Wow!! Granted, we bought our villa on Gifft Hill at the bottom of the market, in the summer of 2010, but I found the options presented to the couple ill-fitted to their needs, and less than ideal. The one bedroom condo at Grande Bay was absurd for a couple with a child and two dogs, and commuting fr...

When you get to Francis, its worthwhile to snorkel along the shore to the left, past the Maho Bay Campground beach, and to the rocks shortly after the beach, where the point rounds into the east end of Maho Bay. The coral there isn't that great, but there are usually lots of fish, and on our last fe...

That was "Chrisn"; send her a PM. We stopped by the Smoothie Stand last month to no avail, but I'll bet that's what she was looking for.

Kevin

Julie: We will be heading down from Boston for two weeks in April, and I had been holding off on buying tickets since the ticket price was so high ($941 RT), but prompted by your post, I now see that this was do to our choosing a Saturday to Saturday stay. Shifting the departure to Friday and return...

It depends on your individual cold tolerance, and how highly you value a warm pool. If we turn the solar heating off, our pool drops to ~74 degrees F in February. Solar heat gets it up to ~80 F, still cooler than we would like, but a distinct improvement over an unheated pool. The bays don't drop as...

Toes in the sand: The sunset azimuth position varies +/- 23 degrees from due East over the course of a year, which influences which beach will see a water or island sunset at any given time. In mid summer, we enjoy dawdling in the very warm water near Trunk Cay through sunset, where it sets over Con...

Bonny: We're a bit biased, of course, but our favorite places to watch the sunset are the outdoor areas (gazebo, pool, spa, main and lower decks, and billiard porch) at Coconuts (http://www.coconutsvilla.com)! I checked, and Coconuts happens to be unoccupied for the weekdays following your arrival. ...

In addition to sticker stock for snack foods, fish can be off the charts, but bargains can still be found. Tilapia dropped from $3.99 to $2.99 per pound at Starfish last week, which was amazingly inexpensive, but salmon, tuna, grouper, and snapper there will set you back $20-$25 per pound. If anythi...

Dome526: I wouldn't put a lot of stock in any long-range weather forecasts for St. John. A rain symbol every day is typically island-speak for "a shower may spring up at any time, and sometime during the day, probably will". The fact that it was sunny and beautiful ten minutes before, and ...

Chrisn: Hi; we stopped by the smoothie stand at the intersection of Centerline and the North Shore Road on the way from Coconuts to Trunk Bay this afternoon. Alas, I'm pretty sure that the item you are looking for isn't for sale there any more. I described it to the woman operating the stand, and he...

Jenn: Your Christmas arrival is just a few days after the winter solstice, when the sun sets a bit south of Vieques. At the summer solstice, it sets just past the tip of Great Hans Lollik. I'll embed a couple of photos showing the dramatic difference between the two solstices, and a zoom from mid-Ja...

I don't know if this is common knowledge or not, but right around this time of year, and for a week or two in the spring, as the sun sets from Trunk Bay it will pass behind the windmill ruin on Peace Hill, with the sun shining directly through the two east and west slits. It makes for a great photo,...

I agree with many of the mentioned suggestions, but for the sake of completeness would add one more that could go overlooked - The Inn at Tamarind Court. We've had some great meals there. They are closed weekends, and the menu varies during the week, with some theme nights (Southwest, Greek, prime r...

Thanks for all the positive comments on the sunset panorama, and Anthony, by all means, add it to the blog!

Kevin

Tropical Storm Rafael proved to be a complete no-show, at least as far as St. John is concerned. At Logan Airport in Boston Saturday morning, word spread that the Coast Guard had shut down ferry traffic at 8 AM, and the 8AM track updates had shifted to passing directly over the VI. I was wearing rai...