St. John Beaches besides Trunk?

[galvezhome]

Well much to my concern my group has decided to go over to st. john in the afternoon on our own. Would perfer to go on our own in the morning or pay the carnival tour that goes over in the afternoon. But everyone wants to see St. Thomas in the morning before it gets hot, we'll be there Aug14, and then go to St. John Trunk Bay. We have never been to either island but I'm afraid by the afternoon that Trunk will be packed! There are only to ships in port so maybe it wont be too bad? Are there any other beaches that are nice and that arent to remote(i would like some kind of beach chair if possible). Do you think Trunk will be a nightmare in the afternoon? Please give me so advise!!!!:confused:

[richtersl]

August is the slowest month for tourism on the island. You won't have a problem. Enjoy Trunk Bay! :)

[augie]

I don't think you'll find any beaches with chairs on the beach unless you go to Caneel Bay or the Westin, and even then you may need to either see about getting a day pass or "sneaking".

 

The beast thing about Trunk (other than it's sheer beauty) is that it does have some facilities like bathrooms and concessions, and transportation to and from the ferry terminal in Cruz Bay is readily available, but it's not a typical "resort" beach.

 

Have fun!

[CaribbeanBound]

Actually, the afternoons aren't too bad. The cruise ship excursions usually arrive around 10am and are gone by early afternoon.

 

If you want to skip gorgeous Trunk Bay, consider Cinnamon Bay.

 

Cinnamon Bay is part of a campground with good facilities, snorkeling equipment rentals, and kayak rentals. The beach is not as pretty as Trunk Bay but offers good snorkeling as well. Sea Turtles can be spotted here in the middle of the bay feeding on the sea grass, but we did not spot any this trip.

 

Here are more of our Secrets of the Caribbean!

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These are our very detailed personal reviews, hints, and tips for ports of call that you will be visiting.

[dale594]

We just got back from our cruise and took the ferry to Trunk Bay. It was fantastic!!!!!!!! The beach is the most gorgeous I have seen and the water crystal clear aqua. Just beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was the highlight of my cruise. Please make sure you calculate the times so that you have enough time in St John and can make the ferry back in time. We were able to get on the 10am ferry and took the 3pm ferry back. We had to be back on the ship at 5:30pm so we did not want to take a chance on the 4pm ferry since that would be the last one to get us back in time. There are lots of posts on the timing etc. What time do you have to be back on the ship? The ferries only run every hour I believe. Make sure your taxi driver stops at the Trunk Bay overlook so you can take pictures. When you get to Trunk Bay there are some buildings before you get to the beach where they have bathrooms, a snack bar and beach chair and snorkel equipment rental. When you get to the beach if you go to the right that is where the snorkel trail is. We found if we went to the left all the way down it was less crowded and we found a nice spot with some shade and some sun. We did not find it to be annoyingly crowded at all. Have fun! We did not see Cinamon Bay, but I am sure any beach on St. John is beautiful!

[galvezhome]

Dale, we have to be on the ship the same time you did 5:30. We (they) want to see st. thomas in am til about 12pm then go to st. john we wont stay on the beach too long proabaly 2 hr tops so i think we should have plenty of time. or we thought about doing the ships excursion to trunk bay, its alot more expensive but peace of mind is worth more! I dont know what do ya think?

[happysinglemom]

Dale, we have to be on the ship the same time you did 5:30. We (they) want to see st. thomas in am til about 12pm then go to st. john we wont stay on the beach too long proabaly 2 hr tops so i think we should have plenty of time. or we thought about doing the ships excursion to trunk bay, its alot more expensive but peace of mind is worth more! I dont know what do ya think?

 

You'll be lucky to have two hours there. You need to plan which ferry (Red Hook or Cruz Bay) to take before you go - I posted the schedule below. I will tell you that the ferrys can be late. DON'T plan on taking the last Cruz Bay ferry back...ours was late (supposed to be 3:45 and did not get there until after 4) and we barely made the cruise ship - we were on the gang plank at 5:08 only because the ferry captain dropped us off at the dock!!!:eek:

 

 

From Red Hook:

 

Rates: One-way, $5/Adults and $1.00/Children ages 2-11. Seniors are $1.25 (VI Residents only, 62 years and up, proof of age must be shown). There is a charge of $2/piece for luggage/boxes.

Time: 15 to 20 minutes

Leaving Red Hook, St. ThomasLeaving Cruz Bay, St. John6:30 am, 7:30 am then hourly from 8:00 am to Midnight

Hourly from 6:00 am to 11:00 pm

 

From Charlotte Amalie:

 

Rates: One-way, $10/Adults and $3.00/Children ages 2-11.

Time: 40 to 45 minutes

Leaving Charlotte Amalie, St. ThomasLeaving Cruz Bay, St. John9:00 am

11:00 am

1:00 pm

3:00 pm

4:00 pm

5:30 pm

7:15 am

9:15 am

11:15 am

1:15 pm

2:15 pm

3:45 pm

[richtersl]

Dale, we have to be on the ship the same time you did 5:30. We (they) want to see st. thomas in am til about 12pm then go to st. john we wont stay on the beach too long proabaly 2 hr tops so i think we should have plenty of time. or we thought about doing the ships excursion to trunk bay, its alot more expensive but peace of mind is worth more! I dont know what do ya think?

For peace of mind, you're better off going to Trunk Bay first -- and on your own. It's easy. Here's the basic rundown on how to get there:

1. As soon as you get off the ship, find a cab to take you to Red Hook for the ferry. There will be an abundance of cabs at the dock waiting for people. You won't have a problem finding one.
   
2. From Red Hook you grab the ferry to Cruz Bay, St. John, which is about a 15-20 minute ride.
   
3. When you step off the pier at Cruz Bay walk to the parking lot on your left. There you will find dozens of cabs who can take you to Trunk Bay.
   
4. Cabs are just as easy to get for your return trip.

You'll hear lots of talk here about dollar bus rides that go to Red Hook. They're a great alternative to the taxis but since you'll be pressed for time, you're better off with a taxi who will take you directly to your destination.

 

The advantage to going to Trunk Bay on your own is that you'll beat your ship's excursion there. That's what happened with us. We were back on St. Thomas by 1:30, which left us with plenty of time to see Charlotte Amalie and have a late lunch there. There was no stress of having to rush and catch a ferry back to St. Thomas.

 

Unfortunately your time on either island is limited. :( But what you will get is a taste of what's there -- enough to know that you'll want to return on a land-based vacation. ;)

[MiniMom57]

When we went to Trunk Bay, it took one and a half hours each way just for transportation (taxi from ship to Red Hook, ferry to Cruz Bay, and taxi to Trunk Bay)....when we returned, our taxi dropped us off on the other side of the shopping mall (he told us that was the closest he could get.....I didn't believe him for a second, and had a 15 minute walk back to the ship, which made the return trip even longer).

[richtersl]

Minimom's times are 100% accurate. :) Her ship probably docked at Havensight, which is where we were docked. Some ships dock at Crown Bay, which makes for a slightly longer ride to Red Hook, I believe.

 

Of course, the earlier you can get off your ship, the better. We were off by 9:00 AM because we came from a foreign port prior to our arrival and needed to go through immigration. Those who arrive directly from U.S. ports skip the immigration process and can be off the ship as early as 8:00 AM.