I started reading this board a few months ago when we planned our trip. Since I found the trip reports so helpful in planning our trip, I am contributing my experiences to the board.

We stayed at the Marriott Frenchman's Cove on a timeshare presentation package. There were four of us traveling together - my wife and I and another couple. We reserved a Jeep Liberty with Discount for a rate of $97 per day - all included. I was told to call them when I arrived at the airport and I would get picked up since they are just off the airport property. I could go do all the paperwork and then return to the airport to pick up the rest of my party.

ARRIVAL EXPERIENCE:

We landed at 2:30 pm, so I called Discount and was told the driver was unavailable, but I should call after I got my luggage. Ok, no big deal. Our luggage arrived at 3:10 pm, and as it was arriving, Discount called me back to see if I was ready for pickup yet - a nice touch, I thought. We were ready to go. The paperwork was no problem and the vehicle was very nice. Just perfect for us - although we were pretty packed in there. One bag did not arrive for our party - it was spending the day in San Juan!

Our first driving experience was interesting. As noted many times on this board - the road signs are severely lacking. I had done a lot of cutting and pasting of Google Maps pictures to create my own STT road map in advance. That turned out to be very helpful. Even with the map, we ended up on some very narrow roads in Charlotte Amelie with no easy route out. Never concerned - since it was daylight - but it reinforced the idea of knowing where you are going at night.

We went to our hotel and got settled in. Only complaint was we could not see the water while sitting in our room. Learned later that those that are on packages only get 1st or 2nd floor - which will have partial views. We enjoy sunsets - so this was slightly inconvenient for us.

We lounged and got acquainted with our surroundings - then headed off to find the Fruit Bowl. We found the Fruit Bowl - but also found a good grocery store, the name of which now escapes me. We arrived just as Fruit Bowl was closing, so we went to the grocery store instead. It is in the strip mall with Blockbuster, and it isn't Pueblo. If I recall - it was some sort of generic name. We found some good fruit and a few cheeses there. Also stocked up on eggs and cereal for breakfasts.

We then headed to Frenchtown for dinner, not sure where we'd end up. After checking out the menus at Bella Blu, MargaritaPhil's, Epernay and Hook Line & Sinker, we decided on Bella Blu - but they didn't have a table. Ok - next choice. We walked down the street and found Craig & Sally's. I knew we'd check it out at some point, just didn't know about the first night.

We had a great meal there. We are both food and wine fanatics – and this place was great.

Sunday we walked around Havensight mall a bit – two cruise ships in port. We then went to snorkel at Secret Harbour. Nice place – it was easy to swim from shore to see lots of fish. We had lunch at Greenhouse. Fun place – pretty good food.

We had dinner that night again at Craig & Sally’s. The best food deal is the tapas style appetizers- 3 for $14. Great choices – very unique combinations.

Monday we took the car barge to St. John to go hiking. The process is pretty easy – we pulled up to the line at Red Hook and drove on (backwards, as directed). The pack the vehicles in pretty tight – which ended up being a problem for one pick-up. The truck in front of it slid back a little bit and its tailgate/step went through the grill of the pickup.

St. John was beautiful. We took a wrong turn (how was I to know – no signs!) and ended up taking a longer route to the Reef Bay Trail. No problems – just narrow steep roads and very tight curves. The hike was really enjoyable. Lots of foliage – covered hike for the most part so minimal sun exposure. Hike ended at an old sugar mill – now inhabited by hermit crabs and bats. A little spooky! We sat on the rocks by the ocean a bit – very peaceful.

We had lunch at Waterfront Bistro in Cruz Bay. Nothing special. We then went to Leinster Bay and Waterlemon Cay for a short hike and snorkel. Had a great time there – saw huge starfish and swam with a hawksbill turtle. Also saw a lobster hiding under a huge conch shell.

The return ferry was smooth and we ended up ordering pizza from a place in Al Cohen’s mall. Pretty good with a chewy crust.

Tuesday we drove up to Mountain Top and St. Peter Estate Botanical Gardens. Mountain is an experience – the views are good – but not worth going for. It’s the banana daiquiri’s and the shops that make it a fun visit. I recommend it. The botanical gardens were beautiful – also worth a stop. We sat on Drake’s Seat and looked down to Magens Bay.

We drove past the Old Stone Farmhouse – since we were going there for dinner and wanted to know exactly where it was. We had lunch at Randy’s between Tutu Mall and Charlotte Amalie. Nothing special, but tasty and reasonably priced.

We snorkeled at Sapphire Beach in the afternoon. A fairly windy day – but a great beach for sunning and snorkeling. Swam with a school of fish and saw two eels – one hiding and one swimming.

We ate at Old Stone Farmhouse that night and were very impressed with the originality of the menu – Avocado Ice Cream came with my soup! We did the four course prix fixe for $72 a person. Good service and great atmosphere. There is NO view at all, but it is a 200 year old building.

Wednesday was departure day and we spent some time shopping downtown. Had lunch at Gladys’ Café. Very interesting menu – but very tasty.

The return trip to the airport was pretty easy. Returned the car – and awaited our flight.

Overall impressions: I was glad I read up on the island before I went. Having expectations of challenging roads made adapting that much easier. I wasn’t that impressed with Gourmet Gallery. I thought prices were moderately higher than US, but not outrageously so. We didn’t eat at Red Hook – which I am disappointed in. Just not enough time this trip. I would go back to St. John in a heartbeat to hike and snorkel. We had a quick drink at Woody’s – and I would have enjoyed spending more time wandering around. Staying out of Charlotte Amalie on "5 cruise ship" days is a good idea. The other days there were 2 or 3 ships - and much less crowded.

Let me know if I left anything out.

Thanks for helping me out before I left!

Mark