USVI-On-Line

I shipped stuff down this last trip, and it was nice to have stuff for the beginning of the trip waiting for me when I got to the villa. However, I was pretty impressed with the sunscreen/spray aloe/bug spray selection at Chelsea Drug, so I'll just be getting mine there from now on and not worrying about shipping or checking bags.

But as Gromit said, if you are picky about what kind you like, you should take it.

One stop I DO make the minute I arrive on island (it's at the end of the ferry dock) is at St. John Spice, and that's where I recommend you get yourself a nice bag of coffee for your island mornings.

Isn't there a Voodoo coffee blend?? If so that was pretty darn good!

We get Coconut Cream and Kiss of the Jumbie. They are both pretty awesome.

If you're not sure what to get, Ruth and her team are very good at helping you figure it out.

They have great teas too.

Not STJ specific (never been, yet) but on my list whenever I get down there:

Buy a gallon of water and save as much of its contents as you can in other containers (if you wish). Use said gallon jug for mixing up your favorite batch of recreational drinks (PKs being my personal fav). Handy multi-use container for mixing, storage and transport.

Research your trip to death and have two lists. List ONE is Can Only Do This Day/Time stuff. This should be a short list. List TWO is the Must-Dos and the other dozen or so things that would be great to do. Schedule around List ONE...salt to taste from list TWO.

ALWAYS do a Trip Report particularly a report on your accommodations (with pics). While its usually easy to find lots of opinions on the destination(s), it is often very hard to get info/details on villas, etc. Do the next planner a big favor and share the wealth.

Happy New Year!
Dave

The most important thing for us to bring is the proper attitude. It's not like going to Tibet or up the Amazon, but the VI isn't like the mainland. The sooner we shift over to Island Time, the smoother it all goes and the better time we have. We expect that some things won't work out and other things will work out differently than expected. Kurt Vonnegut wrote: "Interesting travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God."

Our itinerary consists of finding out if Inner Visions is playing and if they are, going to see them. The rest of the time is open. We tentatively make loose plans and change them on a whim. We don't make dinner reservations because we don't want to have to think about time if we're off snorkeling or hiking somewhere. When there's nowhere that we have to be by any particular time for a week or two, we certainly don't want to hurry. We never travel with people who don't operate the same way. We don't bring laptops. We put away the cellphones and the watches. We take time to sit, float, nap, watch the sky, just savor how beautiful it all is. Life is sweet and slow in the VI. A friend once said: "Don't just do something. Sit there."

We agree that a trip is made richer by having some experience of the West Indian population and culture. It's much less apparent on STJ than on many Caribbean islands, being increasingly supplanted by a kind of island lifestyle developed by folks from the mainland. Most of the businesses patronized by tourists are owned and staffed by people who have moved from the mainland.

We always like to get some local food and local experience when we're on the island. In Cruz Bay we like Sogo's for dinner. For lunch we stop at Hercules for pate or at one of the truck/cart stands around the pavilion or the post office (Shelas's or Patrick's). And we always stop in Mooie's for a drink. In Coral Bay there are a few small operations at the triangle for breakfast/lunch and the Sputnik bar sometimes has food. The Sputnik is another good place for a very local experience. To really have an opportunity to spend a little time with St Johnians, Mooies and the Sputnik are perfect places.

STOP AT THE SMOOTHIE STAND!

I was hesitant on my first trip and completely missed out on the STJ Style Goodness. When I got there on my second trip, I couldn't believe what I had missed out on!

I have to admit that I didn't read all of the other posts yet, but I do agree about not overpacking.
Also, don't overplan, because once "island time" hits you, there's no turning back. There really aren't too many places that suck, and it's all beautiful.
Try to make a point of trying the local food bodegas'(sp?)-joints.
They always have the best grub, and it's easy to simply drive by them, they're usually small. I think some people might be intimidated by them because locals are surely to be hanging around, but they obviously know what's good! Just be nice!
I'll get back to you if I have any other ideas once I read the other posts.
Smiles-
MJ

Lex, I think you and I are pretty much on the same page of the same book.

JT

My impression, too. It's a good book and a good page. You don't suppose we're stuck though, do you?

We're just back from our first trip (yes, I will do a report with photos!) and have to agree with all the advice. As for coffee - there is a great little coffee shop in the Marketplace - she'll grind it fresh for you. You can also find good choices at Dolphin and at the Starfish Gourmet side (not the market side though).

I wish we had know the villa offered purified water - would have saved buying a few jugs of it.

If you can swing it, have Mat and Tim of St. John Catering do a meal for you - we had Tim do a dinner for our anniversary and it was Fabulous!!! They did a barbeque pack for the family so they could stay out of our way. It was a great way to celebrate our anniversary without having to drive anywhere. And, if you do a meal with them, they will provision for you too - not just a set package of food but you let them know what you want and they will try to get it for you. Well worth the charge for the service to keep from having to shop as soon as you arrive.

Take the time to look for the various critters that live on the island - we loved trying to find at least one of everything - managed all except the mongoose (even saw a dead rat so that counts as a sighting).

7 days is definitely not enough time. I second the suggestion to stay on St. Thomas a day before and a day after if you can swing it.

If you are taking the car barge across be aware that there might be only one running. More important on the way back to STT so if you don't plan anything else, plan to be a bit early.

Oh, the airport will be a real zoo at prime landing and take-off times. I was surprised at how wild it was. We checked in early to leave due to villa check-out time and were glad we did.

And, of course, don't forget to get those painkiller ingredients right away so you can enjoy them all trip.

Have a great time!

Snorkeler525,
Thanks for the tips and welcome back!
Just curious about the car barges...still down to 1-2?
Keeping my eyes open to that situation for February.

Looking forward to your TR!!

Kathy

I don't need to add any suggestions because all of the previous covered anything I would say. I just wanted to say that I agree about the prices of sunblock. I bought an extra container of the brand I brought down there at Dolphin Market, and was surprised to see that it was actually cheaper there than in New Orleans.

Well on our first trip which was 4 years ago we did not know about this wonderful forum with all the great people so willing to share info about St John.

We went down with two huge suitcases, carry ons etc. and stayed at Villa Maria not far from the Westin. Needless to say, we dragged home two suitcases of "clean, unworn clothes".
Tip learned from the forum, do carry on and send any other stuff down in box by mail.

We have since done carry on and every year it gets easier as you really don't need a lot of clothing. Bathing suits and cover ups pretty much do it. I must add that at home I am "high maintenance" but once we hit St John, I forget all that. Maybe that's why I love St John.

The box I sent down was mainly books, suntan lotion (lge size) and bug spray.
The advantage to carry on is off the plane, look for Rachels smiling face and your off to Red Hook ferry!

Kathyzhere wrote:Snorkeler525,
Thanks for the tips and welcome back!
Just curious about the car barges...still down to 1-2?
Keeping my eyes open to that situation for February.

Looking forward to your TR!!

Kathy

Kathy - On our way over, 2 companies were running and there were 2 barges. Saturday, when we came back on the 3rd, only one company was running (good reason not to buy a r/t ticket), and it had an accident on its smaller barge so only the larger one was running. They were busy repairing the little one and planned to have it up and running later. I must say, they were super efficient with the one barge - back and forth with no effort to keep a schedule. We got on the "10:30" barge and it left at 10:20. We left our villa at 9:40, had about a 10 minute ride, and were in line before 10. Only 3 other cars got on the barge after ours (2 huge dump trucks took up a bunch of space).