I would advise against doing the BVI's. There's too much to do & see on STJ. Most beaches have great snorkeling right from shore, so a charter isn't neccesary. The dinghies are great fun. Crabby's in Coral Bay can set you up, or if you prefer, Noah's Little Arks is in Cruz Bay. Check out as many North shore beaches as you can. They each have their own "personalities", and they're all beautiful. Drive around & explore the island. Do a hike - Ram's Head or Reef Bay are 2 favorites. Enjoy!

"TBD" is our usual game plan for island vacations!

Here is a pretty long Dec 05 trip report from another forum with many details about a 5 day trip with chill out time built in that should give you some ideas…

Just returned from a quick trip to St. John. We usually go each May, but I couldn’t wait. I had to have a “fix,” so my husband and I took 5 days to recharge our batteries. I was worried that such a short trip would leave me wanting, but it was just perfect. For those of you in need of a mid-winter pick-me-up while waiting for your own trips, here’s a little trip report to keep you going.

For those (like me) who need pics, here is the link:
http://community.webshots.com/user/vcook29

Wednesday, December 7:
Left a very cold and gray Knoxville, TN that morning and arrived in warm, sunny St. Thomas that afternoon. Our plane landed at 4:00 p.m. While we were standing in the aisle waiting to deplane, I looked at Matt and said, “Do you know what my favorite thing is? That first step off the airplane when the hot, ocean swept air first hits you. That first breath of island air is like heaven.” He looked at me like and said, “Your favorite thing is the free rum punch.” O.k., well maybe. But my version sounded more poetic…..

We made record time getting our car and leaving the airport (less than 20 minutes!), but it was apparently “rush hour” in St. Thomas and a large dump truck had hit a small car in the middle of the two-lane road going out of C.A. toward Red Hook. Of course, rather than doing anything productive, like directing traffic or trying to move the disabled vehicle out of the road, everyone was pretty much standing around looking at it. Not very conducive to quick-ferry-catching. Finally, cars just started driving on the sidewalk to get around the accident. We did make it in time to catch the 6:00 car ferry and got to St. John by 6:30. There were some changes in Cruz Bay since we’d been in May – new buildings, the ugly chain link fence seemed to be gone from the passenger ferry dock – but for the most part, it was like an old friend, warm and embracing us in it’s familiarity – the smell of BBQ hanging in the air from Uncle Joe’s, music pounding in the background as people laughed at the streetside bars, and the bright colors of Wharfside Village bidding us a welcome. I love being back on St. John.

We have never stayed at the same villa twice in our 6 trips to St. John. We have loved each one, but never loved one enough to return. That has all changed. We rented our “forever” villa on this trip. We stayed at Sunnyledge on Francis Bay. It was the most spectacular place. Absolutely perfect in every way. The owners, Dave and Bonnie Rees have created a haven. Terry Witham met us at the Francis Beach parking lot at 7:00 p.m. and took us up to the house, which overlooks Francis Bay. It took our breath away.

After settling in, we jumped in the Jeep and headed back to Cruz Bay to grab a late dinner. Hearts set on lobster, we stopped at Morgan’s Mango (we have always been able to get good lobster here). We started off with frozen drinks and conch fritters. With eyes bigger than our stomachs, I ordered a 1 ½ lb. lobster and Matt ordered a 2 lb. lobster. They were MONSTERS. But we shamelessly ate every bite!

Thursday, December 8:
I always wake up really early on my first St. John morning. Why? I think that secretly, I am terrified that the weather forecast that I compulsively looked at on www.weather.com every 45 minutes for 3 days before my arrival (the one that shows the little black cloud and rain every day of my trip) will come true and I will awake to a day as gray as the one I left back home…..

I woke up very early and there it was: a clear, blue sky. While I waited for Matt to wake up, I prowled around Sunnyledge. I loved it. The home is completely private, is perfectly furnished and outfitted, and sits on a hill above Francis Bay, overlooking the beach. It’s amazing.

Normally, our trips to St. John are a flurry of activity: scuba diving, trekking out to Waterlemon to snorkel, boat trips, day sails to BVI....you get the idea. We decided this trip would be about total loafing. In an effort to turn my keyed-up, neurotic self into a lazy-butt in a very short amount of time, I had scheduled a massage for that first morning. Arlene showed up at the villa at 9:00, set up her table on the deck overlooking the water, and took every uptight nerve out of my body in an hour. Wow. What a way to begin!

With me now loose as a goose, Matt and I had some late breakfast and decided to start the day at Oppenheimer/Gibney. The beach was gorgeous, but it was so early that the entire beach was in the shade. Now, I know it’s not particularly healthy, but we all know that on that first day, you are itching to get as much sun exposure as you think your fragile skin can survive. It’s just not a proper Day 1 without at least a little pink on your shoulders, is it? So, we hung around long enough to appreciate the beauty and headed back to Francis for the sun.

Francis was practically deserted, so we enjoyed some solitude. We got some sun, ate some lunch, snorkeled, and did some reading. When we were perfectly toasted (by sun, not drinks - or wait, was it the other way around?), we decided to take a drive over to Coral Bay. We stopped in at Shipwreck Landing for some drinks and munchies. After a few drinks, we got the brilliant idea to see who could eat the most hot sauce on a French Fry. You have to be a St. John junkie to understand why sitting at an open air bar, your skin sticky and dirty with salt and sand, pouring unidentifiable hot sauce out of a jar with a homemade label onto French Fries, with chickens running over your bare feet would be the most appealing afternoon activity imaginable.

As we started the drive back, it started to rain. Hard. There were two young people hitchhiking at the top of the Reef Bay trail. Okay, don’t think we are bad people, but we never have picked up hitchhikers. I know this sounds cold, but I figure I paid for a Jeep, why can’t they? Yes, insensitive, I know. However, I was purged of my heartless jackass ways last September when my husband and I were on a hiking trip in Glacier National Park Montana (yes, I am digressing a bit, but it makes sense later). We didn’t rent a car, because a hiker’s shuttle serves the park and takes your from one area to the next. Well, we missed the shuttle that we were supposed to grab and we were stuck in the middle of NOWHERE, hungry and tired, and the next shuttle wasn’t for 3 hours. We sat on the side of the road for over an hour before a really nice couple from Kentucky offered us a ride. It took them an hour out of their way to cross the park to where we were staying. When we tried to pay them, they said, “Just give someone a ride next time you see someone who needs one.” So, we now have a new understanding of the St. John hitchhiker. We stopped and got this very wet couple. They were super nice and we took them to the Westin. When they tried to pay us, we said, “Just give someone a ride next time you see someone who needs one.”

We grabbed some rum and fruit at Starfish on the way back to the villa and spent the rest of the afternoon lazing around.

For dinner that night, we headed to Miss Lucy’s. I just love Miss Lucy’s. We sat at a table underneath a tree at the water’s edge. Miss Lucy’s has a new menu, and I understand a new chef. We both got the fish fry, even though there were many more new “sophisticated” selections on the menu. Miss Lucy’s fish fry is just one of my favorite dinners on the island. A big pile of fried Mahi-mahi, peas n’rice, fried plantains, sweet potato stuffing, okra/fungi cakes, and this time there was a huge pile of the biggest, freshest asparagus spears I think I have ever had. All of this to the music of the tree frogs and the water gently lapping at the shore. Heaven.

Friday, December 9:
This morning, we slept late and woke up to another beautiful day. Sunnyledge was hard to leave, so we hung around that morning, reading and relaxing at the villa. Around noon, we ate some lunch and headed to Maho Bay. We pretty much did the same thing we had done the day before – we snorkeled (saw 2 big turtles!), read, lay in the sun, swam, and snacked. I think Maho is a perfect beach. Parking is very close, so you can feel free to lug lots of chairs and coolers and stuff without having to carry it very far; it has a wide, sandy beach on one end, and a very exotic, palm fringed beach at the other end; and the water is shallow, clear, and calm. There were very few people at the beach that day, so we had plenty of privacy.

After we left the beach that afternoon, Matt had the urge to drive the East End of the island. The East End, from Coral Bay to the “end of the road” is Matt’s favorite part of the island. So, away we went. The views were beautiful, with the exception of the hillside near Haulover that they are carving up for yet another development. As we passed Vie’s, I noticed that she was OPEN! In 6 trips to St. John and many drives past Vie’s, I have never been by when it was open. I told Matt that we had to stop.

We had the place to ourselves and I got us cold drinks and an order of conch fritters. I promise you, those were the coldest 2 canned drinks I think I have ever had on St. John. Or maybe it was just because my mouth was still parched and salty from the ocean, but let me tell you, it was good. Her fritters came with hot sauce, but it was pretty tame compared to our self-inflicted-hot-sauce-torture from the previous day.

Apparently, the conch fritters just whetted Matt’s appetite and he decided he wanted to go ahead and eat. “Neurotic Vicki’s” initial thought was, “I can’t go eat like this. I am dirty and have ocean hair. I am not wearing a cute island dinner outfit. I have to go back to the villa, shower, change..." But the new improved "Lazy Butt Island Vicki” (my fabulous new relaxed self) told her to stuff it and we went to Island Blues just as we were. Bad hair and all. We had drinks, nachos, and mahi tacos. Yager (or Jager, not sure of spelling), a big black dog, kept us company as we ate. We know his name because it was attached to his collar with duct tape. We had a very good, casual meal and headed back to the villa.

When we got back to the villa, we fixed some drinks and watched the sunset, another great day coming to a close.

Saturday, December 10:
We had another beautiful morning (see, Weather.com doesn’t know EVERYTHING). We had some breakfast and left the villa a little earlier. We wanted to spend a little time on Hawksnest before it got very crowded. There was almost no one there and we enjoyed the beach for a little while before heading to a less crowded beach.

We decided to head to Salomon Beach. No we are not nudists. No we do not want to see nudists. It’s just a really pretty beach. We took the shorter, steeper walk down to the beach. There was only one other couple there. No, they were not nude. The beach was just beautiful, and the water was spectacular there that day. It was very cool, calm, and super clear. It was more like a swimming pool than the ocean.

We lay on the beach and read for a while. A few other couples showed up. No. None of them were nude. Although, there was one guy that kept looking at everyone like he wished they were…..We did some snorkeling and watched the sailboats go by. It was a pretty fine beach day.

After leaving Salomon, we were so close to Cruz Bay, we decided to run into town. We headed to the best store on St. John, St. John Spice. I turned my husband loose for maybe 10 minutes, and the next thing I know, he is at the counter buying 12 different bottles of hot sauce. I think I really messed him up with the chickens and French Fries at Shipwreck. I got some banana jam and some coconut/pineapple marmalade for my mom and some Blind Betty’s and Trinidad Charlie’s for my dad (good stuff!). We walked around Wharfside Village for a while and headed over to Mongoose Junction. We stopped in at Sun Dog for drinks and we split a jerk quesadilla and some queso dip. After two Geckoladas, I was feeling fine and we headed back to the villa for some down time.

After a nap, we headed out to Pastory Gardens for dinner. If you haven’t been, you have to try it. It’s a great place. The view at sunset is hard to beat. And you can play putt-putt after dinner! I got Mahi-mahi and Matt got a shrimp and scallop pasta special. Both were great. We decided to play putt-putt after dinner and I lost 2 balls. Yes, I am that bad. Can you be that bad at putt-putt? Yes you can.

Sunday, December 12:
Our flight out wasn’t until 5:00 pm. We hung around the villa that morning, packed up, and headed to Cruz Bay. There was quite a fiasco at the car ferry, and we had fun watching people jockey for position. There was almost a fight when someone cut in line. We had plenty of time so we just waited. We left on the ferry around 2:00 and got on St. Thomas by 2:30. We took our time getting to the airport and got there around 3:30.

I sat there inside, watching the people that were just getting off their planes, so full of hope and expectation, wishing them the best time of their lives.

St. John, see you again in May!

I sent you a long private message. Anyone with a two year old needs a break like St. John.

What a great trip report! Thanks for the advice received so far....looking forward to hear what other people suggest as well.

Regarding the dinghies (sp?) -- even though we are staying in Coral Bay, wouldnt it be advisable to rent from Noah's in Cruz Bay in order to reach the north shore beaches. I have read that the snorkeling along the southern shore is quite inferior to that on the north.

Eric

The north shore beaches can all be accessed by car (except some Caneel beaches). If you rent from Noah's, ask about going to some of the offshore cays for snorkling. From Crabby's you can only go to the greater Coral Bay area out to the East end. Most of the other south shore areas (towards the west) are off limits.

Great trip report, Jay, and I'm glad for the lead on Sunnyledge. Looks like a great property. We'll have to put it on our short list for next time.

Just to clarify - not my report. Copied and saved it because it detailed good stuff for a short trip.

Twins???...

My advice.......rest, relax, eat well in nice restaurants, enjoy time alone with each other.

Don't go anywhere else (other islands). STJ is it's own destination. Beach hop, snorkel (you can't snorkel when you have youngsters traveling with you, so do it now), dine well.

My best laid "activity" plans always fall to the wayside once I step off the plane. I can hardly walk faster than a shuffle once I get into the island groove. Planning a bunch of stuff is a waste of time. IMO, you probably won't feel like doing any of it.

Save the activity themed planning for your Disney Vacations that are sure to be coming up. STJ is for the "TBD" theme
as stated by IslandTimer.

Change your mindset from "do" to "be" for these few days.

North shore, south shore... ahh they are all great. South - Salt Pond and Lameshur. Beach sand not as good as the north, great snorkeling, usually very quiet, esp. Lameshur.

North shore - you pick it. Maho, Hawksnest (OK it's busier), Francis, Solomon, Waterlemon or even Brown Bay (you have to hike, but really quiet, no facilities). Don't plan, just go!

Good advice from Bluwater - eat out at the STJ restaurants. Take your time, get sunburned, shop if you must, catch a sunset, and/or a sunrise.

Have a great time - we're all jealous!

More daydreams....

This will be my 5th trip to st. John in 2006.....

I would highly suggest taking either a half or full day snorkeling trip. We did both of the BVI trips to Jost Van Dyke and the Baths and they were amazing! (Cruz Bay Watersports do a great job). They offer some light food and open bar (love the unlimited supply of Painkillers!). They make stops at the most unbeleiveable snorkeling areas! I think its a great way to really see the Islands. Its amazing to just stand out on the edge of the boat and look around, really take in the surroundings - 360!

I would suggest not renting a dinghy, I did not think that it was as enjoyable as it seemed. I think you'll have a much better time relaxing on a beach and playing in the beautiful waters.

St. John is lovely and you'll really enjoy your time there no matter what you do! I also suggest renting a car or a day or two, to really expore and see what is ouside of Cruz Bay. Find the smoothie truck (one of my most favorite things on St. John) and have lunch at Skinny Legs! Trunk and Hawksnest are still my favorite beaches.

Must do's on St. John: Eat at the Lime Inn and have a drink by the water at High Tide or the Beach Bar. Find that Smoothie Truck, take a boat ride and go snorkeling at Trunk Bay.

i want to go too .i would contact basil in st thomas to get you to the ferry at red hook. he is great as a driver and a better person. i got his number from lisa at vacationvistas.com. she was great to work with and her significant other has a beautiful old boat that belonged to the rockefellers.i love snorkeling all around st john but, jumping off a boat in the middle of the islands next to a cliff that you can see down about 85 ft is a real thrill.go for a boat ride with capt bob and have an amazing lobster lunch and make your own drinks at peace and love.buy a t shirt. we need to spread the word.

Wow, thanks for passing that along Jay. Great reading. Me/wife are in process of leaving the rat race here in Dallas/Ft.Worth and heading for the promised land!! I hope to catch up with some of you like-minded folk some day. Thanks for all the wonderful info. and delightful stories......

Jeff Trice

Thank you so much for all of the advice. I think I will definitely save the day trips for next time. We are going to play it by ear with a "loose" itinary in mind:

Day 1 -- Arrive in SJ by 9:30 am, get settled in villa in CB and take drive down to Little Lamshur or Salt Pond for sun/snorkeling. Maybe Skinny's or Island Blues for dinner

Day 2 -- Beach hop along Cinamon/May/Francis with an afternoon drive out towards east end. Maybe a sunset sail and dinner at Tage or Stone Terrace.

Day 3 -- Rent Dinghy and explore Soloman, Hawksnest, and maybe Trunk if time. Dinner at Lime Inn or ZoZo.

Day 4 -- Snorkel Waterlemon/Leinster (a/m) with possible Rams Head Hike in afternoon.

Day 5 -- Trunk Bay (early a/m) and Annaberg Ruins if time permits. Late check-out of villa and head to St. Thomas for a little shopping. Flight out of STT at 6:15pm.

Day 6 -- Give the twins a big hug/kiss for our mini-vacationg and dream about next trip to SJ!!

Sounds like a great trip. Enjoy!