Parking for beaches?

[Need2GetAway]

Can anybody tell me how the parking is at the various beaches? Do you have to get there super early (we will be there Easter week in April)? Thanks again!

[BuffaloGal]

There's a decent amount of parking at Hawksnest, Trunk and Cinnamon. Of course, the earlier you get there, the better. It's not unlimited, and we've never been to St. John in high season. Parking at the other beaches is somewhat limited. Francis Bay has very limited parking, even though it's one of the larger beaches. You can usually squeeze a jeep in on the side of the road. Parking space for beaches like Jumbie and Gibney is taken very quickly in the morning. It's not really an issue with some of the more remote beaches like Little Lameshur, because it's a bit of a tough ride to get there. But well worth it. Enjoy your trip!

[17th Hole]

Early bird gets the best parking spot, however, the beauty of it is that if there isn't parking at one beach, just head to the next one. You really can't lose because all the beaches are awesome!

[Diana2]

The earlier you can get there the better the parking situation will be. We've been going for nearly 20 years but have never been there over Easter but my guess is there will be lots and lots of visitors there at that time. Remember the early bird gets the parking place so I suggest you don't dilly-dally too long in the morning.

[Need2GetAway]

I wonder how early? 9:00? We are generally up pretty early anyway - I run at 6:00 in the morning, which I probably won't be able to do there.

Thanks again everybody.

[Diana2]

We try to be at the beach by around 9:30. Gibney is one of our favorite beaches and you'd better be there by 9:30 to get a parking spot. 10AM is usually too late for Gibney

[BuffaloGal]

I agree with Diana... 9:30 is a good time to get there. That way, you can somewhat have your pick. Gibney is one we've never really been able to try. Diana, once you head through the gate and down toward the beach, where do you go?

[Diana2]

It's my favorite spot but I'll share it with you. We take a left and walk all the way to the end. The best snorkeling is in the shallow reef in front of the yellow Oppenheimer building.

[Gromit]

All great advice. Earlier is better than later and if a lot is full just keep going to the next beach.

It's always funny how some beaches can be packed and others can be virtually deserted on the same day.

We're early risers. We just roll out of bead, eat a hearty breakfast, grab our beach bags (usually packed up the night before), pull the water bottle out of the freezer (filled up and frozen the night before); throw in some snacks and head to the beach.

By the time we're ready to leave at around 1 or 2 pm it's hot as hell and we're hungry and it's time for lunch.

With this routine we rarely if ever run into parking issues since we're at the beach no later than 9 am (sometimes earlier). Yeah, we're crazy like that.

It's not like we're in a rush or anything, we just get up with the sun and the day rolls on from there.