You've done your research well. We always stay on the East End/Coral Bay side of the island and really have very little to do with Cruz Bay. There are several restaurants in Coral Bay. Sweet Plantains, Aqua Bistro and Miss Lucy's feel most like restaurants. i always think of the other places---Island Blues, Shipwreck and Skinny's---as bars that also serve food. The Donkey Diner has good breakfasts and Miss Lucy's has a Sunday brunch. There's also Chateau Bordeaux up on Bordeaux mountain that has excellent food and a magnificent view.

   Vie's is in the East End---no dinner, but good local food for lunch. Open most days, but not all days. The pavilion restaurant at Maho is a good place to stop if you're in the neighborhood.

      Speaking of local food, there are a few small truck/stand operations around the triangle in Coral Bay that serve up good food---lunches and some breakfast. Fire Foods is a favorite. Also in Coral Bay (next to the Donkey Diner) the Sputnik bar sometimes has food. it's a good place to stop for a drink and a local experience. They have music some nights---a good local reggae band (Inner Visions) plays some weekend nights. Other places in Coral Bay also have music some nights.

        There are a few small markets----Love City Mini Mart, Lily's, and another small one across from Island Blues. You could stock up in Cruz Bay when you first arrive, other wise, the markets in Coral Bay will probably have what you need.

Beaches...so many. Have you gotten yourself a guidebook? We like--and use---"Feet, Fins & 4wd" and "St John: Off the Beaten Track." Here's s link to a good site:

http://stjohnbeachguide.com/

and a link to a useful map:

http://www.virgin.islands.national-park.com/map.htm

Staying where you are, you'll certainly want to explore Salt Pond and Lameshur. We aways like to get to Haulover in the East End. We also like Maho and Francis (the further a beach is from Cruz Bay), the fewer people will you have to share it with. Waterlemon has good snorkeling, but it's gotten the rep as "the best" and is getting more crowded. Sometimes daysails offload a whole gang of snorkelers.

A daysail to the BVI is a wonderful thing to do, but we never got there until out third trip to STJ. We'd intended to go earlier, but there was just so much we wanted to do and see on STJ that we never got off the island. Maybe rent a dinghy at Crabby's and explore Coral Bay.

A favorite hike of ours is the Johnny Horn trail from Waterlemon over to Coral Bay, but the two that you have planned are real good ones.

Take plenty of time to do very little. Sit, float, nap. Watch the night sky. Listen to the waves, tree frogs, roosters, donkeys. Smell the fragrances of the tropics.It's a wonderful place. you'll have a wonderful time.

Firstly, it's St. John, not St. John's. You'll be pegged as a newbie right away if you add the s 🙂

Most of the beaches are part of the National Park and are free. The only exception is Trunk Bay, which charges a few dollars as an entry fee. Any hike you take is free, unless you go on a guided tour. The National Park in STJ isn't like other parks where there are entries and exits with guard shacks...you just come and go into the park as you drive along the roads.

There's one private beach, Vie's, on the East End. She charges a couple dollars for admission.

Remember to double the ferry/taxi costs to account for your return trip.

You can find Conrad Sutton's rates here: http://www.conradcars.com/rates.html