Hey Mountaineer Girl,

Where'd you get an April Cruise Ship Schedule ?

http://www.cruisecal.info/portal/StThomasUSVirginIslands/tabid/2016/Default.aspx

on the 20th, 22nd, and 23rd - it shows no ships in port.

There is also another way to view it, by list. I think you can click on Main Calendar on the left hand side and find a list of all ships in port. I printed it all out for our trip.

Here's the number for the Cruz Bay Visitor's Center:

Cruz Bay Visitor Center
Open All Year 8:00AM - 4:30PM
340-776-6201 ext 238

They will be able to tell you the hours for Trunk. I am pretty sure the snack bar would be open daily...maybe not holidays, but otherwise I'm sure you'll be fine. You can even go to the beach before it officially "opens" and after it "closes". I use quotes because the beach has loose hours. We were there around 9am on a weekday last summer and were literally the 2nd group of people on the beach. Of course, within a half hour there were about 10-20 more groups of people. For an awesome experience I would highly recommend heading there as early as possible (7am) so you can experience having that beach to yourselves. It's so amazing to sit there before the crowd hits and imagine what those islands were like hundreds of years ago. Of course, you'll be waiting a while for that snack bar to open. Just bring a muffin to tide you over!

thanks crystal! I copied/pasted that # with my restaurant telephone numbers for STT and STJ!

Get there early and then head to the more secluded beaches that the masses will not find...

I second that! Gotta say, that 's my favorite thing about STJ....you can always find a beach that nobody else is currently visiting. That's another reason I love getting up and heading out at 6 or 7 in the morning...it's great!

Mountaineer Girl,

Trunk is open every day. Definetly make time to get to Trunk. You won't be disappointed.

My tip for Trunk Bay... if you have lunch from the snack bar (and while it's not the best burger in the world it is the best burger & pina colada with a killer view in the world!!!) when you get your food, cover your fries, etc cause the gulls will go for them, but that's part of the charm if your attitude is on "island time". Next, walk down the sidewalk to your right (if facing the ocean) and go down to the hopefully open picnic table that is right across from the little wooden steps and lovely leaning palm tree in front of all that gorgeous blue water that you've seen in a ton of pictures of on this site... it's really like something out of a corona commercial and your lunch will be just dreamy (for lack of a better word). Don't feed the gulls any fries until you are finished or you will have more lunch companions than you wish. 🙂

Seriously, this is a lunch memory and trunk bay photo that you will treasure...

One more reason to cover your food when eating at the picnic table would be that the Gulls have been known to go #2 while sitting on a branch directly above you. Yes, we found this out the hard way!! LOL Boy does that bring back memories!

As we always make it a point to visit trunk while we are there at least one time I agree that there are lots of nice beaches that are less crowded. Maho,Gibney,Francis,Honeymoon I could go on and on. 7 weeks till our next trip.

All of the facilities are open daily from like 9 to 4 or something like that. We've been going to STJ since I was three so I've been there plenty of times.

Mountaineer girl, yes there are other beaches to see, but there is something about Trunk. We have not been there on our last two trips, simply because of the crowds/ships-even though if you get there early -it can become quite busy fast (busy by st john standards). Thanks for the link to the cruise calendar-I also found two days without cruiseships in port. April does look busy, never thought of it, but I guess Cruise Lines have an off/on seasons too? Thanks again.

OK, all you savvy travelers. I so happen to be one of those "cruise" persons....lol. I really need an answer for costs to Red Hook ferry from Havensight cruise ship pier. There have been so many websites that gives me different costs for a Taxi to Red Hook, and ferry to Cruz Bay. Anyone know the actual 2007 rates? Plus, the cost on the van/safari from Cruz bay to Trunk?
Thanks for the help!

TWI

Trunk Bay is indeed the most famous beach/bay on St. John, but for incredible snorkelling and a more "off the beaten path" beach area...either rent a car on St. John or hire a cab to take you, or even take the Vitran bus (infrequent schedules), or believe it or not, hitch a ride over to Salt Pond Bay. This bay has something for everyone...of course, a Salt Pond where you can see some great birds, walk the little trail next to the salt pond over to Drunk Bay (yup) and see some great "artistic" renderings of coral bits. Then return for a great snorkel and cap off the day with a hike up to the top of Ram Head for views to die for. If you want more information, ask me....I'm a local. have fun...

TWI: VINow keeps the taxi rates up to date on this forum and you can find the rates for STT and STJ by clicking on St Thomas or St John at the top of this page and going to "taxi rates." Ferry schedules and prices are likewise at the top of this page.

But check out what's offered through your cruise ship as it may be much simpler and possibly even less expensive to go along with what they have rather than doing it solo. Have a great trip!