Magen's bay and St. John in 1 day on cruise?

[justcruising]

Hello,

 

I'm looking at going on a Carnival cruise in the summer. The problem is, I have been to Magen's Bay twice and I love it, so I am reluctant to skip it.

 

My fellow travellers have never been to either, so I would like them to have the best experience possible.

 

On the other hand, I've heard very good things about St. John, too! Is it possible to spend a few hours at both, or would that destroy any chance of relaxing for the day? I like to have a small lunch, a few drinks, and relax.

 

If we decide to do St. John's, what is the best way to get there on our own and what is the best secluded beach on which we can relax and maybe do a byob?

 

Thanks!

[Sheffie]

I don't think you can have a relaxing day if you try to do both. I have been to both, and I thought Megan's Bay was highly overrated. I LOVE St. John! Last time we caught a taxi at the ship, went to Red Hook, took the ferry over to Cruz Bay and went to Cinnamon Beach. What a wonderful relaxing day! When we returned, at Red Hook we went clear out by the road and got the local bus (it looks just like the taxis) for $2 pp rather than the $10 pp that you pay for a taxi ride. They let us out a couple of blocks from the pier.

 

That is just my opinion.

[justcruising]

Thanks for the response. I had a feeling it would be a stretch to do both.

 

How much is the ferry from Red Hook? Also, are there places to grab lunch, etc. close to Trunk Bay or Cinnamon beach?

[kcparrotheads]

I've done a bit of research on beach bars, and found this one on St. John. I plan on checking it out in Sept.!!

 

The Beach Bar - Cruz Bay

 

When you get off the ferry in Cruz Bay, it feels like you've landed in paradise. There is a beach bar right on the left that looks like it's straight out of one of those Corona commercials.

[Sheffie]

Thanks for the response. I had a feeling it would be a stretch to do both.

 

How much is the ferry from Red Hook? Also, are there places to grab lunch, etc. close to Trunk Bay or Cinnamon beach?

 

They have food at both of these beaches. Check out www.***** for ferry prices. (I think it was $6 pp each way.)

 

You can also check out info on those beaches through that web site.

 

Have fun planning!

[richtersl]

Since you've already been to Magen's how about all of you trying something new?

 

Getting to St. John is easy: just grab a cab from the dock to Red Hook, the town where you get the ferry. The cab ride is about 20-25 minutes from Havensight (which is where most ships dock) and the ferry crossing takes another 20 minutes. Once in Cruz Bay, St. John and ask a cab driver to take you to Cinnamon Beach. It won't be crowded and it's part of the National Park system. There's a campground and hiking trail there. Because of the campground, there's also a nice sitdown restaurant and convenience store there. You can pick up "adult" beverages from that little convenience store.

 

Trunk Bay on St. John is also lovely but not very secluded. It gets crowded and the biggest turnoff for me were the lifeguards shouting over loudspeakers for people to not step on the coral. :rolleyes:

 

Other more secluded beaches would include Honeymoon Bay, and Hawksnest Beach. You can read up on all these on http://www.***** and I have photos of some of them at http://lrichters.smugmug.com/Travel/162954. It's no problem getting a cab driver to take you back to the ferry dock.

 

I agree with the other poster about Magen's being overrated. Don't get me wrong, it is nice and I can see why you like to go back, but there are nicer beaches on St. Thomas and St. John.

[justcruising]

Thanks for all of the great information, everyone! I'm not sure what we will wind up doing, but at least I have a few more options to research. A few other questions:

 

1.Approx. how much travel time is wasted each way just getting from the port to one of the St. John's beaches?

 

2. Is the cab ride/ferry boring?

 

Thanks!

[Sheffie]

Thanks for all of the great information, everyone! I'm not sure what we will wind up doing, but at least I have a few more options to research. A few other questions:

 

1.Approx. how much travel time is wasted each way just getting from the port to one of the St. John's beaches?

 

2. Is the cab ride/ferry boring?

 

Thanks!

 

1. I don't consider it wasted time, but it takes about 10 - 15 minutes to get to the beaches.

 

2. Not to me! I love watching the boats and islands as we passed them. St. John has some of the most scenic views in the Caribbean.

 

Your adjectives are not ones that I would use at all about going to St. John, or anywhere else in the Caribbean!