Trip report St John March 4-8

Hi,
After 10 days of sailing the BVI. We spent 4 nights on St John. Ferry from the West End to Red Hook. After clearing customs. The 200p ferry to Cruz Bay. Easy walk to Grande Bay Resort.

We had booked a studio accommodation. Instead we were given a small king bedded room. The room was in Building 7, unit PH-2. It's usually sold as an additional room with one of the larger suites. In addition to not being what we booked. The room was not the normal high standards of Grande Bay. Hot water heater in the bathroom closest. Tiny little kitchenette very limited counter space. The electric cord for the fridge came up over the counter to be plugged in. Industrial style outlets in the kitchenette. Noisy air-conditioning unit above the balcony. The ugly worn sliding door to the bathroom was heavy, hole on both sides, blue stain on the inside. Stain on the bathroom floor. We voiced our displeasure with our accommodation. There was not another suite available. So they refunded us $100 per night. We stayed in a one bedroom in 2019 and had not one complaint. That unit was lovely.

Despite the accommodation disappointment. We had a great stay on St John. Enjoyed Trunk Bay our first day. We got in for half price with my husband's Senior National Parks Pass. Trunk bay offers nice bathroom and shower facilities. Stayed on the quieter end of the beach away from the snorkel trail. The next two days did Maho Bay in the morning to snorkel with the turtles. For me, this is always the highlight of visiting St John. They are such amazing and beautiful creatures. Get to the beach by 1000a at the latest if you want to easily find parking.

For a little exercise. We walked the Francis Bay Trail. Mostly flat terrain. Had no issues walking the trail in flip flops. And there's a parking lot. Loved that a portion of the trail is handicap accessible. Francis Bay is a gorgeous beach. Not as crowded as other beaches. There's parking for the beach if you don't fancy doing the trail. Hiked also, a small portion of the Reef Bay Trail. Did not get far enough to see the petroglyphs. This trail requires the appropriate footwear. Very shady, with lovely vegetation. Be prepared for the up hill climb on the way back. Visited the Annaberg Sugar Plantation ruins. Definitely worth the stop. Not only do you get a little history but the views are amazing as well.

Happy hours at High Tide, Rum Hut, The Beach Bar, and Quiet Mon. Dinners at Morgan's Mango, Lime Inn and Longboards twice. We made dinner reservations for Morgan's Mango. The other two places we enjoyed dinner at the bar. Good food found at all three. We loved Skinny Legs in Coral Bay for lunch. In fact, we ate there every day. They make a great veggie burger. And my husband loves their Mahi Mahi sandwich.

We prefer staying in Cruz Bay to be within walking distance to restaurants, bars, shops, post office and grocery. No need to drive at night along the hilly winding roads. We rented a Jeep at St John Car Rental for all our daytime cruising. We had one small hiccup with the rental. The battery died when we tried to head out from Maho Bay. They replaced the battery and we were on our way in less than an hour and a half. And being stranded at Maho Bay certainly didn't ruin our day. We didn't do a lot of shopping. With that said, I treated myself to a purchase at Bamboo Studio jewelry store. They make all their pieces at their adjacent workshop. I bought one of their silver petroglyph pendents.

The last hurrah of our trip was a morning mimosa at High Tide before the 900a ferry to Red Hook. We arrived the airport in St Thomas with plenty of time before our flight. Got through customs and security fairly quickly. It was nice to see the restaurant open again in the gate area. We left the gate on time but sat on the tarmac for an extended period. I think Miami ATC might have held us up. As we still arrived Miami early. As luck would have it. The aircraft we arrived on was the same aircraft for our connecting flight to JFK. That's never happened ever in all my years of travel.

Looking forward to planning our next trip

Sounds like a wonderful trip!

St John is by far the nicest island in the Caribbean, like you mentioned there are great restaurants and beautiful beaches surrounded by the National Park.

Thanks for sharing your adventure!

Last time on island was 6 months after the Hurricane. We volunteered for a day working on the Francis Bay Trail. It felt good to give back to an island that has given us so much over the last 40 years.
Boy that trail was a mess! We need to return to see how it turned out. We worked from the parking lot to viewing platform.
Working in that environment was some kind of draining.

Thanks TomB for sharing the photos and your hard work in helping repair the trail!

pirate auntie,

did you snap any shots of what the finished product looks like?
Would love to see them.
Thanks

Thanks for the memory to remind me of St John. I have not been there since Maho Bay Camps closed. I never saw many turtles in Maho Bay, but always saw them at Francis Bay. Hamilton at Maho Bay Camps would drop you off at the top of the reef bay trail and pick you up at Lampshur Bay. That eliminated the hike back up the Reef Bay Trail.

Hi TomB
I have three pictures from the trail.

Looks like mission accomplished

Thanks soooooooooooooooooooo much for sharing!
Time solves everything.... With a little help from friends