We rented Ilios in Hart Bay a few years ago. Great area altho' beach is small. Having a car will make all beaches readily available.

Check rental contract to see if you can take vehicle from STT to STJ. Car barge is great to have available but an experience......also be careful with some of the roads on STJ.

We stocked up with groceries at market just south of Red Hook ferries and saved $$ as well as having sufficient variety. Now they have CostULess warehouse...that may be a good stop for you as well on the way over to Red Hook.

St. John is truly a place to treasure....enjoy yourself!

Thank you for the tips. How bad are the roads as I am starting to get a little creeped out listening to the forum about the driving and road conditions. Do remember how far from the ferry docks it is to Harts Bay and how long it took to get there as we will be traveling with two babies and two nervous moms, maybe a grandmother too.

Do not stress out about the STJ roads. They aren't exactly state of the art, but if you've ever driven on a more remote, older road (who hasn't??), then you'll be fine here. Driving on the left becomes second nature very quickly and it also helps to have a passenger reminding the driver to stay on the left when making turns. We found this was when we were more likely to slip into old habits of right-side driving.

But it's really all fine--you'll be enjoying yourselves and in no hurry to get anywhere so you can take your time. Go only as fast as you're comfortable. We found, when driving longer stretches (like, say, all the way across Centerline Rd to Coral Bay) that if someone came up behind us that was obviously more anxious to go faster, we'd pull over into one of the pull-off areas and let them pass. No sweat!

Thank you, I already feel alot more relaxed about the roads. I am not a person who does well in the mountains and just didn't realize St John was so mountainous (sp). I am sure once at the villa I will be loving it. Thanks again.

Great Expectations Villa is in a beautiful spot on St John, and you will have few if any serious hills to negotiate to get to the supermarket, downtown Cruz Bay or the north shore beaches from your villa. You will be on paved roads for all of these trips, and you will be less than 5 minute drive on paved roads to the supermarket, where you can get all the USDA milk and other baby products you want.
That villa is great for kids, including babies, and if you are taking strollers you can easily get to the Westin from that villa, also in less then 5 minutes to have a nice walk along shaded paths. There are area s there when you can push the stroller right up to the snack bar, the beach and other areas at the resort where you can have a cocktail and lunch with the babies close by, hopefully napping in the shade. I always recommend the Westin to folks who are taking little ones to St John, as downtown Cruz Bay is not exceptionally stroller friendly.
You would probably not spend much if any time on Hart Bay. It is not a sand beach and not a great beach for swimming. Trunk, Cinnamon and Maho beaches, and even Hawksnest or Francis would be good choices, especially Maho, as you park right on the road there and there is a lot of shade. You would be on all paved roads to get to any of these beaches, with no bumps to jostle the little ones. There are some hills but no real switchbacks to contend with, and the traffic only moves at 20 to 25 MPH anyway. You can take a port-a-crib to any of these beaches and set it up with netting if you need to. The walk to the beach with a port a crib would be a Little far at Cinnamon, but there is a nice path for strollers.
You might want to avoid going up and down Gift Hill Road, as there are a lot of potholes and the road is pretty steep going up from the South Shore Road. Centerline Road from Cruz Bay to Coral Bay would be the best choice for traveling across the island.
You will love St John. It is a great island to travel to with babies and kids of all ages. Do not be concerned about Hart Bay or Chocolate Hole beaches--most people would not even go there to swim but they are great for snorkeling. You are also welcome at the beach at the Westin, just bring your own beach chairs.
Hope this info has helped. We will also be traveling to St John in August with kids. Although they are 9 now, they have been traveling there with us since they were 9 months old. We spent a lot of time walking them around the Westin back then --even though we didn't stay there. Don't stress. You will have a great time. You can e-mail me if you have any other questions.

MaryB,
Thank you so much as your info has been a great help not only to me but to my daughterinlaws comfort zone. You answered alot questions for us. I would like to ask one more if I may? What is the construction problems, or are there any in the area of Great Expectations? I have been reading about alot of construction on st John and now am concerned. My husband also wants to rent a car in STT at the airport and drive to Red Hook for car barge. There are so many of us and with all the luggage would be so expensive to do it any other way. I have also been reading how they are having problems with the car barges, do you know anything about this? Thanks.
Mary Ann

MaryB, do you have any idea why I can not dial directly to the 340 exchange from Florida? And do you know anything about Best Car Rental in STJ? I am trying to find an easier way to STJ then renting a car in STT and driving to Red Hook, not comfortable but is certainly a more inexpensive way to go. Someone said on the forum that Best Car Rentals in STJ was good and cheapest. We only need a car for emergencies and only a few will go out in the car as everyone will be arriving different times and we will all enjoy the villa at the same time. Take turns with the car.

We always use Delbert hills jeep rental, 340-776-6637 they are in St john very close to the ferry dock.

What sort of vehicle will you be fitting 9 and two babies into?? Not to mention the luggage, baby supplies and groceries.....

First let me say that I have been traveling to St John for 12 years, but I have no more or no less experience that others on this forum, several of whom live on St Thomas or St John. I hope you are not getting yourself overly anxious as you will spoil what will be a wonderful vacation. Just relax. Countless number of large groups such as yours, including many with babies have been renting villas and making the trek from the airport to the taxi to the ferry to the villas for years, and they love it.
I dont think I would ever rent a jeep on St Thomas and drive to the car barge. Although it may seem economical, you would need 2 cars and need to become familiar with the roads real fast in order to do this, and that will certainly lead to a very stressful introduction to the islands. There are a few companies on St Thomas that will let you take their jeeps to St John, but they will not come to get you or fix the car if it breaks down. I have driven all over St Thomas for business when I worked for a financial institution in NY that had branches there, yet I would not do it with my family in tow while on vacation. Most people accept the fact that traveling by taxi with its cost is just part of the cost of the vacation.
You can make arrangements to have a private taxi meet you at the airport. I dont recall whether you said you were staying on St Thomas for a night but they will meet you wherever you want. You can even have one of those large open air taxis take all of you and your luggage to the ferry. Yes the babies will be safe in one of them., you will hold them on your lap. This is what we did when we transported 18 people off one flight for our wedding. The adventurous rode in the open air taxi and others followed in a regular cab. We had a wonderful opportunity to see St Thomas on the way to the ferry.
And speaking of cars, a car will be of little use to you on St John. No matter what they tell you, you will not go up and down a part of the road called Jacobs Ladder with a car or a van( like a Caravan or other mini-van)if the road is wet, which will happen at this time of year. You will need to rent 2 jeeps, probably a Montero and a 4 seat jeep like a Grand Vitara. I have never heard of Best Car Rental on St John. Among the more popular are Sutton, St John Car Rental and Denzel Clyne.
As far as construction is concerned, there is construction all over St John at this time, but most of it is not unusually loud.
I will send you a PM with other info or the response will be too long.
CALM DOWN. Take advice from folks here on the board. Everything will be fine. AND GET OUT OF THE VILLA

Be sure to check the tire treads wherever you rent!!! Tires wear out fast on STJ and slick tires make for exciting runs up and down the steep hills and mind numbing turns on the very sharp corners...