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Going to St. John in April (never been before), St. John appeals to me because it seems less ‘touched’ than most islands. I like the idea of beaches that are backed by trees and natural growth, instead of hotels. And we will rent a jeep, that seems to be standard practice on the island.
Apologies in advance for the long message, stop reading whenever you like and respond to any parts you can (appreciate any help I can get). I do a lot of research and will continue to (I usually go a bit overboard with my research), but I always like to get recommendations from people because you can’t always tell how good things are online.
First question is where to stay (4 of us, 2 kids 10 and 7)
We usually stay at big hotels but want to try something small and simple so we can explore the many beaches and variety of the island. Condos and villas seem like they might be a good fit, but quality varies significantly. There are four of us and our main requirements are:
- Clean and well maintained.
- A nice view would be nice but not critical.
- Pool access is pretty important. Helps with the kids when we need a break.
- A good location to explore the island (though it seems small enough that that wouldn’t be an issue?)
- Would be nice if someone were available to give advice/answer questions.
- Looking to spend around $2500 for a week, though that is flexible (in both directions 🙂
- Serendip condos seem to get really good reviews on tripadvisor, any thoughts? Saw some other villa’s recommended, but again, curious to hear any experiences here.
- Is there anything that might be missed or can't be accessed by not staying at a 'resort'?
Activities
My kids (9 and 7 year old girls) are fairly timid, not the most adventurous, but they love the water and are excited to try snorkeling. The idea of being able to do it right from shore sounds very appealing. I have been reading a lot of websites and wanted to see if there were any personal recommendations people could make on the following:
- Easy access snorkeling beaches that my kids can get used to it on but still have interesting things to see. She we buy and bring gear or can it be rented at a central place since I assume some beaches don't have rental locations?
- ‘Hidden’ beaches. Read there are some beaches that are not accessible by road but are accessible by a short hike. That sounds very appealing to me, adds some variety to the trip and provides a different experience.
- Any places that aren’t too tough to get out to where there is a chance to see some sea turtles while snorkeling?
- Any small islands or patches of land that can be swam out to (or snorkeled out to) just off shore? My kids love that sort of thing, makes them feel like they are on an adventure.
- Recommendations for things to do on St. Thomas or other island (how is the aquarium?) Any must see beaches or snorkeling spots or scenery that we won’t get on St. John that we should do? I assume if we take the ferry to one we would just use taxi’s that day?
- Boat rentals? Any place to rent a motor boat (21-24’, something like that), or any charters people recommend. Would love to see areas that are only accessible by boat.
- Kayaking? Kayaking and snorkeling combos sound nice.
I was able to reserve plane tickets for the four of us with airmiles, saving a huge amount of money. But I need to decide this week and lock in a hotel so I can book the plane tickets.
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide, it is much appreciated. And sorry again for the long message, figured I would do this than post lots of small messages. I am very excited about this island and want to plan it as best as possible (especially things that need to be reserved in advance).
Peter
I think the Westin is your best choice. Great pool lots for the kids to do. go to trunk bay. Rent a car and go to a different beach each day.
Have fun . Greg. ( [email protected])
I too have seen nothing but good about Serendip. Sounds like it is a great place to stay for a pretty good price. Having a kitchen seems like it would be a real plus for you. You can make your own meals and save some $$ to do other things.
I think a great place to start the kiddos off with snorkeling would be Gibney Beach. That is the first place my son snorkeled and he was just blown away. The water tends to be pretty calm there, and there s a pretty nice reef off to the right (if you are facing the ocean) with lots of different corals and fish. They can throw their masks on at any beach and see what they can see. Kids tend to really like Hawksnest, Francis, and Maho as well...but all the beaches are nice in their own way!
You can rent snorkel gear here. Few places to do that, but Low Key in Wharfside Village is what I usually recommend. You could buy it and bring it, but it takes up a lot of room in your luggage and you have to decide whether or not it would be something you are going to get good use out of. It's good to have good equipment as well. It would stink to have a leaky mask or broken flipper and end up having to rent better gear after buying gear already. I believe that Low Key charges $35 for the week.
I would recommend picking up a copy of Fins Feet and 4WD. It has a ton of info in it and if you like to research, this would be a great book to have. Hope you have a fantastic vacation!!!!!
If you are going after April 15th or so , you can get some great deals on larger villas with private pools. That way you will be able to really relax with the kids. I think with kids one of the benefits a villa gives you is the option to just let the kids relax (and you too) by your own pool, nap in their own space (or yours) and the ability to cook meals. it will save you money and allow for those nights when you are just too tired from the beach to even think about going out.
Here are a few suggestions, if that works for your schedule
http://carefreegetaways.com/morganpoint.html#d
http://carefreegetaways.com/haiku.html
I will just about ditto everything that Julie says. The book rec is one that I recommend to anyone traveling to STJ for the first time.
We have had good luck see turtles at Maho many times.
Definitely get the book http://caribmart.com/stjohfeetfin.html. I think it's also available on amazon.com. A recommend a villa but you may have to up your pricepoint a bit as St. John is not a low-end destination.
Thank you for all the responses, really appreciate it. I ordered the book, looks great. Will also look at the beach/snorkel/... recommendations too.
As far as accomodations, sounds like a villa with a pool will be ideal (with Serendip to fall back on if we don't find one). A villa will let us explore the island and have a nice place to relax, and the kids will love having their own pool since we don't have our own at home. Looked at the carefreegetaways recommendation, they look really good. I like that they meet you at the ferry and help book things for you, that is exactly what I am looking for. Will go through their villa options and see what works (will bump my budget up a drop if necessary). Have you or anyone else actually rented from them and had a good experience? Also, saw some decent options from the following, if anyone has any experience with any of them I would appreciate it (on the company in general or a specific villa you would or wouldn't recommend):
- Carefree Getaways (mentioned above).
- Windspree (e.g. http://www.windspree.com/home.php/25/Banana%20Cabana)
- Catered To (e.g. http://cateredto.com/VillaPage/PLM)
- Vacation Vistas (e.g. http://www.vacationvistas.com/Villas/idyllic_villa_st_john.html)
- Rendezvous by the sea ( http://www.gardenbythesea.com/villa.html)
Don't need to be near the ocean, hoping to save a few bucks because of that, happy to drive to the different beaches.
Thanks again, really appreciate the help,
Peter
Those are all very reputable companies that you have mentioned.
I recommend booking your rental vehicle as soon as possible as they book quickly. We like ST John Car Rental because you can park in their lot.
Thank you!
I would look at vacation rental by owner (vrbo). We have had good luck with them. The house, Beas Maison is usuallly not available until May, but you might check that. All the pictures are true to what they are showing. Also, we like Cool Breeze for our car rental. have a great trip.
I would also recommend Coconut Coast Villas. They are right on the water, clean and homey and have a little pool that is perfect for kids - not a big property like the Westin. The experience is a bit more personal. There are always peacocks roaming around, you have access to a grill, you can walk over to the little art studio to browse or just catch the best view of the sunset and it is an easy little walk into town - there is a hill, but at a relaxed pace even children shouldn't have trouble .
My husband took me to St. John 10years ago for my birthday...and we've been taking our kids ( 7 and 6) since they were babies! We have "done it all"....almost! We have camped at Cinnamon Bay in a cottage right on the beach. We've stayed in a Condo right in Cruz Bay (Lavendar Hill) http://www.lavenderhill.net/index.html with shared grill and pool...and we've rented a villa in Coral Bay (Bayhouse) bayhouse...and had our own pool. The camping trip was harder on me....with food, and little kids...and I am admittedly not a great camper. Lavender Hill, we've been to 2x. I love the proximity to "town". The condo is right "on the water" overlooking the boats and ferries coming and going. The condo was a good size and clean and all that. The shared pool actually worked out great because there were a few other kids staying there so that entertained my kids as well! Bayhouse....was a treat! It has amazing decks and your own pool. It sits up on hill (as most of them do) overlooking coral bay. Much quieter side of the island, but close(er) to the northshore beaches we like to frequent.
My vote is to make yearly visits and try it all! LOL
As for snorkeling, you will not believe what you will see there. Huge fish, teeny fish, turtles, rays, starfish.....unbelievable. I have a few videos of my 7 year old snorkeling right off the beach in waist high water. I will see if I can post it..[video] http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1408937478&v=app_2392950137#!/video/video.php?v=1558519768783 [/video]
I couldn't resist.....Here is my husband's "swimming with the turtles" video. We purchased an underwater camera this year (highly recommended) and he found himself swimming with turtles!
[video] http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1558519768783#!/video/video.php?v=1558473327622 [/video]
*We have been 9 times now, and I have mastered bringing food down with us to save a chunk of money. After a day in the sun on the beach and in the pool, my kids are shot by dinner time, and they certainly aren't in the mood to have to "behave" in a restaurant. So I bring down a lot of good food for us to make a nice dinner. This august, I even brought OMaha steaks (from a tip on another forum). Oh, they were soooo good. I can give you lots of tips for that sort of thing if you need it. Several years ago a poster from the other forum shared these coolers that are awesome and keep things frozen for 24 hours! I swear by these... http://www.polarbearcoolers.com/ It is also one of our carryons! (bringing down your kids favorite foods save you in money and sanity. Just as a side note...when we stayed at Bayhouse in Coral bay, I sent my husband down to the store to get spaghetti to make for the kids. We took a picture of the pricetag on the box...it was hilarious. 4.99 for a box of pasta! So, as you can see...I brought that the next time! You won't need many clothes..specially if you stay at a villa or condo...you can do a load of laundry! My family of 4 do carryon only and one carryon is our snorkeling stuff (we have a snorkeling float for my son)...and we bring only 1 adult set and 1 kid set. I am usually tending to the kids while he is off snorkeling, and vice versa.
We are heading back down for trip #11...at the end of June. We use airline miles as well.....great way to save! So you *can* do st. John a little on the discount side if need be. The low season starts in April...which helps too!
hope you all can see the videos....do let me know!:-)
Thanks for posting the videos, they are great! Didn't realize you can see so many fish close to shore without even going to one of the reefs. Which beach did you run into the turtle at? That was amazing (I am not hard to impress :S
Will take your advice on packing light and keeping it simple.
Did you rent a car on st. thomas or st. john? Trying to decide where to do it? If i do it on st. thomas i can avoid complications from the airport to st. john, and I can use it for a day trip back to st. thomas. If I rent from st. john I can hopefully park there if going into cruz bay.
I am staying at idyllic villa (just booked it), which is near cruz bay. I am concerned about all the parking stores in town and wondering if I can take a cab back and forth if we go a few times? Or are there parking options (one being rental company lot if we go that route?)
Thanks again for everyones help, cannot wait for the trip now!
Peter
There are 2 small pay parking lots in town, that are very reasonable, so no worries about find a spot. If you can't find a free spot anywhere, just park and pay.
Good to hear, thank you. Sounds like renting on St. Thomas might be the way to go then. I hear there is a budget rental at the airport which is pretty convenient.
we've rented cars on St. Thomas each time...I know..I must be jinxing my luck....we have had good experiences with Discount/Thrifty....They are right side of the airport...but you call when you land and they come around to pick you up (island time...lol). Really, it's not a big issues....time enough for a rum punch shot...get your luggage, and get ready for the next part. They show up and bring you to the discount/thrifty lot/store. Then it is usually a few minutes to get the car. A bonus of doing that is that you can stop off at the grocery store on the way to Red Hook and pick things up if you want. Your only hinderance is the time of the car barges leaving. We have had good luck with timing it up....but I know that could be hit or miss. So we don't have to pay for a cab for the four of us to red hook to get to st john....is it a savings? who knows. that is up for debate. All I can say is that it has worked for us. I believe we did have an issue with some other car rental in st. thomas at the airport. I can't remember which one...it was early in our "career"....so I should get the facts from my husband before I post it....but it was like an hour at the desk trying to get our car...they gave us keys and a license plate...we went up to find it...couldn't find it..it didn't exist..2 kids....tired/hot/cranky....and we did that 2 times! Finally got the car and hoped to get to Cinnamon bay by dark...it didn't happen. But that was our only "bad experience"....and we switched car rental companies after hearing they overbook,etc....lesson learned I guess.
~Holly
oh...I am 99% sure both videos were taken at Francis....there is a chance that the turtle video was taken at Maho....you will have such a good chance of seeing turtles at either beach! It is amazing stuff....we brought pringles...or stale chips with us to the beach and fed the fish....fish came from everywhere! LOL
katiesam wrote:
oh...I am 99% sure both videos were taken at Francis....there is a chance that the turtle video was taken at Maho....you will have such a good chance of seeing turtles at either beach! It is amazing stuff....we brought pringles...or stale chips with us to the beach and fed the fish....fish came from everywhere! LOL
Please don't chum for fish.
ha ha....3 crushed pringles certainly isn't "chumming" for fish. How funny! I would certainly crush up 3 pringles to see the look on my 7 year's face again in a heartbeat!
