St. John with Babies

[jakesmommy]

We will be stopping in St. Thomas Thanksgiving Day. We have been there a few times before and are thinking about taking the ferry over to St. John for the first time. What is the best beach for babies? We will be traveling with 2 under the age of 2! We will need to have umbrellas for shade. If anyone has gone over to St. John with little ones please share your experiences it will be helpful in our planning.

[OceanCruise]

One thing to consider is the transportation to and from the ferry and whether or not regular vans with car seats are available for the taxis. The open air taxis would be dangerous with toddlers in my opinion. Some of the roads are extremely hilly and windy so it would be hard to keep a toddler safely on your lap. I found myself holding on for dear life in the open air van! Trunk bay has snack facilities , bathrooms and showers and you can rent chairs. I am not sure about umbrellas. The ferry over is a little rocky. Depending on the temperment of your babies and their schedules, it may be less of a hassle just to go to a beach in St. Thomas and avoid the multiple transportation requirements and time to get to St. John.

[lookin4calm]

Well, I'd plan on getting a car in St. John. it will be much easier to get around at least somewhat safely that way. The taxi's are like pickup trucks with bench seats in the back. Fine for you, probably not fine for the little one.

 

Which beach depends on what you're looking for. If you want facilities and the crowds that go with them, pick Trunk or Cinnamon Bay. Both are gorgeous, but will be swarming with cruisers while ships are in port. We completely avoid them when cruise ships are in port. A bit more off the beaten path, and certainly less crowded would be Francis Bay, also on the North Shore of the island, but further from town than Cinnamon or Trunk. You can park about 10-20 feet from the beach, and there is a good amount of shade. Water is very calm here.... it is one of our favorite beaches.

 

Another option is Hawksnest, which is the first major beach on the North Shore that you'll come to. Lots of parking right at the beach, and covered picnic tables in front of the beach. Sometimes this is reserved, but if it's not, then there should be plenty of room. Bathrooms here, but I don't remember anything else. One of our favorite activities: pick up BBQ from Uncle Joes (right across from the post office in town), and eat at the picnic tables at Hawksnest. If you've seen the movie "Four Seasons" with Alan Alda, when they're on the sailboat, this is the area where it was filmed.

 

Have fun.