USVI-On-Line

The catamaran will likely take you to Honeymoon Beach on St. John. That's usually where all of the cats go. It is a BEAUTIFUL beach! Plus, you can snorkel over to Solomon, which is right next door and equally stunning, and of course will be less crowded because most of your fellow catamaran travelers will stay right at Honeymoon. There is good snorkeling off Solomon. Here are some pictures to tempt you with. Honeymoon:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/1797105852/" title="honeymoon beach by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2086/179 ... 341936.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="honeymoon beach"></a>

Solomon:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/1796284883/" title="solomon palms 7 by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2190/179 ... 4900ca.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="solomon palms 7"></a>


<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/1797106568/" title="john at solomon by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2274/179 ... e5315c.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="john at solomon"></a>

Trunk Bay is absolutely wonderful also! You can't go wrong with either choice.

Great shots Liamsaunt and you too Sherban!

Hi ourtripnow since you'll be coming by cruise ship I do have one recommendation; book your excursion privately and not through the cruiseline. Usually they are shorter in time, more expensive and you'll be with the same people that you may be trying to get away from.

Hubs and I love cruising but we never go anywhere off ship through the ship Does that even make sense?

STT:
Coki was real cool for our 1st visit when we went in June, until the cruise ship visitors started arriving. Then it got way toooo crowded. As will Saphire and Magens; so I'd suggest booking/planning something on your own and perhaps one of the non cruise ship (heavily populated) beaches.

STJ:
I'd suggest a ferry ride over and cab out to whichever beautiful beach you choose!
You've got lots of suggestions here. So have fun!!

Kathy

Our favorites on STT is definetly Coki, for that "island" feel. Snorkeling is good on the right, but there's ALOT of people in that area some days. If you walk down the beach all the way to the left, there's a real nice wall of coral and alot to see. Never crowded either.

Sapphire is a nice beach too. You basically can snorkel in 2 feet of water because the coral is so close. Snorkel around and out to your right and then out about 100 feet to the left is alot of sea grass where you can see turtles. Also watch out because there's alot of sea urchins. I think they're beautiful anyway.

Please, just don't stand on any coral. I've seen alot of that on the islands and I just don't understand that people don't realize thay they're killing it.

ourtripnow, I would suggest planning your own STJ/STT day trip as suggested above. Cruise ship excursions are more expensive and you are limited by the planned itinerary. It is very easy to get to a STT beach or to STJ from the ship. Taxis will be lined up waiting as you disembark. Obviously, it's a bit more involved to get to STJ, but it's still simple. We've done both, and in my opinion, it's the only way to go. You'll see what you want to see, when you want to see it, and save some money for other important things like bushwackers and painkillers.

Whatever you decide, hope you have a great trip!

Paul,

The last time my wife and I visited on a cruise we arranged an excursion (NOT through the ship) - a daysail out of Red Hook marina.

We went over near STJ, to places where no one else was, and the captain was also our chef, bartender, and private guide in the water. It was an awesome day - one of the best cruise excursions we'd ever done.

You can do a search to find a number of operators, if you PM me I can tell you who we used.

A word of warning...as we were sailing near STJ I asked the captain about all of the houses you could see from the water. He told me that most of them were villas that people rented for vacation stays there. I just couldn't get that out of my mind, and as soon as we got home I went searching for more information about villas on STJ. That's how one STJ obsession began...