Beach/Snorkling on St. Johns thru ship or on own?

[zaxmomm]

OK. So I've been researching excursions and we've decided we definately want to go to St. John's to enjoy the beaches and snorkling. To avoid the hassle and timing concerns of getting there on our own, I figured we'd just do it through the ship. However, they're excursion is only half-day and gives you 1.5 hours at Trunk Bay after touring you around. I want more beach time! Plus maybe seeing another beach or two might be nice.

 

So, my question is: What is your recommendation? I know I've read people share about getting there on their own. Also, do you know of services that you can recommend that that would take us (by boat) to St. John's to different beaches. There's only 3 of us, so chartering our own boat isn't an option. Plus, we wouldn't necessarily be in it for the sailing enjoyment. My purpose for a boat would be to get me to the beaches, that's it.

 

Suggestions?

[Weimaraner]

zaxmomm - glad you asked this question - I was going to post the same thing!! We're going on our first cruise in March and stopping in St. Thomas but I'm intrigued by St. John since it's on my list of future vacation trips. The Regent excursions offered include a catamaran to St. John with very little beach time as well. I want to get to St. John on our own and find out what to see in the little time we have.

[CaribbeanBound]

Suggest doing it on your own.

 

Here's how:

 

St. John, US Virgin Islands

We berthed at Havensight Pier in St. Thomas. Our destination was Trunk Bay and Cinnamon Bay on the Island of St. John for snorkeling. Despite what everyone at the pier will tell you (and they will lie to you), you can get local transportation for $2 per person in an open-air taxi to Red Hook to catch a ferry to Cruz Bay on St. John. Simply walk out of the Havensight pier main gate, cross the street, turn left and walk until you get to the Bus Stop (there is a pullover area) across from K-Mart and cross the street so that you are standing on the K-Mart side of the street. It is a leisurely 15-minute level walk. When you see an open-air taxi drive up, flag him down, tell him where you wish to go and enjoy the trip. The drive takes about 20 to 30 minutes each way depending upon traffic. The taxi will drop you off at the Red Hook ferry terminal. Pay upon exiting the taxi, go through the gates and hop on the ferry to St. John. We caught the 8:00am ferry and paid our $5.00/pp fare. Normally, you would pay at the booth prior to boarding. The very pretty ride across the bay runs about 15 minutes.

 

Upon arrival at Cruz Bay, St. John, we caught a 10-minute taxi ride ($6.00/pp) to Trunk Bay, stopping once along the way to take pictures of Trunk Bay from a picturesque spot along the road. We arrived at 8:30am which allowed us to get in free. Once the admission booth opens, it costs $4.00/pp to enter this beautiful white sand beach with clear waters, awesome views of islands and cays, nice facilities, and an underwater snorkeling trail. The snorkeling trail can be found on the right hand side of the beach. It begins on the far side of the little island and works its way around the island and ends on the closer side. The snorkeling is very good, with lots of fish and colorful coral. Including the four of us, there was a total of 7 people enjoying this beach from 8:30am to 10:15am when larger groups began arriving —– at which time we left and caught a $4/pp taxi for Cinnamon Bay. (Trunk Bay is now one of our top three Caribbean beaches).

 

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. We caught a taxi back to Cruz Bay ($7/pp) at 11:40am. We just missed the noon ferry so we ate lunch at High Tide Bar and Grill adjacent to the pier. We enjoyed the Virgin Island Pale Ale (a fruity beer made for distribution in St. John by a brewery in Maine), and especially liked the sweet mango salsa which accompanies the chips and salsa appetizer. We shopped until 1:45pm and bought tickets for the 2:00pm ferry, which was 30 minutes late arriving. A very large crowd anxiously waited in a long line in the hot sun on the pier. There was no problem getting everyone on the ferry. We arrived back in Red Hook at 2:40pm. Ignore the $7/pp taxis and wait for a $2.00 taxi again EXACTLY where it dropped you off. (Do not cross the street). We got dropped off a couple blocks closer to Havensight than the K-Mart where we picked up the taxi. St. Thomas is a major shopping destination. Havensight has a large number of shops convenient to the ship, however, the real shoppers head into Charlotte Amalie to do their shopping. It is very easy to get to St. John from the ship. We look forward to doing this excursion on our own again.

 

More at: Secrets of the Caribbean...

http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/caribbean-secrets.html

[zaxmomm]

Thanks CaribbeanBound. Your detailed instructions might just empower me to go it on our own. One question, our RCCL Freedom ship during Thankgiving Week says we dock in Charlotte Amalie. Is that where the Havensight Pier is? I'm concerned that the wonderful directions you have are for a different town.

[CaribbeanBound]

Charlotte Amalie is indeed a different pier. Perhaps someone else can chime in here to assist.

[LALAFRANCE]

Also what if your docked at crown bay? how would you get to the ferry?

[Jaxsonbrownie]

If you dock at Crown Bay, you can take a taxi to Either Charlotte Amalie,and catch the ferry to St. John from there, or take a taxi to Red Hook, and catch the ferry there. Ride to Red Hook is running 20-30 minutes with the ferry ride being about 15-20 minutes. The taxi to Charlotte Amalie is about 10 minutes and the ferry ride from there is about 45 minutes they are saying. The Red Hook ferry offers more departures, and people have been saying the CA Ferry has not been very reliable, with fewer departures. I would say take the Red Hook. But be careful coming back, as the traffic gets heavy in the afternoon, with all the cruise passengers trying to get back to the dock at the same times.Make sure you take an early enough ferry back to St. Thomas.:)