St John

[gobama]

Last time we were in St Thomas we went to St John via a Carnival excursion. It was awful. The time waiting was ridiculous. It took so long that we didn't get any beach time, which was supposed to be a couple hours of the excursion.

 

That being said. St John is beautiful and we want to take our son. My main objective is visiting a National Park and getting the most out of it. He loves going to National Parks and marking them in his NPS passport. I don't know when he will get this chance again.

 

Any suggestions?

[richtersl]

St. John is very doable on your own. This way you won't waste time waiting for a large group to finish boarding/disembarking cabs, ferries, etc. The basic scenario of getting to St. John is this:

1. Grab a cab to Red Hook from wherever your ship docks. Cab ride from Havensight is about 20-25 minutes.
   
2. Grab the ferry from Red Hook to Cruz Bay in St. John. Ferry ride is about 15 minutes.
   
3. Grab a cab from Cruz Bay to a beach. Closest beaches are Honeymoon, Hawksnest, Trunk Bay, and Cinnamon Bay.

That said, we have dozens of posts here with reviews of beaches and with more specific instructions and tips for getting to and from St. John. Best bet is to search this forum. If the search function gives you an error, give us a shout. Someone will be around to give you a hand. :)

[CaribbeanBound]

richtersl advice is good.

 

However, you can also get to the ferry via a $2 open-air taxi.

 

We went to Trunk Bay and Cinnamon Bay on the Island of St. John for snorkeling. We caught local transportation for $2 per person in an open-air taxi to Red Hook to catch a ferry to Cruz Bay on St. John. 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. We look forward to doing this excursion on our own again.

 

 

Here are more of our Secrets of the Caribbean!

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

[Ilovepalmtrees]

I've always been afraid to go it on my own and have pretty much always booked through the ship. Mainly because I was afraid something would happen and we would miss the ship. I know weird things can happen, but is it pretty easy to get the cabs and how do you know what time the ferry runs?

[baldy2]

St. John is very doable on your own. This way you won't waste time waiting for a large group to finish boarding/disembarking cabs, ferries, etc. The basic scenario of getting to St. John is this:

1. Grab a cab to Red Hook from wherever your ship docks. Cab ride from Havensight is about 20-25 minutes.
   
2. Grab the ferry from Red Hook to Cruz Bay in St. John. Ferry ride is about 15 minutes.
   
3. Grab a cab from Cruz Bay to a beach. Closest beaches are Honeymoon, Hawksnest, Trunk Bay, and Cinnamon Bay.

That said, we have dozens of posts here with reviews of beaches and with more specific instructions and tips for getting to and from St. John. Best bet is to search this forum. If the search function gives you an error, give us a shout. Someone will be around to give you a hand. :)

 

How do you know where you ship is going to dock? We are on Carnival Freedom March 25th, 2008

[The Islander]

Carnival ships usually dock at the WICO dock in Havensight.

 

--Islander

[soupercb]

I've always been afraid to go it on my own and have pretty much always booked through the ship. Mainly because I was afraid something would happen and we would miss the ship. I know weird things can happen, but is it pretty easy to get the cabs and how do you know what time the ferry runs?

 

 

don't worry..as you leave the ship there are plenty of taxi drivers waiting to take you. Simply tell them you want to go to Red Hook. The ferry leaves every hour on the hour.

(the schedule is at http://www.**********/general_usvi/interisland_ferry/)

There are plenty of taxis waiting at Cruz Bay in St. John as well. The beaches on St. John are so beautiful that it is worth the minimal effort to get there.

[gobama]

The link didn't work. I told my husband he is in charge of this port. It worries me to go with out a tour operator!

[soupercb]

The link didn't work. I told my husband he is in charge of this port. It worries me to go with out a tour operator!

 

oh, sorry...just go to vinow dot com and there will be a link to ferry schedules there.

[richtersl]

Or go here and click the link for Virgin Islands Ferry Schedule.

[Dubsolute]

I had virtually the same experience as Caribbean Bound. St. John is very easy to do on your own, but I can understand the fear of not getting back on time. This wasn't an issue for us as we allowed plenty of time to get back.

 

The $2 taxis are not right out front of the terminal. If you're docking at Havensight, you'll have to walk out to the main road, cross the street, turn left and walk two blocks up to the corner of the K-Mart plaza. Cross the street again and you'll be at the bus stop. Wait for one of the open-air taxis there. They run pretty regular. In fact, one pulled up as we were approaching the corner. The driver will let you know when you get to Red Hook.

[esson]

When you get off the ship you are routed to taxis by destination. It was $10 pp to Red Hook $5 pp ferry to St John $7 pp to Trunk or Cinnemon Bay. For two people this cost about $90 round trip. It was beautiful. Even Cinnemon was crowded. They do not have lounge chairs to rent just regular chairs. There are showers though. Very beautiful and plenty of time to get there during port.

[Sheffie]

The first time we used the local bus was on our way BACK from St. John. (Less scary for us than trying to get to the ferry in time.) When you get off the ferry, just follow the locals up to the road. Get the bus that is going left, towards town and the ships. It will only take you about 15-20 minutes max to where you get dropped off by the ships. It is kinda fun to ride with the locals, too.

 

Have a great time on St. John, no matter how you get there.

[HAL2]

When you get off the ship you are routed to taxis by destination. It was $10 pp to Red Hook $5 pp ferry to St John $7 pp to Trunk or Cinnemon Bay. For two people this cost about $90 round trip. It was beautiful. Even Cinnemon was crowded. They do not have lounge chairs to rent just regular chairs. There are showers though. Very beautiful and plenty of time to get there during port.

 

Esson,

Sorry, but according to my math the travel costs are only $44.00 for two people. Did I miss something?

 

Regards,

Hal

[bobnatt]

A few of thoughts. First consider other cruise lines such as Windstar that actually stop for the entire day in St John. Don't have to worry about going back and forth to St Thomas. Ships such as Windstar's are smaller and frankly more fun for active children with their water sports, etc.

 

Another idea is to forgo a cruise vacation and spend an entire week on St John. They have a wide range of accomodations from luxury hotels such as Caneel Bay to the National Park campground at Cinnamon Bay. You can also rent wonderful homes on the island for a week.

 

We have done all of these and found for an island like St John these are all better experiences than a trying to enjoy St John on a one day cruise ship port of call that stops in St Thomas.

[tekward]

Your math is correct to get there....

 

and then to return......

[HAL2]

Your math is correct to get there....

 

and then to return......

 

:) Thank you for bring this to my attention!

 

Best Regards,

Hal

[DiveCruiser]

Do St john on your own. More time and spend less money.

 

Bob

[sharks48]

If your son enjoys the National Parks, check out the Linde Point Trail on St. John. It's very easy to get to, you hike for about a mile [easy hike] and get to two gorgeous, nearly-deserted beaches: Salomon Bay and Honeymoon Bay. You then hike over to Caneel Bay to get a taxi back to Cruz Bay [or you can hike back the way you came]. There are details at the NPS website. I also posted comments about this in late '06.

 

We did this hike and it was one of the highlights of our cruise. It was somewhat of a hassle getting there and back and you have to watch the time carefully, but it was well worth it. There are no facilities at all at either of these beaches, so you have to take your own water, etc. Also, there are two ferries to/from St. John, one at Red Hook and one in Charlotte Amelia. There are schedules at vinow dot com.