nice handle. Last April my wife and I swam w/ a huge sea turtle for about 200 yards in Francis Bay. He was about 3' wide and 4' long, and there were 1 or 2 remoras tagging along. My wife was thrilled. She 1st spotted the turtle about 40 yards off the beach. Its head was so large I was convinced it was a person, until I realized how long he was staying below the surface. Mrs. Nyestreet put on her snorkling gear, dragged me w/ her, and sure enough found him in a couple of minutes. The highlight of the holiday.

Otherwise the best snorkeling is on the left, looking in from the sea. I've never seen this beach crowded, and most visitors set up near the small parking area. There are a few picnic tables and an outhouse, no other facilities.There is a short hiking path behind the trees that line the beach, with a couple of bird viewing spots. Look for a gap between the trees maybe 100 yds from PA. (where the trail also has an entry). Also spotted 2 good sized iguanas on the turtle day.

Francis has nice snorkeling, but if you really want to see a sea turtle, you probably should head to Salt Pond Bay. The beach isn't great, but chances are incredibly good that you will see a sea turtle. Just swim right out to the center, near the buoys. My husband sees them every single time he's there. Look down deep...they are on the bottom in the grass. The good part is that the bay isn't gigantic like Francis, so there's less area in which to search.

How long are you going to be in port that day? When we did our cruise, we got off the ship at 7am, took a taxi directly to Red Hook and hopped on the first ferry. We had a car rental set up and our first stop was salt pond. If you are going to be there all day like we were, you probably have time to hit 3 beaches (so long as you know where you're going and how to get there...we are very familiar with the island, so there was no hesitation), and maybe even lunch at Skinny Legs (burgers). I'd recommend starting at Francis, heading to Salt Pond, having lunch, and then choosing a random third beach. For scenery, my favorite is Oppenheimer...it's at the far end of Gibney, furthest from Hawksnest. As you're driving away from Cruz Bay, you'll see an old rustic gate on the lefthand side of the road. It used to say Oppenheimer, but the letters have mostly been removed. As you're driving toward Cruz, it's more difficult to find. If you pass Hawksnest, turn around. There is enough parking for 3-4 vehicles. You just walk through the gate and down the driveway, through the volleyball area, next to the yellow building, and onto the beach. It's a TINY beach, especially when the tide is in...but it's a great place to just sit and enjoy the view. The snorkeling isn't bad, either. My husband saw a nurse shark there once....I don't think that's too common, though.

If you just want to be a beach bum and relax all day, stay at Francis....if you want to explore and have a better chance of seeing a sea turtle, rent a car and hit up Salt Pond Bay, too.

Crystal, Thanks, I'll heed your advice on our trip this year (arriving Cruz Bay 3/28), and try to remember to credit you when my wife is admiring my ability to predict where to go to see a sea turtle. Mrs. Nyestreet is always trying to drag me to the southeast beaches/ Coral Bay and stay to look at the sky at night. It'll give me a chance to hike Ram Head again. John

We arrive in St Thomas at 0700 and leave at 6pm. I've been there a few times before so I'd rather head on over to St John. I've never been there. I rented a Jeep one year on STT and had a hard time driving on the opposite side of the road. Are there any local folks who would take us around to Salt Pond and Francis Bay and wait or come back and get us? How far is Salt Pond from Francis Bay? I'll also have my son who will be 7. He's snorkeled before at Cozumel and swims like a fish. I'd love for him to be able to see all there is to offer.

Thanks! Y'all rock!

You can easily find a taxi from Cruz Bay to Francis. Ask the driver to come back at such and such time(before you leave Cruz Bay!!), he WILL make good on his promise. I'm not sure of taxi service to Saltpond Bay but there is a public bus from Cruz Bay that stops there (Vitran ?). Being a rich tourist , ;0), I've never used the bus ( I have WALKED to Lameshur Bay from Cruz Bay via trails and roads). I would bet you could arrange for a round trip to Salt Pond w/ any of the taxi drivers.

Hmmm...from what I understand, relying on the bus on St John is probably like relying on the weatherman...there are no guarantees. Personally, I wouldn't know what to do without a car rental. Depending on the difficulty you had driving on St Thomas, it might not be so bad on St John. There is far less traffic and there are only two roads. You'll literally come to only two intersections after leaving town on your way to Salt Pond (via the shoreline), so the confusion should be really limited. Again, depends on what was frustrating to you about being on the lefthand side. If it was crossing intersections and worrying about traffic, then you should be fine on St. John. Plus, if you have a 7yr old, you can always depend on him to remind you to stay on the left, haha...kids are so diligent when it comes to reminding their parents that they're making mistakes.

Regarding taxis, I really don't know how reliable they are when it comes to picking you back up. Cell phones do work on St John, but again, there is no guarantee of a signal at each beach. I wish I could help out more with that one.

Your cruiseship hours should work out perfectly! You can leave from Red Hook and come back into Charlotte Amalie. Keep that ferry schedule handy...you'll need it!!!

Each time I arranged for a driver to come back and pick me up from a north shore beach after he dropped me off he was there, no problem.

That's good to know that the drivers are that reliable. I've only taken a taxi on two occasions on St John. Still, I just wouldn't trust it all the way out at Salt Pond. Everytime we're there I think about how crappy it would be if we got stuck without a ride, haha. Even if a driver ditched you at a north shore beach, chances are someone else would be available to give you a lift. Don't some taxi drivers offer island tours, though? I wonder if you could work something out, pay them extra, to get you to Salt Pond, wait an hour, and then drop you off at Francis? Salt Pond really shouldn't take more than an hour to get a decent snorkel in...and the beach itself isn't nice enough to spend much longer than a couple of hours (unless, of course, you plan to hike).

I'm going to have to check that out. Maybe we can find someone to take us to Salt Pond and wait for us. After I see a turtle *and swim around it* I'll be ready to head to Francis Bay. Good thoughts! That's why I love these boards! Everyone is so helpful!

We always had best luck at Francis but I have heard Salt Pond can also be dependable. Have a wonderful time but please remember to not touch the turtles.

p-wench:

" I rented a Jeep one year on STT and had a hard time driving on the opposite side of the road. "

I think I have discovered your problem! Drive on the correct side of the road!! 😉 😉
That would be the LEFT.
Tee-hee. 🙂

I think that we've seen turtles most frequently at Francis. There's an area of sea grass towards the right side of the beach that they seem to enjoy. If you sit on the beach and scan the surface, you sometimes see them putting their heads up. But some days they're not to be found.

It should be understood that you're not always going to see turtles. Their home is the ocean and if they don't want to deal with humans, it's easy enough for them to avoid us. The ocean is large. They can swim good distances and spend a good bit of the time underwater. I always take a turtle sighting as a gift from the turtle. I'd encourage you enjoy spending a day snorkeling and if you see a turtle, consider it a bonus.

I'd never touch a turtle. I don't want to contaminate him/her. I've liked them since I can remember. I live in Mississippi and we have all kinds of turtles here. My friends would get mad at me b/c I'd stop on the side of the road and move them to safety, even the snapping turtles! I do understand that more than likely I won't see one. I just want to position myself for the best chance. I never dreamed that I'd even be able to see them in the wild since I've been to STT a few times and no one ever mentioned them. I always thought I'd have to go to a beach where they lay their eggs and hide in the bushes and watch. I guess I watch too much Animal Planet!

Thanks for all of your advice! I'm still listening if there's anything else y'all can tell me!

I wouldn't suggest going all the way to Salt Pond if you're only on St. John for the day. There's no guarantee you'll see turtles there anyway. Salt Pond is about 1/2 hour from Cruz Bay (no facilities there either). When I've been on cruises, I don't want to worry about missing the boat. So I would suggest sticking to the North Shore beaches.

3 beaches, especially if you include Salt Pond, is a lot for one day.

And to throw in Skinny Legs...that's quite an ambitious day. I guess if you don't mind being on the go and not really having much time to relax, you could do it, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Just my 2 cents 🙂

We were on a cruise three years ago and did two beaches, skinny legs, plus had lots of time leftover to do more. We had one hour less than you guys have. We were part of the first people off the ship, grabbed a taxi and went straight to red hook. When on St John we grabbed our car rental (took 1/2 hour for everything there) and drove to salt pond. They DO have facilities there: a newer outhouse (placed in 2004, I think) and plenty of picnic tables. We spent a good hour or two there, drove all the way to East End, took some pictures, stopped at Skinny Legs for an early lunch (11am), and took our time getting to Oppenheimer. I think we spent another 2 hours there, went into town, dropped the car off and caught the ferry. We were back on STT by 3pm so that someone in our party could meet a friend on STT for a late lunch before getting back on the ship.

Last year, for our last day on the island, we hit Kittle, Dennis, Honeymoon, and Jumbie. We spent an hour or so at each. We also didn't get going until around 11ish. In the middle of the day we stopped back into town to have some ice cream, sign some papers at the Westin, and take pictures of a villa.

My point is that if you have that much time to work with, and if you're able to get off the cruise ship first thing in the morning, you can do whatever you want. Especially if you grab a taxi right from the dock...that would save you even more time compared to us. You'll easily be able to do salt pond, lunch, and then francis....adding an extra beach would just depend on how much time you spent at the first two.

"I think I have discovered your problem! Drive on the correct side of the road!!
That would be the LEFT.
Tee-hee. "

If you were driving the Lexus that was behind us on top of the mountain, I'm sorry! HAHAHAHA! I was driving a beat up old Suzuki Samari with a burnt out clutch and came to a complete stop at a stop sign on top of a mountain. I had a stick shift at home so I was used to driving a stick. Well, long story short, I gave the driver behind us in a BRAND NEW Lexus the "look" and they backed up for me. I let it rip and finally got it up that dang hill! LOL!!!!!!!

Is St John as mountainous as STT? If so, I'll definantly be taking a cab!

Is there a site where I can get a map so I can plan our day?

Thanks again! Y'all rock!

Basically there are 2 or 3 steep cut-backs along north shore. Since there's hardly any traffic, you probably won't need to worry about anybody in front of or behind you when making these turns. Also, there are tons of spots on the road to pull over and let someone behind you pass. A traffic jam on St John is when there are 3 or more cars in a row driving along the road, haha. Regarding the cutbacks, if you feel unsure, just put the car in 4wd temporarily and you'll have enough traction and power. Also, if you plan to drive out to coral bay side, there is only one stop sign along the way. You'll make a lefthand turn from that stop and the only thing you'll need to look for is traffic (because they don't have a stop). I have only taken taxis around STT and I try not to pay attention to what the drivers are doing because frankly, it kind of freaks me out. If memory serves, STT is madness compared to STJ. I really think you'll feel like you're in the country on STJ and you won't feel so pressured to drive a certain way....I love driving on STJ...it's really enjoyable to me. Hubby and I love getting up first thing in the morning and taking a long morning drive all around the island. It's just so peaceful!!