I have a STJ beach confession

[Xislandgirl]

I have never been to Soloman or Honeymoon.

So, with that being said, which should we hit on our next trip? I have issues hiking on inclines because of my knee, so what do you suggest and (I can't believe thet I am asking this) how do I get there?

[LMG]

Since I think I declared Honeymoon my favorite beach a while back, I had to respond. I've gotten there all three times by parking at Caneel and walking on the road just beyond the parking lot.
When I went to Solomon, I, of course, took the trail. I know people love Solomon, and it is wonderful, but the sand at Honeymoon is so soft and the almost constant sun at Honeymoon sucked me in. Every time after that first Solomon trip from Honeymoon, I got that "why move?" feeling. And then didn't.

[traveler22]

X-
I say Honeymoon especially since it is much easier to get to via Caneel.

[California Girl]

As another one with bad knees, I vote for Salomon! Actually, I vote for BOTH! You have to walk right past Honeymoon to get to Salomon (if you park at Caneel) so you really could go to both. I didn't think the hike was so bad and I really do have trouble with downhill stuff. Plus, there are tons of little trees to hang on to as you go. Be SURE to spray yourself with OFF... the skeeters love that little forest!

This is about as bad as it gets:

[mbw1024]

My pal Jorge told me how to get to Solamon. He said park at Caneel and take the path to Honeymoon but just keep going and once you get to the private house you just scoot around the trail and you're there. I can tell you it was no scoot! All the way there I kept saying "I'm going to kill Jorge for this scoot!". Must admit it wasn't bad but when you expect a scoot you think to yourself where the heck is this place anyway??????
Honeymoon is still my top pick. Drive to Caneel, when you get to the guard house you have to stop and tell them you are there to visit Honeymoon beach. When we were there in Nov. they asked if we knew how to get there. We did so they waved us on and said enjoy the day. If we said no I felt they were ready to give us a map or something.
Hope you love it if you go!

[StJohnRuth]

Go in a dinghy.
-Ruth

[cptnkirk]

My vote is Salomon just because its our fave, gotta love those palms right at the waters edge. For ease of getting there Honeymoon for sure from Caneel. If your a snorkeler just go around the corner to the left super easy snorkel and check out Salomon. This is one of my favorite snorkel spots tons of fish.

[Maryanne]

I second Ruth's dinghy idea.

I confess that there is one beach I have never been to and it is Maho. !

[flip-flop]

Ruth is a genius!

[Agent99]

We hiked down to Soloman on our recent visit from the Lindholm Trail, which I would not recommend to you Xislandgirl if your knees bother you. Walking from Canneel is probably a better idea IMO. Soloman is beautiful but Honeymoon is my favorite of the two as long as the Catamaran based at the Westin is not there.

I like the dinghy idea but you aren't supposed to bring them up on the beach are you? I remember the mortification meter was on the high side when I attempted a graceful re-entry into one of those babies from the water. If you are laughing at the same time it's even harder.

[waterguy]

Noah's let you bring them on some beaches and honeymoon soloman you can they give you a map and tell you where to beach

[Agent99]

Thanks Waterguy, that is good news. My self esteem is forever grateful!

[liamsaunt]

I vote for Honeymoon. The trail to Honeymoon is flat. Although the way to Solomon is pretty short, it is hilly, and I think it might give your knee trouble. You can see that there used to be a different, flat path to Solomon, but it passed in front of the park ranger's house and it's all marked off with barbed wire and no trespassing signs. Now you have to go up and around the house.

[chrisn]

X! You must go!!! I also vote for both. We walk from Caneel as well. The walk to Honeymoon is about a 15-20 minute walk on a flat gravel road. From Honeymoon it's about another 10 minutes through a fairly easy trail to Solomon. This is one of our favorite things to do on STJ! You could take a dinghy as Ruth suggested.

[SuefromMA]

HONEYMOON - without a doubt. Definately go to Caneel & take the nice path from there. Everyone is right, just ask someone there to point the trail out to you & you will be fine. It is a beautiful path snuggling the coastline. There are many spots where you are in the Open Sunlight - so, be sure to bring water, if it is a hot, sunny day.

We LOVE the snorkeling at Honeymoon and LOVE the tree lined shore & beautiful soft sand & gorgeous views.

I would NOT recommend the "hike" from Honeymoon to Solomon. It is quite meandering, uphill & down & not a straight shot by any stretch of the imagination. (We did it with chairs, cooler, snorkel gear in tow & regretted the decision.) We figured out afterwards that we should have just snorkeled our way around the point & gotten to the beach that way.

As others have mentioned, if you are standing on the beach at Honeymoon (looking out to the water), Solomon is just around the point to your left. So, you can easily swim or snorkel your way over and enjoy the water route instead of the land route. Then you can "set foot" on Solomon and see what everyone is talking about.

Again - it was a cute little beach. But, all in all, I wasn't overly impressed. But, that might have been influenced by our "trek" to get there.

But, LOVE Honeymoon. We saw some gorgeous Angelfish there last April.

Enjoy!