Places we should not miss!

[northerngal]

can you tell, I'm getting excited.....2 more weeks!!!!! Please let me know the places you MUST stop at when you are on STJ. I know this topic has been around but I wasn't smart enough to take notes and can not find those topics. THANKS!

[augie]

Stop signs.

Where the car in front of you stops so that the folks inside can let someone out/let someone in/talk to their buddy.

At the end of the road.

The waterline.

[AquaGirl]

Here's my 2 cents.

Everyone has their favorite beach and our most recent favorite is Maho Bay. Great snorkeling, shady spots for lounging on the beach and shallow for hanging out in the water. All the north shore beaches have their nice features.

Drive around the island - Northshore Rd, over to Coral Bay and out to East End. The overlooks and scenic views are so beautiful. On the way to Coral Bay, before you descend down the mountain, there is a restaurant and a few shops. Be sure to stop there and enjoy the beautiful view out to Coral Bay and beyond. Take a look at this before you go: http://www.on-stjohn.com/
The post for Jan 6 is about the north shore.

Shop at St John Spice. Great stuff - tea, coffee, spices. Get Cruz Bay Grill Rub - excellent spice mixture (prize winning too!)

Shop at Freebird for beautiful Laramar jewelry.

Have a fruit smoothie. We like the little place in town near the tourist info stand. They used real fruit for our smoothies (not a mix) and they were excellent. The fruit market on the far edge of town has good ones too.

Lots of great restaurants. We enjoy Sogos for real West Indian food, Lime Inn for lobster and fish, and Shipwreck Landing for nut crusted grouper and frozen Key Lime pie (yum!). We had 2 great lunches at Spyglass in Wharfside Village - it has a very nice view.

We enjoy strolling through Mongoose Junction. The building stones are interesting looking with coral encrusted in them. The architecture is pretty too.

Have a great trip!

[CHM]

Jumbie, Maho, and Honeymoon beaches are our favorites. Drive around the island. Sunsets! Boat day! Skinny Legs for burgers, Woody's, Beach Bar, Lime Inn. Relax and have fun!

[Chrisatyler]

While on the coral bay side have breakfast at the donkey diner. Great food and authentic St.John atmosphere.

Trunk Bay is great and a must see. Grab a plastic bag with some ice and a few Caribe's and relax.

For the adventurous, hike from Lameshur Bay to the petroglyphs. You'll see some old ruins of sugar mills and some spectacular views of the south shore.

[toes in the sand]

Stop signs.

Where the car in front of you stops so that the folks inside can let someone out/let someone in/talk to their buddy.

At the end of the road.

The waterline.

Angie, I must respectfully disagree! The waterline is where the island therapy begins for me.

[Xislandgirl]

Donkey Diner is closed

In no particular order:

Drinks at Motu
Happy Hour at Joe's Rum Hut
Maho Bay
Gibney Beach (Before 9am to get a parking spot)
Ponzu Tuna on Friday night at Aqua Bistro (make a reservation)
Blackened Mahi salad at Banana Deck
La Tapa
Rhumblines ultimate Pad Thai (super spicy)
Shopping at STJ Spice

[david@va.beach]

1. sunrise--early to rise -early to bed
2. Vies for lunch --the drive is worth the trip!
3. concordia for brunch
4. Pickles for good homemade well priced food to go -don't forget your cooler.
5. cinniman bay (sp) walk around the ruins across the street from the beach.
6. drive the northshore rd.
7. We have been going to st. john for 25 years --we love the east end of the island
get in your car and explore at least one beach a day.---st. john is magical!!

[lorijo068]

We always take one day and stay in town and bar crawl and shop...always ends up interesting...
One day is Coral Bay Skinny Legs for lunch Lameshur Tourist Trap for nachos then Maho.. GREAT day!!!
Every day is a beach day..Our faves..Cinnamon, Maho, Hawksnest, Lameshur, Francis
Be sure to enjoy your villa too...You paid for it.
Just relax!!!
We will be there in 7 days!!
I cant wait!!

[nikkiki]

Beaches! Maho and Jumbie are MUSTS for me. Maho is my traditional "first beach", and I can't wait to show it to my friends this April.

Hikes! Ram's Head and Reef Bay are two favorites.

Food and drinks! I love the coladas at Skinny's and the frozen yummies at Shipwreck Landing. Looking forward to trying my first conch fritter this year.

Day trips! We're taking the Bad Kitty to the BVIs, and even though I hate to lose a day on St John, the vorfreude this reservation has provided me is getting me through the -15 weather here.

[mindehankins]

If you don't mind a walk, I think Drunk Bay is a pretty unique experience, with all the coral people and sculptures in a very wild setting. I remember feeling like a kid, as we approached and saw it all!

[gmanka]

Drinks--Happy Hour at Joe's Rum hut. Pyrat rum mojito's for $3
Rhumbline for their Ultimate Pad Thai. Spice and wonderful
Beaches- Hard to go wrong but my favs are Cinnamon, Maho, Francis. Trunk is usually too crowded making parking difficult.
Skinny Legs is a great after beach burger place if on that end of the island.
Banana Deck is great eating for modest prices and uniformly good food. Also the take out rib/chicken shack across from the post office is an option if staying in some night. Marguarita's at Marguarits Phil's are also a treat.
Having made nearly 30 trips to STJ in the last 33 years I have found new things to do every trip. Returning for 2 weeks again this march and can't wait.

[michigan girls]

Maho is always my first beach too
Salt Pond Bay and the hike to Drunk Bay
Sunday jazz brunch at Miss Lucy's
Ponzu Tuna on Friday nights at Aqua Bistro
The ruins at Little Lamshur
Sogo's for great West Indian food
St John Spice!

[Capn Dan and Ruby]

Salt Pond Bay and Drunk Bay. If you are decent swimmers, snorkel to the right and out to the rocks. Kind of deep but beautiful. Wear lots of Sun screen to Drunk Bay. We always stay longer than we think we will because it is so cool. MAHO of course. Do both sides to the points. Trunk early in the morning walk to the right end and people watch then go to a less crowded beach later. Lots of fun. Baked in the Sun for a cheep breakfast and good sandwiches for the beach. Take Candies back to the Villa for bar-b-q heaven. Basically the whole island!!!

[Backtotheislands]

First day, pack a cooler and head to Maho on North Shore Road, snorkel to the right and around the point. You might see a nurse shark! Look out to the middle and look for turtles and snorkel out to see them, look for conch shells. Enjoy the beach and a drink or two on the beach adn enjoy the view. Get in the car and hit Skinny's, Aqua Bistro, Shipwreck or Tourist Trap for lunch. Enjoy the view and drive all around the East end of the island oohing and ahhing at the views. I love the view on that side of the island, heck anywhere on the island!
Favorite beaches:
Maho, Honeymoon/Solomon, Waterlemon more for the Snorkeling
Also enjoy Saltpond (must spend the day and hike to Ram's Head via Blue Cobblestone Beach and also to Drunk Bay), Jumbie, Trunk
I've never seen the draw to Francis or Hawksnest, COMPARITIVELY and in my opinion. I've only been to Lameshur once and have never made it to Gibney, but it's on my list! I should've snorkeled over from Jumbie (is that right?). Cinnamon is a lovely beach, but wasn't a big fan of the snorkeling - went over to Peter Bay and back, should've done the cay, I guess.
Restaurants:
Aqua Bistro is great! Shipwreck, Rhumblines, but wasn't a huge fan of their pad thai, tourist trap, Miss Lucy's, Skinny's for the vibe, and High Tide. We've stayed in Coral Bay the last 2 trips, but before we enjoyed Fish Trap and Morgan's Mango.
Loved Sailing on Calypso to Jost,not as big a fan of Bad Kitty (motor) to Virgin Gorda, the Baths, etc.
Must try a Bushwhacker! At Skinny's love try the Coconut Swizzle. Best happy hour on my porch!
Just enjoy being there, take some quiet time to soak it up - the views, everything about it - whatever you do is perfect!!!