St. John's/St. Thomas VI

[billfromlaketravis 11447]

54 minutes ago, VABuckeye said:

They were on St. Croix.  Unless they're idiots they would fly directly to St. Croix and wouldn't have been anywhere near him on St. John or the St. Thomas airport (STX).

Yeah they flew into St. Croix. It’s what 45 minutes on a seaplane from St. Thomas to St. Croix right?

[The Royal We 3067]

On 12/24/2022 at 5:17 AM, Poolflood said:

How was it?  We are kicking tires on a family trip there this summer.

[Poolflood 845]

23 minutes ago, The Royal We said:

How was it?  We are kicking tires on a family trip there this summer.

Phenomenal.   Go!  My favorite place on earth.

[The Royal We 3067]

28 minutes ago, Poolflood said:

Phenomenal.   Go!  My favorite place on earth.

Cruz bay area?  You've been quite a bit, have you stayed all over or mainly in that part of the island?

[Poolflood 845]

15 minutes ago, The Royal We said:

Cruz bay area?  You've been quite a bit, have you stayed all over or mainly in that part of the island?

Twice closer to chocolate hole.  Twice on Bordeaux and last time northshore over cinnamon.  Will send detailed when not mobile.

[CooterBrown 18002]

My recommendation is that you make sure you rent a villa that has a generator.

Electricity goes out frequently. When we were there two years ago, it was out on both STT and STJ for 18 hours. The big problem was there’s no water if the electricity is out because every house has a cistern with an electric water pump.

[Poolflood 845]

On 1/9/2023 at 3:09 PM, The Royal We said:

Cruz bay area?  You've been quite a bit, have you stayed all over or mainly in that part of the island?

Spoiler

First 2 years we went (2016 and 2018) stayed at Bordo Mare near Chocolate Hole w/views of Little and Great St. James.  Loved it.
The next two years 2019 and 2020 stayed at Calichi at Picture point on Bordeaux overlooking Coral Bay.  Had some issues with the stay both times.  First stay, and they were only open for a couple of months – issues with no water in the cistern and the dishwasher wasn’t working.  We may have been the first guests in that particular villa.  They gave us the next year for free.  (in lieu of not blowing them up on yelp or whatever)
This past year we stayed at La Jolla Caribe with extended family.  High up overlooking the north shore between Trunk and Maho.
We’ve also used Palm Tree Charters twice a year since we found them in 2018.  Ask for Captain Sarah.  She’s the bomb.  If you want to go to the BVI’s have a long convo with them about what custom’s looks like and how much it will eat into your time.  This year was the first time we’ve gone since 2019 and you just don’t get the bang for your buck anymore with how fucked up custom’s has become.  We went to the Baths with the whole crew - 9 of us.  2 hours there and back, so only had time for one other stop (White Bay/Soggy Dollar).  If you do the BVI’s and don’t do the Baths then you need to do Willie T’s and The Indians.  You can stay USVI and get some great snorkeling spots.
My favorite beach is Maho, but you have to get there early to get parking (prob no later than 9-9:30).  Beautiful beach, decent snorkeling and food/drinks within walking distance.  All the beaches are beautiful – explore.  If you do Palm Tree Captain Sarah will give you the run down on beaches and which are best for different tastes.
The ruins – St. John has a long history in the slave trade and sugar/rum production.  Do some research prior to visiting the ruins.  There’s not a ton of on-site info and getting an understanding/history prior to going adds to the experience.  David Knight wrote a series of books – Understanding Annaberg reads quick and gives some history of ownership and production.  Takes like 30 min to get through.
Petroglyphs – you can do a long hike to them, or Captain Sarah can take you by boat to the shortcut.  Interesting but not amazing.  My opinion slightly jaded by taking a wrong turn, walking way out of the way (missed a little sign) and having a flip-flop blowout.
Food – longboard, lime out, lime in, high-tide etc etc etc…. you can’t have a bad meal.  We did Lovango and it’s an experience, but not worth it imo.  Skinny Legs is a must.  Especially later in the trip when you just want a cheeseburger.
Ram’s head.  Long intermediate hike but the views at the end are spectacular – even by St. John standard.
Nightlife.  We never really did but I know it’s there.  We typically get up for sunrise, do our thing all day and are wasted and have no energy.  The beach bar has live music almost every night.
If you rent a villa talk to the owner about provisioning prior to arrival.  We always have dinner for the first night brought in plus basics (Rum, flavored rum….. food, etc.)  Just makes that first night easier.
If you want to go fancy one night, you can have food prepped in-villa.  We did this for Christmas dinner.  There were nine of us and it came out to $150 a person (plus tip).  Six courses including desert.  

Rent a jeep - or now you can get a new bronco.  don't do the taxi thing or walk.  you're blowing time, when you should be getting to the next thing.  
Bring lots of cash.  Everybody lives on tips and prefers cash.  Mrs. PFlood had presorted envelopes for everything.    Sorry for the wall of words.  
 

maybe I'm doing the spoiler thing right?  we'll see.  wall of words.

[The Royal We 3067]

1 hour ago, Poolflood said:

  Hide contents

First 2 years we went (2016 and 2018) stayed at Bordo Mare near Chocolate Hole w/views of Little and Great St. James.  Loved it.
The next two years 2019 and 2020 stayed at Calichi at Picture point on Bordeaux overlooking Coral Bay.  Had some issues with the stay both times.  First stay, and they were only open for a couple of months – issues with no water in the cistern and the dishwasher wasn’t working.  We may have been the first guests in that particular villa.  They gave us the next year for free.  (in lieu of not blowing them up on yelp or whatever)
This past year we stayed at La Jolla Caribe with extended family.  High up overlooking the north shore between Trunk and Maho.
We’ve also used Palm Tree Charters twice a year since we found them in 2018.  Ask for Captain Sarah.  She’s the bomb.  If you want to go to the BVI’s have a long convo with them about what custom’s looks like and how much it will eat into your time.  This year was the first time we’ve gone since 2019 and you just don’t get the bang for your buck anymore with how fucked up custom’s has become.  We went to the Baths with the whole crew - 9 of us.  2 hours there and back, so only had time for one other stop (White Bay/Soggy Dollar).  If you do the BVI’s and don’t do the Baths then you need to do Willie T’s and The Indians.  You can stay USVI and get some great snorkeling spots.
My favorite beach is Maho, but you have to get there early to get parking (prob no later than 9-9:30).  Beautiful beach, decent snorkeling and food/drinks within walking distance.  All the beaches are beautiful – explore.  If you do Palm Tree Captain Sarah will give you the run down on beaches and which are best for different tastes.
The ruins – St. John has a long history in the slave trade and sugar/rum production.  Do some research prior to visiting the ruins.  There’s not a ton of on-site info and getting an understanding/history prior to going adds to the experience.  David Knight wrote a series of books – Understanding Annaberg reads quick and gives some history of ownership and production.  Takes like 30 min to get through.
Petroglyphs – you can do a long hike to them, or Captain Sarah can take you by boat to the shortcut.  Interesting but not amazing.  My opinion slightly jaded by taking a wrong turn, walking way out of the way (missed a little sign) and having a flip-flop blowout.
Food – longboard, lime out, lime in, high-tide etc etc etc…. you can’t have a bad meal.  We did Lovango and it’s an experience, but not worth it imo.  Skinny Legs is a must.  Especially later in the trip when you just want a cheeseburger.
Ram’s head.  Long intermediate hike but the views at the end are spectacular – even by St. John standard.
Nightlife.  We never really did but I know it’s there.  We typically get up for sunrise, do our thing all day and are wasted and have no energy.  The beach bar has live music almost every night.
If you rent a villa talk to the owner about provisioning prior to arrival.  We always have dinner for the first night brought in plus basics (Rum, flavored rum….. food, etc.)  Just makes that first night easier.
If you want to go fancy one night, you can have food prepped in-villa.  We did this for Christmas dinner.  There were nine of us and it came out to $150 a person (plus tip).  Six courses including desert.  

Rent a jeep - or now you can get a new bronco.  don't do the taxi thing or walk.  you're blowing time, when you should be getting to the next thing.  
Bring lots of cash.  Everybody lives on tips and prefers cash.  Mrs. PFlood had presorted envelopes for everything.    Sorry for the wall of words.  
 

maybe I'm doing the spoiler thing right?  we'll see.  wall of words.

Fantastic info, thank you. 

Leaning towards a house up hwy 206 above Cinnamon Bay.

[Poolflood 845]

6 minutes ago, The Royal We said:

Fantastic info, thank you. 

Leaning towards a house up hwy 206 above Cinnamon Bay.

You'll love it.  That's where La Jolla is.  Don't hesitate if you have further question.

[jeevsie 3733]

Bump - headed to St Thomas in a couple of weeks for a first time trip to VI - Cowpet bay specifically.  Any recent visitors to the area?

[The Royal We 3067]

On 1/9/2023 at 2:40 PM, Poolflood said:

Phenomenal.   Go!  My favorite place on earth.

 

We just got back from a week in St. John yesterday. You were right.

I'll do a write up next week, but we really enjoyed it and I wish we were still there.

[Napoleon 8660]

On 7/2/2023 at 10:05 PM, The Royal We said:

 

We just got back from a week in St. John yesterday. You were right.

I'll do a write up next week, but we really enjoyed it and I wish we were still there.

I’m going down to St. Thomas next week. Arrive on Wednesday afternoon and then board a small cruise ship (110 passenger limit) on Friday and we’re going to float around and hit 3 different British VIs. 

We float back to St. Thomas on Monday morning and then I don’t fly out until around 5pm. 

The cruise is billed as a joint birthday party for a couple who are both divorced and I think that a fair amount of attendees expect it to be a wedding. 

I tend to like to see various things and try different foods when I travel. I don’t care to lie in the sun. I don’t know what I’m going to do for the 44+ hours before boarding the ship other than sweat. 

I went to Costa Rica last March/April for a couple of weeks, so I have been in the humid decaying tropics recently, but there I did a surf camp for 5 days. 

I don’t believe that I’ll rent a vehicle and I signed up for a couple of snorkeling things that would be day excursions while on the ship, but don’t know if I will do one or both until I get on the ship and they let us know if enough people signed up for the excursions and/or too many people signed up. 

Is there any cuisine that I should try? Or is it just Rice, Beans, Plantains, & Pork?

[CooterBrown 18002]

6 hours ago, Napoleon said:

Is there any cuisine that I should try? Or is it just Rice, Beans, Plantains, & Pork?

There's some local foods but it's 90% American bar food.  If you're on St Thomas, hit Glady's Cafe for local cuisine.  

[VABuckeye 2472]

12 hours ago, Napoleon said:

Or is it just Rice, Beans, Plantains, & Pork?

Not at all.  These are not hispanic islands.  Not one bit.

What islands are you hitting in the BVI?  I presume one is Tortola.

It won't be humid at all.  It's not the summer.  Judging by your comments this may be an eye opening trip for you.  Those islands are damned nice.  Take the ferry to St. John on Thursday.  Then you'll find out why people only use St. Thomas to fly into and taxi to Red Hook for the ferry to St. John and stay there.

[Napoleon 8660]

We are starting on St. Thomas and hitting "Virgin Gorda" & "Jost Van Dyke", so I'm guessing that we'll also hit that big island between those islands on this map.

These are the two excursions. The first one can handle the entire boat, basically. (Minimum of 20 people, Maximum of about 100 people)

 

The second one said "Minimum of 20 people, Maximum of 30 people" and I didn't RSVP for that trip until the middle of December... though some RSVP'd over the summer of 2023, so I don't know if that line of 30 is real, or if they may have 2 or 3 guided groups. I'm not getting my hopes up.

 

 

55 minutes ago, VABuckeye said:

Not at all.  These are not hispanic islands.  Not one bit.

I have a good friend, former apartment roommate in LA (and Texas Ex), who lived in St. Thomas (I think) for a few years when her (British) mom chose to live there as she fought cancer. (The mom preferred the beaches of the Caribbean to a boring street in Dallas if she only had a few years to live.)

My friend stopped going to college and lived there in the 1990s (not sure how long) and they definitely didn't have money. Her stories of what it was like living there were much more "This broke down, or this person got hurt and we're driving on washed out roads in a rusty Suzuki Samari..." The stories were of someone living day-to-day in a 3rd world country rather than a person staying at a beach resort.

Rice & Beans are poor people food. Hispanic, Black, White... that doesn't matter. Isolated living drives up the prices of everything, so "local cuisine" usually ends up being "shit that's cheap & plentiful".

 

55 minutes ago, VABuckeye said:

It won't be humid at all. 

It's not the summer.  Judging by your comments this may be an eye opening trip for you.  Those islands are damned nice.  Take the ferry to St. John on Thursday.  Then you'll find out why people only use St. Thomas to fly into and taxi to Red Hook for the ferry to St. John and stay there.

In Costa Rica I stayed with an ex-girlfriend (American girl who went to tOSU) and who is very budget focused. Her living room/kitchen cube (her place was basically 3 cubes with her bedroom/bathroom cube stacked on top of the living room/kitchen cube and accessed via an outdoor set of stairs) had screens for windows and metal bars keeping people out, plus one or two sliding doors of metal bars. I had a room that she normally AirB&Bs that was pleasant, but I was most definitely NOT staying in an all-inclusive resort. I have looked at AirBnBs for St. Thomas and there was a similar vibe to the "architecture" of my friend's town in Costa Rica. Exterior paint that needs to be redone, various wires (electricity? old phone/cable/internet?) with green foliage trying to retake the land.

Good to know that it won't be miserably uncomfortable while I wait out Friday's departure. I wouldn't have slept without an A/C unit in Costa Rica.

I prefer to travel to places where English is NOT the national language, though I did enjoy my time in Ireland. I would never have picked the Virgin Islands, especially the US ones, if I hadn't been invited on a free 3-day cruise to celebrate something (not sure yet) for a friend I've known since kindergarten.

 

Edited January 3 by Napoleon

[VABuckeye 2472]

Jost Van Dyke is one of my favorite islands.  I’ve stayed there many times and know quite a few of the 300 natives.  Your cruise ship is going to funnel you to the far end of White Bay. It’s not bad but I’d venture a ways down the beach to One Love and get a lobster quesadilla.  It’s huge so share it with one or two other people.  SoggyDollar is on White Bay.  It’s where the painkiller was invented.  White Bay is a different party every day if you’re into that although the locals from Tortola that come over on their boats tend to ruin the atmosphere some.  The snorkeling depicted is NOT at White Bay.  It’s all sand.  
 

Virgin Gorda is great. The Baths are fun to walk through and Little Devils Bay is one of the prettiest bays you’ll ever see.  
 

feel free to ask questions. I’ve spent quite a bit of time in the BVI.  

Edited January 3 by VABuckeye

[VABuckeye 2472]

Couldn’t edit more. I hate that rule on this site. 

Sandy spit is exactly what it sounds like. A tiny sandy islet.  I prefer Little Jost Van Dyke and the B Line bar but tiny beach dive bars are my jam.  Across from B Line is Foxy’s Taboo which is a fairly decent restaurant but I doubt you’ll get that chance.  I’d eat at Sydney’s Peace and Love as they’re awesome people and the food and setting is great but you probably won’t have enough time on the island for that one. 

Edited January 3 by VABuckeye

[VonZipper 50]

Spending a week on St. John January 20 -27.  Looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the spoils of this beautiful island.  We have visited the island while on cruises, but our first time for an extended stay.  Flying into STT and ferrying over.

[Longhorn_Fan68 33859]

6 hours ago, VonZipper said:

Spending a week on St. John January 20 -27.  Looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the spoils of this beautiful island.  We have visited the island while on cruises, but our first time for an extended stay.  Flying into STT and ferrying over.

Rent a jeep. you will 100% appreciate having vehicular autonomy

Edited January 4 by Longhorn_Fan68

[VABuckeye 2472]

7 hours ago, VonZipper said:

Spending a week on St. John January 20 -27.  Looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the spoils of this beautiful island.  We have visited the island while on cruises, but our first time for an extended stay.  Flying into STT and ferrying over.

Eat at Extra Virgin.  Sit at the bar at Ocean 362 and watch the sunset.  If you have a boating day hit Lime Out and enjoy tacos and drinks on the water.  Eat at ZoZo's on Caneel Bay.  Banana Deck also has good food.  Get a root beer float at St. John Brewing Co.  They're fantastic and they make the root beer.  Enjoy!

 

If you have a jeep hit Skinny Legs for lunch.

[VABuckeye 2472]

One other thing.  Take or get a passport and look at the ferry schedule and do a day trip to Jost van Dyke to hang out at the all-day party on White Bay.  One of the most famous beach bars in the Caribbean (Soggy Dollar Bar) is there and White Bay is not only beautiful but a ton of fun.  Or you can charter a captained boat for the day and hit White Bay along with Virgin Gorda (The Baths) and hit the Willie T on a bay on Norman Island.  Be forewarned, the Willie T is by far the raunchiest bar I have ever been to and I love raunchy bars.

[The Royal We 3067]

19 hours ago, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

Rent a jeep. you will 100% appreciate having vehicular autonomy

@VonZipper  Absolutely this.

We had an incredible trip last summer. Took 3 kids down there for a week and they are still talking about the trip, so the kids enjoyed it too. We hit up different beaches every day, would wake up and hop in the jeep and not go back to the house until after dinner most days.

@Napoleon If you have time to ferry over to St. John instead of staying on St. Thomas then you should absolutely do it. I only saw the road between the airport and the ferry terminal on St. Thomas, but it's pretty damn developed with trash and busted up vehicles all over the place. There is some of that on St. John (they really need a busted up vehicle round-up to get them off the island), but from what I saw you would enjoy St. John more.

I don't know what the beaches are like this time of year, but my favorites were:

Maho Bay - snorkeling was great here. Massive sea turtles are feeding on the sea grass 20-25 yards from the beach. There are a few food trucks and a bar that are right across the road that were surprisingly good. A Painkiller(s) and a Mahi sandwich will get your right for lunch.

Trunk Bay - there's a snorkeling trail off the beach here that was pretty cool. This was probably the best beach we went to, but it also got a little crowded so we walked way down to the end from the parking lot to set up our gear. Great food and drink options here too.

Francis Bay Beach - this was probably the best beach for snorkeling just because you could walk 10 feet out and look down and there were tons of fish everywhere. There were only ~8 parking spots so we went there early in the morning to make sure we had a spot.

Favorite food spots:

Miss Lucy's - we went here for lunch after going to Salt Pond (also a cool beach, just a bit of a hike to get to) and the food was good/atmosphere was great. It's right on the water and all outdoors. We ate under this massive Sea Grape tree and loved it.

Skinny Legs - I think this is the only place we went to twice. Really relaxed place with good food and good vibes.

We also chartered a little boat for an afternoon and he took us to Cas Cay for snorkeling and exploring on the island. We then went over to Pizza Pi which is a pizza place on a boat in a cove that was really good. It was expensive, but one of the highlights of the trip boating around the island.

[texasgangordie 100]

Headed to St Thomas on Friday and reading through the thread, consensus here seems to be that St John is a much better stay. Unfortunately that wasn’t an option for this trip but based on the recommendations here I think we may be spending more time than planned in St John. 

2 main questions I have are:

-Are the Baths absolutely worth it to see? We’ve struggled trying to decide whether or not to check them out.

-Any can’t-miss dinner spots on St Thomas? We’ve got quite a few reservations but have a couple of nights we left open.

Appreciate all the recs already in this thread

[VABuckeye 2472]

The Baths are very nice and if you're day tripping with a private captain there's a lot more to do on your boat day.  If you like parties (raunchy ones) hit the Willie T on Norman Island while you are there.  If you do that you can eat at Pirate's Bight which has really good food.

If there was one thing I'd do for dinner on St. Thomas it would be to hire a local taxi driver and have them take you where the locals eat for the baked fish.  It's amazing.

[MidTexHorn 822]

I’m on St Thomas right now. Dinner at Prime last night was really good and the view was ridiculous. Staying at the Morningstar Buoy Haus by the Westin and it’s very nice and super chill. 

[Irwin F Fletcher 3550]

Timely post @MidTexHorn I've been looking to book a quick trip down to St. Thomas and have been looking at the Buoy House.

Looks like you have the beach to yourself, any problems with crowds when the cruise ships are docked?

Any issues with the property? It looks like most the reviews via Marriott are favorable.

Thanks & Hook' Em!

[VABuckeye 2472]

Stay on St. John.  Thank me later. 

[Irwin F Fletcher 3550]

I've heard that sentiment before. I've got Marriott points that I'll be using and it doesn't appear the Westin Vacation Club on St. John has that option.

Looking for a nice place on a beach for the wife and I to relax, sip frozen drinks, and not be hassled for 4 days.

[VABuckeye 2472]

Just be sure to get to Red Hook on one of those days and take the ferry over.  Then you can begin planning a trip. 
 

I get it about the points.  

[Irwin F Fletcher 3550]

I'll research that. Last year a we sailed the BVIs on a cat. Four couples, sailing from island to island for a week. Fantastic trip.

 

[VABuckeye 2472]

No better way to see the BVI than that.  We did the same the summer after Irma.

[MidTexHorn 822]

On 5/31/2024 at 11:57 AM, Irwin F Fletcher said:

Timely post @MidTexHorn I've been looking to book a quick trip down to St. Thomas and have been looking at the Buoy House.

Looks like you have the beach to yourself, any problems with crowds when the cruise ships are docked?

Any issues with the property? It looks like most the reviews via Marriott are favorable.

Thanks & Hook' Em!

We did 5 nights and loved it. This was a do nothing vacation for wife and I which is rather unusual for us, but we just wanted to chill. The renovations to the Westin and Buoy Haus are great, places look fantastic especially Buoy Haus. Restaurants are nice enough for resort restaurants - but worth going off site once or twice to mix it up. We really enjoyed the Italian and sushi places up at the Westin. Everything is expensive beers $8-10, cocktails $15-18, dinner for two with drinks was always $150-200ish but I live in Austin so I’m pretty used to that. There is no night life at all so don’t expect that unless you want to go party in Red Hook which we decided against. 
 

Beach is small but nice and chill - there’s a specific area limited to Buoy Haus guests so you don’t have to fight for a spot. Pool was awesome and very chill. It’s exclusive to Buoy Haus guests, but you can use the Westin pools if you want. There is a swim up bar but this is not a party pool - the swim up bar at the Westin is probably a little rowdier but we never saw a need to try it. 
 

Service was on island time but we never had an issue. It’s not Four Seasons level of service, but we always got what we wanted in a reasonable amount of time. We would definitely go again - I’d spend the extra and get a water view next time. The patios are nice but without the view we never used ours. Happy to answer any questions. 
 

 

[bigcigar 1164]

I’ll be planning a trip for 4 couples to bounce around USVI/BVI on a charter. Does anyone have experience finding a boat/skipper? I could use some help navigating the process.

[Mach 1 1677]

59 minutes ago, bigcigar said:

I’ll be planning a trip for 4 couples to bounce around USVI/BVI on a charter. Does anyone have experience finding a boat/skipper? I could use some help navigating the process.

We’ve used Navigare Yachting a couple of times for a cat charter and liked them. They’re a large international charter company with BVI presence, average boats, but there are other local charter companies with access to different (and often bigger, better) boats.  Google will load you up with options.

Pro tip. Spend a little more for a bigger cat - 50 feet plus - and food and booze are included. Below that it’s often not included and you’ll have to stock up before at the local ridiculously expensive provision place. We’ve found it to almost be a wash.

 

[Longhorn_Fan68 33859]

3 minutes ago, Mach 1 said:

We’ve used Navigare Yachting a couple of times for a cat charter and liked them. They’re a large international charter company with BVI presence, average boats, but there are other local charter companies with access to different (and often bigger, better) boats.  Google will load you up with options.

Pro tip. Spend a little more for a bigger cat - 50 feet plus - and food and booze are included. Below that it’s often not included and you’ll have to stock up before at the local ridiculously expensive provision place. We’ve found it to almost be a wash.

 

yeah, food and provisions on the islands are higher than giraffe pussy. if you can get that part taken care of at any turn, do it. I wish we had done more to have our food and such taken care of. grocery shopping was the non-fun part of the trip. 

[VABuckeye 2472]

9 hours ago, bigcigar said:

I’ll be planning a trip for 4 couples to bounce around USVI/BVI on a charter. Does anyone have experience finding a boat/skipper? I could use some help navigating the process.

The Moorings

However much alcohol and water you think you need, double it.

Edited June 13 by VABuckeye