Humbly, I must admit that I've got no real knowledge of the island, aside from getting to/from the ferries to STJ.
One thing I MUST recommend, however, is to checkout Duffy's Love Shack by Red Hook.
Their Sweet& Tangy Fiji wings are my "not so secret " guilty pleasure.
Good time, good Mahi sandwich, as well.
Great bartenders. too.
Jealous, and happy for your upcoming trip-8-)
Smiles-
MJ

Tom:

I've been coming here for 5 years and still haven't found a "good" map. The maps provided by the rental car firm will do. Also, get the St. Thomas brochures at the airport.

Do rent a car......taxis are very expensive......plus you'll have more flexibility to see more areas. Driving on the left is not too difficult....just remember to "keep your shoulder to the shoulder" (of the road).

Keep reviewing this web-site....there's a lot of good information here.

Also, congratulations on your upcoming wedding.

F.I.

Stone Cottage is a great place. I've seen it! Sherri, who is on this forum will be able to tell you everything you need to know and where to go. She's a great gal. You'll have a great time too.

You really can't get lost on the Island and it's great you have a car. Going to Red Hook is always fun. Go to Duffy's like Maho said (keep in mind it's smack dab in the middle of a parking lot).

Also, definetly p.an one day going over to STJ. You can take the car over on the car barge, ride around the island, stop at a couple beaches and walk around Cruz Bay.

Good luck, you're going to love it.

Oh, and congratulations!

How about a Discover Scuba Diving class. You can try scuba diving with no certification. My wife and I took one with Blue Island Divers and had a great time.

Thanks everyone!!! Will definitely keep everyone poasted on the plans. Sherri from the stone cottage has already contacted me so that will be a great help.
I love the idea of just having a lot of options, without bogging myself down with a set schedule. I have already gotten a bunch of great ideas from this site already.
We are renting a car through dependable and plan on doing at least one day on St. Johns maybe more, i like the idea of the hiking trails and already send for some trail maps.
Does anyone know if most "nice" restaurants require reservations well in advance or is a day or two notice enough?
Tom

Since your staying at Stone Cottage Which you will love by the way read the guest book that Sherri has on the coffee table
My hubby and I got alot of info of stuff to do after we went through the books
Since you have a car Explore the West End and all the places STT has to offer
Take an Ecursion over to the BVI's
Go to Duffys Love Shack
Go to Mountain Top
GO to Paradise Point
Go to Megans Bay
Go over to St.John
Sherri will tell you everything you need to know
And please FEED Kitty

Since we stayed at Stone Cottage our First time please feel free to pm me with any questions that you might have

gobucs

Just want to let you all know that "kitty" has moved on to a different home. Some are very sad to hear this, some are not.
Sorry Gobucs!!!!
I am sure she is being well loved.

Sherri, want anothe cat?? 😛 I'm fostering 3 brothers. Chesney (Kenny Chesney), Peter (Peter Cetera) and Leroy, a dear friend that died from the local spca a month after I met him.

Guess you have enough cats on STT.

"Does anyone know if most "nice" restaurants require reservations well in advance or is a day or two notice enough?"

You won't need restaurant reservations in July but if you want reservations, calling the day before is sufficient.

If you are renting a car, I wouldn't bother doing the paradise point ride to the top as you can get much better views if you drive up the mountain yourself. There are plenty of places to pull off to see the views. There are a few major routes on the island and they are all marked pretty well by colored signs with the starfish. I would recommend going to Mafolie for dinner one night so that you can have a good night view looking down on the harbor.
Other spots to see:
Magen's is a must.
Coral world at coki beach.
Portabello restaurant at best western near the airport
Trunk bay on St. John

I think driving up to paradise point is fun and the views as the sunset falls is just amazing at night. They also had some pretty good drinks and a good band playing.

Seeing those cruise ships pull away and all the lights coming on, with the seaplanes landing made for one romantic night.

Duffys was a great time but DO NOT ORDER THE SHARK TANK :X

Off the Hook in RedHook is a great seafood restaurant - the lobster was delicious!

Ok dejavu,
What gives with the Shark tank?

The kayak ecotour is something that I have always wanted to try and gets rave reviews!

Connie,
No thanks on the kitty! They always seem to show up on their own. The kitty that gobucs is referring to was with us for over 3 years and sometimes the guests would write more about her than the trip! 😛 We were fortunate that most all of our guests loved her. We are happy we don't have to clean up after her anymore! Sure does make our lives easier.

Leupus - you couldn't be in better hands than with Sherri! And, Stone Cottage, what a gorgeous villa and area of the island. Be sure to get down to Hull Bay to the Hideaway nearby and if you get out to the east end, be sure to stop at Lindqvist Beach (now called Smith Bay Beach) and have a bite at Fungi's.

Sherri - how are ya?? That kitty story reminds me of when we stayed at Magorosa out in Caret Bay. When the infamous Beatrice finally got us there she went on and on about Max the cat - what he liked, what he didn't like, that there were 2 packets of food for him, that we should buy the exact same kind as he was pretty finicky, etc., etc., ETC.... Well, my aunt, who was 86 then and had spent just about too much time with Beatrice after a long travel day, looked her dead in the eye and said "WELL, we're DOG people" :D:D I thought Beatrice was going to fall over! She probably thought Auntie might drown the cat in the pool. Max, the cat, was a very well behaved and handsome cat and he visited us often. I think he was pretty accustomed to being hosted inside the villa, though, and we weren't going to do that. We did follow B's instructions, though, and fed and watered Max. I think he had a schedule and visited all of the properties in that area, probably being fed at most of the villas.

If you head for a sail, try www.ohbejoyfulsailing.com. We did their sunday jazz sail and had a blast. they do a pickup on thursdays from st john too, saili you around for a while and take you to see the Fiddler at latitude 18 in red hook, then sail you back to st john. haven't done that one myself yet, but hear it's fun.

also, go to www.stthomasthisweek.com and you'll find lots to do for both st thomas and st john on there. good luck!

Hey Margy!~ So glad to see you are still hangin in! Ran into Beatrice 2 days ago!
Thanks for the compliment! Miss you!

Leupus,

Sounds like you are well on your way to a wonderful vacation. You have picked a wonderful location to stay at. We have stayed on the same property, different house, atleast 4 or 5 times. I wouldn't worry about the restaurant until you are down there. Read the quest book and chat with Sherri, between those two you will get a good idea of where is best to eat. I believe Stone Cottage has a gas grill, I know the other house has a grill and we grilled most of our meals. On a few of our trips we introduced ourselves to the other couple on the property, we grilled some ribs and they brought over their wedding cake.

We are all about the beaches, our two favorite on STT are Coki and Megans. Megans is beautiful and calm but maybe just a little too calm for our pace. We prefer Coki, live music, little more hustle and bustle, introductory scuba diving, para-sailing, more waves and more sea shells, our daughter is now 12 and she loves all the activity. Another nice beach is Saphire, very nice for snorkeling. On STJ, you absolutely have to go to Waterlemon Cay. Outside of a boat trip this will be the most beautiful snorkeling you can have on STT or STJ. There was recently a 3 part post on this web site with photos of sea turtles and 50 or so starfish. It is well worth the hike to get there.

By the way if you go to google earth or similar site, Stone Cottage is at 18 degrees 21' 53.58" N and 64 degrees 57' 35.98" W. This will give you a pretty good reference to where you are on the island.

Sherri, we will see you this Saturday. Do you have in pick ups on Saturday? Email me off line if you need anything special brought down.

Rusty

Hi, my name is Mary, I was invited to post here by Sherri,as I have been to Stone Cottage twice,now.
St. Thomas is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Yes, there is so much to do there, you won't know where to start. My husband,Jim, and I always plan so many things, we never get to all of them. So here is my suggestion, slow down. You will be on island time, relax, chill. The most incredible views on the island, are right on your balcony at Stone Cottage. Slip into the plunge pool and enjoy a cocktail with your sweetie. Cruise down to Hull Bay Hideaway and blend in with the locals. If you are so inclined,snorkel, or even better, do a shore dive at Hull Bay. Most of the nice coral is to the right, as you face the beach. We had the best shore dive ever there last year!
Keep on reading this forum, most people have great suggestions. You know why? Everything here is great!!