Welcome Marybeth,

9 days on St. John... wonderful.

Tips of first timers: put your watch away when you get to St. John and go with the flow of things, relax. 😉 Visit many of the beaches like; Caneel Bay, Hawksnest, Trunk Bay, Cinnamon Bay, Maho Bay, Francis, Gibney... Snorkel at Trunk, Waterlemon, Cinnamon Bay. Perhaps take a dive introduction class if you aren't already certified. A daysail or sunset sail is nice. Hike a few trails; Reef Bay Trail is a nice one - if you aren't very fit and/or would like a guide then you can do the Reef Bay hike with the National Park service and pay for a boat pickup at the bottom of the trail (otherwise you have to walk back up to the top). Rent a car and explore, beach hop. Have a great time.

There are grocery stores on St. John so you can shop there. They are not as large as the supermarkets on St. Thomas, however they do carry everything you neeed (the prices are a bit higher). Some St. John visitors do stop at a supermarket on St. Thomas and stock up before continuing on to St. John.

A personal chef, try:

http://chefcody.com/

http://www.stjohnchef.com/

--Islander

Thanks so much. We are really looking forward to it. We will be in St. Thomas this Ocotber, via cruise ship, which will also be a first time visit for us.

We plan to tour STT with Godfrey, so will get the lay of the land at that time.

Thanks .. and I'm sure I will have a few more questions as time rolls on.

Fit? Well... maybe by the time I visit 😉

Thanks again.

mary beth

Wow, I don't know if we would have wanted to carry one more thing on the ferry from Red Hook to Cruz Bay. The checked bag, the carry-on and my purse were plenty to keep track of and cart around. Starfish Market in Cruz Bay is quite nice and very clean but I can't compare the prices to STT since we did no shopping there at all.

While you're on STJ, book a day sail on "Breath" out of Coral Bay. While you'll love STJ enough that you won't want to leave, do it just once. We sailed over to Jost Van Dyke on "Breath" one Saturday and it was the high point of our vacation. Foxy entertained us and we had the most delicious lobster salad for lunch. Afterward we sailed over to Sandy Cay for snorkelling (where husband located a small boat wreck that had not been previously discovered) then back past the coastline of Tortola. It was a long day (10 hours) but a great memory-maker.

Enjoy your stay on STJ. You'll love it and the people there.

Thanks for the tips. We are still planning so not sure what we will end up doing as far as provisions. but one thing we are thinking of is 2 nights on STT at a resort and then heading to STJ to relax. If we do that we may shop in STT. Still unsure.

We like wine, any good tips on where to get that?

Also, someone else had told me that you weren't permitted to take cars from STT to STJ - rental company rules. I assume that is not the case but just want to be sure.

Also, any issues on having a small car vs. a jeep or SUV? I know it is hilly and some places we were looking at recommended a 4wheel drive vehicle but the cottage we want doesn't mention that.

Mary Beth,

Welcome to the board! Spend some time scrolling back and you will learn a lot! I would definately take LisaF's advice. The Starfish Market and Dolphin are good grocery stores and are competitive with pretty much everything on STT. If a bage of groceries costs $20 stateside it might cost $25 to $30, in STT and $30 in STJ. You would probably risk $5 to $8 in potential spoilage on the ferry over, but to each his own!

10 % discount at Dolphin. Just ask for it. In the small STJ map you get at the car rental is an advertisement to mention ad and you get the 10% off.

You are going to love the USVI. Happy travels!!

I've found about the only stuff worth hauling to STJ is food that I can't live without. My special teas, some thick cut Prime Delmonico's from my butcher (frozen, of course), speciality dried fruit and some herbs and spices. Everything else is pretty much there. So it's a few dollars more, it sure beats dragging all the stuff around. It will cost more in time and effort than it's worth. I do bring books. I'm a voracious reader and there isn't a good supply for my 3 week stays. I leave the books behind for others, so going home is a lot lighter!

Another source for personal chef and provisioning of your cottage, check out

www.katilady.com

Wish I was heading down there. I miss it!

I think you all have convinced me not to drag the groceries on the ferry 🙂
Thanks!

We just got back from St. John. We thought we would cook, but ended up eating out every night. We bought food for breakfast and lunches and some snacks. The grocery store we went to was Dolphin Market and the meat selection was low. It had a variety of other foods for breakfast, lunch, etc. Our bread was moldy, so watch out. Everything is more expensive, of course. I ate seafood out every day, but wanted a big juicy steak when I got home!

Thanks. I will remember to check. Hey, I'm on vacation. If things are a little pricey I can deal with that. And I don't plan to shop like I do at home. Breakfast things for sure but then ... who knows. We are a play it by ear kinda couple so I'm thinking we wouldn't plan more than a few days at a time.

Appreciate the feedback!

I just got back from my 2nd vacation to St John. Last year, we were disappointed at the choice of meat and we cooked meals like spaghetti which would feed a crowd easily. This year we ordered meats from Omaha Steaks and had them shipped to our rental agency the day before we arrived. They only ship on certain days so you have to plan this. Our whole group agreed this is the way to go as far as steaks and hamburger!! Everything else we bought at Cruz Bay.

The last time I was there T recall Starfish had a fairly decent selection of meats (frozen) Chris other than C&B's where should we buy a steak we wanted to cook at our Villa. Also how is the Fish Trap's Seafood store going?

I'll throw in an answer on steak. Although I rarely eat meat, there are times on the boat in STJ that we like to grill a good piece of beef. The best that I have found is the filets at Simple Feast. I like Dolphin for a lot of things but not for their meat. Starfish at times has pretty good meat. Just don't buy the packaged beef go to the meat counter and look at the meat in the case there. There are much better cuts there. I've been to the Fish Trap's Seafood store and although it was a little pricey the fish was rather good. I've also had salmon from Starfish (not great but not bad). One thing about Fish Trap is that you can't rely on the store being open when they say it will be. I drove all the way in from Coral Bay only to find that they were not open, although they were scheduled to be.

Wes,
Ok, I would buy your meet from simple feast or starfish. The prices might be similar but simple feast WILL usually be better quality. If I get shorted in my orders, that is the first place I check(its part of the company I work for, also) because its close to the Westin and its also close to the quality I use. As far as meats go, if you have a particular cut or something maybe I could order some for you and we could work out a deal? Lots of times, there isnt a huge selection but I know I can order almost anything if given enough notice. You could also set something up with Paulie at Simple Feast, if you prepaid, he might hook up up with something otherwise very difficult to find on STJ. In return, he would probably give you a better deal than if he had it in the case waiting to be bought. I almost died one time I went in to Starfish to buy red snapper at close to forty a pound for snapper.

I wouldnt recommend Fish Trap to anyone. I won't go into it but I will never eat there again in my lifetime, sorry.

Wow, Chris. I've held my thoughts about the Fish Trap for so long because so many people here have very positive things to say about it. I may buy some fish at the little store but cannot eat in the restaurant any more. Too many disappointments in the food and service.

We travel from Boston to St John and bring steaks, chicken, and cheeses etc from our buthcher in our carry-on. There are some really amazing frozen food bags that keep everything frozen for a 12 hour travel day (if we have a layover). I'd strongly reccomend it. Last year one of our fellow travelers bought some chicken and it went bad in 24 hours.

My family and I took a daysail on Breath a number of years ago and had a bad experience with them. We are avid snorkerlers and sailors and I feel are very tolerant of differences. Some of the issues were destinations that were promised and never came to fruition, lunch terrible, crew hungover unfriendly, cleanliness of the boat and smell of the vessel,lateness in leaving,etc. I would highly advise against it. To top it off, it was no bargain, we could not wait to get back. I feel there are much better daysails around. Just my two cents and a lot more spent that day on Breath.

Good Luck

Where is the Dolphin located? In Cruz Bay?

Dolphin Market is on Centerline Rd. just opposite the Texaco station. Before Starfish moved to the Marketplace it was located in that building. St. John Drug is located next door.