"We love local flavor - which is why we chose STJ over STT."

LOL. Whenever I go to St John, I run into statesiders who are down here working for season, or somepart of their young life before they go back to Big America..:D

I would think you could do more than one beach a day...

Hawksnest
Honeymoon (short walk required - easiest from Caneel)
Trunk (if you want to avoid tourists, go either early morning or late afternoon. It's worth it.)
Maho
Francis

You probably could do more than one beach a day, if you wanted to be rushed, which is completely contradictory to the whole point of going to STJ. Generally we get up in the morning, hit the beach, and lounge until happy hour, but that's not everyone's idea of vacation. I think it might be the most perfect way to spend a week of your life, but I'm sure there are some that will disagree.

Trunk is a must-do, assuming you can get in there on a day when it's not filled with cruise ship people. (There should be a schedule of the ships on this site.)
I would also recommend Maho and Cinnamon, just because they are two of my favorites.

If you're looking for local flavor, we had one of our best days over on the East End at Vie's beach. The beach is a little rocky and apparently there are all kinds of critters in there, but it was very nice and very different from the North Shore beaches.

I think you're going to be very happy with STJ. It's filled with great people, both islanders and ex-pats alike, and it's just a different way of life -- nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the big city for a week.

"We love local flavor - which is why we chose STJ over STT."

LOL. Whenever I go to St John, I run into statesiders who are down here working for season, or somepart of their young life before they go back to Big America..:D

I would think you could do more than one beach a day...

We may do more than one a day, but we will *plan* only one a day 😉
We'll also visit ruins, bars, and drive.

And, fwiw, I consider those refugees part of local flavor. The ones from the cruise ships, however....

Our goal on our first trip was one beach a day. And we did other stuff, but we always ended up at one beach a day. One day I think we did two, but it was purely accidental. Once I set up camp I like to veg.

I know there are some folks here who like cruising and that's how they get to the VIs, but I just can't imagine that type of vacation. And I think the worst part about it is that the islands are such a laid-back, no-schedule kind of place, and then here are boatloads of people on a highly-regimented itinerary who have to be back at a certain time. They never really get on "island time," which to me is the whole point of spending a week in a little island in the Caribbean.

Oh, and as for the bars, every one we went to was a total blast! I couldn't pick a favorite. OK, maybe it's Skinny Legs...

I'd second:
Hawksnest - parking right there
Honeymoon - a 10 minute easy walk from the Caneel Bay parking lot,
Cinnamon - a 2 minute walk from the parking lot and our family favorite
Trunk - it is as good as the best photos, maybe even better...definitely check the cruise shep schedule but this time of year shouldn't be too busy and it shouldn't be missed. The ship tours seemed to cluster early afternoon when we were there in July, but they left by 4. 3 minute walk from the parking lot.
Maho

All beaches above are on the same strip, so it is easy to go to more than 1 a day if you choose. I haven't done Francis or Salt pond but hear wonderful things about them and look forward to getting there next year.

Hope you have a great trip!

So many beaches on STJ, each worth a visit. I'd suggest getting a copy of "Feet, Fins & 4WD" or "St John: Off the Beaten Path" and just going off to explore the island. A helpful online resource is:

http://seestjohn.com/

I do agree with EE that the West Indian population and culture is becoming increasingly less apparent on STJ. More and more it's being replaced by a sort of island lifestyle developed by folks from the mainland. Most businesses patronized by tourists will be owned and staffed by transplants from the mainland. There's much less of a feel of being a visitor in a different culture than on many other islands in the Caribbean. Some people are happy with that, some aren't.

Wow, this is a tough question, because on St. John there are no bad beaches.

My top 5 would be

1.) Hawksnest - it's never too crowded that you can't find a place. Frankly, I think it's the prettiest place in the world.
2.) Jumbie - a very short walk down a hill. It looks and feels like you picture a Caribbean beach.
3.) Trunk - For years I avoided Trunk like I avoid getting punched in the nose. However, we went down there one year and spent most of the vacation on Trunk. Trunk is huge. So if you go left, you'll avoid most tourists.
4.) Gibney - I always swim to this beach from Hawksnest. I'm not sure how public the beach is, but it's beautiful.
5.) Maho - Another tourist meca, but you'll still be able to find plenty of real estate to call your own.

I've just scratched the surface. There are AT LEAST another dozen great beaches on St. John, however most of them are a little harder to get to then the ones I just mentioned.

JFP

St John: Off the Beaten Path is the best book about STJ we bought - even better than Frommers 😉 In fact, it is SUCH a good book that it caused me to post the original message!

Another great book is Feet, Fins & 4WD by Pam Gaffin.

Since you are a photographer, I'd say that you absolutely cannot miss Cinnamon Bay. It is a huge, wide beach (down to the right/east) with a vast expanse of sand...I think it might be the most beautiful beach on STJ. It can be windy some days so that is the only negative.

We visited St. John this past June and seeing that we are from the same neck of the woods (Lawrenceville, GA) I have to chime in that whatever beach you go to you will not be disappointed. Getting from Cruz Bay to the North Shore beaches will probably take you less time then to get to your area Kroger. Even getting to the Coral Bay side of the island is nothing compared to getting down to the perimeter except the ride is a whole lot more scenic and the speed limit much slower. We visited numerous beaches and there was not one we didn't like. I really enjoyed Cinnamon, Maho and Hawksnest, but all were terrific and unique. It seemed like no matter where you turned there was a photo opportunity, even the iguana wading in a muddy puddle next to a dumpster on side of the road makes an interesting picture. You and you wife are going to have an awesome time. I hope you post some pics on this forum when you return.
Cheers!

Boy you are going to wish you had a couple extra days, but here is my input

We have been numerous times in late Sept - early October and I think you will find all the beaches de-populated

My favorite place for beach pictures – Honeymoon & Maho

Honeymoon

Maho

Trunk is really nice, but as recommended look how many Cruise Ships are schedule and avoid that day. And really the photo op is from above Trunk. The one you have seen 5000 times, but yes you will push the button. It is an amazing shot when the sun is correct.

We have never hit Hawknest and Cinnamon I guess at the right time - I have always been under whelmed with both. Too many folks at each of them because of the easy parking and at Hawknest not enough beach. But that is contrary to what many of posted and in saying that just means they are great beaches instead of unbelievable amazing. Cinnamon also tends to get windy as the day goes on.

So here is my recommendations

Day 1 – you are going down to the islands to go to the beach so Hawknest in the Morning, quick ride back into to Cruz Bay for Lunch, and Honeymoon in afternoon. That will put you in the jeep less than 30 to 45 minutes for the day. Woody’s Happy Hour @ 4

Day 2 - Go to Annaberg Sugar Plantation lots of Photo Ops! If you want to give snorkeling a go Waterlemon is a nice beach with great snorkeling! It is about a 10 minute walk from the sugar mill. Lunch hit Maho Bay Campgrounds. Grab what you need and had to Maho. It will be very quiet – shade or sun and long beach to avoid folks if there are any. I like the side closest to town. Pull the jeep into the shade and set up camp.

Day 3 - Coral Bay run. Salt Pond is a very easy walk to the beach and a very nice beach to kill a day. Lots of good places to eat in Coral Bay. We have always found a late big lunch as the primary meal works well.

Day 4 – I highly recommend getting a dinghy and doing the North Shore beaches. That way you can hit anyone you want. Getting to Gibney Beach or Jumbie becomes very easy.

If that is not an option Cinnamon in the morning. Lunch there can be really slow if it is open, but the beer is cold. There is also a very short hiking trail across the street from the parking lot. Not even a mile – very moderate to walk but worth experiencing. Gets you out of the sun for a little bit also. Then back towards town to Jumbie.

Day 5 – pick your favorite beach and start planning on how you could make a living down there. Ponder when is the next time we can come. Why didn’t we take 2 weeks off…

drive out to east end of island.. scenery is to die for. that is where Vie's beach is.. go out as far as you can go on the roads..
this may offer some extroardinary opportunities for photos . have to stop at skinnylegs for a burger and head down to salt pond as well.
this in addition to the beaches already mentioned.. a lot of rugged coastline with rocks etc as well. just amazing photographically

Everything you come across on STJ will be a photo-op from every turn in the road from Cruz Bay to Coral Bay and from the Reef hike to the Ram's Head hike, from one beach to another and from one part of the day to another. From dusk to dawn and everything between is artistically inspirational and, once you get here, I think you'll understand. You can read all about it until the cows come home but nothing can truly prepare you as artists for what there is here - and I'm not only talking about STJ but STT and STX also. Cheers!

One of my friends who went with us said this of our trip last year: First off, you spend about three days pinching yourself and then kind of wondering if you're in "The Truman Show" and someone is going to come pull the curtain down. And everyday, you think the next day can't get better than the last -- but it ALWAYS does. I had always heard that Trunk Bay was one of the top 10 beaches in the world and, of course, it's in every beach calendar in the world, so we've all seen it. But until you pay your $4 (well worth it) and put your chair in that sand, you truly can't understand what a magical place it is. I had heard all the songs from St. John's most infamous part-time resident, but it wasn't until I got there that I completely and totally understood the song "Magic," which has become one of my favorite songs.

I'm so inspired when I'm on STJ, but I can't bear to bring my laptop and work on my writing projects when I'm there. Laptops are not conducive to limin'... (I'm a professional writer, just so that makes more sense.)

And here is a good reason why Honeymoon Beach always is high on my list.

For all those sitting at their desk - take a moment a listen to the water sounds - they did good job on this one.

As I reach the 2 week countdown, I find that I am more excited about our first trip to STJ than I was when I booked the flight and reserved the villa a month ago! Last night I went through our STJ books (Off the Beaten Path and Frommer's specifically) reading about the beaches that made the lists above. My beautiful wife told me to stop planning. She said, "We have a flight, jeep, and place to stay. That's all we need to worry about."

So I stopped.

Instead of trying to plan what beaches I wanted us to go to, I looked through Steve Simonsen's beautiful photos for the billionth time and let it finally sink in that, as a photographer and one who loves to travel (not vacation - I would rather travel than vacation) with a wife who loves to sit by the sea and paint with her watercolors, we will be inspired and awestruck at every turn. I won't have to go looking for it as I have to do in Florida or the Smokey Mountains.

We are looking forward to sitting on the beaches - any of them. We are looking forward to our dining excursions - cheeseburgers to lobster, Carib to Bushwacker. We are looking forward to meeting the people - light, tanned, and dark skinned. We are looking forward to the smells - diesel exhaust to sea spray. Above all we are looking forward to just Being There - to be as we are.

I feel like I'm planning more this trip, and planning so not the STJ way. Of course the itinerary is very loose, like we know we are going to Jost on Sunday, but really we haven't planned much at all. Normally we just grabbed the cooler, put some sandwiches and beverages in it, and drove around until we found a beach that looked good.

I don't remember if you said where you were staying? Just curious, because I think I've looked at the Web site of every villa in the history of STJ this time.