So many beaches - so little time!

[mykidsmom]

We are making very loose plans for our visit to St John in June. I was wondering if it's best to try to visit one beach a day or could we leisurely visit two? We mainly want to snorkle a bit and relax - we don't want to feel rushed. What is your typical day?!

[cindygad]

We always start out early. Most often go to a good snorkeling beach, snorkel, relax and move on to one of our favorite Zen places. Dennis, Gibney or Francis for afternoon.

Salt pond we always spend the whole day.So much to do hike, snorkel blue cobblestone, Salt pond and Drunk bay

When doing the east end do Haulover South and North, eat at Vies and Snorkel at Pelican rock in the afternoon. There is a rocky beach where the road ends that we carry our chairs to, snorkel and then relax until time to pack up.

Waterlemon, Snorkel at three mooring balls on way in. Put chairs in quite bay and relax. Snorkel Cay, Hike short trails to outlooks. Snorkel Bay and if we have newbies with us stop at Annaberg on way out.

Snorkel Kiddle bay in morning, stop at Miss Lucy for lunch and go to a North Shore beach for afternoon.

Enjoy don't plan too much just go with what you feel that day.

[54b]

(Beaches/Day) Likely depends on the size of your group, activities and your attention span

We have a group of seven (4 adults and 3 kids) and typically designate one beach every day as our main destination. For most beach visits, we take what you'd typically pack for picnic, so once we haul it all there and get set up, it doesn't make a lot of logistical sense to beach hop.

On your first day, I would simply drive the entire North Shore road. You can see most of the beaches without actually having to step out on them via the many overlooks. While doing that you can make some mental notes on which ones look best for you. And then of course go back to the one that looked best to you on that first day.

I'd also encourage you to switch your mindset from wanting to visit every beach to making the most out of every beach you visit. That way you'll more easily be able to make comparisons the next time you go and try other beaches while developing your favorites (and anyone who's been to STJ multiple times has their favorites because while they're all great, some STJ beaches will invariably fit you like an old pair shoes more so than others).

On your first visit, I would try to visit at least one beach from each these groupings:

Trunk, Cinnamon, Hawksnest, and Maho - These are easily the most popular beaches. They're large, have soft sand, abundant shade, and are great for general sun, surf and fun.

Salomon, Honeymoon, Leinster - Fantastic beaches, but they require about a mile hike to get them; their slight isolation keeps them less crowded (Leinster is near Waterlemon Cay, most popular snorkel spot)

Jumbie, Francis, Gibney - Fun beaches, not usually as crowded (Jumbie is tiny and the parking area only has about 8 spots and Gibney only has 3 spots next to a gate located on the North shore road between Hawksnest and Peace Hill); people who want to avoid the "busy" beaches go here for a quieter time

Salt Pond Bay, Little Lameshur, Hanson (Vie's Beach) - South shore and East end beaches; good to see how the other half limes; sand isn't quite as soft as north shore and the conditions are more arid with less shade options, but the snorkeling is awesome

Hope that helps.

[mykidsmom]

Thanks for the tips. We are just doing a little research so that we can better make the most of our visit and by no means are we trying to see it all...we know that is not possible nor would that be enjoyable

It's just my husband and me so that makes getting around a little easier!

[54b]

It's just my husband and me so that makes getting around a little easier!

In that case, you can definitely cover some ground, particularly if you're early risers. Have fun finding your favorite.

[lazylane]

I say the best plan is no plan. Get up, relax.. go or not go. Get in the Jeep, drive and explore and beach it or not. We have discovered so many things this way on St. John and sometimes we don't even go to the beach. We are not avid snorkelers so we just wing it. I hate a schedule, I have that at home and work. After years of going, there's still lots of exploring to do!! That being said, my favorite beaches are Gibney, Francis, Vie's, Lameshur, Cinnamon and Maho if it's early.

[Backtotheislands]

I love to snorkel and can't do that at home so I want to do a lot of snorkeling! We often will hit one beach snorkel, relax, then eat lunch and hit another beach. Salt Pond is definitely an all day affair. Take plenty of water and plan to hike Ram's Head and go over to Drunk Bay to see the coral people. I, personally, haven't had great snorkeling there. It's always been "stirred up" when I've been there, but it's beautiful and definitely worthwhile. Waterlemon and Leinster can be all day, too. When we went to Honeymoon and Salomon we parked at Caneel, hiked in and set up our chairs, and snorkeled over to Salomon from Honeymoon and got drinks at Caneel afterwards so we'd get something for our parking fee. I could probably spend all day at Maho but never have. I've also never had an all day villa gravity day. My husband would love it if we did, but I hate to miss a day of snorkeling! There's no way you can hit every beach. I've been 3 times and never been to several. I try to hit at least one new beach per trip, but I definitely have my favorites!

[toes in the sand]

Since the beach day is pretty much limited by the onset of no seeums and mosquitos at dusk for many, I would say that it would depend on how early you rise and can get on the beach and if you can plan accordingly to where to get lunch of if you plan on bringing it.
We have made 2 beach a day trips. We love em but this trip we slept late and made only one per day.

[mykidsmom]

I appreciate all your comments!

We know we can't visit all the beaches so we are trying to prioritize a few places that we definitely want to see, then we will just go with the flow once we get there.

Since we are staying in Cruz Bay, I was hoping not to have to rent a car the entire trip as my husband really dislikes driving while on vacation. So, for our 8 days, we will rent a car for 3 days; dinghy 1 day; villa gravity/hike/taxi the rest of the time.

I can only handle a couple hours of snorkeling whereas my husband could snorkel all day!

[54b]

So, for our 8 days, we will rent a car for 3 days; dinghy 1 day; villa gravity/hike/taxi the rest of the time.

Knowing this additional info and at the risk of providing you with "too much" advice, here would be my beach line-up given your transportation options:

Day 1 (No Car) - Hike the Lindpoint trail over to Salomon Beach. It's beautiful and if you go over to the right side, you can snorkel the short stretch between it and Honeymoon or walk over to Honeymoon. Boom, there's two beaches right there. And you can keep walking on over to Caneel (about a mile past Honeymoon) and catch a cab back to your villa.

Day 2 (No Car) - Catch a cab over to Trunk and/or Cinnamon. Lots of fun and they have facilities including showers and snack shacks. So you can hang all day. And there are always cabs there in the afternoon.

Day 3 (No Car) - Take Noah's Ark and head all the way out to Waterlemon. If your husband likes to Snorkel, this is the hot spot and the dinghy is a neat way to get there. Otherwise you have to drive and hike. (Cabs will drop you off at Leinster - where Waterlemon is located - but don't frequent the area so it's hard to get one back). With the dinghy, you can also hit some other beaches like the ones at Caneel on the way back to Cruz that are more easily accessed by sea than land.

Day 4 - (w/Car) - Drive over to Coral Bay and out to Salt Pond early in the morning. You can do the Ram Head hike and your husband can get some serious snorkeling in. You might also head over to the other side of Coral Bay where you'll find the Haulover Bays and Hanson (Vie's Beach). Make sure you stop for lunch over Coral Bay too. Lots of good and fun restaurants over there like Skinny's, Shipwreck, Vie's Snack Shack and Tourist Trap.

Day 5 - (w/Car) - Head to Maho and/or Francis - two awesome beaches that normally don't have frequent cab services. Different snorkeling here too...less reefs and more grassy areas where you can see turtle and rays.

Day 6 - (w/Car) - Get up early go to one of the more isolated beaches like Gibney or Jumbie where the parking is limited.

Day 7 - (no Car) - Villa Gravity or hang out in Cruz Bay

Day 8 - (no Car) - Cab it back to the beach you liked most or try one of the North Shore beaches you hadn't hit yet like Hawksnest.

Anyway, that would give you pretty darn good perspective of what STJ beaches have to offer on your first trip.

And apologies if this is overkill. I'm now 4 months out from my own trip and to my wife's chagrin, have gone into super planning mode. So your "8 days line" above was like a math equation I couldn't resist.

If this helps, great. If not, please disregard and go with the flow.

Have a great time.

[mindehankins]

Soon, I'll have just three days to show my sister around my favorite place on Earth. Here's our plan:
Day 1:
Trunk bay to learn to snorkel
Pick up lunch at Pickles
Little Lameshur for the afternoon
Dinner at Oasis
Day 2:
Miss Vie's for the morning and lunch
Francis Bay for the afternoon
Candi's or Sogo's for dinner
Day 3:
Salt Pond/Drunk Bay for the morning
Tourist Trap for lunch
Maho for the afternoon
Candi's or Sogo's for dinner

Over the top excited, and we only get three days!

[mykidsmom]

54B - you are reading my mind

Question about the trail to Solomon ... is it feasible to bring chairs/cooler for a beach day or is it a backpack only kind of hike?

[RickG]

Two people? No problem hitting two beaches a day if you want to see more beaches. The herd moves at the speed of the slowest beach and two can hit twice as many places as five people.

Packing beach lunches gives you the option of hitting more than one spot. It also gives you the option of staying at that perfect spot for the rest of the day. Its also easy to hit a lunch spot between beaches.

Cheers, RickG

[54b]

Question about the trail to Solomon ... is it feasible to bring chairs/cooler for a beach day or is it a backpack only kind of hike?

I'd say backpack-only maybe a small cooler with a shoulder strap too...from the NPS to Solamon is around a mile and while it's not too vertical, that mile will feel like five miles if you're carrying more than you're comfortable with.

There are beach chairs that can fold up and be worn as a backpack, but I'd just suggest taking a big beach towel.

Extra tips...I love picking up Deli Groto lunch sandwiches located in Mongoose Junction before heading out to Salomon.

Take a good sized bottle of water too and some wind shorts to change into, especially for your husband. Hiking back a mile in a wet bathing suit is bad news on the inner thighs...there will be plenty of places in the woods to duck behind a tree to change.

Lastly, there are some rocks on the far right side that our perfect for sitting on, dipping your foot in the water to get the sand off and then putting your socks and shoes back on so you don't have to hike with sandy feet (baby powder gets the sand off too).

[54b]

Day 1: Dinner at Oasis

Minde, would appreciate your opinion on this place after you get back. Been reading about it and saw the facebook page. It sounds awesome, and they have a drive-thru window! I shouldn't be that excited about a drive-thru window, but I am.

We're staying high up on Mamey Peak this time and our group really wants to do more dinners at the villa to take advantage of the fantastic view. But we don't want to cook...or do dishes

So Caribbean Oasis sounded ideal. Take-out, drive-thru and the menu changes every day.