Wow, comparing St.John to Aruba is like comparing apples and oranges. Granted, they both have fine weather and nice beaches, but other than that they are soooo different. Hilly vs. flat, lush vs arid, neghboring islands vs. water, 3/4 National Park, vs. crowded...It's like comparing the mountains of Colorado to Florida....both are nice...just different. And safety is what you make of it. If you drag the boys down a dark alley at 2 a.m. in Detroit, you deserve what you get. Same thing applies here. Don't put yourself in any of those situations and you won't have anything to worry about. Water here is a scarce commodity and most hotels/villas rely on cistern water. They have to treat it with chemicals and filter it, so it tastes a little odd, but it is perfectly safe to drink. Most of us drink bottled water because it tastes better. As for hotels, the only one like anything in Aruba is the Westin. And even that is a stretch. The Westin is big, but that's about the only similarity. Everything else is much smaller. Bring the boys down, they will enjoy it. And you will, too, as it's different from what you are used to in Aruba.

Hello,

The water in general is safe to drink in the USVI at hotels, restaurants, bars ect. unless otherwise posted. Example: some condos will post by the taps "water is not for drinking".

You might check out the beach guide for St. John on this site; look at the top of this page and click on St. John and then Beaches. Perhaps order the Beach Guide book for St. John... or another good guide book for St. John is Feet, Fins and Four Wheel Drive. You can view them at www.vitraders.com under Planning - Books.

St. John is safe to get around; beach hop, rent a car and explore, hike...

How young are your boys? perhaps folks can make suggestions for things they might enjoy doing.

--Islander