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St John for the day

Posted By: sxmsandbum

St John for the day - 01/04/2014 11:06 PM

What are the must do's for a day on STJ? We will have a car. Planning on taking an early ferry over. Thanks in advance!
Posted By: zhawk

Re: St John for the day - 01/05/2014 01:29 PM

Hit the north shore beaches. Great snorkeling. Then drive to east end and have lunch at Skinny Legs. Then hike to Ram's Head to walk off lunch. Driving on St. John is an adventure all by itself....
Posted By: sxmsandbum

Re: St John for the day - 01/05/2014 02:07 PM

Do any of these beaches have bars/restaurants or do we need to pack a cooler? Facilities at any of them or all pretty much just undeveloped? Thanks again!
Posted By: BEERMAN

Re: St John for the day - 01/05/2014 03:40 PM

I'll post some photo's here in a bit, but as far as beach bars/restaurants you have very limited options, cooler is not a bad idea for at least drinks. Trunk Bay has a grill/bar area just off the beach. They sell burgers, fries, frozen drinks. Trunk can be very crowded when cruise ships are in STT, check the schedule! Trunk has showers to freshen up for your drive back.

Cinnamon Bay has a restaurant, commissary and a small beach shack with water, beer, chair rentals, watersport rentals etc.. They also have nice bath houses with showers.

Maho is our favorite beach, only amenity is a new fancy jiffy john!

Most other beaches offer just their unique pristine charm!

Are you guys up for hiking, short flat hikes or an hour up hill walking on switchbacks?

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Cheers.gif" alt="" />
Posted By: sxmsandbum

Re: St John for the day - 01/05/2014 04:53 PM

For couple joining us should be short flat hike. Thanks for the info
Posted By: sail2wind

Re: St John for the day - 01/05/2014 06:31 PM

The big cruise ship days are Monday-Wednesday.
Posted By: sxmsandbum

Re: St John for the day - 01/05/2014 08:03 PM

Thanks so do you think it is best to go to STJ on those days and stay away from Shopping in STT and magens bay on M-W?
Posted By: sail2wind

Re: St John for the day - 01/05/2014 08:54 PM

yes, my son worked in the industry. All those days have anywhere from 3-5 ships in, you do the math. Thursady is a little slower and generally no large ships Fri-Sun. In STJ Cinnamon and Trunk will be packed. The south side beaches should be quiet even on cruise ship days.
Posted By: BEERMAN

Re: St John for the day - 01/05/2014 08:58 PM

IF I had only one day... and if I had a vehicle... I'd eat my breakfast early enough to catch an early car ferry...I'd have some BEER and some water already on ice in a cooler, maybe some snacks and as soon as my tires exited the ferry I'd drive straight through Cruz Bay and out along the North Shore road. It will be tempting to stop in town, but resist you'll be back in a few hours. There are many scenic overlooks so I hope you bring a camera, put it in park, hop out and look around!

***TRUNK BAY
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***CANEEL BAY
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***MAHO BAY
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After passing Maho Bay start looking for signs to Annenberg Ruins and Leinster Bay. This is where I would want to stretch my legs. Park in the lot and walk up the boardwalk through the trees and explore the ruins.

***RUINS

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After touring the ruins, I'd leave the car where it is and walk the trail to Leinster Bay and Waterlemon Cay. It's a flat trail right on the water, perhaps a mile to the bay. Take a bottle of water and your snorkle gear, starfish and turtles love this bay!

**** TRAIL TO LEINSTER BAY

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Have to start thinking about lunch.....time to head over the island to sleepy Coral Bay. It's hard to get lost here, but get a map! From the ruins it's all lefts!

***CORAL BAY

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We really like Skinny Legs burgers and blackened Mahi sandwiches. They have a few shops at Skinny's and horseshoe pits, there are no water views but it has a charm all to itself!. If you want a view I'd continue driving out to Shipwreck Landing, they have great fish and chips and are just off the water. There are a couple shops here as well. There are other places that offer good food around Coral Bay, there's an upscale roadside stand that offers up some West Indian home cooking yum! It sits at the split in the road across from the historic Moravian Church in this photo.

***MORAVIAN CHURCH CORAL BAY

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Since your friends aren't into bigger hikes I would skip Salt Pond and the hike to Rams Head. Perhaps now it's time to head back to the North Shore and chill out on a white sandy beach? If Trunk Bay is not crowded with cruisers? Trunk would be my choice so that we could shower before heading back to Cruz Bay, if there are ships in I would stop at Cinnamon Bay, wonderful long beach with amenities.

***NAMASTE

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If shopping is your thing you won't want to miss Mongoose Junction. It offers great architecture, shops, art gallery and more importantly the TAP ROOM for good beer or perhaps their homemade rootbeer!

***MONGOOSE JUNCTION

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Hopefully you'll have time to walk the town before catching the last car ferry. The park, the sidestreets including Wharfside Village are colorful and fun to walk. I would have to stop at the Beach Bar for an appetizer of fresh tuna bites before calling it a day!

***CRUZ BAY

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SHEEEW...NOW THAT"S A FULL DAY! Don't forget to breathe! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Cheers.gif" alt="" />
Posted By: sxmsandbum

Re: St John for the day - 01/05/2014 10:55 PM

Thanks appreciate all the info and the pictures. Getting excited. Think we will head over there on Monday and if we decide we need to go back we can later in the week. Will try to avoid CA those first three days as well and head to the less travelled beaches of STT on those days if we can find some. I know Magens is a big cruise ship stop any others to stay away from? Thanks to all!
Posted By: cathym

Re: St John for the day - 01/06/2014 12:11 AM

Hi Beerman,

Your advice on a day trip sounds great. We are planning two days/nights in Cruz Bay and would be interested in hearing your recommendations for additional fun activities. We will likely stay at the St. John Inn -- is that a good location to walk to bars/restaurants/shops in town? Thanks, Cathy
Posted By: sail445

Re: St John for the day - 01/06/2014 12:46 AM

St. John Inn is about a 4 minute walk to town and about a 5 minute walk back due to an incline , so it's an ideal spot for doing Cruz Bay.
But I recommend renting a car to see all of what the island offers.
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: St John for the day - 01/06/2014 01:03 AM

Thanks for the response. We will look into renting a car so we can tour the beaches and see the great views.
Posted By: pat

Re: St John for the day - 01/06/2014 02:05 AM

What a great day and post!!

You've managed to squeeze more into this one day then I think we saw in the full week we were there.

Again, a beautiful post - thanks for making and sharing it.
Posted By: BEERMAN

Re: St John for the day - 01/06/2014 02:58 AM

Hey Cathy,

I've heard of, but don't know much about the St John Inn so I just looked at their website. I think I know where it is but their map compared to their written directions is confusing me. I think it's just passed the traffic circle? The walk up is easy if you packed light! Should be a perfect spot to walk to town <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Groovin.gif" alt="" />

With 2 nights I would do exactly what I said just at half speed <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" /> Not sure what your interests are? but you can actually hike to 2 great beaches Salomon and Honeymoon from your Inn. I would take a backpack cooler or a comfortable one with a shoulder strap, throw in a couple beers and stop at Deli Grotto in Mongoose Junction for some awesome deli sandwiches and hike to one or both of these quiet beaches, easy hike <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />

Of course getting a jeep to cruise around in one day would be nice. I would call the Inn and ask which car rental place is closest to them to make it easy on you.

My favorite place in Cruz Bay for dinner is the Lime Inn. We also like Morgans Mango, there are several great restaurants Cruz Bay. We actually like ordering a few appetizers at the Beach Bar for our dinner, they have great fresh tuna apps and they are right on the beach at Wharfside.

If you have some boating experience, we like renting a center console dinghy from www.CalypsoVI.com, they are next to the National Park dock. With a half day rental you can go all the way to Leinster Bay/Waterlemon Cay and see everything in between. Great operation and equipment at Calypso!

So much to see, so little time <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Cheers.gif" alt="" />
Posted By: zhawk

Re: St John for the day - 01/06/2014 01:59 PM

Beerman: I have stayed at the St. John Inn and liked it a lot. Rooms are nothing special, but has a really nice little pool/deck/breakfast area to hang out and watch the sunset. Free cont. breakfast, beach chairs, beach towels and soft sided coolers to use. VERY nice people and knowledgeable about the island. Past the roundabout and then you hang a right. Easy walk.
Posted By: NCSailor

Re: St John for the day - 01/06/2014 07:42 PM

I agree about the St John Inn. Decent place and not too expensive. Also agree about the burgers at Skinny Legs. Wish I was there now!
Posted By: cathym

Re: St John for the day - 01/06/2014 09:49 PM

Thanks Beerman!

Can't wait to experience all that - the weather here is brutal today - would like to beam myself to the Beach Bar right now.

Cathy
Posted By: beachmi

Re: St John for the day - 01/07/2014 10:12 PM

we love secret harbour on stt for sun, snorkeling and a great lunch - never been bothered by cruise shippers there.
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