New to forum, planning first trip to St. John... Advice?

[Bonny in CA]

Hello everyone, I'm Bonny. My husband Greg and I will be celebrating our 25th anniversary with 7 nights at "Into the Mystic" in November.
We have never really went on a vacation, except camping and Disneyland. So we are really looking forward to our first real adventure!

What I'm really hoping to find out from everyone here are the little things we need to know, or need to bring. I've read that some of you bring coolers of food... Is this necessary, or only when you stay 2 weeks? Any insider information to help make this the best (and most romantic) vacation ever.

I'm setting up a photo shoot on the beach with Sage for sunset on our anniversary, and we're planning a "one activity a day" approach... Parasailing, snorkeling, kayaking, shopping, beach hopping, etc. But the sun will be setting early in November, I need to find some night life too.

Oh, also, I notice that many of you have been to St. John many many times, what keeps you coming back so many times?

I can't wait to see what you all recommend.

Bonny (st. john newbie)!!

[msgcolleen]

Hey Bonnie! Welcome to the forum!
You're gonna love St. John and Into the Mystic! Happy 25th anniversary! We just celebrated our 24th anniversary and 9th trip on STJ and had a marvelous time!
I guess you're renting a car and it's so fun to drive all over the island! There is so much to see and do but it's best to just chill at your villa and enjoy your surroundings. Since you will be staying on the Coral Bay side, you should check out the snorkeling at Salt Pond and walk over to Drunk Bay or hike Ram's Head if you can get there early in the day. Enjoy the Tourist Trap or Skinny Legs for lunch and check out as many North shore beaches as you can! Love Francis, Maho, Cinnamon and Trunk! So much to see, so little time! Rent snorkel gear from Crabby's in Coral Bay if you're not bringing your own.

No matter what you do, try to rest, relax and enjoy the island vibe and go where the wind blows you~~~~

[2muchsnow]

Yes, welcome and congratulations! We're headed down for another trip in November as well.

While we're not "cooler" people, we do manage to pack some food items in a suitcase (usually check one with snorkel fins) Breakfast stuff, some pasta, some snack type things. Food is more expensive than you might find at home, but to be expected as most is shipped in. We tend to eat simply at the villa, and lunch is usually eaten on the beach of the day, and eat dinner out a couple of nights.

Renting a car is the best way to see the island. Most of our days are spent beach hopping/snorkeling/hiking etc. Then back to the villa for sunset watching and relaxing. Also not really night lifers (by the end of the day, usually too tired.) But others will chime in I'm sure.

Couple of books that have been a big help, Feet fins and 4wd, and St John off the beaten track. Very good resources for beaches, hikes, snorkels, history and much more.

Bugs: Mosquitos can be a problem (if its been really rainy) no seeums/sand fleas on some beaches in the late afternoons. (one solution – just stay in the water).

I'm sure people will chime in for the perfect anniversary dinner place.
We also tend to find that the vibe on STJ seems to create it's own romance.
(or it could just be that the kids are 2500 miles away)

How to get the most out of it? hmmmm. like msgcolleen said "just relax and enjoy the island vibe". Slow down, enjoy the time you have there. Everyone here on the forum can say why they keep going back. For me it's the size, since it's small and you can cover the island in a day (if you just drove it). It takes the pressure off of the "I need to go and do this, or that". That said. Are there things I still need to do, yes, are their places I haven't seen on this small island, yes. But have I gone to hawksnest, trunk, soloman or honeymoon multiple times in a single trip? Yes as well. Hell, Some times we never make it past jumbie on NS road. That's fine too.

You've found the right place to ask any and all questions.

You will certainly have an adventure, and more than likely you will be going back. Safe travels.

2muchsnow

[Puddlejumper]

Welcome to the Forum! Come on in, the people are nice!

To me, St John is a laid back kind of vacation. I am not the kind of person that plans anything for a vacation, because I go to get away from plans, and St John fits that bill. So...I would put plans into the wind and watch them sail away. St John is so small, it is easy to decide once you are there what you would like to do. 2muchsnow had very good recommendations to pick up a couple of guide books to familiarize you with the rock we all love. If you plan anything, a day sail or charter with Capt. Brandy would be excellant. 'Pia', a forum member that lives on island can help you plan an outing like a day sail, that's what she does.

No need to carry a cooler down, there is plenty of food there. I even managed to gain a few pounds when I lived there across the street from Into The Mystic. lol. Island Blues didn't help either. Island Blues Restaurant is at the bottom of the hill below the villa. Blues and La Plancha del Mar are my favorite restaurants. Blues has live music and their party crowd usually picks up after 9 or 10. La Plancha is in Cruz Bay at Mongoose Junction, a shopping area. It is fine dining. There are several more favorites, but those two top my list of hangouts.

Don't miss Francis Bay or Maho Bay. Any north shore beach would be a win.

Also, if you don't have an underwater camera, it is worth investing in one.

[waterguy]

I'm a cooler person and proud of it I like to bring high quality meats down also bring things down for friends on island that they can't get. Rent a 4 wheel drive!!! Get out and explore but make sure you get into island time and relax. Not everyone likes the island so go in with and open mind don't expect some type of sterile resort setting enjoy the chickens , goats and donkeys put out a bowl of sugar on you deck railing for the birds say hi to the villa cat. St john is where I go when I have to recharge my self as the world seems so far away.

[jimg20]

Welcome Bonny! You and Greg are going to have a great week. We are cooler people. We bring frozen meat from our local butcher. We load a Polar Bear cooler with Techni-ice and a selection of our favorite cuts. He cryo-packs them and freezes them solid. We load them into the cooler the day before we leave and store the cooler in the freezer. It stays frozen for the entire 12 hour trip. I am convinced it would last 24 hours if it had to. The reason we do it is that we are not happy with the quality or price of meat there and we can have a general plan for our meals before we go. We have checked the cooler and carried it on. The clear packaging helps the TSA approve the package and send us on.

We also use the cooler all week long to go to the beach. On the way home it is storage for liquid refreshment.

As for activities, I like to plan some things but not to have too crowded a schedule. The key is to get on "Island time" as soon as possible. When you are there you will quickly see that time is not too important. If you ask someone when the ferry arrives the answer is likely to be "soon come." Perhaps you should book a day sail and the photo shoot and let the rest of the week just happen. If you want to go to the beach – then go. If you just want to hang around the villa and let the villa gravity take over then do that. Weather may also change your plans. Random showers will alter the day now and then. The only fixed plans we make are the dive trips, and that’s only because they make us do it.

What keeps us coming back? It’s the unstructured life style. We have thought about taking a cruise and seeing a number of islands but chose not to. Our every-day life is structures. We don’t want a vacation where the crew is telling us that we can get off the boat at 7 am and must be back on the boat by 5 pm. Yes you see many places, but it is such a short glimpse that I would find that unsatisfying. That was driven home for me during our first STJ trip. As we sat on the beach, the taxi drivers came along at 2 pm shouting that the cruise ship passengers had to leave to catch a ferry and get to their boat in time. We enjoyed so much more of the day after that. It was then that we realized how much of the Cruise ship passenger’s vacation is spent going from one place to another. As Jimmy Buffett says, we don’t want that much structure in our vacations.

JIM

[liamsaunt]

Hi Bonny, welcome to the fourm! Since you will be staying in Coral Bay, I recommend you make a reservation at Sweet Plantains for your anniversary dinner. The atmosphere is very romantic and the food is delicious. Here is a link to their menu so you can check to see if the food is to your taste:

http://www.sweetplantains-stjohn.com/

You should definitely purchase St John: Feet Fins and Four Wheel Drive and St. John: Off the Beaten Track. Both are available on amazon, and will give you a good sense of the island--snorkeling spots, beaches, sightseeing etc.

[PA Girl]

Welcome to the forum Bonny! You picked a great location for your anniversary. You also picked a great forum for your research, we LOOOVE to offer our opinions.

You don't need to take food.

We have in the past because 1.) we are picky about meat and 2.) we had people in our party that didn't drive and didn't want to eat out at night. For meal planning, it was easier for me to take a cooler.

Food is a more expensive that on the mainland but if it is just the two of you, that $8 milk will likely last all week, you won't be buying milk everyday like we do! The biggest sticker shock will be snack food, $7 bags of chips, $9 boxes of crackers, etc.

Both of the book recommendations are great, definately worth the investment.

One of the many awesome featurs of STJ is there is snorkelling off of every beach. We have our own gear we take along. Rentals are available in Cruz Bay.

My mom did a half day trip with a kayaking outfit and she really enjoyed it. I will ask her the name of the company. I think we are going to go out with this

http://www.viecotours.com/index.php?opt ... &Itemid=88

in February.

I think Annenburg Sugar Mill ruins is worth a visit, go first thing in the morning.

[PA Girl]

Oh, also, I notice that many of you have been to St. John many many times, what keeps you coming back so many times?

The beaches - beautiful, unspoiled, snorkelling right from the shore, calm water (most of the time)

Evenings in Cruz Bay - we enjoy parking the car and strolling about before and after dinner, ducking in and out of the shops and bars.

Bars/restaurants - plenty of good, casual options in Cruz Bay and Coral Bay.

[LB]

Hi there,
I have been visiting the VI's for 20+ years, although not being villa people we usually stay on St Thomas. Last year when we did stay on St John we enjoyed dinner several times at Zo Zo's. We liked it the most for many reasons. The food, the ambiance, the view of St Thomas, sunset, staff and service, and adult atmosphere. If you are having photos taken on one of the north shore beachs you might afterwards consider going into town to dine there.

We like the upstairs bar area. It seems to be a choice spot for couples sunset dinner. People tend to shower and dress for dinner at Zo Zo's. I don't mean dress code, but meaning compared to a lot of places where it's acceptable to come as you are even after a beach day with all the kids. Not that there is anything wrong with come as you are, but you may enjoy Zo Zo's type of atmosphere after your photo shoot because they will take your picture with the sunset there.

The villa looked fantastic on HGTV, enjoy
LB

[jmq]

First off, don’t overplan and remember the old saying about bringing half the clothes and twice the money that you think you need. Just riffing around that "one activity a day" approach you mentioned should serve you well.

Be prepared with plenty of bug repellant for no-seeums on that sunset photoshoot.

Re that whole cooler thing and cooking in or eating out...know thyself. Some folks value the relief from kitchen duty on vacation over the potential cost savings. Others enjoy sharing those duties and making it big part of the villa experience whether they buy the food on island or bring their favs from home.

The few times folks have actually listed what they bring in those coolers for a week is pretty interesting in that it can include more meat than we eat in an entire month.
We tend towards the “when in Rome” thing, so by the end of a STJ trip we have had our fill of mahi.

[Pianogrl]

Welcome to the Forum Bonny! Great people here with tons of incredible knowledge & info. Read through as many threads as you can....even if its something you already know usually somewhere in the posts I pick up a new thing or two. Also everyone's perspectives are unique....interesting reading about STJ from other's points of view.

All the above posts are great. As far as food we've never lacked for anything on STJ! The only food we bring: usually we'll pre-order Omaha steaks (which come sealed) & put them in our suitcase frozen the morning we leave & they are still frozen when we get to our villa. We usually cook these at night at the villa when we want to stay in. There are so many great places to eat on island; we've found no matter where we are (Cruz Bay, Coral Bay) there is always something delicious close by!

Enjoy your planning....its such a fun part of the trip!

[emmarose]

My husband and I were newbies this July. I didn't discover this forum until shortly before we left, so there were many things we didn't know.

We thought the food was very expensive....a case of bottled water was $16! We did bring meats, seafood, lunch meats and cheeses frozen in a bag inside our suitcase.

Things we didn't know:
*The mosquitoes were REALLY bad when we were there...worse than I'd expected. We had to wear bug spray all the time...and we still got bit! I brought spray that smelled good and it probably wasn't strong enough.
*Garbage is collected in dumpsters all over the island. Not a big deal...you just drive or walk it down there.
*The water in the villa isn't plumbed in like you have in your home,instead rain water is collected. I'm not sure if that had to do with the extremely low water pressure we had or not.
*St. John isn't as developed as some of the other islands we've been on...but that is part of its flavor. The beaches and water are more beautiful than you can imagine! Pictures don't do it justice.

Everything didn't go perfectly on our trip..they were doing construction work on the villa next door. The noise was awful so we didn't spend any days at the villa like we'd planned. But we made our own fun and had a great vacation! We celebrated 30 happy years of marriage. I have a wonderful husband!!..that fact along with beautiful St. John made for a very romantice trip.

[rpplano]

One trip won't cut it, so don't overplan. We still haven't done/seen everything on our list after several trips. Go easy on your first visit and wind it down, you'll be back. After you try it once, you;ll probably "get it." There's no other place like it.
Bonny, what region do you live in? Just curious.

[54b]

Everything didn't go perfectly on our trip..they were doing construction work on the villa next door. The noise was awful so we didn't spend any days at the villa like we'd planned. But we made our own fun and had a great vacation!

Great insight...when people talk about STJ and "getting it," for me, that's the "it." You have to be able to adapt and be spontaneous to truly enjoy the island. Stuff happens...construction, power outages, slow service, mosquitos, etc...but you just smile and turn the other cheek and you'll probably see something breathtaking that will make you forget all about that other "stuff."

I always tell people that I consider STJ the anti-all-inclusive or anti-cruise ship vacation and when you think about it, those types of vacations go out of their way to mitigate the "stuff." They're not perfect either, but they're about as close to a vacation in a vacuum as it gets. And if that's your thing, more power to you. I can certainly understand why people with hectic lives would crave a mishapless week off. But I also think when you try too hard to avoid all the potential bad stuff, there's a good chance you'll miss a lot of good stuff too.