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My fiance and I are arriving in St. Thomas this Friday and staying until Monday. We want to make sure we see as much as possible in our short time there.
We're in our late twenties. We're not much into shopping or drinking. We like the outdoors and nature. We'd like to visit as many beaches as possible on St. Thomas and St. John, especially secluded ones. We'd also like to go on some hiking trails or any other outdoor activities that are worth the price.
I saw a post earlier about renting a dingy(sp?), and taking it to the various beaches on St. Johns. Is that probably the best way to see as many beaches as possible? Any must do excursions?
Thanks,
TJ
I would rent a car and see as much as possible. Magens Beach in St. Thomas and several good ones in St. John. Take the ferry from Red hook. Trunk Bay on st. john is my favorite there. A great excursion is a daysail. Many listed on this site. We used yacht nightwind.
If you take a trip to St John here is my reccommendation. Select a calm day, bring a collapsable cooler, towels, sunscreen and bug spray. Exit the ferry, turn left, walk to Mongoose Junction, pick up some lunch at the Grotto Deli. Take the Lind Point trail to Salomon Beach and spend the day there. You can find directions and description of the Lind Point trail and Salomon on this website. You could do the dinghy thing but the thing I like to do best in the VI's is relax.
We come to St John 2-3 times a year and have rented the dinghy's, sailed and power boated. By far the most for our money has always been days with Josh and Mat from lionindasun You can get to more secluded spots the fastest and these guys have been everywhere.
Our favorite day was all the way around the island with stops at most of the bay's along with le'duck and Flanagan island. I have a picture of Josh about 12 feet under with the biggest eel I have ever seen out at Flanagan.
They have a website and if you need more info contact me. It costs more than a dingy but you will get to beaches that you can't get to by car. You can drive up to all of the beaches that you would get to by dingy.
Best rental car value is Lionel's tell Karen Matt said hi.
You could also take a taxi to a beach and spend the day. I would recommend Honeymoon/Salomon, Trunk or Cinnamon as these beaches see regular taxi service for your return trip. You can also arrange with your driver to pick you up at a pre-determined time or call his cell.
Here are links from this site where you will find information about;
hiking trails
https://www.vinow.com/stjohn/nationalpark/national_park.php
beaches
https://www.vinow.com/stjohn/beaches_stj/
charters and daysails
https://www.vinow.com/stjohn/SandL/daysail_fish.php
taxis
https://www.vinow.com/stjohn/getting_around_stj/taxi.php
I just re-read your original post and see that you are looking for a secluded beach. I would re-emphasize my suggestion for Salomon. You can also get there via cab ride to Caneel and a much shorter hike past Honeymoon to Salomon.
If you rent a vehicle from anyone but Hertz you can take the car over to STJ on the car barge and explore that island to your heart's content. There are beautiful beaches at every turn and we're in slow season now so much of the time you'll have beaches to yourselves! Trunk is OK but gets crowded when there are cruise ships in for the day.
On STT, the best snorkeling is at Sapphire and Secret Harbour (Coki as well but it gets very crowded on cruise ship days) and Magens Bay has a really nice hiking trail. Smith Bay (formerly Lindqvist) is also a beautiful beach and not crowded. Both Magens and Smith Bay charge an entry fee. but none of the others do (except for Trunk on STJ). Easy parking at all.
Have a wonderful four days here!
My wife and my first real vacation was to St. Thomas when we were around your age. We rented a jeep which I would highly recommend. We spent one day on St. John. It seemed like an adventure taking the car fairy from Redhook to Cruz Bay. We also went to Megans Bay on St. Thomas and Sapphire Beach. You will have a great time.
Personal preference I suppose and all of the previous suggestions are excellent but one thing to consider a must do in the USVI is...
Nothing
I understand your desire to take in as much as possible but our society has lost the art of sitting back and taking in what is around us. At times we seem destined to drown in our own manufactured experiences (i.e. internet, TV, e-mail, text, twitter, theme parks, etc.). I note you mentioned a desire to get out into trails and secluded beaches and yet you want to see as many as you can within 4 days. That's a lot of moving and not that much stopping to enjoy where you are at the movement. Take time to smell the sand, listen to the waves rolling in and watch the people of the islands. Learn the art of limin' and practice the no worries lifestyle. Recharge your young souls and remember the feeling all of your lives when you return home. Enjoy.
You'll be back. 😉
