This August, my family and I spent a relaxing week in Saint John of the U.S. Virgin Islands. After settling back into my routine back at home, I wanted to spend time reflecting on the trip and our overall experience. From our accommodations, to the beaches we visited, and restaurants we dined at, I hope this post will help my clients and other travelers discover if a trip to Saint John may be something to consider.
Accommodations
We stayed at a gorgeous villa up in the mountains of Saint John that overlooked the ocean and Cruz Bay, a larger town on the island. To get to this villa, we had two rental cars for our family for the week. We landed at the airport in Saint Thomas and had to take a car ferry to get to Saint John. Driving in Saint John is a challenge due to very steep winding roads, not to mention that cars are driven on the left side of the road. Thus, getting a SUV with four wheel drive (a Jeep preferably) is incredibly important. We rented our car at a rental facility near the airport, but there are also some rental options in Saint John.
Our rental home called, “Big Sky Villa” was rented through Expedia/VRBO, and we were lucky to have a great host that was just a call away throughout the week if we ran into any issues. The house was stocked with beach chairs, towels, and everything else you could ever need for a week at the beach. The villa had a private pool as well, which we loved utilizing during our trip. Vacation rental houses are the primary form of vacation accommodation on the island, though there are limited hotel options.
The only major challenge we had with our accommodations, (which was not our VRBO host’s fault) was losing power 4 times during our week-long stay. This was due to a tropical storm passing through the island. During the storm we lost power for nearly a day! Even after the storm, we lost power 2 more times which gave us the impression that the infrastructure on the island was not very reliable. Fortunately, our hosts were prepared with battery powered fans that included power banks to charge our phones. For travelers planning to travel in the late summer/fall, hurricane season is something to be aware of in the Caribbean.
Beaches
We spent our first beach day at the world famous beach, Trunk Bay. Known for its turquoise water and stunning sweeping mountainous scenery, it was a sight to behold. We arrived early and were treated to an almost empty beach for a while, and got to really take in the beauty of the area. The snorkeling was also great around the beach which included an underwater snorkeling trail to guide you through the reef. While snorkel masks and fins could be rented, I highly recommend bringing your own gear for convenience.
After the tropical storm we experienced passed through 2 days later, we spent our day at Hawksnest Beach. Hawksnest Beach was similar to trunk bay in that it also had reefs off the shore to swim through, stunning scenery, and beautiful water. The major difference was Trunk Bay had more amenities like snorkeling rentals and a beach bar, while Hawsknest did not. Like in Trunk Bay, we arrived early in the morning and were treated to an almost empty beach.
Cinnamon Bay was the final beach we visited on the island. This beach had a bar with food and drinks, watersports rentals, and a campground area. Cinnamon Bay was a much larger beach compared to Trunk Bay and Hawksnest Beach. We experienced that the water was a little more stirred up and not as clear, which did not allow for good snorkeling. On a calmer day, I’m sure it would have been better. Still, we enjoyed swimming and walking along this beach. We even had some stingrays swim right past our feet as we were relaxing in the water!
Other Activities
Before we were able to visit all of the beaches I mentioned above, we spent the first day of our vacation on a snorkeling excursion with Ocean Surfari. We were picked up on a large boat with other families from Cruz Bay. We went to two snorkeling locations, the first in Maho Bay where we saw a sea turtle grazing along the seabed and many colorful fish. The second location was Christmas Cove which was an incredible location only accessible by boat. At Christmas Cove, we saw another turtle and swam around a small sunken boat which had been taken over by coral and colorful fish. After snorkeling, we spent the rest of the evening dancing on the boat, enjoying a few tropical beverages, and eating pizza. I would highly recommend this snorkeling cruise to anyone visiting the island.
A few nights during the week, we decided to spend the evening in Cruz Bay. We loved going to the restaurant High Tide for tropical drinks and great food with a view of the water. In addition, we enjoyed the nearby bar, The Beach Bar for drinks with another great view of the bay. We had dinner another night at Saint John Brewers, which we found had good food and was reasonably priced. Throughout the week, we walked around to little gift shops as well. Mongoose Junction was my favorite shopping center that had lots of little gift shops, jewelry, and art. There really is plenty to do outside of the beach at Saint John!
Overall Impression
We had an amazing trip overall. We loved each beach we visited, enjoyed the views and pool from our villa, and had fun exploring Cruz Bay and the rest of the island. Saint John is a perfect location for people looking to enjoy a week lounging at beaches in a relaxed atmosphere. We found that going near the end of the summer was nice because of lower crowd levels, but we did have to compromise with the possibility of storms and power outages. It is absolutely necessary to get a rental car for Saint John, and I would not recommend going without one. Finally, be prepared for higher prices on groceries and other essentials as you do your shopping. I would 100% go to Saint John again, and I would love to help other prospective travelers plan their trip!