hungry in Coral Bay. We had a good meal.
We ventured out to Vie's Snack Shack in the East End for her garlic chicken and conch fritters. She was open, but was out of the chicken, so we had very tasty beans and rice with her famous fritters. They were very tasty!
We were there just at the start of Carnival, so we were able to partake in the food festival. There were about 15 booths set and we grazed and sampled. Lots of interesting things I had never heard of before like whelks. We had good fried chicken that was served with yummy collared greens with smoked turkey. We picked crab and rice, braised mutton with mac/cheese and rice, and conch fritters which we broght back home for a pigfest. The conch fritters were the best we had the whole trip and the mutton was GREAT! Caribbean soul food! Yum.
-Bill
Jul 13th, 2006, 06:41 AM
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Bill,
Thanks for a great report, it's been inspirational for us and helped us decide on villa rentals.
Would appreciate some advice on car rentals, would it be easier (and less expensive) to rent at the St Thomas airport?, does the ferry ay Red Hook you mentioned take cars?
Thanks for a great report, it's been inspirational for us and helped us decide on villa rentals.
Would appreciate some advice on car rentals, would it be easier (and less expensive) to rent at the St Thomas airport?, does the ferry ay Red Hook you mentioned take cars?
Jul 13th, 2006, 07:06 AM
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Thanks.
I don't know about renting a car in St. Thomas as I did not consider it. You might want to start a new thread here and ask that question. Some of the more experienced St. John travelers here would probably be able to help you out. There is a car ferry from Red Hook.
Here is some ferry information from Terry's website:
http://www.stjohnusvi.org/gettingaround.htm#carferry
-Bill
I don't know about renting a car in St. Thomas as I did not consider it. You might want to start a new thread here and ask that question. Some of the more experienced St. John travelers here would probably be able to help you out. There is a car ferry from Red Hook.
Here is some ferry information from Terry's website:
http://www.stjohnusvi.org/gettingaround.htm#carferry
-Bill
Jul 19th, 2006, 04:58 AM
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Idratherbesailin,
I would rent a car on St John at Conrad Sutton's.They are a short walk from the ferries and you can park in their parking lot while in town.(which is great as parking is very limited in Cruz Bay).
I would rent a car on St John at Conrad Sutton's.They are a short walk from the ferries and you can park in their parking lot while in town.(which is great as parking is very limited in Cruz Bay).
Aug 1st, 2006, 07:58 PM
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Great report! I know you love Hawaii so I am glad to hear that St.John fulfilled your need to visit a different locale that still shared the things that make Hawaii so special. I too love Hawaii, except for that stinking K-island, and being a West Coaster find it easy to get to. However now that I have read your report I am putting St John on my trip list. My requirements are similar to yours so I think my DH and I would really like it. Thanks for taking the time to type and retype your report! And the pics really were the icing on the cake, or the lime in rum or whatever!
Aug 2nd, 2006, 01:59 PM
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Well it is up in the air (no pun intended)right now. I am 95% sure I am going to Japan in October and my husband thinks we should stop in Hawaii on the way back. I have been looking at airfares and it looks like it will be really expensive to do it that way. DH needs a Hawaii fix soon so I know a trip is in the future. We would like to see the Big Island because we have never been there and we also love Oahu so I am not sure where we will wind up. I gave my husband the link to your photos of St John so maybe he will get the itch to go there. Those secluded beaches look fabulous. I told him your trip sounded so great I would just use that as my planner and go where you went!
Aug 3rd, 2006, 08:27 AM
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Just heard from Terry Witham. She said that several people inquired recently about renting the Honeymoon Cottage and mentioned my report and pictures. She was has offered a "well deserved" discount next time we decide to rent from her! What a nice surprise. Thanks fodorites!
-Bill
-Bill
Aug 3rd, 2006, 08:34 AM
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That was me!! I just talked to Terry last night and she was incredible. Gave me lots of good info and was a pleasure to talk with. The cottage sounds incredible and compared to rates for other accomodations on the island, the price there seems pretty good. I'm trying to figure out how long to stay there. I'd be going in January when the rates are high. We want to do 6 nights but each night adds up. Do you think 5 nights would be too few?
Aug 3rd, 2006, 09:09 AM
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Thanks!
Terry is very sweet.
I'd do whatever you can to stay as long as you can. If you can afford it, stay the extra night for sure. But hey, 5 nights will be better than 4!
-Bill
Terry is very sweet.
I'd do whatever you can to stay as long as you can. If you can afford it, stay the extra night for sure. But hey, 5 nights will be better than 4!
-Bill
Aug 9th, 2006, 12:50 PM
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What a fun read! I've enjoyed many of the places that you spoke of - so it was like re-living my own trips. Am going again over NYE. Yippie!!!
For the person asking about driving conditions.... Driving is not tremendously difficult. And you have to have a car to enjoy a lot of the beauty of the island. The primary thing is to not speed. The roads can be curvy with some sharp, blind turns. If you have a villa that is off of a paved road - definitly get a 4-wheel drive. Also if staying in Great Cruz Bay, Chocolate Hole or others areas in this direction, be careful of the road when/if it rains. There is a steep hill from Cruz Bay towards this area and I've seen lot's of people slip and slide here. I personally don't like driving up towards Chateau Bordeaux and from the east to the west side (or vice versa) at night. In the national park areas, it's just very very dark and difficult to see. During the day, no problem. You may occasionally run up on goats or a small rock slide, so just drive carefully and stay alert.
For the person asking about driving conditions.... Driving is not tremendously difficult. And you have to have a car to enjoy a lot of the beauty of the island. The primary thing is to not speed. The roads can be curvy with some sharp, blind turns. If you have a villa that is off of a paved road - definitly get a 4-wheel drive. Also if staying in Great Cruz Bay, Chocolate Hole or others areas in this direction, be careful of the road when/if it rains. There is a steep hill from Cruz Bay towards this area and I've seen lot's of people slip and slide here. I personally don't like driving up towards Chateau Bordeaux and from the east to the west side (or vice versa) at night. In the national park areas, it's just very very dark and difficult to see. During the day, no problem. You may occasionally run up on goats or a small rock slide, so just drive carefully and stay alert.
