Help with Beaches

[Fowst]

Can you get me your ideas for beaches we should visit for a morning/afternoon of easy swimming and relaxing? We didn't get to hit a lot of beaches on our previous visit, so I want to branch out. To narrow down the possibilities, here are some more restrictions:

1. Can't be super busy. Trunk Bay is most definitely OFF the list.
2. Good snorkeling is not the goal, we'll be snorkeling at other times.
3. A decent stretch of sand is important.
4. A good view is a must.
5. Access isn't an issue; we're willing to hike or park.
6. I don't want to pay any money to access the beach.

One specific question: I see Turtle Bay is only accessible by boat since Caneel restricts access. We may rent some dinghies one day, is Turtle Bay worth the visit?

thanks so much for your input.

[toes in the sand]

The two most relaxing times I have ever spent have been at Hawksnest and Little Lamshur.
At Hawksnest we just got lucky with the wind, weather, water and crowd (lack thereof). It was a beautiful day of sitting in the shade, reading a book, swimming and snorkeling. The tide and surf was just right and we were undisturbed the whole day.
At Lamshur we had the whole bay pretty much to ourselves. Lamshur won't provide the stretch of sand you list but the rocky beach is still comfortable.

From my own perspective, I never rule out a visit to Trunk. I don't know if it is because Trunk was my first visit to St John or something else. We always try to visit Trunk for either a first thing in the morning visit or a sunset view. Besides, the rum punches cant be beat.

[papabou]

normally the further east you go the smaller the crowd. so how about cinamon, maho, francis or little lameshure. never been but seen from distance and hard to get too, but reef bay looks interesting.

papabou

[hoosierdaddy]

Fowst,

Good to hear from you. Did you enjoy the snow Monday?

We were on the island two weeks ago and tried several beaches. Now we have only been to STJ once and didn't try all of the secluded beaches, but we did get to quite a few. We were at Hawksnest, Trunk, Maho, Little Maho, Cinnamon, Little Cinnamon and Francis. Of the seven I would think Francis would be nice. Not very busy, nice sand, great view, and the calmest water of the seven. We enjoyed Cinnamon the best. My kids liked renting skim boards and hitting the big waves that came with the swells. They also had facilities. Frances only had an outhouse.

Of course they were all gergeous!

[Joshie]

...

[jilld17]

Honeymoon or Solomon.

[flip-flop]

Gibney would be my suggestion.

[Marcia (Mrs. Pete)]

Best beach, IMHO, for swimming, floating, relaxing, long stretch of sand (by STJ standards) and great views is Maho.

[Fowst]

Keep 'em coming! Francis is definitely on the list and I'm going to take a closer look at Gibney. We'll also try Honeymoon/Salomon

[LysaC]

Maho & Francis

[Gromit]

Salt Pond is a hike but nice.

[chrisn]

Honeymoon, Jumbie, Gibney.

[ifloat]

The day we visited Salt Pond there were over 100 people on the beach.

One visit to Hawksnest we experienced triple parked cars in the lot, and very crowded conditions with lots of families partying in the pavilions. Next time there were fewer than a dozen folks.

Maho is a long pretty beach, and people can spread out along it pretty well. Francis was also pretty quiet the day we were there.

Your best bet for solitude is probably a beach that fewer folks know how to park & access like Gibney, or one that takes a hike or an adventurous drive to get to.

There are also a lot of pretty little sand and pebbly beaches on the east end with very few people on them.

Don't count out Trunk. The people tend to cluster in one spot there, and if you walk farther down the beach you can have it to yourself.

[Gromit]

FYI-- if the north shore swells are up then Salt Pond will be crowded. Otherwise I have spent many a day there with only 2 or 3 other couples on the beach.

I've spent entire days at Jumbie not seeing a soul-- others it's ass to ass people.

You just gotta do a drive by and see what the parling situation looks like.

[John LMBZ06]

Maho, especially at low tide you get a little more beach.
I usually like the north shore the best, but if the water is churned up or cloudy, go to the South. Try Salt Pond. I guess when the wind changes direction, it causes that to happen.