Help evaluate my beach itinerary

[alw1977]

First visit, leaving in 23 days. I understand the whole point of vacation is to relax, but I like to investigate interesting things to do and loosely plan activities. It stresses me out to have to hunt for things to do on vacation, so I pre-plan.

We have seven nights, and six full days (not counting the first and last day, which are basically travel days). Here's my plan for five of the six days:

1. Maho and Francis - is there good snorkeling at these? If so, where?

2. Annaberg Ruins, hike to Leinster, Waterlemon (swim counterclockwise to avoid current)

3. Visit Caneel Beaches, lunch at Caneel restaurant

4. Ramshead hike, Salt Pond snorkeling

5. New Horizons II day trip to BVIs

6. Sunday Brunch at Miss Lucy's

7. Eat at the following: ZoZo's, Asolare, Vie's

Is there anything that is a St. John "must" that I am missing? I've left a day or two free to follow our whims. Suggestions welcome and encouraged...

[waterguy]

Sounds like a great week to me snorkle the right hand side of Maho as you are looking out to sea.
Tom

[Chris @ Work]

You were right the first time. A STJ must is to experience island time. Don't stress out if your plans go astray.

Oh yeah...Francis is go for turtles. We'll be there in 23 days as well so we may see you there!

[alw1977]

Thanks Chris - I have no problem adjusting to island time... planning a bit is what helps me do that. Rather than plan things out day by day, hour by hour, I just write a list with different options and different things I want to do at some point during the trip. We can do what we feel like doing, but still explore things that are worthwhile.

I hope to see a few turtles - we saw one while diving in Maui and it was an incredible experience. I've still never seen a ray in the wild, so I hope to have that experience as well.

You don't have to get too specific - are you staying in a villa or resort? We're staying at the Westin through a great hotwire deal - not too excited about the resort part as I am more of a villa/condo person, but I figure we won't be there too much.

[Chris @ Work]

alw1977

Don't get me wrong, planning is a release in its own way and we are doing it as well. We are also taking New Horizons to BVI but not sure of the day yet.
Staying at a villa near Reef Bay (SW side of STJ). We have had success with rays in the mornings at Cinnamon.

[Bob & Anita]

Whatever schedule you choose it will be great, you really can't miss. Sometimes you might go to a beach but when you get their the surf is up due to the wind direction; you then just hit a different beach - they are all wonderful.

[RickG]

Sounds like a great week to me snorkle the right hand side of Maho as you are looking out to sea.
Tom

Ya, around that point towards Maho Campground there are some very good spots - nooks, crannys, fry and tarpon. I have photos from November on that snorkel - click the photo to walk through.



There's a 6 foot turtle we call VW cuz he's as big as a Volkswagen Beetle that hangs out in the Francis/Maho area. If you head out towards the swim bouys and head down the line you will usually see him and his two five foot remora snacking in the grass.

This photo is not VW, but a smaller guy we ran into off the right Maho point. Thinking back, that really was a great snorkel!



Cheers, RickG

[Dave-a-roni]

Hi. I don't know how much help I'll be. But all I did was snorkel for 2 weeks when we were on St. John. Here are a few of my top spots.

1)Cinnamon bay. I thought the rock out in Cinnamon was my favorite. It was teeming with life. I circled it as was blown away by the colors, I saw a huge purple snail,lots of gigantic brain coral, turtles, sting rays.

2)The right side of trunk bay, go way out to the right side pennisula (as if you were heading twards Peter/Cinnamon bay. This was also an amazing spot. I was surrounded and engulfed by Tetra (I think is was tetra?), I couldn't see outside the huge cloud of fish for a long time. I also saw lobster there.

3)Saltpond was good Snorkeling too.

I also snorkeled Francis, but I guess I had bad luck or something, I saw absolutaly nothing , but don't take my advice for this I guess because everybody say's to go there for turtles. Maybe I was in the wrong spot, I didn't go near Maho when I was there.

For hiking, Defintaly do Yawzi Point trail! Lots of cactus and plants to take pictures of. The lind trail was neat and short, more weird plants there. I did a small section of the Caneel trail which connects with Lind trail, so you might as well do that while your there.
The reefbay trail is fun with the petroglyphs and the sugar mill ruins on the bottom.

Have fun! I hope I helped...

[robncindi]

We are just back from STJ and also really enjoyed the snorkeling at Maho. We snorkeled the right side around the point to Little Maho as well. It ended up being our favorite snorkel spot during the trip. We must have hit Francis on a bad day as well because we didn't see much there either. We were walking along the beach after snorkeling at Francis and did spot a turtle, hanging out in the water just a few feet from shore. We didn't have our snorkel gear with us , but it was still cool to see it!

Have a great trip!!

[liamsaunt]

1. Maho and Francis - is there good snorkeling at these? If so, where? Maho: pretty good snorkeling on both sides of the beach, we found turtles, rays and lots of fish. Not much to see in the middle, occasional sea stars, rays, and once a turtle. Francis: for turtles, head to the right side and go way out almost to the swim buoys. We always find big turtles there. Along the right wall there is some coral and smaller fish all the way out to the end of the point. We usually see barracuda and rays here too.

2. Annaberg Ruins, hike to Leinster, Waterlemon (swim counterclockwise to avoid current): The current can change at Waterlemon, ask people coming back what the conditions are like. Sometimes there is no current at all. Great snorkeling here, make sure you don’t miss it. Swim across from the sandy beach to increase your chances of an eagle ray sighting. Check along the left side of the sandy beach on the cay (as you are looking at it) to see if the starfish parade is in residence.

3. Visit Caneel Beaches, lunch at Caneel restaurant. Technically, the only beach that non-Caneel guests can visit is Caneel Beach. Other people have said that they’ve walked onto the private beaches so you could try if you are so inclined. If you do, and you are traveling with kids, don’t go to Scott or Paradise, as they are age 14+ beaches and security will make you leave. You can also hike to Honeymoon and Solomon from the Caneel parking lot. Definitely worth it. Honeymoon is a beautiful sandy beach with lots of shade and good snorkeling and coral on both sides. The snorkeling at Solomon to the left is even better. Caneel Beach has pretty good snorkeling to the right and around cottage point.

As far as eating there, I personally would not recommend it. The food at the casual beach bar is just not that good. Trust me, I just ate there twice. There is also a lunch buffet, but it did not look appealing to us, and Caneel's buffets are mucho pricy. I would spend the morning at Caneel/Honeymoon/Solomon, then clean up at Caneel’s public restrooms and head into town for lunch.

4. Ramshead hike, Salt Pond snorkeling I would recommend hiking rams head in the morning. It is not shaded and gets very hot especially in the summer. Be sure to bring lots of water. At Salt Pond, the snorkeling is good everywhere, we have had the best luck sticking to the left side all the way out to the end of the point and then coming back to shore in the middle of the bay. There’s good coral and fish along the wall, and turtles in the middle.

5. New Horizons II day trip to BVIs Very fun way to see a lot of new things for a first timer. Be aware that a good portion of the day is spent getting to/coming from the Baths. If it is important for you to se the Baths, I think this is the best way to do it. Personally, I would have rather had more snorkeling time. The crew is professional, the snorkeling stop they make is really excellent, and the painkillers at the Soggy Dollar are fantastic.

6. Sunday Brunch at Miss Lucy's Yummy! Make a reservation.

7. Eat at the following: ZoZo's, Asolare, Vie's. Make sure you call Vie’s before driving all the way out there. I believe she is open Tuesday-Saturday, unless she doesn’t feel like it. She also does not always have the garlic chicken in the summer, so it’s worth calling. Definite yes on Zozos. Make sure to make a reservation. Asolare is good but very expensive—the same as Zozo’s, I guess, but I like Zozos more. If you go to Asolare request a 5:30 PM reservation and get there just a few minutes early to increase your chances of getting a table on the rail for sunset.

Is there anything that is a St. John "must" that I am missing? I've left a day or two free to follow our whims. Suggestions welcome and encouraged...Yes! If you like to snorkel, and you are a fairly confident swimmer, snorkel the cay at Cinnamon. Also, you did not mention Trunk Bay. You really should go. Get there early—around 7:30 AM or so, and you will have a couple of hours to enjoy the beach quietly before the cruise ship crowds arrive. Snorkel all the way around the cay. The snorkel trail is kind of beat up, but if you go beyond it there is some excellent coral and interesting large fish. John and I also like to go to Trunk around 4-5 PM for a dusk snorkel. Again, the beach is pretty much deserted at this time.

Finally, make sure you give yourself time to just relax and enjoy! Have a great trip.

[PA Girl]

I completely understand your planning. I do the same thing because otherwise, we would spend half the day debating. I make a list of things I would like to do, lay it on the kitchen table the first day and use it as a suggestion guide for the rest of the trip.

I agree with Liamsaunt about lunch at Caneel (and I am a big fan of Caneel in general). Even when we stayed on the resort, we skipped lunch or went into town to eat. We do love the breakfast buffet because we are huge breakfast eaters on vacation.

Post a trip report when you get back please!

[chrisn]

Hopefully when you mentioned "Caneel Beaches," you had Honeymoon and Solomon in mind. I didn't see Hawksnest on your list. Honeymoon and Hawksnest are my favorites and Honeymoon had great snorkeling last time we were there.

[JT]

All of the advice given is great. If you do the Ramhead hike, I would recommend bringing your gear as far as the Blue Cobblestone beach and snorkel the right side.There is great fire coral, very colorful sponges, elkhorn. The fish are plentiful, including some big tarpon. Stash your gear on the way up to Ramhead and take the swim at Cobblestone on your way back.
Also, when you're back to Saltpond you really should take the short walk over to Drunk Bay and see the gallery!

[Laura T]

I am going to suggest an early morning visit to Trunk Bay one day. We never made it to Trunk prior to this year, because we thought it was over-rated, crowded, etc.

We went this year - got there early - before they charge (not to avoid paying, but to avoid the crowds). The beach is spectacular - I didn't think the snorkeling was great, but the swimming was. We absolutely loved it - went three different mornings...

I regret not making it to Trunk before this year.

[sunlover]

My "don't miss" list:

- three favorite restaurants for dinner are (in order): The Lime Inn, Cafe Roma, and Rhumb Lines.

- favorite beach is gibney (if the tide is not in).

-lunch in coral bay is a must! Skinny Legs or Shipwreck are great choices.

- I also wouldn't miss the lime-n-coconut at woody's. Delicious.

Although everyone will have different opinions, you really can't go wrong no matter what you do. St John is incredible!