St. John, US Virgin Islands
St. John is the smallest of the three U.S. Virgin Islands, which are located in the Caribbean Sea. Virgin Islands National Park occupies more than half the island. Its forests shelter resident and migratory birds, including cuckoos, warblers and hummingbirds (and one day we saw flamingos). The mangroves at Hurricane Hole, in the east, support corals and anemones. Dolphins inhabit the island’s waters, which also host hawksbill and green turtles.
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Sunrise over Coral Bay
St. John, US Virgin Islands is located in the Caribbean. We stayed on the east side just outside of Coral Bay in Astral Villa, one of the many villas in St. John.St John is a pretty little Islands within clear water in the many small bays. Several hikes are available with Reef Bay trail being the highlight. You will see many creatures while snorkeling to include rays, sharks, Caribbean lobster, turtles, barracuda, conch, beautiful fish, and a host of others. If you snorkel to see critters then you will like it here. If you snorkel to see beautiful reefs and coral, then you will have to look hard, but you can find it. Most of the coral is damaged, dead, or dying. Try Haulover Bay north left (west side). Or you can swim way out on the right side. Long swim. Fan coral here is very nice. Fiji has definitely spoiled me in terms of beautiful coral.
In Coral Bay, go to Crabby's Water Sports. Ray will take you on his catamaran to two or three snorkeling places. When we did this trip, he charged $450.00 total for five hours. That is one of the best deals you will find. Also, you may want to rent a kayak from him and kayak and snorkel around Hurricane Hole. Ray and Brenda are great.
Food and groceries are gawd-awful expensive. Bring food with you if you can. Sure, it is good to support the local economy, but you can also save a few pennies for yourself. The best prices for groceries on the entire island is probably at The Marketplace in Cruz Bay. Be prepared to pay $8.00 for a box of Wheat Thins.
Skinny legs restaurant in Coral Bay has good food and is fun. We ate there twice and recommend it highly.
Coral bay is beautiful and quiet. In the morning, sit on your villa deck with you tea or coffee and watch the sunrise. Sit on the same deck at night with your favorite drink and watch the stars.
US News & World Report: April – June: The tourist season slows and hotel rates drop at this time of year. Average temperatures range from the mid-70s to high 80s and there's generally little rainfall, making this period a great time to visit before hurricane season arrives.
Coral in Haulover Bay
As I mentioned earlier, if you are after wonderful, vibrant coral, then you are going to have to look pretty hard. Fiji and the South Pacific have definitely spoiled me in terms of coral. But if you want to see sea critters, this is not a bad place to go. Haulover Bay (north), Salt Pond, Waterlemon Cay, Hurricane Hole, and our catamaran trip with Ray at Crabby’s were probably our best snorkeling. There are several places to snorkel. There are some that require a high-clearance 4-wheel drive Jeep to get to, and because of their remoteness the coral might be better than other locations. Read this article by St. John Beaches to get some more pointers.
Note: We did the full hike to Waterlemon Cay, which is an experience in itself. We snorkeled all around the Cay and saw some fish and other critters. The coral and formations were best on the far end of the Cay. When we returned to the car, we talked to a guy who said the best snorkeling was right there where the trail to the Cay begins at the parking lot. I actually heard that from someone else. You might want to try that.
If you like to sit on the beach, read a book, sunbathe, and just hang out, then St. John is very good. There are several white sandy beaches. And many of them have some good snorkeling. Try Salt Pond for both beach and snorkeling.
Snorkeling videos and photos >>> here <<<.
We used these sites to help plan for snorkeling in St. John:
Marg paddles while Rod relaxes
We kayaked once at Hurricane Hole. Ray at Crabby’s Watersports will deliver the kayaks to Princess Bay where you just wade out a bit, get the kayak, throw your stuff in, and you are off. Very simple. At the time of this writing, the price was $90 per kayak per day. We got doubles, so $45 per person. Kayak for as long as you want and return to the same location. Go to Crabby’s and pay up. Yes, it’s that simple. Again, you gotta love Ray and Brenda.
There are other kayaking opportunities, to include Arawak Expeditions out of Cruz Bay. You can take the ½ day or full day trip. We didn’t get to do this one. The key to me is that it took you snorkeling at Henley Cay, which is supposed to be very good snorkeling. You might want to give this a shot.
For our kayak trip at Hurricane Hole, we started in Princess Bay, but headed straight to Otter Creek. The mangroves in Princess Bay suffered badly in the most recent hurricane and have yet to recover. The mangroves in Otter Creek are definitely recovering. There is a cornucopia of life in the Otter Creek mangroves (good article).
After exploring Otter Creek, we went on to Water Creek. The mangroves there have not recovered as much as Otter Creek, but it is also coming back. Afterwards, we had lunch on one of the sand and rock-strewn beaches. While on the beach, we noticed huge (as big as my fist) hermit crabs scurrying around under the trees behind us. They always intrigue me, so I had to get at least one picture.
Kayaking Hurricane Hole is a must-do in St. John.
Petroglyphs on Reef Bay Hike
Hiking St. John is a must-do for the casual adventurer, like us. Our first full day in St. John we hiked Ram Head trail, which goes right by Salt Pond. This is one of those places where you can get a good hike and then jump into the ocean for snorkeling, or just to cool off. Ram Head has some beautiful views and is definitely worth the drenching humidity you will encounter. There is a rocky beach along the hike. Take goggles or a mask to jump in and see what is lurking beneath the waves. My Alltrails Activity.
Probably the best trail on St. John is Reef Bay Trail. While Reef Bay is the final destination, the main attraction is the Petroglyphs, which is a short offshoot from the Reef Bay Trail. The Petroglyphs are a must-do. Honestly, you could turn around without going to the bay and you wouldn’t miss much. However, near the end of the trail is another sugar mill ruins which is interesting, so you may as well just finish it. The hike is moderately difficult because of the incline over the last ½ mile back to your car. The hike was about 5.2 miles. Watch out for hermit crabs crossing your trail and be ready to sweat.
We did a few other hikes:
As I mentioned earlier, be ready to sweat on these hikes. The mid-80’s temperatures along with high humidity are a perfect combination for sweat. Also, take plenty of water. Take mosquito spray. There are some mosquitoes and about a million Noseeums (also known as biting midges or black flies). They can be a problem on St. John, especially around dawn and dusk, and after rain. They are known for their irritating bites, which can cause intense itching and sometimes lead to small welts or blisters. They didn’t bother me that much, but they really enjoyed chomping on Marg and Pam.
We used these sites to help plan for hiking in St. John:
This site was very helpful. Based on this and a bit more reading, and finally just doing it, here is how we got there:
Skinny Legs Bar & Grill
Groceries in St. John are crazy expensive, probably the most expensive I have ever seen. For the week, we spent about $500.00 for groceries for the four of us over 10 days. Honestly, that is not that bad when you divide by 4. Fortunately, we do not require elegant dinners, and often opt for cheese, crackers, and wine for dinner. For folks that like to cook a steak dinner every night or something else that is more elegant than cheese and crackers, then you will pay a lot more than we did for groceries. By the way, if you want fresh meat and are in Coral Bay, got to Calabash Market. The owner/operator is very friendly. We also went to another market in Coral Bay, but talk about NOT friendly! Wow! Got to Calabash Market and you should be able to get all you need.
Of course, we also ate out on four or five occasions, maybe five. Our favorite spot was Skinny Legs. We went there twice. Watch out for chickens though. While we were there a chicken jumped on the table next to us and knocked the guests’ drinks on the floor. All in fun and everyone got a good laugh out of it. And the waitress replaced the drinks for free. Let’s just say it is a “free range” restaurant.
Our second favorite place was the St. John Brewery in Cruz Bay. The beer was quite good and our burgers and other goodies were quite tasty.
We also visited Johny Lime and Sharky’s By the Water, VI. I would recommend both of these restaurants. I guess you could say that everywhere we ate it was good.
Over several days of planning and simply being curious, I used a lot of websites. Here are the ones I thought were some of the best.
As I have already mentioned, groceries in St. John are very expensive. The best prices for groceries were at Starfish Market in Cruz Bay. We discovered this on our last day…a bit too late.
Just about everything on St. John is expensive: gas, car rental (about $950 for 10 days), food, accommodations, etc. The least expensive and most worth-while thing was Crabby’s Watersports. We paid $450 for a day on Ray’s catamaran snorkeling and $45 per person to rent kayaks for the entire day.
We also discovered that eating out is about the same as here in Oregon. A burger will cost you anywhere from $12 to $18. Between the four of us, I don’t think we had a bill over $120 total for dinner.
It might behoove you to bring a few food items with you if you want to pinch pennies. I brought my own coffee and was glad I did since a pound bag of coffee was $24 and I was told it was not very good.
I never felt unsafe in St. John. The doors at the villa don’t lock and there has never been an issue. There were no issues with parking at trail heads or swimming areas. Safety is not a concern.
You could probably follow this itinerary and have a very good time, like we did. Of course, there are plenty of options, and those options increase if you have a high-clearance Jeep, which we did not have. This itinerary is a direct copy of Marg’s Notes. She writes our daily activities in her calendar for every trip we take.
On the Ferry to Cruze Bay
April 21 & 22 (Day 1 - Arrive & settle in): Jim & Pam picked us up at 7:30 pm to begin our adventure! It was cold waiting for the shuttle to the Terminal from the parking lot. The check-in process for American Airlines was a mess, but we it done. Line at security was long too. New TSA screening area! Boarded & left on time, ~10:30pm. All in all, a good flight. I squirmed around a bit…they fed us a cookie & drink, more squirming, then I conked out! (Took 2 Dramamine!) Rod slept too. Unfortunately, Pam had a restless night ☹. We got to Miami sometime around 7am local time…but 4am for us! Yawn! A little layover there, then on to St. Thomas. About a 2.5 – 3 hour flight. (Now Tuesday 4/22) We waited around awhile for our bags, then to the Taxi. They were very organized in putting people in vans to their destinations. We were going to the Red Hook Ferry. We waited ~1 hour in the terminal for the ferry to Cruz Bay. A nice ride over. Once there, we found our car rental guy, Trey from Sunshine Rentals. To their office, then on our way. Steep, curvy roads to meet Whitney to be let into our home for the trip. After we met her, we stopped at a grocery store to get some food. Dolphin Market. Pretty expensive! Should have brought more food! The Astral Villa is amazing! Beautiful views, great common area, separate sleeping quarters! Got settled in, had happy hour, cheese & crackers for dinner. Then to bed!
View at End of Ram Head Trail
April 23 (Day 2 – Hike Ram Head Trail, Snorkel Salt Pond, Skinny Legs for dinner): I slept like a rock! Rod didn’t ☹. We woke up a bit after 5:00am. Rod got up, I did not! Beautiful sunrise! We didn’t really rush, but had our caffeine & breakfast, showered & left by 8:30 am. We started with the Ram Head hike. Quite a few people. Nice views. Not a hard hike. About 2.7 miles total. It did get warm! We parked at Salt Pond Beach so went snorkeling after our hike! Felt great to get in the water! We swam around for 2 ours! Back at the Villa had more cheese & crackers. Pam also brought carrots & celery. We had some apple. Then, showers & rest! At ~5:00pm we headed out to Skinny Legs for dinner. Fun Place! Nice servers, good prices & good food! I was HUNGRY & ate all my burger. Had a glass of wine then to bed!
Taking it Easy on Ray's Catamaran
April 24 (Day 3 – Crabby’s Water Sports Snorkeling Trip): Today was our snorkel trip. We didn’t have to be at Crabby’s until 9:45, so we had a leisurely morning over breakfast. Our trip was on a very nice catamaran with Ray the owner. Left a bit after 10:00 and boated out for ~ an hour to Flanigan Island & Grey Rock. We swam around for almost 2 hours. Rod & I swam out & around some big rocks. Lots of beautiful fish! I spotted a big school of Blue Tang and Rod dove down pretty far and got pics. We had some trail mix on the way to our second spot…not sure where that was. Here we saw lots of beautiful fan coral. We didn’t stay in the water as long this time. When we got out, Ray had some yummy sausage & cheese for us! Then, we went to another spot! Ray said it is usually rough there so he can’t go often. We swam over a little reef & along the shore shelf. I think I saw a nurse shark! After that swim, it was time to head back. I was tired! After showering & a rest, we had spaghetti for dinner. I got a BAD sunburn on the back of my legs even tho I put on lots of sunscreen. ☹
Snorkeling pictures are intermixed with Salt Pond. Oops!
View from Annaberg Ruins
April 25 (Day 4 - Annaberg Ruins, Hike & Snorkel Waterlemon Cay, Johny Lime for dinner): I didn’t sleep very well due to my sunburn. But we were up & out by about 8:45. We first stopped at the Annaberg Ruins. This is an old sugar mill. Interesting but horrible due to the slavery. It was VERY HOT! Then, we hiked along the ocean to the beach. It was very rocky. We went way down to the point & got in the water. Quite a few people were on the beach. We swam out & around the little island (Waterlemon Cay) on the swim out. We saw lots of rays and colorful fish. Saw some huge angelfish! I wore my wetsuit so I could cover up my sunburn…it also kept me warm! It was a bit chilly. We didn’t have to swim very hard…just bobbed & floated around the island. As we were walking back to the car we chatted with some folks who come here every year. The 2 men were hemophiliacs & are active in an organization that has a clinic in Nadi (Fiji)! Back at Astral Villa we cleaned up and rested. Then, we went to Johny Lime for an early dinner. Very good! Sat outside until bed.
Cruz Bay from Lind Point Trail
April 26 (Day 5 – Explore the North Shore, Mary Point, Hike Francis Pond Trail, Visit Cinnamon Bay, Hike Cinnamon Bay Trails, Hike Peace Hill, Lunch at The Taproom at St. John Brewery, Hike Lind Point Trail): We headed to Mary Point this morning. Our first walk there was on the Francis Pond Boardwalk. It rained a bit while we were walking. It was a boardwalk because it is thru a mangrove swamp. Continued on out to the beach. When done, we drove past Maho Bay & on to the Cinamon Bay area. Parked at the sugar mill ruins intending to take the Nature Hike, but ended up on the beach & campground side first. Lots of things are there, nat. park general store, a small eating place & restrooms. After that we went back to the ruins & did the walk. Nice place! We went past Trunk Bay, but parking was full. Then we did a little hike at Peace Hill. Beautiful place…down to Denis Bay. Next stop was Caneel Bay Resort. The resort was wiped out in the hurricane (2017 – Hurricane Irma). We walked down to the beach. When we reached Cruz Bay we were HUNGRY! So, we went to The Taphouse at St. John Brewery. It was great! The last hike was from the Park Visitors Center to Lind Point. We took the offshoot to Solomon Bay. Rod got in the water with his goggles but didn’t see much. The trail ended back at Caneel Bay. Then back to the car! That was 2.67 mi. We walked about 5 miles today. Back to shower & happy hour!
Petroglyphs on Reef Bay Trail
April 27 (Day 6 – Hike Reef Bay Trail, Scout out Haulover Bay, Dinner at Surf Club Cantina): We left early for this one! It is the hardest hike on the island. Headed out at 7:45. Also, we wanted it to be cooler! Hit the trail just before 8:00am. The trail is all downhill to the beach. There are lots of informational signs along the way, bot about plants & history. Soon after we began , it started to rain & pretty much rained all the way down! Made it cooler! Just before the 2 mile mark, we took the side trail to some petroglyphs by a beautiful pool. Really neat! Then back to the main trail to the beach. There is another old sugar mill down by the beach. We saw remains of it all the way down. At the beach Rod & Pam got in the water. I was already soaked from the rain! Jim & Pam saw some rays from the beach, but Rod didn’t see much in the water. The hike back up was not as bad as expected. The rain probably helped! After we cleaned up & rested, we went to dinner at the Surf Club Cantina. Once again, a good meal. We were hungry! I had a burrito, Rod had fish & chips. Pam & I went to the store after eating. Before we at dinner, we went on an exploratory mission to Haulover Bay. We first tried to go to Lameshur Bay, but the road was too rough for our car (Rav4). The south side of Haulover Bay is really pretty. There is a manchineel tree there, which is very poisonous.
Coral & Fish in Francis Bay
April 28 (Day 7 – Snorkel Francis Bay, Hang Out & Rest): Out early again. This time for snorkeling. We went back to Francis Bay where we did the boardwalk hike. Got a good parking spot. We took the beach chairs this time & snagged a good place with a picnic table. It pays to head out early! In the water, we swam east. It was kind of a long swim…we saw some huge turtles along the way. There were 3 of them with remoras on their backs! 2 each! We swam along the rocky shore & saw lots of fish. Eventually, Jim & Pam turned back & Rd & I continued on to the far end of the bay. We saw lots of schools of fish & 2 big French Angelfish, & another really big fish! It was a long swim back, but not too hard. We were out ~2¼ hours. We sat on the beach for a while, then headed back. We stopped at the Calabash Market for dinner food. Then, lunch & a rest. We took the rest of the day off to recover a bit.
Haulover Bay North
April 29 (Day 8 – Snorkel Haulover Bay (North & South), Snorkel Salt Pond): Out fairly early again. Rod wanted to North Haulover, so we split up. Rod & I went north, Jim & Pam went south. When we got in the water, it was pretty rocky & lots of sargassum. We headed to the point on the right…turns out we should have gone left. However, after disappointing results close to shore, further out we saw lots of healthy soft coral & a fair amount of fish. We swam all the way around the point. Water was a bit choppy, so we swam back to join Jim & Pam on the south side. It is a beautiful beach there! They were in the water when we got there, so we jumped back in. they were to the left so we went that way. When we met, they told us to go to the other side. We all headed that way. We once again went ou to the point. It was a good swim. Jim & Pam headed back about halfway. I was really tired! Back to the beach & “home” for food & a rest! When we recovered, we went back to Salt Pond! Another good swim. It was later in the day, so lots of people had left. Saw a turtle on the way back in. Full day, but fun!
Kayaking Hurricane Hole
April 30 (Day 9 – Kayak Hurricane Hole, Skinny Legs for Dinner): we rented 2 kayaks from Crabby’s (Ray & Brenda). He had them in the water for us already at Princess Bay. We headed to Otter Creek & explored the whole area. Lots of mangroves with lots of fish & coral. After about 1.5 hours we got back in our boats & headed to Water Creek. I was a bit tired, so we tied up our boat & Rod got in the water. I rested! Jim & Pam paddled around the bay & saw birds. We were not there too long. We decided to go back to Otter Creek to a nice little beach for lunch. Yes! We brought food with us this time. We met a nice family from Tanglewood, Mass there. After eating we swam back to the east side of Otter Creek. Good swim! A big barracuda followed Rod quite a way! Then, we paddled back to our parking spot, cleaned up & rested until about 4:00. Before we came home from boating, we stopped at Calabash again for wine & dinner for Thursday. Soaked my going home clothes! We went back to Skinny Legs for dinner. Very good! The family from Mass came in after we did & sat at the table next to us.
Last Night over Coral Bay
May 1 (Day 10 – Cruz Bay, National Park Visitors Center, Hawksnest Bay): It started to rain just as we left this morning ☹. We got gas on the way into town then went to the Starfish Market in The Marketplace. By far, it’s the best grocery store! We got some food for breakfast as our supplies are low. We got more bagels, Jim & Pam got muffins and cookies! Before leaving town, we went over the National Park Visitor’s Center just to look around. Then, on to Hawksnest Bay. Unfortunately, it was rainy & the water was pretty rough. Rod & I got in (of course) but Jim & Pam stayed on the beach in the rain. The water was pretty murky & the fish were all hunkered down along the bottom. The coral was not very healthy lookin. In one part, the waves were pretty big. Not a good place for uncomfortable swimmers! Home to pack & wash! Pasta, sausage & broccoli tonight.
May 2 (Day 11 – Home): Return car at 8:15 am, hop on the ferry, taxi to the airport, and fly home.