USVI-On-Line

Captain John wrote:For those of us who live here and like to visit Honeymoon beach it is a bit much.

Hmmm. My tourists' point of view didn't see it from that angle. That's a good point, Captain John. At least they should allow residents to park for free, or some sort of discounted monthly/yearly rate and sticker for your car. Something like that.

$10 isn't the issue for me. It's their beaches. Sure they are pretty, but they don't beat Maho or Francis in my book. I'll park where I want and see the beach I want. That's STJ to me.

Pete (Mr. Marcia) wrote:$10 isn't the issue for me. It's their beaches. Sure they are pretty, but they don't beat Maho or Francis in my book. I'll park where I want and see the beach I want. That's STJ to me.

Rock and Roll,-
Smiles-
MJ

Pete (Mr. Marcia) wrote:$10 isn't the issue for me. It's their beaches. Sure they are pretty, but they don't beat Maho or Francis in my book. I'll park where I want and see the beach I want. That's STJ to me.

If you spent any significant time there you might find that the the Caneel beaches compare quite favorably to anything on the island, if STJ means healthy coral, snorkeling with turtles, an easy hiking trail accessed from a beach, and beautiful beaches made for relaxing or strolling.

Turtle Beach at the far end of the property is small but beautiful, has healthy coral and has a great trail on the right side that goes around the point to over by Hawksnest Bay.
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Nz ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_8poT_jdtsYw/SldoZ ... p.jpg"></a>

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Sunrise from the Hawksnest side of the Caneel trail.
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Scott is made for relaxing and strolling and has the added benefit of resident turtles that show up every afternoon, often in real shallow water.
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Don't get me wrong, I know that they are pretty beaches. We have been there. I just prefer a different experience.

At the risk of sounding like the newby that I am...what is Francis beach? Where? Pics?

thebin, Francis Beach is a beautiful sand beach, and one of my favorites. It's one of the wider ones on the island. It is usually pretty quiet. Snorkeling is pretty good on both sides of the beach--not as much for coral, but for fish and creatures--and there are usually turtles out in the middle of the bay (you have to go out a ways to get to them). There are some picnic tables, and a good amount of shade. The water is more green than some of the other beaches ...it kind of reminds me of a lake. It's pretty much always calm, though there is a current you have to swim against to get back to shore after snorkeling. It's one of the furthest North Shore beaches from Cruz Bay.

The main downside to Francis is that it can get buggy at dusk and after a rain. Here are some pictures for you. Left side:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/1791900741/" title="francis to the left by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2092/179 ... c0ab9b.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="francis to the left"></a>

Middle of the bay:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/3289323138/" title="71 Francis Bay by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3451/328 ... 0e945a.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="71 Francis Bay"></a>

Right side:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519050123/" title="Francis pelican 2 by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2102/251 ... ea9f2c.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Francis pelican 2"></a>

Turtle at Francis Bay:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519048535/" title="Francis Bay turtle by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2004/251 ... b63a0f.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="Francis Bay turtle"></a>

Thanks for the info. Looks gorgeous. It looks a bit like Maho to me. I also agree it looks a bit like a lake- more of a Pacific Lagoon setting. My personal taste is towards the more blue, possibly rougher open oceanic-type beaches than the greener bay/lagoon-like ones. Hence why I liked Hawksnest over Maho even though both clearly contain their own type of unique beauty.

Francis tends to be one of the buggiest beaches on STJ.

It is not one of my favorites, but it is one of my husband's favorites so we usually go there once per trip.