St. John Ferry Schedules Changed Due to Gas Prices

Just a head's up that a couple of the normal ferry runs between St. Thomas to St. John have been eliminated for a while. Due to gas prices and fewer riders during the summer, some usually scheduled ferries aren't running. So make sure you ask before you expect to get on a certain ferry!

St. John Beaches and Snorkeling

A day on St. John wouldn't be complete without visiting at least one of our beautiful beaches. Each are spectacular in their very different ways.

The very best way to capture the true essence of St. John’s beaches is to rent a car or jeep and go “beach hopping” up North Shore Road. The beaches are just spectacular along this route: Hawksnest, Jumby, world renowned Trunk Bay, Cinnamon Bay, Maho Bay and Francis Bay beaches are all on this (hilly!) five mile stretch of St. John, all within National Park Boundaries.

You can also take a taxi to any of the North Shore Beaches as well. If you want a quick peek at all of the beaches on North Shore, take a taxi to the furthest beach on the taxi route, Maho Beach.

Hurricane Alley, Cruz Bay Watersports and Low Key Watersports all rent snorkel gear right in Cruz Bay.

My Favorite Hike On St. John

The most popular trail on St. John is worthy of its stature - Reef Bay Trail is by far a great hike. Just remember: what goes easily down, must come back up!

The trail can take anywhere from 3 to 5 hours or more, depending on your fitness as well as your sense of adventure, so take plenty of water (not just a small bottle from the store) and some trail mix, fruit or other munchies to enjoy at the bottom on the beach.

The easiest way to get to the Reef Bay Trail Head is to take the bus.All the drivers know where to let you off, and then you can wait for the bus to take you back to Cruz Bay(or Coral Bay).

For those who want to hike this beautiful trail but might not have the guts or muscle to get back up, the National Park offers a hike down the trail, and then a boat picks you up at the bottom and takes you back around to the National Park Visitors Center once a week. Obviously, advanced reservations are recommended, but they sometimes have last minute cancellations.

The Petroglyphs are down one finger trail, and there's a cemetery behind the mill that has a path that leads to Reef Bay. Another little trail takes to you Genti Beach. Lameshur Trail is also towards the end of Reef Bay Trail, which has a whole set of cool ruins and finds. Lots to see and do on this one.

This is one of the only trails on St. John that has a bathroom at the end of the trail, and is one of my favorite trivia notes. The story goes that when Lady Bird Johnson visited St. John and hiked down Reef Bay Trail, she asked where the bathroom was. Enough said.

There are numerous descriptions of this trail all over the Internet.

(Good, trained trail runners do this trail in under 2 hours! Don't try this unless you are very fit.)

My Favorite Short Day Hiking Trail

All hiking trails on St. John can easily be done in a half or whole day; feeling comfortable on where you going when you only have one day is a different story!

After the easy hikes behind the National Park Center, My next favorite for first (or maybe only) timer hikers on St. John is the Cinnamon Bay Self Guided Trail.

Note: This is NOT the trail that starts/finishes on North Shore Roads and finishes/starts on Centerline. That trail starts on the same side of the road, but at the Trail Head sign where North Shore road takes a pretty sharp left hand turn, and it basically goes straight up (or down, whichever way you start).

The self guided trail is great for just about any age over 4, because it's always shady from the old, huge trees that weren't cut during plantation years; and the trail itself is relatively flat. (once again, I never recommend hiking in flip flops, but if it's all you have, then try it! This trail is behind the ruins, across the street from the campgrounds and visible from the road. Just going to the ruins on the raod is a treat. But if you step behind the building in back of the old horse mill, you will see a trail that goes into the woods. The trail has markers along the way, identifying trees, animals, bugs and other "trail things." It wanders along side of a ravine (called a "ghut" here), for less than a half mile, then crosses over and then follows the ravine back (with more markers, one that identifies a small cemetery) to the same starting point at the ruins.

Note: my friends tease me about my version of "relatively flat" and the rest of the world's version of "relatively flat." When hiking on St. John, it's never absolutely flat; there are rocks, tree trunks, tree stumps, riverlets and ravines to continually step over!

Nearby Hiking and Beaches

Lind Point Trail to Honeymoon and Solomon Beaches

The trail head for Lind Point Trail is just behind the National Park Visitor’s Center. This is one of my favorite trails because of its convenient location in Cruz Bay, as well as the AWESOME overlook over Cruz Bay Town when you take the “high trail,” I’ve seen many visitors heading along this trail to the beaches in flip flops, but it’s not recommended – there are some areas that you will….

Also, since the only way to get to Solomon Beach is by this trail, it is usually quite private. It used to be where locals went to sunbathe in the nude, but the National Park put a halt to that a few years back; so don’t let old posts get you a ticket!

Honeymoon Beach is also a very convenient reach from the trail, and just gorgeous. Sometimes many of the uber-luxury resort guests of Caneel Bay Resort wander down to this beach from the resort; and since many newlyweds honeymoon there, thus the name.

Day Tour of St. John Walking In and Around Cruz Bay

Of course, just walking around Cruz Bay can be an adventure in itself! I’ll be posting a Historical Walking Tour of Cruz Bay soon, courtesy of the St. John Historical Society, very soon.

As I mentioned previously, the whole village is barely 3 football fields long and for day trippers’ purposes, no wider. Just start at one end of the beach and head for the other end, and you will see it all!
Not to miss:
National Park Visitors Center
The first place I recommend any first time visitor to St. John is the USVI National Park Visitors Center. They have wonderful displays, books, seminars and maps; and since more than ½ of St. John is a National Park, this is a good place to get a good feel of what St. John is all about.

There are many little stores and restaurants between Mongoose Junction and Wharfside Village.

Mongoose Junction, which is at the very end of the main little road, just before it heads up into the National Park.

St. John Artists Association has a great gallery in the Lumberyard (as is Bajo El Sol in Mongoose Junction)

Wharfside Village is just off the ferry dock on your right.

A little off the beaten path: just up from Connections is “world famous” Woody’s Seafood Saloon (more on restaurants to follow)

St John Maps & Directions

There are basically four maps of St. John,and the best one for a day trip is the St. John Guide Book's Map. It's a bit large, but it has pretty good detail of Cruz Bay and Coral Bay. You can pick them up in numerous places, especially at Connections and any of the little concierge booths around town. The map has been produced for many, many years by long time St. John residents, with local businesses buying ads and putting their store location on the map. The second best map is the Trail Bandit's map for hiking (it is so much better than the current National Park Hiking Map)and a for a detailed map of St. John

Scooter Rentals on St. John

I must say right off the bat, that I don't recommend renting a scooter to see St. John. There are very steep hills, even narrower roads, and a bunch of crazy drivers! When the roads are slick, the only thing that will make you feel good is 4w drive.

But the scooter guys are really nice. They are located in The Lumberyard, which I will mark on my St. John map when I figure out how to add one. Their phone number on St. John is 340.693-RENT

St. John Island Tour by Taxi and Taxi Rates

Taxis are always waiting at the ferry dock to take you anywhere you want to go. I always have friends do a tour with a “taxi mon,” just because we tend to forget some of the lore. All should have the fixed rate to each beach or other destinations for you to peruse. I will be adding rates soon, but they all (should)have their rates posted in the back of their "safari bus". Always ask how much for each person before leaving, so you don't have sticker shock at the end of the ride!

St John Transportation - Cheap Public Busses

Another wonderful benefit of being under the US Flag (as well as no passports required) is our public bus transportation which goes from the Cruz Bay Ferry Dock all the way to Coral Bay via Centerline Road, then continues to Salt Pond where they turn around and come back thru Coral Bay before heading back to Cruz Bay. It’s only $1 per person each way, so it is a great, cheap way to go from one end of the island to the other, and places in between. You can take the bus to various hiking trails as well. The bus leaves the Cruz Bay ferry dock at :25 minutes past the hour (about 5 minutes after the ferry arrives on St. John), and the ride out to Coral Bay (depending upon how many stops are in between) takes about 20 minutes (thirty minutes to Salt Pond).

The bus route goes right in front of Skinny Legs and Jolly Dog, Island Blues, Shipwreck Landing and turns around at Salt Pond. The busses are surprisingly dependable. I believe the last bus goes to Coral Bay after the 7:00 pm ferry, but I wouldn’t depend on it if you MUST be somewhere at a specific time.

A little local knowledge: if the bus is full before the ferry arrives, it will leave the dock early. This is very rare; normally early in the morning, when school lets out and sometimes when many are getting off work at the same time.

St. John Transportation: Car Rental, Bus, Taxis

Another wonderful benefit of being under the US Flag (as well as no passports required) is our public bus transportation which goes from the Cruz Bay Ferry Dock all the way to Coral Bay via Centerline Road, then continues to Salt Pond where they turn around and come back thru Coral Bay before heading back to Cruz Bay. It’s only $1 per person each way, so it is a great, cheap way to go from one end of the island to the other, and places in between. You can take the bus to various hiking trails that start on Centerline as well. The bus leaves the Cruz Bay ferry dock at :20 minutes past the hour (about 5 minutes after the ferry arrives on St. John), and the ride out to Coral Bay (depending upon how many stops are in between) takes about 20 minutes (thirty minutes to Salt Pond).

The bus route goes right in front of Skinny Legs and Jolly Dog, Island Blues, Shipwreck Landing and turns around at Salt Pond. The busses are surprisingly dependable. I believe the last bus goes to Coral Bay after the 7:00 pm ferry, but I wouldn’t depend on it if you MUST be somewhere at a specific time.

A little local knowledge: if the bus is full before the ferry arrives, it will leave the dock early. This is very rare; normally early in the morning, when school lets out and sometimes when many are getting off work at the same time.

Stepping off the Ferry in Cruz Bay

When you step off the ferry, you are in the heart of Cruz Bay. Be assured that there is snorkeling, hiking, shopping and more to do within a couple of hundred yards from the Cruz Bay Ferry Dock (details in the next blogs)

The park across the street from the ferry dock hosts many events, and our Chamber of Commerce is working towards making the little kiosk in the Park more visitor friendly. "Connections" is straight up the little road in front of the ferry dock, which most St. Johnians consider to be the heartbeat of Cruz Bay. Here you can get first hand info on what you can do for a day, paid or otherwise. (not to be confused with the “St. John Connection” desk to the right of the ferry dock, which the Westin Resort has built to “help visitors” as well as sell more timeshares.)

As mentioned previously, Cruz Bay is maybe only 2 football fields long, so you can go from one end to the other quickly, then decide what you want to do for the day.

Cruise Ship Day Excursions Don't Have to Be Costly

St. John Cruise Ship Day Excursions – cruisers, there is really no need to pay triple for what you can book yourself through some very trustworthy and knowledgeable sources right on St. John! And since calling the USVI and most cell phone providers (like AT&T) include the US Virgin Islands in their national calling plans (check w/ your provider before taking my word), it’s just a few minutes on your phone and you are booked on a personalized, away-from- the- cruise- ship- crowds day excursion!

Here are a few of the great folks who book all sorts of excursions every day for day trippers to St. John:

Connections St. John and Every’Ting both book day sails, snorkeling trips, dinghy rentals, horse back riding, a day trip to the British Virgin Islands and more. They have a plethora of knowledge and your best interests at heart, so you will enjoy St. John leisurely and comfortably, on or off the water.

Getting to St. John

Coming from St. Thomas to St. John is really easy and very convenient, since the ferry runs every hour on the hour between 7 am and 11 pm, and it is only a :20 minute ferry ride. The ferries are very dependable, and we have found many people to change their return time to later because they are having too much fun on St. John! It’s $5.00 per person each way (baggage additional). (this might be going up in the next month or so, due to rising gas prices)

Some St. Thomas visitors bring their rental car over for the day, but the car barges are less dependable than the people ferries; plus many St. Thomas car rental companies don’t allow their cars to go to St. John – if you have car trouble, they have to come to St. John to assist you, and most don’t think that is wise use of their time.

Welcome to St. John USVI, Day Tripper!

Welcome to St John USVI for the day!

You’ve found the start of your very special day on St. John! We are here to give you accurate information for your St john day trip, excursions, and generally for folks who are coming over on the St. Thomas ferry or off a cruise ship for a few hours or the whole day. We will include enough info that even week-long island guests will appreciate.

I’ve lived on St. John for many years, and try to stop each time and help visitors with a St. John map open, standing on the corner trying to figure out which way to go or what to do. How many hours do you have? What do you like to do? What is St. John known for? That one is easy – the National Park and its beaches are incomparable! Plus, you don’t have to be an avid hiker to enjoy some of our trails. Just walking around Cruz Bay is an experience! The narrow roads, colorful buildings and stonework…and of course, the beautiful water and mountains! Everything has a slow, laid back feel.

So this site is to help you decide where to go if you have just the day or a few hours to enjoy our little piece of paradise.

I hear of many week-long St John visitors saying that they came back for a longer visit to Love City because of the wonderful time they had on a day trip to St. John. As you will find, there is so much to do on St. John, you’ll want to come back for longer than a day!

There are many different “types of adventure” on St. John – from the hiker/backpacker, to the spa queen, budget traveler to discriminate luxury guest, eco tourist to families and cruise ship passengers.

I can tell you what we DON’T have: Barkers on the street corners hounding you to come in the stores; discos or late night dress up nightclubs; women dripping in jewelry

And since Cruz Bay is so small and parking spaces are very limited, it’s an easy walk from one end to the other. The whole village is less than two football fields long, and most of the shopping and sites are within just a few yards of the Bay.