I can only comment on a couple of your questions:

Hike: Sorry - we don't do exercise while on vacation (unless you count the "hike" at Leinester Bay to get to Waterlemon Cay Beach!
Restaurant: Zozo's
Saturday night fun - dancing? Heard that the Beach Bar is a possibility. Never did the dance party.
Beach: Cinnamon is ours.
Turtle Spotting: Waterlemon Cay. Have seen one every time we visit. It's a 3/4 mile walk to the beach from the road but a great snorkel spot.
Rental Car: YES, YES, YES you do want a car.
Red Hook Dinner: Depends. Pizza at Sopchoppys. Molly Malones for sit-down. Caribbean Saloon for "bar food, sandwiches or steaks".

Good Luck! Have Fun!

If you can budget it, rent the car. Best way to experience the island.

Hike: Probably Ram's Head (although wife likes Reef Bay)
Restaurant: Sweet Plantains
Beach: Any beach on North Shore- unless rough seas (in February). Then East End beaches (Haulover for snorkle right next to road and Hanson) or Salt Pond on South Shore.
Seen turtles in Maho.
Don't dance.

Let us know what you liked.

My husband and I love the Lime Inn. We have been there many times and love the food, atmosphere and service. We also enjoyed the Fish Trap.

A tad crowded at times, and has an entrance fee, we love Trunk Bay - its beautiful! There is food/drink available at the snack stand + snorkeling.

I don't look for sea turtles - sorry.

Never really seen dancing on STJ. The Beach Bar does have live bands and a great atmosphere! Try any of the restaurant / bars by the waterfront - maybe even in Coral Bay.

Car rental - Yes.

Have fun!

asrai,

You could also eat in Cruz Bay before you go to Maho. The ferry runs from Red Hook to Cruz Bay until roughly 11 (don't know the exact time of the last ferry - but check the Ferry Schedule elsewhere on this site).

Which brings me to Favorite Restaurant: Rhumblines

Favorite Beach: Honeymoon. But Maho and Frances are both very nice with relatively few people and are both walking distance from where you'll be. Note: the beach at the campground is on Little Maho bay. Maho bay beach is immediately to the west and is longer. There's not much parking in the area, so few people go there.

Favorite Hike: to the bar, any bar!

Turtle spotting: almost swam into one snorkeling at Waterlemon. Have seen several at Cinnamon. Please look, but don't touch. Some people try to play with them. Although they're pretty docile and will let you get pretty close, they're still a wild animal and human contact is never a good thing for them. (...stepping off my soapbox, now)

Definitely rent a Jeep. Maho is a bit removed from either Cruz Bay or Coral Bay and most taxis don't go that far. I believe there's one taxi that services Maho, so you'll have limitations on when and where you can go on the island if you depend on that for transportation.

Have fun. You're gonna love it!

WW

Favorite hike?
From the pool to the fridge at the villa in the afternoon after a morning at the beach and lunch out 🙂

Favorite restaurant?
Island Blues in Coral Bay.

Favorite place for some Saturday night fun? Preferrably with dancing?
na - we do nights in at the villa

Favorite beach?
Cinammon and Francis.

Best place to possible spot a sea turtle?
Since you're at Maho, just swim out a little, take a right, and go to Francis, which has plenty of seagrass that generally is more attractive for turtles. Be forewarned, after seeing several there, we went back with the kids next trip who wanted to see one, and didn't get to in two different trips.

Sea turtles are my absolute favorite animal. Although I do confess I would probably LOVE to stroke its shell, I just wouldn't out of respect ya know? I am trying not to get my hopes up for seeing one, but still thought to ask just in case there is a spot they favor on the island.

Hmmm - does anyone know where I can rent a car for a single day? It seems like a few places have a 3 day minimum.

It is hard to drive on the other side of the road? I have read that driving can be a bit - um - challenging?

What kind of food does Rhumbalines have?

There is a great hike from Maho to Leinster Bay. Take your snorkel gear. The hike back (especially the last hill) into Maho is a bit tough... When you snorkel, and you will snorkel ;), look for turtle grass and wait for the turtles. Leinster and Maho are both great turtle spots.

BTW, for VI Lover: Sopchoppy's is no more. The place is now Island Time.

Maho suggests that you eat before arriving there because their restaurant may be closed and you could be stuck and starving. You should see what time you reach Red Hook and how much time you have before the ferry leaves. If you have enough time, you can eat at one of the places in Red Hook recommended in an earlier post. if you're short on time, you can eat once you reach STJ.

Frett runs the semi-official Maho shuttle and Maho should be providing you with his schedule. When we've stayed at Maho we've either rented a vehicle or taken Frett's shuttle, so I don't know what the situation is with finding other taxis to go to Maho. If you don't eat in Red Hook, you can see what time you reach Cruz Bay, consider what time Frett's next run will be, and decide what to do. There are lots of places to eat in Cruz Bay. JJ's (right across the park across from the ferry) would be easy.

Maho is one place on STJ where you can manage pretty well without a vehicle. This is particularly true for such a short stay (you'll actually only be there for three full days). It might actually be difficult to find one to rent since you haven't already reserved one. This is peak season and they get scarce. At this time of year the agencies also are reluctant to rent their vehicles for less than a week. We've stayed there a few times and one year only rented a vehicle for a day or two. It is nice to be able to get around to other areas of the island (the East End is actually my favorite part of STJ), but since you're there such a short time, I think you'll do fine without transportation.

There are some good snorkeling beaches with easy walk of Maho. Big Maho is just minutes by the goat trail (considerably longer by road). You can walk along the shoreline to Francis---there are a couple places where you need to scramble over rocks, so you'd need to travel light. Francis is where we've probably seen turtles most frequently. There's a patch of seagrass to the right side of the beach (close to where the sand ends and it becomes mostly rocks) which is attractive to turtles. you can sit on the beach and watch for turtles' heads surfacing. I always consider seeing a turtle as a gift from the turtle. The ocean is their home and if they want to avoid me, it's the easiest thing in the world for them to do so. As mentioned, the walk to Leinster is a nice hike. Much of it is quite flat. Leinster is where Waterlemon Cay is and it's good snorkeling. The road takes you past the Annaberg ruins which are worth a look. Also the shuttle runs regularly into Cruz Bay and could drop you at any of the north shore beaches if you'd like a change of scene. We once walked to Cinnamon, but wouldn't walk it again. Not that far, but it's not really a stretch of road that's pedestrian-friendly.

If you're interested in a more demanding hike, you can walk to Leinster and take the Johnny Horn Trail to Brown Bay or----and this is ambitious---over to Coral Bay. We've walked from Maho to Coral Bay a couple of times. It's a great hike, but you definitely need to enjoy hiking to do it. You can hang out in Coral Bay for a while to refresh. On the way back we did hitch a ride up the last stretch of road to Maho. Great views, a lot of variety, very few people---if any at all.

As mentioned, Maho does offer excursions (for a fee) to different parts of the island or for an evening in Cruz Bay or Coral Bay that you might consider. Also, there's generally music or a film or educational presentation in the Maho pavilion after dinner. If you're extremely fortunate, a band named Inner Visions may be performing there one night during your stay. It's possible to take the shuttle into Cruz Bay, poke around, have dinner, then meet it to return to Maho.

We're pretty happy with the Maho restaurant. Breakfasts were very good and dinners were okay. It's really got one of the best views on the island. For lunch there's a shack at the beach that sells sandwiches and drinks. There's a happy hour with free popcorn. They only serve beer and wine, so if you'd want spirits, you'd need to pick it up en route (Red Hook or Cruz Bay). The Maho store stocks basics---not much choice or variety, not cheap---but very, very convenient.

For Maho you'll want flashlights (one for each) and a padlock. We bring combination padlocks--one for the tent and one for a small "safe" box built into the tent. You might consider picking up a guidebook. We use "St John: Off the Beaten Track" and "Feet, Fins &4 WD". Either is good. There's overlap, but each has stuff that the other doesn't. OBT is maybe better for trail descriptions.

What's snorkeling like in the Red Sea? Is there coral? What sort of fish and sea creatures can be seen?

Rhumblines offers a Pacific Rim type menu.

Here's their website: www.rhumblinesstjohn.com

Lex that post was awesome! So much good info - thank you thank you! I am going to reread and get back to you if I have more questions and thanks for the tips about the locks!

My husband is Egyptian. I am pretty sure there is snorkeling all along the Red Sea but we most often frequent Sharm el Sheik - the southern most tip of the Sinai. Hurghada is also popular but we haven't been there yet - not sure why. I guess Sharm is just our spot. Unfortunately, like beach resorts, when we first started going it was really mellow. Now it is far over developed and despite promises from the Egyptian government to protect the reefs, I am not so sure that will happen.

I will I could tell you the names of the wild life there but I am not so well versed. I should go get my fish spotting laminate! Needless to say they come in all colors shapes sizes. The Red Sea was actually the first place I snorkeled and I will surely never forget it. Even with the development Sharm is the type of place you can walk a few yards out from the beach, stick your head in the water, and see an amazing fish swimming by.

Like the others...who really hikes on vacation? sorry...

We saw 3 turtles at Francis, the same day we saw stingray and giant starfish and a HUGE (like you have no idea!) barrcuda!....But our favorite beach was probably Hawksnest.

Island Blues is awesome. for dinner , Donkey Diner is awesome for breakfast and Skinny legs is a great fast lunch.

Look for NIna across from skinny legs ,she captains Serenity Sea, best snorkel ever! and its not expensive at all..

Maho seems to be full of hiking-granola eating- tree hugging types! 😉

asrai

All of the above are excellent suggestions and in truth you will not find a bad beach on STJ. As with any vacation, it is what you make of it. What I believe is not to be missed on any trip to STJ is the peace and sanctuary that is there to be discovered. The locals call it 'island time' & 'limin'. Take advantage of it. Yes, enjoy the snorkeling, day sails, hikes, restaurants, etc. but make sure you take the time to watch the trees, listen to the breezes and waves. Smell the air and ocean. Recharge the batteries of your mind and soul.
Things to do and occupy your time abound at Disney World or a million other places around the world. There is only one STJ and it is rapidly disappearing as some develop it into what they want. Enjoy it now for what it is...a true jewel.

What Chris At Work says previously is what it's all about. Please heed the advice. It couldn't be put any better than that.......

Do try to rent a car for some of your stay so you can get to some of the better beaches. Stay away from the crowded & commercialized ones - not that there are many on St John. Trunk Bay is gorgeous, but there too many people there after 10:00 a.m. The best beaches are a short hike down a hill. Our favorite is Honeymoon due to the beach itself, though Salt Pond is always a close second - where the snorkeling is great. Waterlemon is a decent but relaxing walk along the shore and through some interesting terrain, and worth it if you are snorkelers and decent swimmers.

We have eaten at most of the restaurants on St John and all have great food, depending on your mood and tastes on any given night, but we discovered The Ocean Grill at Mongoose Junction this year - only open for a year, they say. It was fantastic - and gorgeous and romantic. Loved it. Asolare is always a favorite - and Rhumblines....don't miss it! If there is time, hit Margarita Phil's, too.

Back to the car thing.......you MUST go to the Coral Bay area. You will only understand after you do it. Laid back and much fun!

P.S. The only sea turtle we saw on this trip was at Bolongo (of all places! weird!) on St Thomas. Go figure.

Yes it is time to recharge that is for sure!

We will eat in Cruz Bay I think (unless so ravenous we must eat on STT). Is Rhumblines far from the ferry dock? We will have a 1 single rolling piece of luggage and a large backpack.

I consider myself a fair swimmer - rough water can make me nervous. A nervous swimmer is never a good swimmer! What is waterlemon like in that regard?

Asrai
Waterlemon Cay is at the tip of Leinster Point very close to Leinster Bay. It is a tiny island that is very easy to swim to from shore and the snorkeling is very good. We did notice that as we made our way back about halfway that there was a cross current and it took some concentration and a little more strength in that short "path" - maybe 50 yards or so? I simply took off my snorkel and mask and concentrated solely on my swimming for a minute or two. If you feel uncomfortable about it, just snorkel and relax at the beach at Leinster!
Most restaurants are - and would be with your minimal luggage - fairly close enough to the ferry dock. Will you be doing lunch or dinner when you arrive? If lunch.....simply go to Woody's and get it over with. It's fun and the food is good!
If you're staying at Maho and you do rent a vehicle, be sure to take the trek to the East End - at least during the day.
I'm envious. I'm ready to go back already and I only got back to the States 5 days ago!

We arrive in the early evening so it will be dinner. I am excited too! I have never been to the Carribbean before.

An easy stop for dinner would be J.J.'s. As you leave the ferry dock there's a small park directly across the street and J.J's is right on the other side of the park.

thanks lex. what types of food is jj's?