Hello Vicki,

I hope this email finds you well.

From what I gather you are arriving in St. Thomas by cruise ship and were thinking about island hoping over to St. John to check out one of two sites.

If you are just going to one of the beaches in St. John I highly recommend utilizing the "Ferry Service" to and from St. John directly from your port of call, Charlotte Amalie. This $7. one way service is fast, easy, and enjoyable.

From "Cruz Bay", the town in St. John, Trunks Bay is very short and scenic taxi ride away.

The hassle of renting a car on St. Thomas, driving to Red Hook, boarding the car ferry, etc., etc., shuttling over, etc., etc., is just too much time out of your precious vacation.

As for a map of St. John, you can check the web sites, or if you are willing to wait, the Tourist Offices on both St. Thomas and St. John provide you with a beautiful, colorful, pocket sized map.

Hope this helps!

Hello Vicki,

If you want to explore the island then rent a car or if you have a large group and the renting of a car works out cheaper then the taxi rides.... Honeymoon beach has to be hiked to so the car doesn't do much good and you can't take a taxi there for the same reason; there is no road, trail only. You can start hiking right from Cruz Bay to Honeymoon and then around to Caneel Bay and then take a taxi back to Cruz Bay from Caneel Bay, which has road access. If you want to go to Trunk bay you can take a taxi to it from Cruz Bay. There are usually taxis at Caneel Bay and Trunk Bay to take you back to Cruz Bay.

There is a really good National Park Trails Illustrated Map on the www.Vitraders.com store under Planning-Maps... cut and paste the link and check it out.

--Islander

I definitely recommend Trunk Bay as your first stop snorkeling. If you've never been snorkeling in the Caribbean before, their underwater trail will give you a good orientation. Trunk Bay is a nice beach with all the amenities, including a small store and restaurant, showers, etc. It is the third main beach you come to on the North Shore road outside of Cruz Bay (Caneel, Hawksnest, Trunk).

Honeymoon Beach is also great but very different. In my experience visiting it twice, it is rarely crowded, just like the beaches in those Corona beer commercials. As Islander said, you can hike to it from Caneel Bay or via the Lind Point trail from Cruz Bay (starts near the National Park Visitor Center). Either way, be forewarned that the neighboring beach (Salomon) is unofficially a nude beach, but that should not deter you from visiting Honeymoon. Just keep in mind if you're going to Honeymoon that you will have to do a bit of walking and will need to bring snacks, drinks, a frisbee, or whatever else you plan to do there. I have not snorkeled at Honeymoon but did see a fair amount of fish when I was there last week.

I also agree with the above posters that you should definitely NOT rent a car on St. Thomas and bring it over on the car ferry. If you want to explore St. John, rent a jeep in Cruz Bay, but since you're just coming for a day I would hike and take taxis. Much easier and cheaper IMHO.

Thank you so much, I really appreciate all the advice. think we might do the hiking part. How far is the hike from Cruz to Honeymoon and then distance to Caneel (think I have that right) to get a taxi back to cruz Bay? I have cancer and hard to carry stuff and we take our own snorkel gear. The only time I do not hurt is when I am in the ocean with the fishes, wish I could just stay there.vjb
It took me awhile to find my way back here. Computer dummy [email protected]

Honeymoon is closer to Caneel Bay than to Cruz Bay, so the easiest option would be to take a taxi to Caneel Bay, walk to Honeymoon, walk back to Caneel, and then take a taxi back to town. The walk from Caneel Bay to Honeymoon is about 10-15 minutes along a road; the hike from Honeymoon back to town is more like 45 minutes along a trail.

Our villa is on High Hillside/ Chocolate Hole is that area close to the restaurants and activities on STJ?

sounds great if i can not get on the allura that sounds like the best plan, thank you so much for your thoughts and information, vicki

again love the allura but if not that sounds like a plan, taxi to caneel bay, walk to honeymoon then walk back from honeymoon, wonder if claire will give us a discount on rum punch?? thanks you for all you help, vicki

Kelly
Chocolate Hole is about 10 minute drive to Cruz Bay restaurants and shops.

islander, not sure how to ask this ? do not to offend anyone but if you use a jeep or hike what is the best way to protect money, camera etc when you both are snorkeling with your stuff on the beach and your face in the water? I had not thought of that... guess we could just take turns in the water. Or other option is a car I guess...aaahh I just want to snorkel alot. wish I was there now.

Take as little with you to the beach. Get one of those little waterproof containers to put your money and keys in, and swim with it. Maybe a disposable camera for the beach or a housing for the camera to take it in with you. Even your fellow tourists on the beach can't be trusted, after all thieves take a vacation too!
Ronnie

Yeah, the waterproof containers work great for that, or if you have to swim to a beach bar like the Soggy Dollar (yes, they accept dry ones too!). If I drive to a beach I'll sometimes put my wallet in the glove compartment of the car and just bring my car key to the beach, zipped in a pocket of my bathing suit. Some suits have a string in the pocket that you can tie to your keychain to make it even more secure.

Chris -

The 10 minutes drive is that roughly a straight shot to Cruz Bay - I have never been there before and although from what I hear the island isn't big but I don't want to get lost or anything. But Chocolate Hole then isn't that far really huh?

Ten minutes if you get behind a bunch of taxis.......it really is a short trip. Very hilly but i bet its no more than two miles.

What about getting back to the ferry from Trunk Bay? Will there really be taxis hanging around for whenever we want one to get back to the ferry and back to cruise ship in St. Thomas?

taxis are very abundant until 5pm at trunk....even a little after that...in fact they play cards and hang out until its their turn because they are all lined up to give rides.

wow--thanks for reply. will rely upon your kind knowledge and trust that we will have a good day without concern. . . cynthia

Do you know the cost of taxi to Trunk Bay? thank you

As everyone says be smart. If you take a car particularly a Jeep with a soft top to a remote beach don't leave anything of value in the car. To prevent someone from being tempted to break into your car or slice the top looking for your goodies leave your car unlocked to show the bad guys there is nothing inside.

Jim