St. John – 2002<br>Villa Serenity<br>Cloud Nine<br><br>By Sandy & Dave Dudich<br><br><br>INTRODUCTION - This is a trip report of our stay on St. John in October and November 2002. This was our seventh stay on St. John, and we have gleaned lots of useful information from the experiences of others as posted to Internet bulletin boards, so this report is, in part, a payback attempt to share our experiences and recommendations with others, and, in part, a reference for our next visit.<br><br>Because the experiences we found enjoyable might not be for you, I’ll start be telling you a little about us. We’re a married couple in our 50s who enjoy sun, swimming, snorkeling, sailing, and seclusion. Furthermore, our experience has been staying at a villa, rather than a resort such as Caneel Bay or the Westin. If you’re looking for advice on entertainment, nightlife, expensive restaurants, bars, or where to take the kids, read no further cause we can’t provide any.<br><br>We first visited St. John in 1996 to celebrate Sandy’s 50th birthday. The reasons we keep returning are that St. John is beautiful, laid-back, uncrowded, and offers beautiful beaches and great snorkeling. Because 2/3 of St. John is National Park, the population is only about 3500 people on 21 square miles, and most of the people and houses are concentrated in the Cruz Bay area. <br><br>I’ve seen questions posted to the effect “Please list the five best and five worst places on St. John so that I can maximize my vacation time there.” If you want to maximize your vacation time, I suggest you go to go to Orlando and visit Disneyworld instead of St. John. Once you get off the ferry in Cruz Bay, time takes on an entirely different concept, particularly if you are staying in a villa. <br><br>WHEN TO GO - We’ve made most of our visits in Mid-October, to celebrate Sandy’s birthday. However this year we went the last week in October and first week in November. We found the weather was nicer (less rainy), and also many boat owners have there boats secured for hurricane season until early November. I’d recommend going in November or early December, before the villa rental doubles.<br><br>WHAT TO PACK – Supplies on St. John tend to be more expensive than at home, so we have learned to pack in most of the stuff we’ll need.<br><br> SUN – The first thing to pack is sun tan lotion and lots of it. (Nothing will ruin a vacation faster than a “Don’t Touch Me!” burn.) This year we packed two pints of Walmart NoAd #30 SPF and two pints of #8 SPF, and we used three pints. The sun in St. John is a lot more powerful than at home, and its really easy to overdo it so use lots of lotion whenever you go out. Also, because it is easy to get dehydrated, buy a 6 pack of bottled water on St. John and take a bottle of water with you everywhere.<br> The next thing to pack is a hat – a wide-brimmed hat, preferably one that roles up and that won’t get harmed if you wear it in the water. Sandy also wore a roll-up bicycle cap when we went snorkeling. You can’t really protect your scalp with suntan lotion, so always wear you hat outdoors, even you’re wearing nothing else!<br><br> BUGS – The first time we sent to St. John, Sandy looked like she had the chicken pox after a week. Bugs are a fact of life on St. John – mosquitoes, sand fleas, and no-see-ums. We brought four pump bottles of Deet 100, from the sporting goods section of Walmart. Sandy has found that taking Allegra will reduce the itching from the bites. The best way to protect yourself at the beach is to stay in the water.<br><br> PHOTOGRAPHY – We brought three disposable underwater cameras – Walmart about $8 each – as well as our 35 mm camera. We’d previously seen a recommendation for processing of underwater film by Sea and Sea Kodak Sea Processing. They don’t do mailers, so I took the cameras to Annapolis Scuba Center for processing on our return.<br><br> FOOD – Most of our luggage was food, because we ate most of our meals at Villa Serenity or Cloud Nine, and because food on St. John is somewhat more expensive than at home – e.g. a pint of Ben & Jerry’s is $6.99! We took a collapsible soft-sided cooler which we filled with frozen food – 5 lb shrimp, 4 filet mignons, scallops, salmon, and frozen vegetables. Do not bring frozen juices – they will melt! We also brought seasonings (Old Bay for steaming the shrimp) small bottles of sesame oil and olive oil, coffee, tea bags, rice and pasta. On St. John we bought eggs, cheese, crackers, baking potatoes, oleo, sour cream, yogurt, bread, orange juice, pina colada mix, and rum. Next year we’ll probably bring our own cheese, since we had some room left over in the cooler bag. (BTW, the soft sided cooler bag doubled every day as our beach bag to take food and water to the beach.)<br><br>CLOTHES – Finally, if you have room left over, bring some clothes. (One year American Airlines was 4 days late delivering our luggage, so we found out how few clothes we actually needed to get by on.)<br>To stay at the villa , you’ll need a wide brim hat, suntan lotion and a smile.<br>To go to the beach, you’ll need a swimsuit, sandals, a colorful coverup, a hat, suntan lotion, bug repellant, and snorkel gear. (The reason for the colorful coverup is to hang on a tree where you set up on the beach, so that when you have snorkeled a far way off, you have a target to return to. You also may want to wear it snorkeling the first few days for addition sun protection for your back – when you are snorkeling you don’t realize how much sun you are absorbing.) Capt. Phil of the Wayward Sailor lent me a 3 lb weight belt to wear when snorkeling with him. (It lets you dive and remain under water with little effort.) Oddly enough I couldn’t purchase one on St. John, so I subsequently purchased one in Annapolis.<br>To go to town (or anywhere else on St. John) you’ll also need shorts and a tee-shirt, and tennis shoes if you’re going hiking. And of course a fanny pack, or back pack, to carry your water bottles, suntan lotion, and bug repellent. Don’t leave the villa without them!<br>We’ve phased out our cotton warm weather clothes in favor of Coolmax shirts, shorts, socks, underwear. Coolmax fabric wicks away sweat, and does not get all heavy and soggy like cotton does, nor does it wrinkle, so one Coolmax garment can replace several cotton ones.<br>If you pack any more clothes than these, you’ll probably bring them home unworn. All my clothes fit into a one-gallon zip lock bag! <br><br> HOW TO PACK - When we packed, we packaged as much as possible into one quart and one gallon sliding top Zip Lock bags, in order to facilitate airport security inspections and repacking. The Zip Lock bags have many other uses once you get to St. John.<br><br>WHAT TO DO<br><br> BEACHES - <br>Our favorite beach on St. John is Francis Bay. Francis Bay is long – about ½ mi crescent, beautiful, and sparsely populated. It is the last beach at the end of the road for the North Shore Road, and most taxis don’t go that far. The most people we saw on the beach was one Sunday, when there were about a dozen, and they were mostly clustered at the Maho Point end, near the parking lot, while we were at the other end near Mary Point. <br>We would go there because the best snorkeling – most coral and fish – are out towards Whistling Cay past the end of the sand beach and past the big dead trees. To get there do not drive all the way to Francis Bay, but park at the Francis Bay Trail trailhead, and take the trail to the beach – about ¼ mi walk. <br>While we were on St. John, the prevailing winds were from the east, and since Francis Bay faces west, the water was very calm and flat, whereas some of the other North Shore Beaches were a bit choppy. We like to swim as well as snorkel, so each morning we would swim the length of Francis Bay, after our morning walk. <br>We also like to walk so most mornings we would walk from Francis Bay along the North Shore Road to the America Point end of Maho Bay and back– a distance of 4 (almost level) miles. This is probably the longest, least hilly stretch on St. John.<br>The first week, when we were in Villa Serenity, we walked to the beach and we would bring beach chairs, lunch (PBJ on pita bread), and books and set up in the shade for the day. The second week, when we drove to Francis Bay from Cloud Nine, we would go for our walk, go for our swim, and then eat our PBJs in the water to avoid the sand fleas that populate the beach. If you want to soak up some sun, I suggest that you will be more comfortable doing that on the deck of your villa. For one thing you will be able to get an all-over (no-tan-lines) tan, and for another you will not be harassed by the sand fleas, and for a third thing you will be able to enjoy a blender (or two) of pina coladas.<br><br>Another beach we like is Jumbie Beach, which is on the North Shore Road between Trunk Bay and Hawksnest. This is a small, secluded beach, with space for only four cars in its parking lot. The snorkeling is very good with some great coral out towards the point on the left. However it faces north, and both days we went there there, were a lot of sea swells, so snorkeling was somewhat difficult.<br><br>We also went snorkeling in Caneel Bay several days. The Caneel Bay Resort allows non-guest day use but you can not use the beach chairs or equipment. (You could also eat lunch there, if you did not mind spending $14 for a hamburger!) Drive in, park in the guest parking area, and follow the path to the beach. There is some really great coral reefs out around the point to the right. One day we took the trail to the left to Honeymoon Beach, about a ½ mi walk. While Honeymoon is a pretty beach, it was populated by four big snorkel boats and there were about 100 or so snorkelers in the water. Consequently we snorkeled around the point to the left to Salomon Beach, which was considerable less populated. Snorkeling was good around the point to the left of Salomon Beach. We also saw one nude couple on the beach (at least Sandy told me they were nude – I’ve really got to get prescription inserts for my snorkel mask!)<br><br>You may have noticed that I did not mention going to the more popular beaches such as Hawsksnest, Trunk or Cinnamon Bays. These beaches are closer to town and tend to be infested with “Cruise Ship Cattle , who come into St. Thomas for the day, catch the ferry to Cruz Bay, St John, and are then packed into taxis to be transported to one of these, dropped off for a few hours to snorkel, and are then herded back to their cruise ships. Fortunately the taxi drivers generally do not take them to the beaches I have recommended.<br><br>SUNNING – As beautiful as the beaches are, I’d recommend that you go to them primarily for swimming or snorkeling. If you want to soak up some sun, I suggest that you will be more comfortable doing that on the deck of your villa. For one thing you will be able to get an all-over (no-tan-lines) tan, and for another you will not be harassed by the sand fleas, and for a third thing you will be able to enjoy a blender (or two) of pina coladas.<br><br>SAILING – For the most enjoyable boating experience, we recommend going on a small ( 6 passenger) sailboat, rather than a larger power or sailboat. (The reason is that you get to go snorkeling where there are no crowds.) This costs about $160 per couple for a full day (10 am – 4 pm) sail. We’ve previously boated to the BVI – Foxy’s on Jost Van Dike, the Baths on Virgin Gorda, the Caves on Norman Island – but you really waste a lot of time clearing BVI (and now US ) customs, so we prefer sailing in USVI waters.<br>We went with Capt. Phil Chalker on Wayward Sailor out of Cruz Bay, and with Robin and Rick Gallup on Long Distance out of Coral Bay. Capt Phil took us snorkeling to Lovango Cay and to Congo Cay, which are just north of Cruz Bay, and lent me a 3 lb weight belt so that I do some surface dives and stay underwater more easily. Capt Phil is really good at escorting snorkelers through the water and at spotting and retrieving marine life.<br>Robin & Rick took us to snorkel Flanagan Island, just east of Coral Bay, as well as sailing south to Ramshead, and around the Indians and Norman Island. We particularly enjoyed snorkeling the rocks off of Flanagan Island, and the sailing on Long Distance. They told us Long Distance is a 40 ft Pearson sloop, which I guess means something to sailors, but all we know is that it was big and fast and comfortable, so much so that we scrubbed the second snorkel stop to do more sailing.<br><br>DINING – We understand that there are some very nice restaurants (Asolare, Bordeaux) where you can get dinner for the price of a day sail. We have not eaten at these places – usually we do not spend more than $20 for a meal for two. Most of our meals were eaten on the deck of Villa Serenity or Cloud Nine. However when we are in Cruz Bay, we like JJs TexMex (located at the park by the ferry dock) for breakfast or lunch, the Rolling Pin (located on Rt 104 just past the Texaco station) for pizza or meatball subs, and Uncle Joes (across from the post office) for ribs. When in Coral Bay we like Skinnylegs for hamburgers. (Last time we went to Miss Lucy’s for the Full Moon Party, but this year there was no full moon while we were on St. John.)<br><br>GROCERIES – We found that Starfish Market had the biggest selection, while Marina Market had lower prices. (Both are in Cruz Bay on Rt 104 – the road to the Westin.) On St. John we bought eggs, cheese, crackers, baking potatoes, oleo, sour cream, yogurt, bread, orange juice, pina colada mix, and rum. Next year we’ll probably bring our own cheese, since we had some room left over in the cooler bag.<br><br>GETTING AROUND – Generally to get around St. John you’ll need a rental jeep, which will run about $400/week, including gas. The week we stayed at Cloud Nine we rented a jeep from St. John Car Rental, who provide us with excellent service. One morning we returned from our morning walk by Francis Bay to discover the jeep had a flat tire. I jacked it up, removed the tire, but could not get the spare off because it was locked on with a special lug nut. We called SJCR and explained the situation, and they said they’d fix it, so we said ok we’re going swimming, and when we came back from our swim about an hour later, the flat tire had been replaced! They lived up to their slogan “No problem, mon”<br><br>When we stayed at Villa Serenity, we did not need a rental jeep, for two reasons. First we primarily needed the jeep to get from our villa to Francis Bay, and we were already there! Second, Villa Serenity is about ½ mi from the Maho Bay Campgrounds, and Frett’s Maho Bay Shuttle runs to Cruz Bay every two hours for $6 per person. So we basically took the shuttle to Villa Serenity upon our arrival at St. John, took it once more to ride Wayward Sailor, and back to town to pick up the rental car. (From previous visits, we know that Frett will drop you off at any of the North Shore beaches and pick you up at a prearranged time. Also Maho Bay Campground runs special excursions to other spots – Salt Pond, Reef Bay Trail, Miss Lucy’s Full Moon Party, etc – that you can catch by making prior arrangements with them.)<br><br>NIGHTLIFE Generally we’d eat on the deck of our villa about sunset (5:45 pm). Darkness comes quickly after that. While at Cloud Nine we would then watch the brightly lit cruise ships leave St Thomas about 7 pm.<br><br>WHERE TO STAY<br><br>VILLA SERENITY - The four outstanding features of Villa Serenity are its location, its location, its location, and Terry Witham.<br><br>The first location advantage of Villa Serenity is its proximity to the Francis Beach. On our first three visits to St. John, we had stayed in villas on Gifft Hill, overlooking Cruz Bay. This is a nice location for first-timers, since it is close to town, centrally located, and provides a great view of St. Thomas. However, whenever we wanted to go to the beach, we always had a 20 minute jeep ride. (This year during the week we stayed at Cloud Nine on Gifft Hill, most mornings we’d get up, watch the cruise ships come in, eat breakfast, and drive to Francis Bay by 8:00 am.) Prior to our fourth visit we discovered Villa Serenity, which is located at Mary Point which is at the end of the North Shore Road, and is about a 5 minute/ ¼ mile walk to the beach at Francis Bay, which had become one of our favorite beaches - it is large (about ½ mile long) , uncrowded (since its the farthest beach on the North Shore - about a 30 minute ride from Cruz Bay) and offers beautiful snorkeling along its northern edge. We often walked to Francis Bay at 8:00 am and would be the only ones there for an hour or two. At most there would be a dozen people there all day. Villa Serenity is also about a 1 mile walk to the Annanberg Ruins and about a 1 1/2 mi walk to Waterlemon Cay, another great snorkeling spot.<br><br>The second location advantage of Villa Serenity is that it is located in a cluster of three houses on a little driveway above the road to Francis Bay. However, because of the vegetation, you can not see either the road nor the other houses from the deck that extends the full length of Villa Serenity. The nearest houses you can see looking eastward are on Tortola, BVI, looking westward, on St. Thomas, and there are no houses to the north on Mary Point. Since no one can see you, the only things you need wear on the deck at Villa Serenity are a smile, suntan lotion, and a hat (unless you’re bald its really tough to rub suntan lotion onto your scalp!) There’s a neat hammock on the deck, ideal for sunning yourself, but I suggest you first cover the ropes with a cushion.<br><br> The third location advantage of Villa Serenity is that it is about a 15 - 20 minute walk to the Maho Bay Campground. The Campground offers its own little store, restaurant, and activities center, and, most importantly, it offers a shuttle into town every two hours from 8 AM to 8 PM for $6. On our first three trips to St. John, we had rented a jeep for about $400 /week including gas. The proximity of Villa Serenity meant that we could do without a rental car. Now if you haven’t been to St. John before, a rental car is a definite must, cause it can take you to beaches you might otherwise miss. However, if you use the rental car funds for sailboat rides instead (as we did), you’ll go to beaches that are inaccessible by car. The Maho Bay Shuttle will drop you off at any beach on the North Shore, and pick you up on any return trip. In addition, Maho Bay activities has scheduled group taxi rides to other St. John activities, such as Salt Pond beach, the National Park Service Reef Bay Trail hike, and various restaurants.<br><br>We rented Villa Serenity from Terry Witham. We found renting from Terry (who lives on St. John) to be a big advantage over renting from a realty company. Since we first strayed there in May 2000, Terry has made some very substantial improvements to Villa Serenity, particularly in outfitting the kitchen. Furthermore, Terry must know every resident of St. John, so if you have any questions about snorkeling, or beaches, or what boats to rent, Terry either knows or can find out. <br><br> Villa Serenity itself is a four bed-room, three bath house, with an enormous deck, from which you can see the sunrise over the BVI and the sunset over St. Thomas. (It is a lot more house than the two of us need, but the rental price depends on the number of occupants.) It has a fully equipped kitchen, as well as a gas-grill on the deck, great for grilling steaks, and a gazebo for dining outdoors. <br><br>CLOUD NINE - The three outstanding features of Cloud Nine are its location, its location, and its deck. <br><br>The first location advantage of Cloud Nine is that it is at the summit of Gifft Hill, overlooking Cruz Bay. This is a nice location , since it is close to town, centrally located, and provides a great view of St. Thomas. When we stayed there in 1996, we enjoyed rising just before sunup at 6 am and sitting in the hot tub on the deck watching the lights of the cruise ships entering Charlotte Amalie, and sitting in the hot tub after sundown at 6 pm watching the lights of the cruise ships as they left Charlotte Amalie. (Unfortunately two palm trees have since grown, blocking the view from the hot tub. However the view from the deck is still spectacular!)<br><br>The second location advantage of Cloud Nine is that there is no place nearby from which you can be seen. Since no one can see you, the only things you need wear on the deck at Cloud Nine are a smile, suntan lotion, and a hat. There’s even more privacy here than at Villa Serenity.<br><br> The third advantage of Cloud Nine is the big beautiful deck, with a gazebo for outdoor eating, a hot tub for cool mornings and evenings, and a small (8’ x16’ x 3’) pool for cooling off when the afternoon sun gets too hot. Most days we’d walk/swim/snorkel in the morning , and spend the afternoon on the deck with a blender of pina coladas. Our favorite place to eat was the deck of Cloud Nine! The kitchen is nicely equipped for preparing meals, The villa has a nice gas grill on the deck which we used to grill steaks. Other nights we had steamed shrimp with pasta, and scallops. The view of the sunset over St. Thomas was better than from any restaurant, and besides we didn’t have to dress for dinner (at all!)<br><br> Cloud Nine itself consists of two buildings connected by a breezeway. One building contains the two bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, while the other contains the kitchen, living room, and a loft bedroom. It has a fully equipped kitchen and a gas grill on the deck.<br><br>RECOMMENDATIONS:<br><br> A vacation on St. John is not for everyone. Its a bit of a hassle to get to, and there’s no night life to speak of, but if you enjoy sun, snorkeling, and uncrowded beaches, then its for you.<br><br> Similarly, staying in a villa is not for everyone. If you like being waited on, and being entertained then you’re probably better off on a cruise ship or staying at Caneel Bay.<br><br>Which villa to choose – Villa Serenity (or Cloud Nine? I’d choose Villa Serenity for a more adventurous, beach-oriented vacation, while I’d choose Cloud Nine for a more romantic, villa-oriented vacation. <br><br> I’d recommend going in November or early December.<br><br> I’d recommend not renting a car if I were staying at Villa Serenity, and applying that savings toward day sails. I’d go with Captain Phil on the Wayward Sailor for the snorkeling experience, and with Rick and Robin Gallup on the Long Distance for the sailing experience. I’d choose a sailboat over a power boat, and I’d choose cruising the USVI over visiting the BVI..<br><br> I’d recommend the ferry from Charlotte Amalie over the ferry from Red Hook.<br><br> If you’d like to see pictures of our trips to St. John, they may be found at:<br>http://groups.msn.com/SanDavesTravels/shoebox.msnw<br> <br><br>USEFUL REFERENCES:<br><br> Trails Illustrated Map “Virgin Islands National Park St John USVI”<br><br> “St John Off the Beaten Track” Gerald Singer<br><br> “The St. John Beach Guide” Gerald Singer<br><br> “St. John Feet, Fins & Four Wheel Drive” Pam Gaffin<br><br> www.seaandsea.com<br><br> www.caribtravelnews.com<br><br> www.traveltalkonline.com<br><br>www.usvi-on-line.com/usviforum.html<br><br>www.vinow.com/wwwtalk<br><br>http://new.onepaper.com/stjohnvi/<br><br>http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/<br><br>http://www.stjohnguidebook.com/<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>CONTACTS:<br><br> Sandy & Dave Dudich - email - dwdudic@yahoo.com<br><br> Cloud Nine www.cloud9villas.com Linda & Allen 340-693-8495<br><br>Villa Serenity – www.carribbeanvilla.com/villaserenity <br> Terry Witham - (340) 777-6867<br> e-mail terryr@attglobal.net<br><br> Wayward Sailor – www.waywardsailor.net Captain Phil (340) 776-6922 (Connections Cruz Bay)<br><br> Long Distance – Robin & Rick Gallup 340-779-4994 (Connections Coral Bay) sailboatlongdistance@hotmail.com<br><br> Maho Bay Campground 340-776-6226<br> St. John Car Rental 340-776-6103<br> St. John Taxi Stand 340-693-7530<br> Weather - (340) 774-4786<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>