Jim- 30 days won't be enough really! But honestly, just go and be. Let your plans happen, its the island way. STJ is small so driving from point A to point B won't take you very long. Its not a "if its Monday it must be Belgium" kind of place. If you spend all your time going from one thing to another, you'll maybe miss the whole feel of being there. Drop some of your dinner plans and just go anywhere- does it have to be fancy to be good- NO! You don't need to hit every beach to snorkle as the fish and flora are the same. The only beach that will be hit by the cruise ships is Trunk Bay from what I remember, the rest should be cruise ship free from our experiences. I think you'll find that once you're there, you'll kind of float into the island-time thing and skip half of what you have "planned" in order to enjoy the moments. This is coming from a type A New Englander so believe me, I had to be there to see how relaxed I could truly be. Enjoy, you will love it- again, just be!!

Karrieb,

Great advice!!
Jim

Boy Jim, you got a lot of stuff planned. Add a trip to the BVI? You're already going to Jost. I don't think we went to the BVI until our third trip to STJ. We'd thought about doing it on the first two trips, but there's just so much to do and see on STJ.

There's a good bit of packing advice: Pack your stuff then dump out half of it and you'll still have more than you'll need. I think the same advice works for planning. Make your plan, then cut out half of it and you'll still have a longer list than you'll want to get to. Do less and take longer to do it. We never even make dinner reservations because then we'd have to be paying attention to the time when we're snorkeling or hanging out on some beach. My watch goes into my pocket somewhere on the ride to Red Hook and I begin shifting over to Island Time.

Only thing that I'd make a firm plan for would be to get to Fred's on Wednesday night.

I agree, just go and let things happen. Don't schedule too much. I do recommend going over to the BVI, if not on this trip, on the next, because trust me, you will want to go back. We have done a day trip over there a couple of times and have loved it. When you get to your villa, there will be a binder of things to do, and there will be a brochure in there about the day trips to the BVI, if you are interested. I go down about twice a year, and I love to just go and relax on the beach more than anything. The hiking and diving are great, but there is something to be said for just sitting on Cinnamon (my favorite) and just enjoying your surroundings. I know that whatever you do, you will have a great time...that is just my two cents.

Thanks for the comments and the great advice!

Jim

We are also leaving on Saturday, but staying on St. Thomas. Every trip we take we decide what the most important things we want to see and do on our vacation and make a detailed iteniary, and then we follow it. However, we do leave room for the unexpected and spontanous. If we didn't do this we would probaly miss out on a lot and then come home wishing we had done this or had done that. Plus who knows how long it will be before we could ever come back and do those things we missed.

Also, many activities need to be arranged and reserved in advance. Sometimes waiting until you get to the Island and then trying to book a tour or excursion, you might be disappointed that you either can't go on the the day you hoped or everything is already full.

One of the great things about going on a trip is the planning. I am one of those very organized, detailed oriented people and love it. (so does my husband as we tend to get the most from our vacations) Just another prespective. Have a great trip!

Jim,

I sent you an e-mail too, but I thought I'd respond to this post because I really want to know what you think of Perelandra. How close is it to Cruz Bay? Of course, I want to know all about your trip, but especially the villa.

Thanks!

JC....I was thinking of booking with Spitfire in June. Just curious, why did you choose them and who did you book thru? I heard it is a really nice couple and a great boat.

Hi JC

Just got back from St John yesterday. I would recommend doing the BVI daytrip. We took New Horizons II and had a great time! The crew was wonderful. We went to the Baths, then to another island for a great lunch, then to Guana island for snorkling, then to Jost for swimming, relaxing, and the Soggy Dollar Bar.

Also I agree about the packing. I took twice as many clothes as I really needed, so lighten up on the packing. We did take our own snorkle and mask, which I'm glad we did. We rented a jeep and toured the whole island. It has steep hills, going up and down and narrow roads there, but was fun to drive on. But the locals will blow their horns at you if you get in their way and are unsure about were you are going - but that was ok.

We did the Reef bay hike, but I wasn't too crazy about it. I'm not much of a nature girl though. But you'll probably like it, if you're into hiking. Also we loved snorkling at Waterlemon, but it's about a 20 - 30 minute walk to get to the beach there, but was worth it for the great snorkling.
Hope this helps.
Diane
Raleigh NC

What is 'New Horizons II', and how do I get information about booking this day trip?

New Horizons II is a boat charter service where you can book a daytrip to the British Virgin Isles. They have 2 boats (I think) which you can go on. We took New Horizons II which there was 16 of us on it. They leave from St Thomas and make a pick up in St John and then take you to the BVI to 4 different islands. It's a great trip. They picked us up in St John about 7:45am and we got back at 4:00pm.
Their website is www.newhorizonscharters.com
Hope this helps. Book it = it's worth the money!
Diane
Raleigh NC

Also, if there are more than two of you, you might want to consider chartering a private motorcraft to take you to Virgin Gorda/Jost, etc. Once you spend $100pp on more than two people, it could be more cost effecive and more enjoyable to hire a private charter and captain. You have total control over where you go and when....you get the whole boat to yourselves....and you can experience the beauty of the various islands and beaches without a group of people going along with you.

The private charter sounds great to me. Who do you recommend?

Hello JC,

You are likely on island now or just getting back. How was the trip?

Answering some of your questions in case others were wondering...

You do need to arrage the National Park guided tour of Reef Bay Trail in advance. You can contact them to do that.(340) 776-6201

No cruise ship days are good days to Trunk Bay. Or early in the am, or afternoon.

--Islander