? about staying in Coral Bay area~

stjchica · Post by **stjchica** » Wed Aug 29, 2012 9:42 am

A lot of people say the negative to staying in Coral Bay is the distance to beaches, etc....
Looking at the map, it looks like you can cut over on 20 to North Shore Rd to get to the north shore beaches. Is this right? Just wanted to make sure we didn't have to go all the way down centerline to Cruz Bay and back up...
If you can cut over on 20 it just doesn't look like that big of a deal, aside from going into Cruz Bay but we would probably only do that once or twice during our stay...Thanks for any clarification, trying to decide what area to book a villa in for a family trip.

lprof · Post by **lprof** » Wed Aug 29, 2012 9:48 am

Yes! Rt 20 (across from the smoothie stand) is an easy jaunt to Waterlemon, Maho and the Northshore Beaches.

mit43 · Post by **mit43** » Wed Aug 29, 2012 10:44 am

True! We use it as an excuse to stop for a smoothie EVERY day when we stay in Coral Bay. The only time we will not stay in Coral bay is in the off-season when there is almost nothing to eat unless we cook it ourselves.

jimg20 · Post by **jimg20** » Wed Aug 29, 2012 11:08 am

I agree. We've stayed at about the midpoint of Centerline Road. We like how easy it is to get to the North Shore on 20. We also like how easy it is to get to Lamshur and everything in that direction.

JIM

PA Girl · Post by **PA Girl** » Wed Aug 29, 2012 11:24 am

I was a North Shore gal for years before "moving" over to Chocolate Hole/Gifft Hill.

We stayed very close to the Smoothie truck last trip and we were very happy with that location because of the quick access to Maho and Francis. We do go out every night and made it our habit to go into town via North Shore Road, taking in the evening views, and home via Centerline.

stjchica · Post by **stjchica** » Wed Aug 29, 2012 12:27 pm

Thanks everyone...We would be eating dinners in, so that's not an issue...but thinking mid island might be better than CB...Will continue looking...Gonna go try to find that island map that shows all the villas....Where is it??

lprof · Post by **lprof** » Wed Aug 29, 2012 12:49 pm

This may be the map you are thinking of... a production of Sherb and some other forum members. I am not sure how recently it was updated.

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&i ... 2&t=h&z=14

stjchica · Post by **stjchica** » Wed Aug 29, 2012 1:41 pm

lprof wrote:This may be the map you are thinking of... a production of Sherb and some other forum members. I am not sure how recently it was updated.

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&i ... 2&t=h&z=14

Yes! Awesome..thanks so much!

Teresa_Rae · Post by **Teresa_Rae** » Wed Aug 29, 2012 2:23 pm

It really depends what beaches you're talking about and which part of Coral Bay.

If you're talking about the East End or especially the Salt Pond area, yes, they are a good hike to the north shore beaches.

But if you're talking about staying near Ajax Peak/Mamey Peak, those areas are really close to some of the north shore beaches (5 minutes from Maho).

Many Coral Bay villas are less than 15 minutes to Maho. You'll of course have a longer drive the higher up in the mountains you stay.

We have stayed all over the island and the thing I don't like about Coral Bay is that I don't like the drive to Cruz Bay for dinner, and some of my favorite meals in the world can be found in Cruz Bay so skipping eating there isn't an option for me.

We just got back about a week and a half ago from STJ and stayed on the Cruz Bay side and I really missed my daily mango smoothies from the smoothie truck. They are one of my favorite things about STJ and I only had 3 of them this trip.

So for me, there are pluses and minuses no matter where we stay

stjchica · Post by **stjchica** » Wed Aug 29, 2012 2:44 pm

Thanks Teresa...This is a family trip, and 6 of us..so we won't be eating out much this trip..That would break the bank..

Villa and airfare will be bad enough....

CBama · Post by **CBama** » Wed Aug 29, 2012 6:35 pm

We stayed in Coral Bay approximately 2 minutes from Island Blues.

I thought this location was much closer to the beaches than traveling from the other side of Cruz Bay. 10 minutes to Maho or Francis, 15 minutes to Salt Pond..add another 10 to Lamashur...10 minutes to Vie's Beach with stops at Haulover North and South.

We felt we were in the middle of all the beaches...whereas if you stay on Cruz Bay side you are a LONG way from Salt Pond, Vie's, Lamashur, Haulover....

There are plenty of restaurants to eat in Coral Bay....and we ventured to Cruz Bay three nights of the week for dinner just because we had restaurants we wanted to try there. It was approx 20-25 minute drive.

I would much prefer to stay on the Coral Bay Side....

mnfun2bme · Post by **mnfun2bme** » Wed Aug 29, 2012 8:08 pm

The Big Debate....Cruz Bay or Coral bay
The decision is a tough one for sure.

Last year we stayed on Gifft Hill but we travelled to Maho and Salt Pond, Little Lameshur, etc. This was quite a drive. This year we're moving to Coral Bay and staying at Villa Jumbie. We think the location will be fabulous. Great access to restaurants (even though we typically eat in for dinner)... we're excited about being closer to Maho/Francis/Salt/and the Lameshur beaches.

The good news is.... you'll be on St. John so you can't go wrong!

Have fun!

dreamshark · Post by **dreamshark** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 5:41 pm

Something to consider if you're planning to take that route - how do you feel about mountain driving? The trip from Coral Bay to Maho Beach is just a few miles, but involves at least 600 feet of elevation in the middle. The road from the smoothie stand to Coral Bay is easy enough to navigate (if you don't mind steering around the occasional baby donkey), but that little piece of "20" that leads from the smoothie stand down to the shore brings to mind a spiral staircase. The first time you see the turnoff leading down, your mind says, "Nah, that can't be right. That must be somebody's driveway. That's not a ROAD." But yes, it is. A 2-way road, in fact. Not saying it's unsafe or anything, just not for the faint-hearted.

mindehankins · Post by **mindehankins** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 7:15 pm

I'd so love to stay on the Coral Bay end, and I will......as soon as Sam and Jack's opens a satellite at that end of the island. I'll be right there

michigan girls · Post by **michigan girls** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 8:26 pm

I love the Coral Bay area, and the trip to the beaches is an easy one. In fact, as we're planning on reserving our villa this week for our spring trip, I keep finding reasons to eliminate all but the Coral Bay area ones. The drive to the north shore beaches is an easy one in my opinion, but maybe maybe years of rural driving in snowy Michigan has jaded my perception of "easy driving". The only road that caused me any anxiety was the one to Lameshur, but even that one was bearable.

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