I have really appreciated all the help I have gotten from folks on this message board. To try to help others, I have written a fairly long detailed trip report, trying to address some of the questions I have had in planning trips to STJ. Hope it is helpful to some of you, especially people planning to stay at Maho.

St. John Trip Report – Nov. 29-Dec. 6, 2005

I flew out of Syracuse and my daughter flew out of Burlington and we met in Charlotte. My son flew from San Francisco. Miracle of miracles – we all made it to STT on schedule within about 20 minutes of each other. They both just brought carry on luggage. I brought everything I really needed in carry on and also checked a suitcase with a week’s worth of snacks, the neat sheet, extra towels, and other things I could have lived without if the bag didn’t make it there with me. My son is working on a PhD at UC-Berkeley and I hadn’t seen him for a long time. I offered to take them to St. John so we could hang out for a week and visit. It worked out great.

Maho Bay Campground
We stayed at Maho Bay in a tent cottage, which I hadn’t done before. This was my third trip to St. John (12-01 and 7-05), but my kids’ first. I liked staying at Maho a lot better than I expected to. The campground atmosphere brought back fond memories of camping trips as a child – and a tent cottage is a heck of a lot more comfortable than a tent. The campground was clean and well maintained and service was good. The tents would be most comfortable for two people, but worked okay for three adults. The two beds are more comfortable than the couch that my son slept on. We were lucky - the nights were actually cool enough to use the lightweight blankets they provided and we never needed the fan. I liked listening to the tree frogs at night and feeling the air coming through the screen sides. We had a hard rain one night, but other than that didn’t have much rain. We didn’t have any trouble with bugs in the tent and the lights are very good for reading. We didn’t mind the steps or having to use the shared bathhouses or the cold showers (not ice cold – and I found it was easier if I took a shower after swimming when I was already wet). We liked being able to charge things from the store, art gallery, and beach rentals to our room. We found Maho Bay to be a great location – very central on the island. Never seemed far to drive to Cruz Bay, north shore beaches, or Coral Bay. I was very glad we had a rental vehicle (2-door Suzuki 4-wheel drive with sunroof). With three people we would have spent quite a bit on taxis and not had the convenience of going anywhere we wanted on our own schedule. We used the car a lot. The last two times we have been there we have gotten cars with soft tires (different rental companies) – so be sure to check. The sunroof was a great feature. We were careful about what we left in the car, but had no problems with anyone messing with the soft top. We also left things on the beach and never had a problem. I have always felt safe and secure on St. John. We brought a padlock for the tent and also for the lock box inside, but also felt like our things were secure at the campground. The only problem we had was all the damp clothes and towels. Once things get wet they just don’t dry. That’s life in the tropics. They do have washers and dryers at the campground, but we didn’t use them. Be sure to go watch the glass blowing demonstrations in the evenings, even if you aren’t staying there. We never ate in the restaurant. I wanted to get out to other restaurants (there are so many good ones on the island) and not spend so much time at the campground, and the restaurant setup reminded us a bit too much of being at summer camp. Other people on the list complained of the campground being noisy, but it was quiet where we were (the B section – a bit off the beaten path, but not too far from registration and a bathhouse). We also went right before high season (starts Dec. 15) and the campground wasn’t full.

Stuff to Bring
Bringing a bunch of snack food worked really well (granola bars, breakfast bars, poptarts, crackers, cookies, peanuts, trail mix, PayDays, etc – things that would hold up in the heat – no chocolate). We ate out of our snack supply (kept in the storage bin they provide) for breakfast and lunch. I bought juice at the campground store most mornings. Then we went out to dinner each day. This helped keep the spending on food within reason and was convenient. Everything is more expensive (like $4.50 for a box of Poptarts compared to ~$1.50 at home). I learned about Neat Sheets on the message board and they do work great! My daughter did more sitting on the beach than I do (I am always snorkeling) and the Neat Sheet works much better than sitting on a towel. I had to order it from Drugstore.com because I couldn’t find one in local stores at this time of year. Flashlights are a must at the campground. We didn’t buy water. We found the drinking water at the campground to be fine. They supply a good container to fill up and we filled up water bottles each day from that. As everyone has been saying, the bugs are pretty bad, but we didn’t have problems with mosquitoes. Just the little no-see-um sand fleas, or whatever they are. You don’t really notice them, just the bites that show up later – so they aren’t annoying in the way mosquitoes are. I happen to be fairly allergic to bites, so get pretty itchy. Even with bug repellent I got bit, but it isn’t a huge problem and they don’t bother everyone. I took benadryl a few nights to keep the itching down. We rented snorkel gear at Maho for the week. Net bags are handy to take to carry snorkel gear in.

Restaurants
Miss Lucy’s – we got there just before 6pm and got a good table on the patio. Contrary to what I have seen on this message board, the service was great and fairly speedy, but there weren’t very many people there. Good food and we enjoyed the meal and the setting.

Skinny Legs – I have to go to Skinny Legs when on St. John. I had to send my burger back because it was so rare, but we had fun watching the dart game. I think I have enjoyed being there in the afternoon more than I did in the evening. My husband and I have gone there when it is raining to hang out and drink beer.

Island Blues – My husband and I had been here when it was Pepes in 2001. I like the Island Blues décor better. We went twice and sat by the water. Pretty good food and great view.

Morgan’s Mango – The most expensive place we ate. Good atmosphere, but food wasn’t anything exciting for the price. I had coupons from couponSt.John.com for free frozen drinks with entrée, so that saved us $21 on drinks.

Margarita Phils – I like this place. The black bean naked nachos are good and so are the soups – gazpacho and lobster bisque both great.

Uncle Joe’s BBQ – One of the best deals on the island. Good ribs and great prices.

Beaches
Solomon – a beautiful and quiet beach. A little nicer than Honeymoon. Snorkeling was okay, but not great. We park up at the Natl. Park parking area for Lind Point Trail at the top of the hill coming out of town on North Shore Rd.

Hawksnest – a beautiful beach, but the water was fairly rough when we were there. We had lunch and then went to Maho where it was calmer.

Big Maho – the snorkeling has always been good when I have been here. On the east end out to the rocks between Big Maho and the next little beach before Little Maho. We always swim from Big Maho to Little Maho to Francis and back (or vice versa). A great snorkel. We saw rays and hawksnest turtles.

Francis Bay – This was an amazing experience. I like Francis Bay, but had never seen it like this. The bay was filled – and I mean filled – with millions of little fish, especially on the side toward little Maho. It was so thick you couldn’t see where the reef was. There were lots of 4-5 ft bright silver tarpons swimming around. It was really different. We snorkeled a long ways out along the rocks on the far side, away from Maho. We saw rays and tarpons. There are large numbers of pelicans in Francis Bay. The Francis Bay trail that goes around the pond was under water for part of it. But the trail that comes in near the parking area for the beach was covered with tiny land crabs. It was pretty cool. As you walked down the trail they would scurry into holes that were everywhere on the trail.

Trunk – Only went there so my kids could see it. Otherwise I wouldn’t have bothered. It is beautiful, but you can appreciate the beauty from the overlook. I actually think Solomon, Hawksnest, and Cinnamon are more beautiful beaches to hang out on. We went about 9:00am and it got much more crowded while we were there. The water was rough the day we were there – a fairly strong undertow. The snorkeling was terrible. We swam around the cay, but the water was so stirred up and so many waves that we didn’t see a thing on the backside and down the west side. I felt really sorry for people who picked Trunk as their one place to go snorkeling because the underwater trail is played up.

Salt Pond Bay – We went to Salt Pond on the day that it was so rough at Trunk. It was very calm down there and a good place to hang out for the afternoon. We first hiked to Ram Head. Always seems like the hottest place on the island. Views are great and it is not a difficult hike. The cobblestone beach past Salt Pond beach is a great place to look at shells and coral on the beach. At the end of the cobblestone beach closest to Salt Pond there is great snorkeling. It is a neat deeper water environment. Salt Pond Bay is a good snorkeling spot. We swam way out on the left side, almost out to the point. It got really good farther out. We also saw a hawksbill turtle and rays toward the middle of the bay. At the end of the afternoon we walked over to Drunk Bay. It is 1/3 of a mile past the salt pond and a very different beach. Tons of fun coral figures that people leave on the beach and great views of the BVI. We stopped at Miss Lucys for dinner which was a great ending for a great day.

Leinster Bay and Waterlemon Cay – It takes about a half hour to walk down the trail around Leinster Bay from the Annaberg parking lot. It is an interesting walk and takes you past a beach and to the rocks across from Waterlemon Cay. I was lucky to run into some people in the parking lot who had been out the day before and could tell us where to find the starfish. We missed them when we were there in July. Instead of swimming the shortest route out to the island, swim out to the boat moorings (balls in the water) that are closest to the shore and the island. There were a bunch of starfish around the bottom of one closest to the shore. From there head toward the island (toward the spot where it is really shallow, like a sand bar). As you go from deep water to shallow water there were a bunch of starfish on the shelf heading up to the shallow water. The snorkeling around the cay was great. We went around clockwise and then turned around and went all the way back around counterclockwise. The best spot was the back of the island directly opposite the shore. They weren’t charging an entrance fee to get into Annaberg. It is interesting and doesn’t take long to walk around. Great views from Annaberg.

Hansen Bay – We drove out to the East End to see if Vies was open. It wasn’t unfortunately. But, we did put $5 (for two) in the box across the street to use the beach on Hansen Bay. It is a beautiful bay. Only one other couple there. The best snorkeling was around the rocks over to the right. We also stopped at the south side of Haulover for a quick snorkel. I haven’t done the north side. The side close to the road is pretty good. We saw squid there this summer.

Cinnamon Bay – The water was rough the day we were there, but we finally decided to go snorkeling. We swam around the cay. It was pretty good. It is a beautiful beach. Don’t miss the trail through the ruins and the forest across the road from the beach.

Reef Bay Hike – I’ve done the Reef Bay trip twice – with the Park Service last summer and on our own on this trip. You learn a lot going with the Ranger, but I actually preferred doing it alone and walking back up. The trail is not difficult and we were surprised how easy it was to walk back up. A lot of it is in the shade. I think it took about 4-1/2 hours round trip with a lunch stop, going to the petroglyphs, Great House, and Sugar Mill. One of the coolest things was all of the hermit crabs in the sugar mill. The floor was so covered it was hard to walk around without stepping on them. We went to the beach closest to the sugar mill ruins for lunch and a swim. It is a really pretty little beach. This is different than the beach where the Park Service boat picks you up. We also climbed up to the plantation Great House, which you don’t get to do with the Park Service hike. It is so overgrown that you can’t see much, but kind of neat. No view up there, which is what I was hoping for.

BVI Trip
We went with the Limnos trip to the BVI. My daughter gets seasick and we were advised this would be the best one. We were very pleased with the trip. It was also cheaper than others. We inquired on-line and got a 10% discount. They also give you lunch. Nothing exciting, but then you don’t have the expense for lunch at a restaurant and spend more time on the boat. The boat holds about 40 people but there were only 13 of us, which was great. The crew was good. It was very cloudy when we left St. John and it rained most of the way to Virgin Gorda. By the time we got to Spanishtown the sun was out. I like the way they dock at Spanishtown and put you right on a taxi to The Baths. You waste no time waiting to clear customs and get to see some of Virgin Gorda. It is cool to see the way the Baths (batholiths) extend way beyond the area at the shore. We had gone with New Horizons II this summer, which was a good trip, but I liked this one better. We spent two hours at the Baths, which was just about right - time to be led through The Baths, play around on our own in the rocks, and swim at both Devils Bay and the beach at the bottom of the trail from the top. I carried my own mask and snorkel and did a little snorkeling at this beach. Then we drove back to Spanishtown and ate lunch on the boat. The trip over to Norman Island was interesting. We had missed this on NHII and I liked it better than going to Marina Cay, Guana Island, and Jost Van Dyke (Soggy Dollar Bar). I liked riding on top of the boat, which you can’t do in the small NHII. It was sunny almost all the way to Norman and then got cloudy and started to sprinkle. But then it cleared up again for snorkeling at The Caves, which I liked. Wasn’t the best snorkeling, but it was good, and I especially liked the middle cave and hung out in there for awhile. Right after we got on the boat we saw a huge barracuda right off the back of the boat (about 5ft long). On the way back to St. John they took us close to shore and we got a good view of the North Shore beaches. A great trip and a bargain.

Charlotte Amalie
Since we had to drop the rental car off by 10:00am on the last morning, we had breakfast at Chilly Billys, and took the 11:00 ferry to Red Hook. It would have made more sense to take the ferry to Charlotte, but my daughter gets seasick, so I opted for the shorter ride. We took a taxi to downtown and got out with our luggage to spend a few hours in Charlotte Amalie before going to the airport. We left three suitcases at the Native Arts & Crafts Cooperative across from the Vendors area and Emancipation Park for $3 and then walked around. There is some really interesting architecture, but 3 hours was enough for me. The place is mobbed with cruise ship passengers and people trying to get you to go on tours. And it is unbelievable how many jewelry stores there are! We went up the 99 Steps and by Blackbeards Castle and went into Government House. We sat in the Synagogue and heard the Rabbi tell about the history of Sephardic Jews and the congregation on St. Thomas, which was very interesting. The synagogue is beautiful. I sure was glad all those people were on St. Thomas and not on St. John!

I hope you all have as much fun on St. John as we have!