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*We will be coming for our first time to st j in about 3 weeks. We've looked on the message board and various web sites to get as much info as possible. We know that we want to spend at least one day at trunk bay. I've checked cruise schedules thinking that it might be less crowded on days that cruise ships don't come in to st j. No ships are scheduled to come in on Sunday, but I'm wandering if that would be a busy day because of it being on the weekend? Any help as to when to visit beaches and which beaches to visit would be appreciated.
Hello tcu,
Hawksnest gets busy on weekends, Sundays. Trunk Bay - go early in the day; its the quietest then. If it starts getting busy you can hop over to another beach. Other great beaches; Cinnamon Bay, Maho Bay, Caneel Bay, Honeymoon, Francis, Gibney, Salt Pond Bay 🙂
Scroll to the top of this very page and click on St. John (in the blue bar above the books) and then choose beaches. That's a beach guide with pictures, description. Hard to make a wrong beach choice on St. John.
--Islander
'Busy' and crowded are relative terms on STJ. Islander is correct about Trunk in the morning. If there are no cruises in that day, more of the visitors on STJ will plan to visit Trunk that day as well. If they all showed up together (highly unlikely), you might only have 100 people on the beach at the same time! Hardly a crowd but as Islander said, move further East to Cinnamon, Maho, Francis and you can find yourself completely alone.
By the end of our stay, we considered busy on STJ as more than 10 on an entire beach. God, I wish we only got 10 on the Gulf Coast.
Gulf coast here too...I wish the water wasnt brown at the very least.Hard to spot those critters sneaking up to you in brown water.
Closest to USVI is Brownsville and it is still a world away.
Dont know about Brownsville, Parde Island, but use to go to Galveston as a kid, and how i ever swam in that ill never know
We live in Clear Lake area (anything but) and have to avoid looking at the water around here for several months after each trip to USVI so we don't get too depressed.
Enjoy your trip. Coral Bay is really a nice side. Depending upon your villa location, you will have awsome sunries, if you like getting up that early. Make sure you explore as much of the island as you can. You will be the only one on some beaches.
he two villas i like are no AC but very nice in Coral Bay area,,another one in Chocolate Hole area with AC , cant decided between the two, any suggestions from your expreince there?
The villas in Chocolate Hole face west (beautiful sunsets) and are on somewhat sheltered from breezes by the steep hillside. You will want AC there for the bedrooms. May not use it, but nice to have available. Chocolate Hole is ~ 5 minutes from 'downtown' Cruz Bay and 20 minutes from the North Shore beaches. CH is a very nice location and somewhat remote. However, if you are looking at more seclusion, Coral Bay is probably a better choice. You pay a price (not as many conveniences, shops, etc. compared to Cruz Bay) but it really depends upon what you want from the vacation.
Most villas in the Coral Bay area are higher up the hillsides, face east and as a result tend to get steady breezes.
A/C is a must, no question about it. if not then be sure you have an eastern exposure for the breeze. my wife almost died from the heat and had the fan at concordia so loud I could not sleep.
a fantastic beach that is close to town is salomon. it says it is .9 miles from the information center but it seemed more like 99 miles. the return trip seemed like 1/2 a mile. The water is perfect and there is one coral head with fish around it. When i got in the water, about 3 feet deep I looked down and ther was a sting ray. when I told my wife she lept out of the water but returned when the ray swam off. The coral head of off to the right of the beach. I only saw one really good coral head but just floated around it for 30 minutes. easy in and out of the water. dress is optional. if the park patrol catches you our of uniform they give you a warning. about the third time they may give you a ticket.
If you need snorkling equipment I suggest Low-Key in cruise bay by the beach bar. They also have a snorkling trip for $40 per person. more for the scuba. these are wonderful people who seem more interested in getting you the equipment you need than in making a lot of money. you do not need to be certified and many first time divers went for the second dive on the trip we were on. If you know how to run an dingy then you can rent an 11 foot boat with an 15 hp engine for $135 a day. this is a bargin. they limit you as to where you can go but this is only for your protection.
we went to a deserted island and found the ost beautiful shell. It looked like it was made out of blown blase. we then went into a shop across the street from the beach bar and they had a basket full for $3.95 each. the ones you buy you can take home. keep the sales slip.
be even funnier if they locked you up after the 3rd warning and halled u off to jail as is,(out of uniform) if u want to go nude so bad go to St Martin where it is legal. I never understood why some desire to go nude on a beach where there maybe children around and it is not legal, maybe its the thrill of getting caught , and or for the shock value and reaction to the unsuspecting beach goer,,,and in that case they shouldnt mind if they are taken to jail as is, with nothing but flippers , mask and a snorkel.
