St. John for the antsy

sasky · Post by **sasky** » Fri Jan 25, 2013 11:37 am

We are planning a trip along with 3 newbies. This would be the 5th trip for my husband and me.

I'm a little nervous about the newbies, who are typically resort/casino type folks. We have 'prepared' them that STJ is very low key, quiet, rustic, and a beach-all-day type place. They are on board and looking forward to it, but I'd still like to find some options for keeping busy some days. We plan to take a boat charter one day, and they have talked about going over to St. Thomas one day (although husband and I will likely stay behind!). I'd like to take them on a couple of easy hikes, as long as the bugs aren't too bad.

Any other ideas?

chicagoans · Post by **chicagoans** » Fri Jan 25, 2013 12:20 pm

I suppose you could call me antsy. I'm the type of person who feels like I'm really on vacay when I'm physically exhausted. (I know, some people would hate traveling with me.)

Here are some of the things I've loved:
- Hike to Ram Head (many times and still not tired of it)
- Rented kayaks from Crabby's in Coral Bay and kayaked in Princess Bay; rented kayaks at Cinammon and kayaked to Francis Bay and back
- Rented dinghies from Calypso and cruised along the North Shore beaches, stopping and snorkeling along the way
- Day trip to JVD
- Snorkel trip with Sadie Sea
- Hiked Johnny Horn trail from Waterlemon to Coral Bay, stopping at Windy Hill ruins en route. (Note: there weren't many views along this trail except when we stopped at the ruins, so I would recommend something else if they want views. Ram Head is great for that!)
- Walk from Salt Pond Bay to Drunk Bay. Short walk and Drunk Bay is really cool and different. It's a very intriguing contrast from the sand at Salt Pond to the crashing waves and coral rubble at Drunk Bay.

And just being who we are, on my last trip my friend and I made up our own triathlon, with a hike to Ram Head followed by a long swim/snorkel at Salt Pond followed by kayaking at Cinammon. (Follwed by 8 Tuff the next day. That's my idea of vacation!) So, that might cure some antsiness!

Other options: rent stand up paddle boards at Cinammon (it was too surfy when we tried) or sail boats. Do the Reef Bay trail to see the petroglyphs, and arrange ahead for a boat pickup so you don't have to walk back up. Visit some of the ruins e.g. at Annaberg. If you think they'd enjoy some local flavor they might like visiting Josephine's organic farm or stopping by Vie's snack shack (on the way to or from Vie's beach.) And I always like to mix in some visits to the smoothie stand!

There are lots of hikes on STJ that I haven't done but hopefully others can tell you about. Do you have either of the books: St. John Off the Beaten Path or Feet, Fins and 4WD? Both have some great ideas.

Also, are you renting separate cars? I think that's important for happy traveling with others, so you can each do your own thing when you want to.

sasky · Post by **sasky** » Fri Jan 25, 2013 1:03 pm

Thanks for the response and the great ideas, chicagoans! I have both those books but haven't looked at them in ages. I'll have to refer back for some inspiration.

We're still deciding on the car rental, but I am leaning toward the 2 separate.

Hubs and I are like vegetables on vacation (in a good way!

), so this is going to be kind of new for us. Should hopefully be a good experience for everyone!

jimg20 · Post by **jimg20** » Fri Jan 25, 2013 1:19 pm

The time you chose to to go also has some affect on what is available for them.

JIM

dreamshark · Post by **dreamshark** » Fri Jan 25, 2013 1:21 pm

Wow, Chicagoan. I am in awe of your energy level.

Sasky, if your guests are not quite that athletic, here's a few less strenuous ideas:

* Visit the National Park Building on the first day, and sign up for any ranger walks that are available. Buy some of those pretty underwater fish charts in the gift shop to get them excited about snorkeling.

* Take one of the driving tours in the "Feet, Fins and 4-Wheel" book, letting your guests read and navigate as you drive. Adds just a little structure to the old "explore the island" activity.

* Start off your beach visits with Cinnamon Bay or Trunk Bay (beaches with no bathroom facilities or changing rooms may be too much of a culture shock to start off with)

* Spend a day at Caneel Bay - new beaches to explore but with some of the resort-y feel that they are accustomed to: gift shop, bar, restaurant, etc.

Nancie-Pa · Post by **Nancie-Pa** » Fri Jan 25, 2013 5:07 pm

If I recall,there's a casino in Cruz Bay. Don't know if it's still in operation but it might give them the "night life" they like. And I think Dana is still doing horseback rides at Carolina Corral over in Coral Bay. Good luck!

Caw954s · Post by **Caw954s** » Fri Jan 25, 2013 5:29 pm

Wow Chicagoan! I too am in awe...I "wanted" to do all of that, but I'm slowing down a little now and run out of gas about 4:00pm

.
Sasky, don't worry about the newbies, they'll find their own fun.

michigan girls · Post by **michigan girls** » Fri Jan 25, 2013 8:21 pm

Nancie-Pa wrote:If I recall,there's a casino in Cruz Bay. Don't know if it's still in operation but it might give them the "night life" they like. And I think Dana is still doing horseback rides at Carolina Corral over in Coral Bay. Good luck!

The Parrot Club - LOL - a bar, a couple dozen slot machines and an automated roulette table. I'm a gambler, love the casino, but the only time we go to the Parrot Club is to soak in the AC for a few minutes while shopping in Wharfside.

Chicagoans - when you rented the kayak and went to princess bay, did you get out and snorkel? I love the snorkel there, but as a novice kayaker, I'm concerned about my ability to get back in it after snorkeling with the lack of beach there

AquaGirl · Post by **AquaGirl** » Fri Jan 25, 2013 11:21 pm

One year we had a ton of rain, and did some of the activities listed above. Two other things come to mind.
- Walk around the Westin resort. Its very resort-y, and the beach isn't the prettiest, but the landscaping is very pretty. We love to see the tropical flowers and plants. The pool area is beautiful and there are a couple of parrots in cages that are fun to interact with.
- Walk around Mongoose shopping center. Even if you're not into shopping, its such a pretty place. The architecture - stones with embedded shells - is interesting.
- Go to the Schnells shop - very pretty glass items.
- Go to Elaine Estern's gallery. We love her painted tiles and artwork.
- Walk the raised path at Frances for birdwatching. Its buggy, so wear bug spray. Don't do it if its a heavy mosquito time on the island.
Have fun!

chicagoans · Post by **chicagoans** » Sat Jan 26, 2013 3:08 pm

michigan girls wrote: Chicagoans - when you rented the kayak and went to princess bay, did you get out and snorkel? I love the snorkel there, but as a novice kayaker, I'm concerned about my ability to get back in it after snorkeling with the lack of beach there

We didn't snorkel - mostly goofed around and raced (we had 4 kayaks.) But I've heard that the mangrove snorkeling over there is pretty cool. You could ask Doug at Crabby's if there's a place near good snorkeling to pull out the kayaks so you could get out and snorkel. FYI Doug drove the kayaks over there for us and we just pulled them out and left them at the same spot for him to pick up when we were done. (We didn't have to paddle across Coral Harbor and Hurrican Hole to get over to Princess Bay. That would be challenging.) This was on our first trip to STJ so it's been a few years, but it looks like Crabby's still has the kayaks. It's worth calling ahead of time because we ended up waiting a day to kayak as a large group had rented them all on the first day we tried to go.

Have fun!

xxjpxx9 · Post by **xxjpxx9** » Sat Jan 26, 2013 4:21 pm

Chicagon I like your style!

Knolmom · Post by **Knolmom** » Sat Jan 26, 2013 8:24 pm

On our first trip many many years ago, when we were all young and antsy, we did 11 days. We did the Reef Bay Hike. We spent a half day at Annaberg and Waterlemon, but not a snorkel. We drove out to the far east to Privateer Bay and then spent lunch time at Skinny's before hitting Francis. We spent a day on STT on a taxi tour, took pictures at Drake's Seat and went up the mountain on the cable car. We took the public ferry to the Baths. We did a Catamaran booze cruise to Jost. Think I remember each couple did a separate villa gravity day having the entire villa to themselves. We did hit all the beaches, sometimes two per day, but no Salt Pond or Vies.( Unheard of for tourists in the mid-90's). We also did a sail on the Breath, with Peter and Dorothy, which was and to date has been the high point of our 30 some trips to St John.

Knolmom · Post by **Knolmom** » Sat Jan 26, 2013 8:29 pm

If your friends want to go over to STT, think about contacting Rachel to show them around. She does tours up to Drakes Seat and the old Mountaintop, maybe a stop at the Castle or the 99 steps and then she could let them off downtown to do some shopping, and they can get the 5:30 CA ferry back to STJ. They wouldnt have to leave too early, and you can have the villa gravity today yourselves.

sasky · Post by **sasky** » Tue Jan 29, 2013 11:05 am

These are all fantastic suggestions, thank you all!

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