My girlfriend and I spent last week (7/24 - 7/31) on STJ, and here is a quick summary of things we did/saw/liked/disliked.

Where we stayed: Estate Lindholm
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We absolutely loved this place. It's extremely clean, quite, and very well managed (Lauren is a wonderful host!). The room is cleaned ever day (new sheets, towels, etc). Breakfast is continental, but still nice (waffels, french toast, bagels, cereal, fruit, juices). It was great to eat outside and feed the tiny birds that could come right up to you for a few crumbs. EL has a nice little honor bar room setup not far from the pool. The little pool was also wonderful for taking a dip after a long day of snorkeling/swimming. The balcony view from the Honeymoon suite was very nice as well. Also, if your a plant lover (like my girlfriend) this is the place for you! They do not allow children here - take that as positive or negative or however you want.

Areas we went to (snorkeled at all of them)
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We are really big into snorkeling, and probably snorkeled well over 1 mile average distance each day. On most days, we did 2-3 different areas. Anyway, on to the list (in no particular order)...

1. Trunk
This was one of our favorite snorkels. I went there not expecting much because of all the tourist traffic, but let me tell from firsthand experience that the snorkel around the Cay is awesome. There were baitfish along the left side and predators like jacks, yellowtails, and barracudas (they are harmless folks!). GO EARLY THOUGH - be done by 10 AM or you will be swarmed by cruiseship people.

2. Cinnamon
Again, I didn't expect much snorkeling here. We went around the Cay though and were amazed! Well, let me just say that snorkeling with 5-6 foot long tarpon feeding on minnow sized baitfish is one heck of a cool experience. There were lots of other fish to see as well.

3. Lameshur
We did the left side along the rocks. It was a great snorkel, and very clear with beautiful reef fish (including a nice size trigger fish).

4. Little Lameshur (the one further up the road from Lameshur)
Went all the way to the far tip on the left side, and saw hundreds and hundreds of fish. The highlight here were two African Pompano about 3 feet long that swamp up and stopped right in front of us. I can't wait to get the pictures developed that I took for that! We also saw a really nice size lobster toward the middle of the bay (where are my lobster gloves when I need them?!?). There was a turtle in the middle of the bay as well over the grass.

5. Salt Pond Bay
Water was cloudy - no clue why. It was rather disappointing due to the water clarity, but if it was clearer I'm sure it would have been a better snorkel.

6. Jumbie
Largest and most dense school of minnows that I have ever seen. Once in the middle of them, it becomes almost disorienting (don't mean that in a bad way). I'm not talking 1,000 minnows or even 10,000, I'm talking about millions covering an area about 100 feet long. It's really cool to snorkel with the minnows and watch jacks and yellowtail go running through trying to catch a meal.

7. Solomon
Clear water, lots of fish. Nothing amazing, but still a great snorkel.

8. Leinster/Waterlemon
Ok, there are two ways to snorkel to Waterlemon - the long way and the short way. Basically, if you walk another 1/4 mile or so then it's a much shorter snorkel. Folks - DON'T SNORKEL THE LONG WAY! We snorkeled the long way, and unless you like a complete white out (as in you can't see anything except the floaters in your eyes) in 70+ feet of water with boats potentially running over you then your much better off walking a little further and taking the shorter path to Waterlemon. Waterlemon itself was a great snorkel - yes the starfish that people have talked about are there but they were in what must have been 30+ feet of water when we went. We also saw a turtle, and lots of fishes. The reef is in decent shape here, but being a fish person I was a little disappointed in the lack of fishes.
After leaving Waterlemon, we snorkeled back the short distance to the edge of Leinster and then around the entire bay area. This was an AWESOME snorkel - lots of fish (1 king mackeral, lots of big mangrove snapper, 2 turtles, rays, an entire field of large starfish in fairly shallow water, groupers, lots more fish, two huge jellyfish). I was even more impressed with Leinster than I was with Waterlemon - so I guess it all depends on what people like to see.

9. Gibney
I honestly can't remember much about this snorkel, other than the spotted eagle ray - really cool. The water was clear, and we saw lots of parrot fish and other common reef fish (but once you have already seen 3,000 parrot fish, you have seen them all).

10. Maho
Water wasn't very clear - again an afternoon snorkel. It's a good swimming beach though.

11. Francis
Again, water wasn't very clear - and again an afternoon snorkel.

12. Whistling Cay/Fungi Pass (Noah's Little Arks Day)
This was a great snorkel - very clear water, lots of fish to see. We fed the iguanas on the island banana peels. Saw a flounder on the STJ side of fungi pass. Don't swim out in the middle of the pass though unless you like getting hit by boats - stay near the edge.

13. Henley Cay (Noah's Little Arks Day)
Wow - what a pretty little beach and crystal clear water. This place is awesome for just a swim or a nice snorkel. Nothing incredible seen during the snorkel, but then again it could be different on another day.

14. Haulover North
Nice snorkel - saw squid and lots of fish

15. Haulover South
Lots of small fry to swim with along with predators, nice looking reef

General comments on snorkeling...

Snorkeling in the morning always had clearer water than the afternoon. I guess it has to do with it being calmer at night and less wave action or something? Anyway, something to keep in mind. We looked and looked and looked for an octopus and never saw one 🙁 . Also, we never saw one shark while snorkeling (I was actually rather disappointed in that while my girlfriend was relieved). We did see one about 6 feet long swimming down the beach real close to shore at Trunk while we were walking the beach (it kept my girlfriend out of the water for awhile). That one really freaked some swimmers out - they were running out of the water like it was Jaws himself! People, if you see a shark in STJ it will NOT hurt you. They are afraid of you just like you are of them. Yelling shark is a really fast way to get the water in a crowded area all to yourself though (JUST KIDDING!).

Restaurants
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We ate at quite a few I won't list - here are our favorites:

1. Fish Trap
The lobster is amazing, the wahoo dishes are to die for, and happy hour drinks are really cheap. The little hummingbirds all over the place are really cool too. This was our favorite place. We had reservations at Ten Tables on our last night and cancelled to go here because a) it was casual and b) we loved the place.

2. JJs (right in front ferry dock area)
Good American food for lunch, breakfast, and dinner. I didn't expect much from this place, but we never had a bad meal hear.

3. Lime Inn
OH MY GOD THE KEYLIME PIE IS TO DIE FOR! We had key lime pie here 3 times during our stay - it's THAT good. I have had key lime pie in Key West and all over FL and other states and islands - this was the best ever. Oh, the other food they serve is good too. 🙂

4. Beach Bar
Ok - the food is pretty good but go here and sit out on a little plastic table by the beach with a few drinks. This is a really relaxing place to chill for awhile.

Least Favorite

Panani Beach
I don't remember what the hell they put on my girlfriends plate that night but it was foul. My girlfriend and I had a good laugh about that place. Also, bruchetta appetizer with huge tomato hunks that wouldn't balance on the bread. Ah to heck with it, just tossed the tomatoes and ate only the bread. My main course (some grouper thing with pasta) was OK, but at the prices they charge it should be WOW OMG INSANE good. At least the strawberry margaritas were good. 🙂

Other Info
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Driving - scary at first, fun after awhile. It took me awhile to get used to driving in the states when I got back home. Some of those roads are a rush if your not used to mountain driving. I most definitely recommend renting a vehicle, but be careful on those roads if it rains!

Prices - everything is expensive. Restaurants are normally $50-$100 for two unless you plan on eating at Skinny Legs, Pizza places, or Subway every night.

Flying through San Juan sucks - everyone knows this already though I guess.

Hit the beaches early and use LOTS of sunscreen. Snorkel in a t-shirt if at all possible. I got my back FRIED from 10 - 11 AM (1 hour) on the first morning because I was a dummy thinking I wouldn't get burned that early. I'm now peeling my 3rd layer of skin from that mistake.

Ok - that's the highlights that I can think of. If you do one thing, snorkel around Trunk Cay before 9:30 AM or so. It's an amazing experience.

Later Mon!