DYI Trunk Bay

[houlacruiser]

Houlacruiser - depends on whether you plan to use the various watersports items and if you want to use the pool. Otherwise you could take a taxi there from Havensight at $6 pp, one way; you can rent a chair for around $5-7, a bit extra if you want an umbrella; and you can buy lunch (Burgers are around $9.95-10.95).

 

--Islander

 

Thanks. I guess now we just have to decide which we'd like to do... Actually money will probably decide for us lol.

[goodtoglow]

Islander, do you happen to know where Carnival ships usually dock? I will be arriving on the Carnival Freedom Feb 2nd (along with 4 other boats and 13606 passengers....... eek!)

[The Islander]

Carnival ships usually dock in Havensight at the WICO dock.

 

--Islander

[liquidclouds1]

We are arriving at Crown Bay. Would you recommend going to Red Hook to take the ferry or take the ferry from downtown Charlotte Amalie?

Also, once we get to St. John, do you think a taxi is the best way to get to Trunk Bay or a car rental? Price, but more importantly, reliability of the transportation and getting back on the ship are considerations.

 

Thanks in advance!

[flatman]

I'm told there's a underwater snorkeling park at Trunk Bay. Is this something you can go to from the beach or do you need to have a boat to get there? We're going on the Island Girl sailboat for the morning and I was wondering about this and how deep the water will be. I'd much rather be picked up from, and brought back to the pier than all of that travel time and taxi's and ferries stuff.

[The Islander]

If depends on your schedule which ferry you take... the Red Hook ferry has more frequent trips than the CA ferry. Here are some notes below about STT-STJ trip. Taxis on St. John are realiable. There is a taxi stand by the end of the ferry dock and there is one at Trunk Bay.

 

STT-STJ by Ferry:

 

There are two departure points on St. Thomas for ferries to St. John. First is the Charlotte Amalie ferry, which leaves from the Charlotte Amalie waterfront. The ferry area is just at the start of the shopping district, across from Vendor’s Plaza. The Charlotte Amalie ferry is about 1.7 miles from Crown Bay Cruise Ship Dock. It’s a short drive between them, but this is all in town and traffic can cause the short drive to take a while. More ships mean more traffic. A taxi to the Charlotte Amalie ferry is $4 pp, ow from Crown Bay. The Charlotte Amalie ferry takes about 40 minutes to get over to St. John.

 

The Red Hook ferry is on the East End of the island. The drive from Crown Bay about 35 minutes and a taxi is $11 pp, ow. More traffic it will take longer. The ferry takes 15 minutes to get over to St. John.

 

Charlotte Amalie Ferry: One-way, $12.00/Adults

Red Hook Ferry: One-way, $6.00/Adults

 

One vs. the other: time wise with shorter drive + longer ferry on the Charlotte Amalie ferry and longer drive + shorter ferry on the Red Hook ferry the commute itself tends to work out the same. Figure an hour to a little over an hour, depends on if you get a ferry right when you get to the dock or have to wait around a bit. When coming back to St. Thomas the Charlotte Amalie might help you avoid some of the traffic since its gets you closer to the ships.

 

In terms of schedule: the Red Hook ferry has more departures. Charlotte Amalie ferry has been making several changes to their schedule lately, keep an eye on this.

 

In terms of the trip: the Charlotte Amalie ferry allows you to see a bit more of the water and island along the coast but its longer and more open ocean so for someone that doesn’t like ferries or gets seasick easily you might stick with the shorter Red Hook ferry. With taking the Red Hook route you see a little of the island while driving to the ferry. For schedule and prices of ferries try: http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=getting+to+st.+john&fr=yfp-t-305&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8.

 

Both ferries arrive in Cruz Bay St. John. Right at the end of the ferry dock there is a taxi stand and usually half a dozen to a dozen taxi drivers waiting around. They approach people getting off the ferry dock asking ‘beach’, ‘tour’, ‘where can I take you’ so they aren’t hard to find. Tell them where you want to go and get the price and be on your way.

 

Plan to be at the ferry for the return trip at least 15 minutes before departure. Best bet is not to take the last possible ferry that would get you back on time, take at least the one before that – just in case you don’t get on that one or something happens at least you have one more option. Also good to head to St. John first thing so you can do your visit there and get back to St. Thomas with time to spare.

 

--Islander