St John Plan--thoughts please

[c3p1]

Hi all,
We are planning a trip to St. Thomas and are planning one day on St John. We have never been to either St John nor STT. From this forum, I know we will really like St John and the reality is we will be back for a full second day unless something weird really happens.
But for planning purposes and getting a good overall experience I wanted to post my plan and see if you all thought this was possible or not? I am not sure on snorkel time and drive time, distractions etc....

We will take the early car ferry over to St John.
I plan to hit, Trunk, most likely Maho(based on great photos on this forum) and Waterlemon. The plan is we will hit the beach, look around, snorkel, dry off and look some more, then head to the next beach. I would also like to walk up the Annaberg ruins and do some shopping at St John Spice and Mongoose Junction then hit the 6:30 ferry back-knowing I need to be there well before 6:30--thinking 6:00?
Oh and need to make sure we find a donkey as my wife thinks that is great they roam the island!

Have I bitten off more than I should? or does this sound do-able?
Thanks for any feedback!

[Nic in KC]

While I think your plan is "doable", you'll not really get to experience St. John at that pace. My first one day excursion to St. John went like this, 1. Taxi to Trunk Bay, 2. Lay on the beach and snorkel at Trunk. 3. Taxi back to Cruz Bay with a drink and snack at Woody's and ferry back to St. Thomas. I can't imagine trying to drag myself to three different beachs, one that includes an hour of walking round trip and hoping to do the ruins also. If I were you, I'd hit Trunk Bay in the morning, either have lunch at the snack bar or maybe stop at Deli Grotto and grab sandwiches since it's on your way to the beach and then hit Maho in the afternoon. I'd also plan a second day back and then do Waterlemon and Annaberg that day. Once you are soaking in the island and snorkeling away, it's really hard to make yourself leave the beach!!

Just my two cents!

[liamsaunt]

I think that you are trying to fit too much into one day. I would tell you that even if you were not coming over on the car ferry.

Three snorkel stops is too much. You won't have time to enjoy yourself. Here is one suggestion, trying to incorporate as much of your original plan as possible:

Come over on the earliest ferry and plan to make Waterlemon your first stop. It's the furthest point from the ferry. The drive will take you about 30 minutes, assuming you don't stop. I would suggest that you drive the North Shore Road, and do take the time to stop at the scenic overlooks (overlooking Cruz Bay, Caneel Bay, Trunk Bay, and Maho/Francis Bay). This will give you the opportunity to take some pictures of the amazing beaches that you will spend time at during your next visit.

Park in the Annaberg lot, and walk to Waterlemon. It's a 20 minute walk each way. You need to plan on at least an hour for snorkeling. You could spend a lot longer if you wanted to. After snorkeling Waterlemon, you can visit Annaberg since your car is already there. That will take another hour or so.

Your admission to Annaberg gets you free same day admission to Trunk Bay, so I would head there next, and skip snorkeling Maho. The snorkeling is OK at Maho, but Waterlemon and Trunk are better. You can always stop for pictures though! You'll be driving by anyway.

End your day shopping as your schedule permits.

Hope that helps.

[RickG]

I would start with the farthest beach first, and consider saving Waterlemon for a second trip. If you do Maho in the morning and lunch in Coral Bay, you'll have time for another beach stop. Something else to consider is taking the people ferry over one evening for the Cruz Bay scene.

The last thing you want to do is to feel rushed as you cruise St. John. Also, I feel more comfortable taking the second to last barge.

Cheers, RickG

[John LMBZ06]

One other thing: I have only seen the donkeys in the Coral Bay area. That is another drive you would need to make. So - if you do lunch over at Skinny Legs, you can get lunch and probably see the donkeys all in one trip. Just know that it does take more than five minutes to get there from any of the beaches you are planning on going to.

Tip: We always bring the little coolers with us for drinks and if you do not want to leave the beach, stop off at the Deli Grato in Mongoose Junction for a sandwich to pack. Remember that some of these beaches are a little remote and there is no place to get food or drink. You will need to get some water in you.

[c3p1]

All, thank you very much. I kept going back and forth, which is why I posted the question. So we will make it only 2 snorkel stops and fit in shopping or sight seeing as time permits.

We do plan on taking a cooler for lunch and drinks. Thanks for the tip on Annaberg and Trunk on the same day is the same admission, that is good to know.

I just don't think there is anyway around it but planning on coming over on at least 2 separate days.

Thanks, Paul

[waterguy]

If you are going to do 2 days on STJ you could stay late the first day have dinner and drinks park the car and take the people farry back then come back on it in the morning and explore some more,

[c3p1]

Waterguy,
Is there a place to leave the car parked overnight? Is there a charge? That certianly could be an option.
If I were to do that, I asume I would not buy a roundtrip ticket for the car, I am thinking it would have to be on the same day for roundtrip, but have no idea.
Thanks for the suggestion.
Paul