Inaugural Beach for a First-Timer?

[ccasebolt]

If it was me and I was walking from Cruz Bay, Salomon would be my first choice. The hike is fairly short - 20-30 min as I recall - and easy. I think it would be the perfect introduction to what makes STJ special. My family is planning to do that hike next week - I can't wait!

[Dome526]

This will be an easy, no brainer decision for us when we go to STJ in Nov......we are staying at Cinnamon Bay Campground, in Cottage 10....beach #1 will be Cinnamon Bay! My favorite beach...is the one I am on at the time. An adult beverage improves the beach, too!!!
Tom in CT

[petepie]

Just got back from a 7 day cruise including STT as a stop, so headed over to STJ for the day. We've been to STJ 3 times before but always stayed for a week or more and had a rental car. This was the first time being dependent on taxis, so the beach strategy is a little different. Beaches to go to with a taxi are Trunk and Cinnamon since you have easy stand-by access to taxis back. On Friday, the swells were up at Trunk, making it unswimmable for our 6 & 8 year old kids. We talked to the taxi drivers and considered going out to Maho or even Francis, but they are too remote to be reliant on taxis, in my opinion. No services, and if you get tired of the beach and want to come back early, no easy way to get back since the taxis are not readily available. Then one of the drivers suggested Honeymoon through Caneel bay. We've never been to Honeymoon/Salomon's because Caneel charges so much to park your car there ($20.00) but this time we had no car. So we decided to try it. Excellent suggestion - honeymoon was beautiful and has become one of my favorites (along with Hawksnest). It's a 5 min walk/hike down a dirt/gravel access road past Caneel, but is beautiful and has easy access to taxis through the Caneel Bay taxi stand. Also, I guess if you needed food or drink, you could go to the Caneel restaurant, although they had personnel stationed at the walkways further into the resort to make sure the daytrippers didn't wander into the resort property. But they were very nice and helpful in pointing us to Honeymoon beach.

So, if you're in a taxi, I would stick to Trunk (there's a reason it's the one on the postcards) as your inaugural beach, Cinnamon (watersports, and wide-open), Honeymoon and/or Salomon at Caneel Bay access, and maybe Hawksnest (you should be able to catch a taxi as it goes by on the way back). Save the other beaches for when you have your own transportation. And defintely go to Honeymoon when you're not in the rental and having to pay Caneel to park.

[54b]

I'd suggest Trunk simply because the learning curve is less...cabs always nearby during the day, facilities (shower/bathrooms, snack bar) and the snorkel tour.

Salomon, like most beaches on STJ, don't have any of those facilities (prolly the reason we love it so much), so you need to be more prepared in regards to what you bring.

Salomon was our first beach on our first trip and we loved it, but I also remember not bringing enough water, carrying way too much unnecessary stuff, and getting one hell of a rash on my inner thighs from walking the mile back in a wet bathing suit.

Either way, you'll be fine. But I think Trunk is easier transition beach if you're used to beaches where everything you might need is close by.

SIDENOTE: Certainly nothing wrong with going without the rental car, but if money is not the issue, I'd highly recommend getting the car for your entire trip. Even though there's plenty to do in Cruz Bay and you can technically get to other places on island via cab or dinghy, you'll want the flexibility and freedom the rental provides.