caroltis

Planning our first trip to St. John. We need accomodations for 5 adults, a 4 yr. old and a 2 yr. old. We LOVE to snorkel and would like a house on a good snorkeling beach (sandy if possible)with a not too dangerous path down to the beach. Any suggestions? I've looked at a lot of websites but nothing takes the place of someone who has been at a particular house and can give better details. Oftentimes the websites of the villas are a bit vague about proximity, access and conditions of a beach location.

Tuxedocat

Caroltis: The problem with waterfront properties in STJ is that there are not too many to choose from. Either you have a tricky walk or the beach is not too sandy. But if you are willing to spend some money, then IMO, a great choice would be the Gibney Cottage(s). It's on a picture perfect beach that is sandy, good snorkeling right in front of you, and the cottage is quite comfortable. Many websites feature this property. The other one I would recommend and which is going to be less expensive is anything in the Johnson Bay Estates which has a sandy patches enough to entertain a 4 and 2 year old, nice snorkeling at either end of the crescent shaped bay, and the beach is right there so no tricky paths. Both of these options are very well kept properties. Waterfront properties may tend to be a bit more buggy than others, but this can be compensated with bug sprays and other deterants. The best snorkeling beaches also may not have any suitable accomodations right there. You may do just as well finding a villa which is very comfortable for your group and just take car trips to the beaches. I will write again if I think of anything else. Hope you find these suggestions helpful.

Pulley

There aren't many homes directly on the beach, much less a good snorkeling beach. Carol, there are some good beaches to snorkel so you will need to rent a car anyway. IMHO being on the beach is not as important on St. John. I've stayed in different homes so I can give some advice. When are you going to St. John. How important is A/C to your group? What about a pool? What's budget for housing? I'll be on St. John for 10 days at the end of August and scout around for you.

Pulley

Gibney Cottage is on a great snorkeling beach but I think your party would be very cramped. If I'm not mistaken it only has 2 bedrooms and there are 7 of you.

A_Traveller

Ditto the comments about finding a beachfront cottage on St. John.

You can, however, find exactly what you are seeking if you are willing to travel 15 miles or so futher to Virgin Gorda (in the BVI's). The island is similar to St. John in topography has excellent snorkeling and several of the villas on Mahoe Bay would be perfect for you. Most will accomodate 7 people, the beach there is one of the best on the island - about 3/4 mile long golden snd beach lapped by calm crystal clear torquoise waters, western exposure so you get fantastic views of neighboring islands and cays and the setting sun and best of all there's a great snorkeling reef that starts about 100' off shore and spans the entire length of the beach. You can snorkel for hours on end and still not see it all.

caroltis

This is exactly the sort of info I wanted. I suspected that actual "beach" front property was hard to come by. We have in the past rented houses directly on sandy beaches in Kauai and I guess that's what I wanted to duplicate on St. John but sounds like I'm comparing apples to oranges. We do plan to rent a car so all your advice about getting a good house with views and amenities and driving to the snorkeling beaches sounds like the plan. Again, thanks so much for all of your valuable info!! carol

caroltis

Pulley... we do want ac if even only in the bedrooms - if no ac then hopefully it's situated where we get good breezes. We would like a pool. Our budget is $3500 or less for the week and we want to go end of May or first part of June. If you have any suggestions that would be great.
Have a wonderful and safe trip!!

Traveller... thanks for the Virgin Gorda tip. We never even thought about that as an option. I will definitely investigate. We've been to St. Croix and enjoyed it but when I read about all the wonderful snorkeling beaches in St. John - it seemed more attractive to us. Now I'll look into Virgin Gorda!

Pulley

Carolits, here one house we've stayed in and love: http://www.destinationstjohn.com/la_papaya.htm it's little over your budget but if you call them they may do something better because of the small children. I have no idea but a phone call never hurts. We've also stayed here: http://www.caribbeanvilla.com/amora/amora.html and this is in your price range. It's not quite as nice but does have A/C in all the bedrooms and a pool. You can also walk to town, the adults could but it's probably too far for kids.