More St. John Questions

[Frugalist]

So much to see. So little time. Our cruise ship docks at St. Thomas from 7am to 6pm. We plan to spend as much time as possible on St. John.

 

Trunk. Cinnamon. Maho. Leinster. Watermelon. Coral.

 

They all sound so beautiful. We want to see them all! Is it economically practical to beach hop using taxis. http://www.st-john.com/ provides taxi fares and bus information to/from Cruz Bay. But what about fares between the beaches. How are they? Fixed rate? Metered? Negotiable?

 

One idea I'm tossing around in my mind is taking the VITRAN bus from the Cruz Bay ferry to Coral Bay ($1.00 per person). This sounds like a cool way to get a quick look at the interior of the island. If we see something along the way that strikes our fancy, we can get out, explore, then catch the next bus an hour later. Then after spending time at Coral Bay, we'd a cab to one of the other spots I mentioned up above. What is the usual travel time on the bus from Cruz Bay to Coral Bay?

 

My main concerns are the cab fares between each spot and how hard it would be to grab a cab at some of the less popular spots like Leinster Bay or Maho Bay. I've read that there are plenty of taxis available at Trunk Bay and Cinnamon Bay.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Host Anne]

You are so right....so much to see and so little time to see it. At best, you can catch the 9:00 AM ferry from Red Hook to Cruz Bay (it's a much quicker and smoother ferry ride than from Charlotte Amalie). That will put you into Cruz Bay around 9:20 - 9:30. My first question is how many of you will there be? If it's just two or three, my recommendation would be to either rent a car (before you go if you are comfortable driving on the other side of the road) or hire a taxi for the day. If you have a group of people, hiring one of the open air taxis is terrific (we've done it three or four times). The great thing about having a taxi for the day is that you can hop as much as you want on your time. I personally wouldn't take the bus to Coral Bay (I'm guessing a 45 minute bus ride) and then plan to easily catch a bus or taxi back. Coral Bay is lovely but pretty remote. You can negotiate for taxis to drop you off and come back for you at a set time and we've always found them very reliable.

 

Here's my ideal day....ferry to Cruz Bay. Taxi to Maho (quiet, uncrowded and beautiful - my fav beach on St. John). Enjoy the beach for an hour to 90 minutes (keep in mind....no facilities here -- just the beach). Taxi up the mountain to the outdoor deck at Chateaux Bordeaux for lunch. At lunch only their outdoor deck is open with a grill for burgers/chicken sandwhiches and drinks (daquiris are a specialty). The awesome thing here is the view. It sits atop St. John and overlooks the British Virgin Islands. It's my favorite view....

 

After lunch, back down the mountain to either Cinnamon or Trunk Bay for some snorkeling or beach lounging. Both are great and have facilities. Trunk will probably start to think out a bit after lunch. Spend your last hour here.

 

Taxi back to the ferry to catch the 3:00 PM ferry back to Red Hook. You can stretch it if you'd like and take the 4:00 PM ferry but I'm not one to cut it close getting back to the ship. There are plenty of taxis at Red Hook to get you back to the ship.

 

Haven't done a two or three person taxi here so I'm not much help with pricing. A car rental will run you about $65 (steering wheel is on the same side as the US mainland). But perhaps others can give you an idea on the individual taxis. The open air taxis that hold 12 - 15 run about $300 for the day (about $25 per person).

 

Hope this all helps. Have a terrific time. It's my favorite island ;)

[The Islander]

Hello,

 

Doing the fives beaches you named and Coral Bay wouldn't allow you much or any time to relax and enjoy the beaches. Renting a car would be your best bet to make good time and get the most into your day. You could also look at a private taxi tour.

 

Beach hopping by taxi isn't all that economical. The taxi rates you linked to are only a partial list and its the old rates. You can find the current rates and the full sheet at http://www.*****/stjohn/getting_around_stj/taxi.php.

 

All taxi rates are fixed. No metered taxis here in the USVI. The charges to areas not listed in the rate schedule are arrived at by using the nearest tariffed place crossed to the next tariffed place ahead, based on one nearest to the passenger's destination.

 

Taxis aren't generally hanging out in Coral Bay, so you'd likely need to call one. Likewise they aren't usually at Leinster or Maho so you'd be hoping to flag one down as it passsed in the road. Cinnamon Bay and Trunk Bay have a taxi stand area.

 

Cruz Bay to Coral Bay is about a 30-35 minute drive.

 

--Islander

*****

[Frugalist]

My first question is how many of you will there be?

 

There will be two of us.

 

Your Perfect Day sounds very cool. We just may give it a shot.

 

I'd be interested in knowing the cost of hiring a taxi for 2 for the day. My guess is the cost would be prohibitive compared to just grabbing a cab as needed to go from one spot to the next.

 

Right now, I'm kind of leary about learning how to drive on the left on narrow, twisty-turny, mountainous roads. Of course, that concern is subject to change between now and when we get to St. John.

 

Thanks so much for your very helpful reply.

[Frugalist]

Doing the fives beaches you named and Coral Bay wouldn't allow you much or any time to relax and enjoy the beaches.

 

Oh heavens! We weren't thinking of hitting all five beaches. I listed them as some of the best choices among the ones I've read about as being really great. If we go to Coral Bay, I'm thinking we'd probably have time for a couple of hours at one more beach before we head back to the ship. Does that sound reasonable?

 

All taxi rates are fixed. No metered taxis here in the USVI. The charges to areas not listed in the rate schedule are arrived at by using the nearest tariffed place crossed to the next tariffed place ahead, based on one nearest to the passenger's destination.

 

I read that on the sheet, and for the life of me, can't figure out exactly what that means. Any chance you can give me an example? Say, the fare for 2 between Leinster and Cinnamon?

 

One more question: Looking at the map at http://www.nps.gov/applications/parks/viis/ppMaps/VIISmap1.pdf , I see that Cinnamon Bay trail runs between Centerline Road and North Shore Road. Do you know how long the trail is and what the terrain is like? Any guess as to how long it might take to hike it? OK, I guess that was more than one question. :)

 

Thank you so much for your help.

[PelicanBill]

renting a car or jeep is absolutely the better way to go than taxi... it's a great island for a first time rental. Have your co-pilot help by calmy reminding you at turns: Turn into the left lane... look both ways on all turns. Roads are narrow and some are steep but it's not crowded enough on the roads to be too scared of it.

 

Now as for Coral Bay.... if you rent a car go ahead and drive down if you want to take the time but to be honest you can take in the amazing view from the restaurant/bar on the centerline road just past where the north shore road (20) comes up to meet it. I spent a week in Coral Bay and there's not a lot to see down there unless you take a lot of time to explore.

 

Here's my ideal one day (happens to be a real one day journey before we stayed a week.) Rent a car, drive out the South shore road and around up to centerline to take in the south shore views, see some of the villas you could rent when you come back for a week. Drive out centerline road to the restaurant with the view over Coral Bay, have a drink and take pictures. Turn back and down the north shore road. There is a slightly confusing section of one way roads but if you get lost you won't stay lost for long. Drive back along the north shore road and stop at EVERY SINGLE BEACH. Why not? Stay for a little while at the ones you like. There is a small admission fee for Trunk Bay but not for any of the others. some of them are right along the road and take no time at all to stop. Cinnamon and Trunk you must park and walk down a few minutes.

 

On the way back stop at Mongoose Junction shoppping just before town on your left (the stone buildings). Return your car and shop at Wharfside if you have time before the ferry. Lots of places to eat or get a drink. Cruz Bay is all walkable.

 

The route is reversable if you like... and you can stop at Mongoose Jct. to get drinks and snacks at the Deli for your explorations if you do this.

 

If you still want to take a taxi here is what I recommend. Decide which beaches you will stop at. Talk to a taxi about taking you to the first beach but with some picture taking stops along the way... so you can look at Hawksnest beach on the way, for example. Ask him to pick you up at a certain time for a long ride back up to centerline to the vista over Coral Bay, then back down to town.... again with stops to look at other beaches or views for pictures. Get the plan down and get a price for each leg of the trip... and if agreeable then go.

[PelicanBill]

Oh and the Cinnamon bay trail... it will be steep and take about an hour I think.

[The Islander]

Hello,

 

Yes Coral Bay and a beach stop is reasonable.

 

Leinster to Cinnamon Bay: It is a bit confusing... I think how it works is they find a trafffed route that is close to your starting and ending point. If that is correct then it would seem they would use Leinster to Cruz Bay to determine the Leinster-Cinnamon price so it would be $9 pp, ow.. or a dollar or two less since you aren't actually going the additional 15 minutes between Cinnamon Bay and Cruz Bay (which incidently is a $7 pp, ow taxi ride when you are ready to continue back to the ferry).

 

Cinnamon Bay Trail between Centerline Road and North Shore Road. 2.4 miles and it is steep... I'd say an hour and a half.

 

--Islander

http://www.*****

[The Islander]

traffed... should be tariffed ;)

[Frugalist]

Hi Islander,

 

You are providing a ton of great information. Just want to let you know your efforts are much appreciated. I've been spending a lot of time exploring around the vinow site.

 

I noticed that the http://www.*****/stjohn/beaches_stj/ page indicates that both Trunk Bay and Cinnamon Bay are accessible by bus. It's been my understanding that the only bus on St. John runs through the interior, along Centerline Road. Do you know what it means when it says accessible by bus? Or is it simply a misprint?

 

With all the great recommendations from you and other folks on this board, we're going to have a tough time narrowing down our choices of what to do in one day on St. John. I see only one solution: come back for a week!

 

Thanks again for all your help.

[The Islander]

Hello Frugalist,

 

Its an error, thanks for the note. The bus runs along Centerline.

 

Yes, come back for a week!! ;)

 

--Islander

*****

[FliLady]

Islander,

 

Which beach would you spend your day at Cinnamon or Trunk? Do both beaches have concessions/alcohol?

[Host Anne]

FliLady ~ while you are waiting for Islander's response, here's my two cents...you can do both. It's not far from one to the other and there are always taxi's at both so it's easy to go from one to the other and get back to the ferry at Cruz Bay. If you can get to Trunk early, I'd go there first and then head over to Cinnamon once the crowds start to arrive.

 

Frugalist ~ my husband was hesitant to drive on St. John the first time we went but it's not a bad as you might think (altho I definitely understand those who are hesitant). I'm not sure what a taxi for two would cost for the day (we've always had a bunch of people and rented the open air safari taxi or it was just the two of us and we rented a car), but if you don't mind negotiating, you can discuss with taxi drivers what you want to do and ask what the price would be to hire them for the day. It would likely be about five hours. When are you going? We'll be there for a week in February and can check if you aren't going before then.

[The Islander]

Hello FliLady,

 

Both Trunk Bay and Cinnamon Bay have concessions. Cinnamon Bay has a little store too and a watersports booth, campgrounds. The campgrounds close I think for the month of September and while its closed so is the concession/store.

 

Both beaches are beautiful. I like Cinnamon Bay because you can do a little hiking as well. There is a self guided trail with sugar plantation ruins just accross from the beach entrance.

 

--Islander

http://www.*****

[Frugalist]

Ok, here's a weird question I haven't seen yet: Is it possible to walk/wade/swim along the water from Cinnamon Bay to Trunk Bay? If not, what obstacles are in the way? Any estimate on the distance from the west end of Cinnamon/Peter Bay to the east end of Trunk Bay? Looking at the map at http://www.nps.gov/applications/parks/viis/ppMaps/VIISmap1.pdf it looks like less than 1/2 a mile around a little neck between the two.

 

I would imagine this would be a beautiful way to get in both highly recommended beaches. Certainly nicer than hopping in a cab for what looks like a fairly short ride over a hill. I wonder if it's even shorter going the water route rather than walking from Cinnamon beach to the taxi stand, waiting for a taxi for the short ride to Trunk Bay, then walking from the taxi drop-off point to the beach? :)

 

Thanks in advance.

[The Islander]

Hello Frugalist,

 

There is actually a beach to beach power swim the Friends of the National Park group does annually. The courses include a short course, about a mile between Maho and Cinnamon, a long course, about 3 1/2 miles between Maho and Hawknest and an intermediate between Maho and Trunk about 2 1/4 miles.

 

You can see the map and information at http://www.friendsvinp.org/swim/.

 

--Islander

http://www.*****

[Host Anne]

Frugalist ~ I'm fairly sure the only way to do it is by swimming (don't think you can walk or wade your way around). Is that correct Islander?

[The Islander]

Hello,

 

The way it was written "walk/wade/swim along" is how it would go.... you couldn't walk or wade the whole way around but you could walk along part of Cinnamon Bay, wade in the shallow and then swim ;). Check the beach to beach power swim page and map... shows their route which includes these two beaches and a couple others.

 

--Islander

http://www.*****

[Huskies4]

OK, I just couldn't help but butt in on this thread. All of this great info in one place! I am wondering about horseback riding on St John. We will be in St Thomas in August 2006 on the Adventure of the Seas and would like to ferry to St John for riding (there is no longer riding on St Thomas, correct?) What would be the best way to go about this and still make sure we get back to the ship in St Thomas on time? I have learned that there are two places that offer riding: Carolina Coral and Villa Vakoola. Are they both located in the same area? How far from the ferry? Any help would be much appreciated!

[The Islander]

Hello Huskies4,

 

No horseback on St. Thomas anymore.

 

You need to take a ferry to St. John from St. Thomas.

 

From Cruz Bay St. John to Coral Bay its about a 30 minute drive, taxi is $16 ow for one person and $9 pp in a group of 2+ people, ow. Carolina Coral is is in Coral Bay... not sure where Villa Vakoola is located.

 

--Islander

http://www.*****

[sunshine3360]

We are thinking about renting a dingy at Cruz Bay. I think you could see more than a couple of beaches. I'm wondering on the archoring or lack there of. Anyone done this?