You must go on a half or full day sail on the Independence. (The other) Captain Pat is full of great stories and will take you to unbelievable snorkeling sites. Not to mention, her cooking is wonderful and her rum punch is the best (you won't want to drink any other rum punch after this!). I think their limit is 6, but maybe you could kick some people overboard 😉

Check out her website ( http://www.independence44.us/) and send her an e-mail. She is very good about responding in a timely manner.

Remind your fellow travellers to always greet people with a "Hello? How are you today?" before jumping into a request. You will be surprised at how much service improves when you start off like that.

Oh, and don't forget to say a prayer for Lex (that's a joke)

Oh my! Newbies to the islands for 7 days and months to plan! You're going to have SO much fun putting your trip together! My wife and I have been coming for 5 years. We brought newbies with us last year. Here are the things they really enjoyed:

1. Ferry to Jost Van Dyke Saturday for the day. You'll get there around 10:30 and will leave at 3pm. While you are there, start at Ivan's (tell the taxi man to take you there). Eat an early lunch there (along with their famous Bananawacker!) then walk over to Soggy Dollar Bar around noon. Have many Painkillers at Soggy Dollar and relax either in the beautiful sun shining on the beach or by the bar under the shade trees. Get a taxi to Foxy's around 2pm. Spend the next 45 minutes at Foxy's listening to his live calypso music (if you are lucky enough to time it right), try some Foxy's Firewater Rum, and buy a souvenir. You can walk back to the ferry dock from Foxy's so you'll only have 2 Taxi rides on the island.
This is just my opinion, but I'd save my money on the powerboat trip to BVI/Marina Cay/Jost Van Dyke and just take the ferry to Jost for the day. JVD is the absolute highlight of the day and I wouldn't worry about missing Virgin Gorda or lunch at Marina Cay. We did do the New Horizons trip and it is worth the money. However - I'd just rather spend the entire day on JVD for less $$.

2. St. John. Here's my recommendation - go to Trunk Bay on your first day. Rent a car if you can (or take the car ferry if you are already renting on STT). Stop on the hill before the Bay for pictures. Get there early - enjoy the morning there. Go back to town and have lunch at Woody's (fresh fish sandwich is the best - accompanied by a Bushwacker, of course!). After lunch go to Cinnamon Bay. Completely different than Trunk and great for relaxing, swimming, or snorkeling.

3. St. John - Day 2. Pack a cooler with beverages and sandwiches. Rent a car (or take a taxi, but be SURE to arrange for a pick-up time) and head to Waterlemon Cay. Wow! The snorkeling there is amazing. It's a long walk from the parking lot (or taxi drop-off) to the beach, but man-o-man it's worth it. Spend the day there. Lie in the sun awhile, snorkel a bit, eat some lunch, have a drink, lie in the sun, snorkel..... you get the idea! Again - it's around half mile walk along the water (on a well marked trail), so don't be surprised.

4. Head to Mountaintop around 10:30 am. Take you time there. Shop some, look at Magans Bay and the neighbor islands from one of the best perches on the island. Then, head to Magans for the day. It's so neat to see the beach/bay from the sky then experience it in person. Rent some lounge chairs and build a relationship with the beach waitress (it's amazing - they always know just when to bring you another cold tropical drink!). Have lunch there - the grilled chicken sandwiches are good - I've heard the Pizza is also good, but I've never had it.

5. You do need to spend at least 3-4 hours in Downtown Charlotte Amalie. The shopping experience is fun and worth the time - even if you don't plan to buy much. It's just a neat experience that all visitors to the islands should have.

6. Duplicate whatever you like! We ended up at Cinnamon a couple times on our 5 day/6 night stay last year.

7. Do experience the evening meals at local restaurants. Since you are staying on St. Thomas, I'd recommend the Mafolie for the view, Banana Tree Grill for the view and Key Lime Pie, and Craig and Sally's simply for the food (although not everyone shares my affection for C&S - it's just been a usual special treat for us).

I'm sure others have great recommendations like day sails (we enjoyed the Winifred last year) and other beaches or excursions. Only you know what you really think you'll enjoy. The best news is the there is little "bad" when you are in paradise.

Good Luck - Have Fun!!

I realize everyone will be excited and want to see or do everything but take time to experience 'island time'. That's the feeling of relaxation and no worries that really recharges the batteries. After all, isn't that why you want to vacation anyway?

As usual Chris, you nailed it correctly!

I definitely recommend atleast one day on STJ. Trunk Bay is a must. If you can, renting a car/jeep is ideal. (Vehicle ferry over & back is $50) On STT, Coki Beach has great snorkeling. Magens Bay has ok snorkeling but is beautiful and relaxing. Definitely recommend going to Mountain Top.

Erinn

Thanks for all the recommendations. Since we will have 2 cars with 8 people, would it be more worth it to take the car ferry over and have our cars? Or would it be better to take the people ferry, get off and take one of those open air type vehicles that take you to some beaches?

If you only intend to visit Trunk, Hawksnest and/or Cinnamon Bays and shop /eat in Cruz Bay you can use the Safari buses. If you want to explore off the beaten path beaches and other parts of the island, it will be more convenient if you ferry the cars to STJ.

Timing on the car ferry can be rough sometimes and mean returning to STT earlier than if you take the passenger ferry. Remeber island time 🙂

I think you should take the ferry over from STT, it's an easy quick trip and less trouble than taking your car just a day at the beaches. Once in Cruz Bay there are plenty of open air taxis to take you to Trunk Bay, which is a good first choice... I'd suggest going as early in the day as possible, have lunch there at the snack bar (don't forget your pina coloada!) and take it down the path to a picnic table where you can eat and see the water. Then you can grab another taxi to take you on to Cinnamon for the afternoon which will be less crowded and is indeed both relaxing and gorgeous. You will be able to get a taxi there to take you back to Cruz Bay to catch the ferry back to STT.

Go back another day to STJ to wander through the Cruz Bay shops or eat lunch and then take a taxi to the closest beach, Hawksnest where you can spend the rest of the afternoon before returning to catch your ferry back to STT or even have a burger at Woody's or pizza at seniorita's down near beach bar. Either place you can eat in T-shirts and shorts with your bathing suits underneath... and then head back to STT on the nearby ferry.

My first tip would be since you are using 2 vehicles, bring walkie talkies along so you can communicate with the other vehicle when traveling together! You will love them for sure!
Besides doing a day trip to STJ, I often recommend doing a day sail to Virgin Gorda, BVI.....The Baths are awesome! A day sail is the BEST way to do this, verses taking the ferry to Virgin Gorda. Make sure everyone has either Birth Certs. or passports for this trip! (which you should have with you anyway).
I also recommend taking your first full day to do a drive around the island to see the sights and affiliate yourselves with the roads. Then it will be easier next time you venture out!
Most of all, take chris@work's advise and sit back and relax!!!! Have fun! 🙂

Since you are coming after the new travel initiative will be in effect, if you do in fact want to travel to the BVIs, you must have passports, so don't forget those...very important!

I don't have experience with the daysails but if you go to STJ, Trunk and Francis Bay beaches are a must! We saw eagle rays, turtles, and a barracuda at Francis, and it is so peaceful there! Have a great time!

Sharon