USVI-On-Line

Last May I came to STJ for the first time with my best friend following nursing school graduation. I fell in love with the island as soon as we got there! We stayed at Lavender Hill and mainly stayed on the beach at Cinnamon Bay all day (I snorkeled a little there...) and went shopping, dining, drinking in the evening. I am returning in June with my boyfriend and was wondering what you guys recommend trying? We will be staying at Gallows this time in an upper ocean view room. (8D I believe.) My friend that I went with last time had been a few times before and knew the island well but was not much into outdoorsy type things. This is my second trip and my bf's first. We both like to try new things and want to snorkel and explore the island. Where should we go for the best snorkeling? Is there anything that we HAVE to do while in STJ? I've seen that a lot of people recommend the restaurant at GP but I'm kind of picky and not really sure about it. Where would you go for the best steak or fresh fish on the island? Thanks in advance!

I would strongly recccomend picking up a copy of Gaffin's "Feet Fins and Four Wheel Drive" Packed with information about places to go for hiking and snorkleing, etc.

This site contains resturant reviews as well, click on the St John banner above and you will see dining reviews. Or just trying feeding some search requets into the search feature, there's lots of info, invest a little time in poking around.

I'll try to cover North Shore beaches for snorkeling cause I've done most of them . All beaches left or right is looking towards ocean. I'll steer ya toward what I think is the best on that beach.
Salomon, Honeymoon- If on Honeymoon left at the point that separates it from Salomon. Lots of fish

Caneel public beach- right gets better the farther ya get out towards the point

Hawksnest- center of beach actually three reefs. The one in the middle is the best go to the end for a great Elkhorn forest. If ya go far left ya can get out on Little Honeymoon and probaly have a small beach all to yourselves.

Gibney right side follow shore as far as ya want,you can go a long ways.

Jumbie huge dead reef straight out not impressed but here the left side can be good.

Trunk- The Island of coarse but if the waves cooperate I like the far left of the beach heading toward Jumbie better.

Cinnamon Bay- ya been there

Maho right side and Francis left side right side ok , best chance to see turtles and stingrays out in the open bays. If its calm look out and ya might see the turtles pop there heads up.

That ought to get ya started for snorkeling. Others might chime in cause there's alot more out there on the other sides of the island. Have fun and happy snorkeling

Try the Salomon Beach hike from behind the national park service. We did this for the first time during our March trip and wish we'd tried it years before. It's a pretty isolated beach-we were the only ones there for several hours. Can't speak to the snorkeling because we don't do that, but the beach was beautiful! Hike was easy; since you're at GP you can walk to the NPS building and the beginning of the trail. Have fun!

Good advice from the other posters
I would also add checking out Waterlemon Cay for great snorkeling. Visit Salt Pond Bay and take the trail to Ram Head with a snorkel stop at Blue Cobblestone beach. You will really enjoy the Ram Head hike.

As for restaurants Zozos at Gallows is good you won't be disappointed. Fish Trap is also good for fresh seafood but a much more casual place than zozos. Can't help you with steak - but try Skinny Legs in Coral Bay for a good burger.

How nice to be going back with another outdoor adventurer you'll really have a great time. You might also want to take a look at another book "St. John off the beaten track"
enjoy

...one of my favorite websites for St John information:

http://seestjohn.com/

have a great time and safe travels

One of my favorite places for steak at a reasonable cost is The Banana Deck. Awesome rib-eyes with delicious toppings. Just a quick walk down the hill from Gallow's Point.

http://www.thebananadeck.com/id1.html

A couple of our favorite restaurants in Cruz Bay are Rhumb Lines and Cafe Roma. If you like lobster, The Lime Inn and Morgan's Mango are good. Definitely hit Skinny Legs in Coral Bay for a delicious burger.

Snorkeling: my favorites are Blue Cobblestone, Waterlemon Cay, and Gibney. The snorkeling is quite good at Gallows also--swim to the left.

You might enjoy exploring the Annaberg sugar mill ruins, if you have not already seen them. Also, you can sign up with the National Park Service to hike the Reef Bay trail. They'll pick you up in a boat at the end so you don't have to hike all the way back up the hill.

Zozo's food is very good. If you are picky about sauces, etc. ask them to serve it on the side. I can't help with the steak recommendations, but for fish I like Shipwreck Landing, Banana Deck, Lime Inn, Miss Lucy's, and especially La Tapa (but check their menu first since you say you are picky.)

I would recommend driving clock-wise around the island and hitting East End Road and Little Lameshure one day with beach stops and lunch stops.

On another day, try driving counter-clockwise and checking out Bovocoap point, Boatman point, Fish Bay and Reef Bay. From the Reef Bay beach access you can see the western point of Little Lameshur.

Another fun thing to do is a 1/2 day dinghy rental with a ride out to Waterlemon Cay for snorkeling. You get a different perspective on the water.

Cheers, RickG

We just got back yesterday, and were first time visitors to St. John. I've never snorkeled before (except for the test run in the local YMCA pool), and my hubby is an experienced diver/snorkeler/surfer from Hawaii. Our favorite snorkels were Waterlemon and Honeymoon over to Solomon or vice-versa.
We went back to Honeymoon/Solomon 3 times last week.
We were there "the week of the rain". I can't imagine what it's like without the algea and the rain! It was incredible WITH them.

mindehankins: Your first snorkle was around Waterlemon Cay? I'm impressed. Awesome, huh?

My first snorkel was just Cinnamon Bay beach, and Cinnamon Cay. My SECOND snorkel was Waterlemon, and it was one of our favorites. We only had six days on St. John, and we did two snorkels a day. It was... For a total newbie, there are no words...