Leave Tom. for 1st time - Westin, Maho, Snorkeling ?s

[stjohnfirsttimer]

Starting to panic a little because there is soooo much information about St John, and I've been reading it all but now I am so overwhelmed. So, let's play help the NOOB...

We are only going for 4 nights, 5 days and are staying 2 nights at the Maho Bay Camps and 2 nights at the Westin.

1. Any tips for a nicer stay at Maho or the Westin? We requested a tent closer to the water at Maho which obviously isn't going to happen because we only booked a month ago. Whoops.

2. Car rental.... right now we are booked through Thrifty from St Thomas and are taking the car ferry over to St John. The car is NOT a four wheel drive because Thrifty insisted that it wasn't necessary. We are paying $46 a day. Is this a good deal or should we cancel and book through someone else?

3. If we only have 4 days on St John, should we still take a day excursion to the BVI? My husband thinks that it's stupid to stay on such a beautiful island only to go to some other islands for the day, but if its much better snorkeling than on St John then I think its worth it.

4. Are there any CHEAPER tours to the BVI? We really don't want to pay $90 or $120 per person for 4 people! We don't need an open bar or lunch or anything, just a ride to the good snorkeling spots and some snorkels.

5. Okay, I've been reading everywhere about Caneel Bay and I still can't figure it out. Are non guests allowed to go to any of the Caneel beaches other than the main one?

6. Anyone that has stayed at the Westin, somewhere it said that the resort fee includes Kayaks and little sailing boats? How true is this? Is there anywhere to kayak to from the Westin?

7. Everyone says that Maho Bay snorkeling is really good. This is the beach on the Maho Bay campgrounds, right?

8. Right now we are planning on snorkeling at Maho Bay, Trunk Bay (early in the morning), Salt Pond, and maybe some of the Caneel beaches. Any more we should consider? We think we are going to skip Waterlemon because Grandma is coming with us and won't handle seeing a shark that well....and it seems that Waterlemon is one of the most common places to see one..?

[RickG]

Chill, this is going to be fun. I'll hit a couple of these, and I'm sure we'll get you covered.

1. You may well get one of the Maho cabins close to the water. There are a lot of stairs there and a lot of folks request other spots. Remember that everything you take to Maho you have to get to your tent-cabin. Picture carrying all of your gear up and down 3-5 flights of stairs. Bring flashlights everwhere after dark. If you are heading out and will be back after dark, bring a flashlight!! Bring a padlock or something to lock your cabin and your lock box; I like combo locks so there's no key to lose. Breakfast is the best meal at Maho.

2. For a 2WD vehicle, make certain that you have good tires. Stay off of North Shore Road if the roads are wet.

7. The point to the left of the Little Maho beach, between Little Maho and Big Maho, is a great snorkeling spot. When I stay at Maho I hit it every day. I've been stalked by turtles there, very cool. Lots of big grouper there too.

8. If Grandma can handle a 1 mile flat walk take her to Leinster Bay one morning. There's great coral along the walk, so stop for a snorkel. At the the sandy beach, across from Waterlemon Cay, you'll see a lot of great stuff. We see nurse sharks sleeping routinely out by the Cay, but not at the beach.

You'll have a lot of fun!!

Cheers, RickG

[liamsaunt]

First, welcome to the forum!

I can't help with question one because I've not stayed at either.

2. Car rental....

It's probably too late to get another car at this point. Rentals are hard to come by in the on season at last minute, and many places on St. John won't rent for less than a week. But, you'll be OK with the car you have. The only time we engage 4WD on St. John is when driving on some of the "off the beaten track" roads. Since this is youer first trip, you probably won't be going to any of those places. I would caution you that if it is raining, please be careful on the North Shore road switchbacks. Also, I would not go to Lameshur Bay without 4WD.


3. If we only have 4 days on St John, should we still take a day excursion to the BVI?

In my opinion, no. You are not even going to come close to seeing all of what St. John has to offer in 4 days, My recommendation is not to plan too much. There's lots to do right where you will be.

4. Are there any CHEAPER tours to the BVI?

I'm not aware of any that are cheaper than what you quoted, unless you just take the ferry over to Jost or something like that. Anyone else?


5. Okay, I've been reading everywhere about Caneel Bay and I still can't figure it out. Are non guests allowed to go to any of the Caneel beaches other than the main one?

No, you are restricted to Caneel's main beach. But, you CAN hike over to Honeymoon Beach from Caneel's main beach. This is allowed. The trail is flat and well marked--it's a much easier way in than hiking the Lind Point trail from town. Pick it up on the left side of Caneel's beach as you are looking at the water. Honeymoon is a beautiful beach, and from there, you can snorkel over to Solomon Beach, which is also stunning. There's good snorkeling there also.

7. Everyone says that Maho Bay snorkeling is really good. This is the beach on the Maho Bay campgrounds, right?

The beach at the campground is known as Little Maho. Maho beach is the next beach to the right as you are looking at the water. There is good snorkeling at both.

8. Right now we are planning on snorkeling at Maho Bay, Trunk Bay (early in the morning), Salt Pond, and maybe some of the Caneel beaches. Any more we should consider?

These are all wonderful choices. Plan to get to Salt Pond early in the morning if the surf is up on the North Shore, because everyone else on the island is going to go there too! I will mention, since you say you are bringing Grnadma, that the walk back up from Salt Pond is HOT, and uphill.

Have a great trip!

[snorkeler525]

I would not go to BVI on such a short trip. Plenty of great snorkeling on St. John.

Car - why not rent on St. John instead? And, if you want to do Salt Pond,I think you would be happier with a 4 wheel drive vehicle but it isn't totally necessary. Everywhere else you should be fine.

We were newbies in December. We snorkeled Trunk (only cus we had some new snorkelers) - would suggest an early morning then move on. We did Salt Pond - it was a showery day but the snorkeling was pretty good. We went to Francis Bay instead of Maho cus Mayo looked really crowded and we liked having the facilities, as primitive as they were, at Francis. Really good snorkeling there - saw several barracuda, lots of fish, and some nice coral. Rays and a turtle too. Our favorite place though was Chocolate Hole Bay - no one else but us (and a few boats you have to swim around); tons of fish including barracuda; lobsters; swimming octopi, rays - eagle and southern; turtles; etc. Not a pretty beach at all - very rocky but well worth the short trip from the Westin for the snorkeling. Just have a taxi take you to the Pond Bay Club and you can get to the beach from there. Don't know of any parking around there. We did a BVI trip and were not really impressed with the snorkeling spot we were taken to.

[Carolyn]

First off hopefully once you get there you will relax and enjoy just being there!

I would stay on St John...4 days will fly by! I have to agree w/ your husband on that! We usually stay for 10 days or so and we don't leave to visit the other islands.

You will "probably" be OK w/o 4 wheel drive but there are times it's useful, like when it rains. The switchbacks can get slick and the 4 wheel drive gets you up those tough spots. It's high season now tho and making other arrangements might not be possible.?

We stay at the Westin and I honestly can't answer the question about the kayaks. We really only sleep there and go to all the other beaches. The grounds are lovely, the pools is nice but we just don't stick around there.As far as the kayaks go I doubt you would be able to leave Great Cruz Bay, thats open sea.Its kind of a big bay but also lots of boats moored there.

I have also stayed at CAneel. You can go to the main beach there or walk out to Honeymoon. Technically the water is open to all for snorkeling but they ask you not to use their chairs if you are not a guest. WE have found the snorkeling to be very good at Caneel. I have never had a problem going up to the parking lot at Caneel whether or not I was a guest. We did so in Dec to take the walk out to Honeymoon and stop by the gift shop to replace something I broke since last trip.

Remember this time of year, you may have some "winter swells" on the north side of the island, so we use that as a barometer as to where we snorkel on any given day. Go to the south shore beaches in that case. We also found the water OK at Waterlemon even tho the surf was rough on that side of the island. It is somewhat protected.

You will have a fantastic time!

[Lex]

Don't worry about not having digested all the information or not having a clear plan. We never have an on island plan and always have a wonderful time. You'll do some stuff and some stuff will be left for another time.


Stick with the rental that you have. Quite probably too late to find anything else at this late date. We always get 4WD, but just make it work with what you have. Be very cautious if there is rain. Roads can get extremely slick.

We never got to the BVI until our third trip to STJ. We'd intended to go sooner, but there was always so much we wanted to see and do that we just never left the island. An excursion might get you to somewhat better snorkeling spots, but you'll probably be very satisfied by what you find just walking off the beaches on STJ. Your stay is relatively short, so if it was me, I wouldn't be considering it.

As mentioned, there is Big Maho and Little Maho. The camp is on Little Maho and Big Maho is around the point to your left. You will go by Big Maho on the drive out to the camps. There's a trail (the Goat Trail) that leads from the campground over to Big Maho which is easier than driving there. You could also snorkel around the point from the campground.

You might want to include Francis Bay in your snorkeling plans. It's the bay just to the right of Little Maho. Good snorkeling, frequent turtle sightings and easy to reach from the camps. We just walk over along the shoreline. There are a couple of rocky areas to scramble over. It might not be too easy if you're trying to carry chairs and coolers, but we're more backpack snorkelers. You can also walk down the road or just drive.

Rick mentioned flashlights and locks for Maho and those are essential. We also really like the Maho breakfasts. The dinners are good enough. There's also a happy hour and usually some music or a naturalist presentation in the evening.

[stjohnfirsttimer]

Thanks for all of the responses. I think we will save the BVI trip for another time and keep the rental car that we have.


Does anyone know if I should be worried that showers are predicted for the 5 days that we are in St John? Also, are showers usually more like a quick 20 minute shower and then the rest of the day is beautiful or are we talking nonstop rain?

[Carolyn]

Forget about the weather forecast. Rain happens on the island in one place and not another, and when it does happen it usually moves along fairly fast and isn't an all day event. I think it is a rarity for the forecast NOT to predict rain.

You are going to have a GREAT time! Please let us all know how it goes for you when you return!

[MrB]

you should have picked a different forum name. You won;t be a first-timer long, and you WILL go back.