Private tour on St John?

[baileyboy]

Tried posting this on the St. John board, but no reply. Thought perhaps someone here could help.

 

We are interested in finding a cabbie or other tour-guide-type to meet us at the ferry, tour us around the island a couple of hours, drop us at a beach for a while, then pick us up at a prearranged time, and return us to the return ferry to St Thomas.

 

Can anyone recommend someone for this? How to arrange? Cost? Thanks.

[CruiseFever]

Well I can tell you what we've done, a couple times

1. Take cab from pier to "red hook" ferry place ($8 pp)- just get in cab and say "red hook"- they'll know what you want
   
2. Take ferry to St John (runs on the hour) ($3pp)
   
3. Take cab to Trunk Bay (Get "Puff Daddy" for your driver) ($4 pp)
   
4. Pay entrance to this lovely US Park ($5pp)
   
5. Have lunch here- awesome cheeseburgers
   
6. Left at 2:00 to get back, shop then make the 3:00 ferry ("Puff Daddy waited for us ($4pp)
   
7. Ferry back to redhook again ($3pp)
   
8. Cab back to pier ($8pp)

[baileyboy]

Thanks, we could do that, but really don't want to just go to Trunk Bay. We'd like a drive around the island if anyone can recommend someone for that. We did something similar in Jamaica, and it was nice not having to rent a car, etc.

 

However, the info/links you've provided are very helpful for the rest of the day - thanks!

 

Anyone else?

[CruiseFever]

Well actually, there will be a line of cabbies right there by the ferry landing just like any other island I've been on that can do exactly what you want. Don't give up on the St John board for a specific name/number/recommendation though.

[triviagal]

Thanks for the St John's ferry/beach itinerary. My cabin-mate and I are looking for an independent day at St John and this sounds perfect !

 

Cheeseburgers. Yum

[baileyboy]

Cruisefever - Thanks... That is helpful info. Perhaps we can just arrange it on the fly (as it were). Have had good luck doing that, in fact. :)

[Host Anne]

Bailey ~ we've gone to St. John for the past ten years when our ship calls on St. Thomas. We've even celebrated my husband's 40th birthday on the beach at Maho Bay with a group of family & friends.

 

Quite honestly, there really isn't much to see on a tour of the island. There are only two main roads -- Centerline which traverses the middle of the island, and the road that hugs the coast line (for a short way to the south and most of the way around the north side of the island).

 

Here's my recommendation....hire a cab driver to spend the day with you. Go to Trunk Bay first thing before the crowds get there (we no longer go here because it gets so crowded if there are a couple of ships in port). But it's worth the stop if you haven't been there before. Then move on and visit the rest of the north shore beaches (which we now like better because they are far less crowded). Hawksnest (which is before Trunk) and then Cinnamon and Maho which are after Trunk are all wonderful. Cinnamon has facilities (a small store and place to get a bite to eat as well as rent beach chairs and snorkel equipment). Hawksnest has been building restroom facilities (they should be complete) and Maho has no facilities. BUT .... Maho is our favorite stop. And if you have a cab driver for the day, he'll take you anywhere so if you want to stop at Maho for 45 and then move on, you can.

 

We then drive up to the top of Bordeaux Mountain for a stop at the outdoor grille at Chateau Bordeaux where we have burgers or sandwiches along with a drink while overlooking a breathtaking view of the British Virgin Islands. This is the photo that sits on my desk at work. I'd personally take you there if I could ;-). When I say it's an outdoor grille, that's what it is .... a grille and a blender on a covered wooden deck. Stools line a counter-type table that runs around the perimeter of the deck. It can get crowded and be slow (there's only so much room on the grille) but who cares when you are looking at the view.

 

Then we head back to Cruz Bay. There are lots of nice shops in Cruz Bay and everything is walkable to the ferry dock. If we have time, we'll walk the shops, if not, we head to the ferry. We take the 3:00 PM ferry back so we allow plenty of time to get back to the ship. We also catch the first ferry possible over in the morning so it's helpful to get off the ship as soon as you can. We always shoot for the 9:00 AM ferry.

 

We no longer hire a cab driver....we rent a jeep here. But they do drive on the "other" side of the road so I wouldn't recommend this unless you are used to it. Lots of winding, narrow roads.

 

We've had Puff Daddy before - he's great....we've also used Mario (several times) and he is great too (I may still have Mario's phone number if you'd like it to set something up ahead of time.

 

You can tell we love St. John. It's our fav island. ENJOY!

[baileyboy]

Hi Anne -

Thank you - that's great info. Any idea what it might cost to hire someone for say, 4 hours? That should be long enough to hit a few beaches, maybe grab a bite to eat (we tend to eat only on the ship... cheap ;-), and see what we want to see. We'd actually intended to rent and do something like that on our own - we've done that several places, including the drive on the left thing - but it's just more relaxing to have someone else do the driving. Someone also suggested we stop at Salt Pond - have you been there?

 

Again, thanks, and if you have any idea on what would be a reasonable offer to a cabbie for that time frame, please share it.

[Host Anne]

Bailey ~ in consulting with my family (always a good thing as they have better memories) we think the cabs in St. John are mostly the open air type that seat from say 10 to 20 people. When we've had groups of 15 - 20 (which we've done a couple of times), the rate was about $250 for the day for all of us. For a smaller group (I don't know how many you have going with you) you'll probably want to negotiate and maybe let others ride with you to Trunk Bay and let the driver take you on from there. If you have a larger group, the open air taxi is a great way to go.

 

If you are comfortable driving a jeep, it's a great way to see the island. You really can't get lost and it's easy to go at your own pace. We never went out to the salt pond (it's beyond all of the north beachs and the end of the island on the other side of Coral Bay). When you get off the ferry at the end of the pier, pick up a St. John's Guidebook. It's all you'll need. You can visit their website: http://www.stjohnguidebook.com Jeep rentals run about $70 - $90 (try to book something ahead of time).

 

It's a great island.

[baileyboy]

It's just me and my partner. In Jamaica, I think we offered about $60 for a personal tour, which was probably 3-4 hours, but tipped another $20 or so. So not so different than renting, but much lower hasslefactor. :)

 

I think we'll wing it and see how it goes. Push comes to shove, we cab to a beach, and arrange for a pick up later... still beats a day at the office.

 

Thanks again for your help.

[Host Anne]

Baileyboy ~ you are so right....whatever you end up doing on St. John, it will beat a day in the office by light years ;) . Since it's just the two of you, you could probably negotiate going to one beach and having them come back to take you to another beach at a set time and then back to the ferry dock. No matter who you connect with for a taxi ride, they will give you an overview of the island. I'm sure you can work out a personal tour. I hope you have a terrific day there. I think it's as close to paradise as you can get and still be in the U.S.