Yes you can do St. John on your own!

[Serendipity43]

Hi Everyone,

 

Are taxis readily available when visiting Trunk Bay? Our plan is to take a cab to Trunk Bay and then are hoping to catch one to Cinnamon bay and then back to the pier. Is this feasible?

 

Thanks!

[bound4somewhere]

We meet again Serendip! Just answered another post of yours.

When you arrive in Cruz Bay make arrangements w/ one of the safari truck(taxi) drivers to drop you off @ Trunk and make an agreed upon pickup time and they will then take you to Cinnamon and back to pier, or wherever next.

 

The taxis are all over and they will pick you back up as agreed.

 

GREAT choice to ferry over to STJ!! I do love STT as well but STJ beaches are the BEST!

 

Enjoy...

 

Kathy

[vacationingbabe]

just returned from St Johns, cruised with Princess... followed the directions to go on our own, not knowing that there are to different docks in St thomas. after walking for 20 minutes, decided to ask someone where to catch the bus, and was told that we should take a taxi, the peir was 20 miles away. It ended up costing us less than the tour with princess would have, but taxi cost 11.00 each way, plus the ferry, which was 6.00 and the taxi on st johns to trunk bay is another 11.00 each way... just thought you should know that there is 2 ship cruise docks, and they are 10 miles from each other or more.

[vacationingbabe]

we took the ferry back from st johns to charolette, cost 11.00 instead of 6.00 but took us to the middle of town and cheaper taxi right back to dawn peir, where princess cruise docks

[Pepperwood]

This is a shot of Trunk Bay taken last Sunday (Jan 11) at 10:32 am. We left Havensight pier via taxi at 8:30 am, caught the 9 am ferry from Red Hook to Cruz Bay, then a cab to the beach. We were lying on the sand by 9:30 am. As you can see, we had the place to ourselves for most of the morning. It started to get a bit busier by 11 am, but never got noisy or crowded. There are shower/change rooms, washrooms, a foot shower (for washing sand off feet before putting sandals back on), and a snack bar. Small beach chairs could be rented for US$7 from the snack bar.

[Ron_L]

For those who are visiting St. John on your own, try to leave time for a cold beer at The Tap Room in Mongoose Junction (when you are at the ferry dock it is to your left a couple of blocks). Their Virgin Islands Pale Ale is great! I has a hint of mango in it. Nice people, too.

 

Also, right across from the ferry dock is St. John Spice (second floor of the pink building). The owners, Ruth and Ron, are very nice people. They have a great selection of local hot sauces (try the Blind Betty sauces) and spices (the Cruz Bay Grill Seasoning is a favorite) plus a lot of gift items.

[Pepperwood]

For those who are visiting St. John on your own, try to leave time for a cold beer at The Tap Room in Mongoose Junction (when you are at the ferry dock it is to your left a couple of blocks). Their Virgin Islands Pale Ale is great! I has a hint of mango in it. Nice people, too.

 

Dohh! You couldn't have shared this two weeks ago? We bought some jerk chicken spice from St. John Spice, but didn't know about the Mongoose Junction. :rolleyes:

[Boricruiser]

Hi folks!

 

Our ship will be docked at Crown Bay. Please help me clarify my confusion regarding where does the ferry that is walking distance to Crown Bay goes...because If I didn't misunderstood, I read here that it doesn't go to St John but to Water Island??? What is Water Island anyway??

 

Would I be able to catch the ferry to St John in Crown Bay? and...is this the same pier as Charlotte Amalie or is this a different pier?? I am really confused with all of these piers...can anybody just simplify it for me??? Plainly said... I want to take a ferry to St John and want to know the simplest way to do it from Crown Bay...:confused::confused::confused:

 

Thanks!!!!!

[seadrifter]

Hi folks!

 

Our ship will be docked at Crown Bay. Please help me clarify my confusion regarding where does the ferry that is walking distance to Crown Bay goes...because If I didn't misunderstood, I read here that it doesn't go to St John but to Water Island??? What is Water Island anyway??

 

Would I be able to catch the ferry to St John in Crown Bay? and...is this the same pier as Charlotte Amalie or is this a different pier?? I am really confused with all of these piers...can anybody just simplify it for me??? Plainly said... I want to take a ferry to St John and want to know the simplest way to do it from Crown Bay...:confused::confused::confused:

 

Thanks!!!!!

 

Hi Boricruiser - We were in St. Thomas in early February and docked at Crown Bay. After exiting the cruise pier, there were taxi/van "dispatchers" who organized unrelated groups of people from the docked ships who were going in the same general direction. Our van dropped off one or two in Charlotte Amalie, then drove us on to Red Hook (where the shorter ferry to St. John leaves from) and then took a couple on to a beach further down the island. The ferry from Red Hook is a relatively short trip to St. John but there is also a ferry from Charlotte Amalie that is a longer ferry ride to St. John. (We took the ferry back to Charlotte Amalie from St. John and had a shorter taxi ride back to Crown Bay at the end of the day). What we discovered is whether you take the longer taxi ride to Red Hook and the shorter ferry, or you take the shorter taxi ride to Charlotte Amalie and the longer ferry ride - the price works out to about the same amount. Hope this helps:).

[Boricruiser]

SEADRIFTER........

 

Thanks for your reply!! It definitely helps a lot...but...what is your final recommendation??? :rolleyes:

 

AND...DID YOU GO TO TRUNK BAY OR CINNAMON BAY?

[seadrifter]

Boricruiser - I would recommend the taxi to Charlotte Amalie's ferry dock and the longer ferry ride to St. John but I don't think that ferry runs as frequently as the one from Red Hook. Here is a link to a Virgin Islands website:

 

http://www.virginislandsthisweek.com/us_virgin_islands_maps/

 

There is a Virgin Islands ferry schedule website but when I try to provide the link it does not work. (I don't understand why that would be blocked.) If you can google that website it will provide schedules and prices for the ferries from Red Hook and Charlotte Amalie.

 

Especially late in the day when you need to get back to your cruise ship in time for "all aboard," the shorter taxi ride is your best bet (since the roads can get traffic-jammed island style;).

 

We did not go to a beach - instead walked Cruz Bay, shopped and had a wonderful lunch looking out at the harbor. If we ever get to St. John again, we will be better prepared and may visit one of the beaches. Have a great time on your cruise.

[Boricruiser]

;) Thanks Seadrifter!!!!!

[seadrifter]

You are very welcome:).

[SunSoaker44]

I'm posting this over here instead of the other shorter thread about getting to St. John so sorry for the repeat, but is there somewhere to rent snorkel equipment at Trunk Bay? Also, did you guys have to haggle with the taxi drivers for the price to Red Hook?

[The Islander]

sunsoaker - you can rent snorkel equipment at Trunk Bay. Taxi rates are set per person by destination, Havensight to Red Hook is $10 pp, ow. You can ask for discounts if you have a group for example but don't necessarily expect one as drivers are supposed to follow the published fares.

 

--Islander

[DonMar]

Boricruiser - I would recommend the taxi to Charlotte Amalie's ferry dock and the longer ferry ride to St. John but I don't think that ferry runs as frequently as the one from Red Hook.

 

Seadrifter is correct. The ferry from CA does not run as frequently as the pone from Red Hook. But if you want to go to Red Hook or CA for a cheaper fare - take the local safari bus. It costs $1pp to CA and $2pp to Red Hook.

[Dancer1978]

Will there be issues getting taxis (either in St. Thomas or coming back from St. John) or the ferries if there are 4 cruise ships scheduled to be docked in St. Thomas the same day? This concerns me and makes me inclined to use the cruise line's excursion.

[The Islander]

Dancer1978 - 4 ships is a medium day for St. Thomas. ;) There will be taxis at the cruise ship dock, at the ferry dock and on St. John.

 

--Islander

[Bobina99]

Hey...we're a group of 4..read all the posts....anybody out there that can comment on going with the Disney excursion Kayak which is Cas Cay at St Thomas for 79/pp inclusive OR heading over to St John for the Kayak either at Caneel Bay or Cruz Bay and dealing with the taxis and ferries....

 

Basically....is it worth it to head over to St John ...I've heard scenically and everything else ...that it might be...

 

any thoughts?

[chelsea2005]

I have a 3 and 5 year old. Will the $2 open air safari taxi be safe for the little ones?:confused:

[btorlv]

I have a 3 and 5 year old. Will the $2 open air safari taxi be safe for the little ones?:confused:

lots of local kids use them just keep them close and have fun. The $10 taxis are the same as the dollar ride taxis.

[chelsea2005]

lots of local kids use them just keep them close and have fun. The $10 taxis are the same as the dollar ride taxis.

 

Great! Thanks for the quick response.

[jinxnb]

Thank you for posting this! I think that my husband and I will definitely opt for this way of snorkeling instead of an expensive excursion!

[hubofhockey]

I have a 3 and 5 year old. Will the $2 open air safari taxi be safe for the little ones?:confused:

 

I would not advise walking all the way out to where the open air taxis stop with two little kids. It's a bit of walk, especially if you're carrying bags with beach gear. I agree with doing St John on your own. I don't agree with those who want to save and use the public transportation. If you are really strapped for cash, that's one thing. But it's $16 extra per person to walk off the ship and get right in a van that gets you directly to ferry and not risk missing an earlier ferry. We were a family of four and taking the direct transportation cost us $64 extra and was worth every penny.

[manateelover]

Can you tell me where you went once you got off the ship? Did you get a taxi over to Red Hook? If so, how long was the ride, and was it easy to get back from St.John? Or did you take the Charlotte Amalie ferry over to St. John(I know this takes longer). Also what was the total cost for the taxi to RH and the cost of the ferry? Do you know a site that has August times posted? Thanks so much. We are a family of 4 as well. Went to St.John before on an excursion, but we want to spend the day there this time. Loved Trunk Bay and the snorkeling! Thanks so much.