USVI-On-Line

This was our fourth trip to St. John, and it was wonderful to be back. We flew through Ohare and Maimi with AA. Even though we had short connection times (less than 40 minutes) we lucked out and very close gates. We arrived on the 8:30pm arrival so it was dark when we arrived. The view was very beautiful coming into the airport. We spent the first night at Caribe Beach resort next to the airport.

Easter morning, we planned on taking the 11am ferry from downtown, but they run at 10am and 1pm. Of course we missed the 10am by 10 minutes, so it was an hour and a half wait for the next one. But hey, we are in the Virgin Islands, feeling the warm sunshine, so it was no problem. The ferry ride was as awesome as ever, and we were finally on our little jewel of the Caribbean. We rented a jeep from bougainvillea (super nice people), hit the starfish market for supplies, and we were off for Cinnamon Bay Campground. We have always stayed in the cottages in the past, but this year we would have to stay in their tents for the first three days, and then move to a cottage for the last five days. They gave us tent number 21, the closest to the beach. And it was close, just 65 feet from the soft sugar sand of Cinnamon Bay.

I was a bit apprehensive about the tents, but I got to say that they were clean and dry, in spite of the fact that it rained the first two nights. My two teenage boys were not thrilled about not having electricity, so bedtime came early. And it was dark, I mean really dark. The only complaint I can come up with (If you really can have a complaint about anything on the island) was that there was some swells coming in on the North Shore beaches. Now let me tell you, when you are 65 feet from the beach, and the surf is pounding, and it is super dark, I mean cave dark, it sounds like the waves are lapping at the door of the tent. After three nights we moved to Cabin 5 for the rest of our stay.

We spent the first couple of days letting the boys play in the waves at Cinnamon, then we spent some time at Hawksnest, Honeymoon, and Leinster Bay. The hike to Watermelon Cay was much easier than I had imagined, and the snorkeling was fantastic, We saw turtles, rays and plenty of starfish, and a few thousand fish of unknown species. (I tend to catalog fish by color). As usual, the beaches were wonderful, the weather perfect, and the sunsets spectacular.

We took a day sail on our fourth day of the trip. We had booked Dreamweaver for the day for some sailing and snorkeling. Apparently, the Captain Jini was sick so she sent a replacement that met us at the dock, and explained that he would be taking us out instead on his boat. I should have canceled right there, but the boys were excited so we went along for the ride. The boat was not meant for day sails, it was dirty, rusty and spelled of diesel fuel. I don’t know why we were ever referred to this person. The weather may have been good for sailing, but after it was over, I was just happy we didn’t lose anyone. It was the first time I have ever felt I didn’t get my money’s worth during all of the trips we have taken to St. John. I won’t get into the nasty details of the day, but trust me, it was bad. I will never recommend Dreamweaver to anyone. Stay away from that outfit.

Of course we had to get to skinny legs for a burger during the trip, and as usual, it was good. We were also lucky enough to get in on the prime rib at the restaurant at maho on Friday night. Delicious! We also got to woodys and some others.

The construction on the North Shore Road is coming along, it was interesting to see how they were doing (I’m a civil engineer in real life). It was a good trip, and the 8 days on the island finally came to a end and we had to take the walk of woe back to the ferry dock. One more night in St. Thomas, and back to the real world. We will be back again.

Thanks for the report! Sounds like fun...except for the sail.

Thanks for posting your TR, We are renting from Bouganvilla car rental the first time this may, glad to know that went well, they did sound super nice on the phone. too bad about the sail trip, what a bummer ! that pounding surf with pitch black setting sounds eeeeeery & fun at the same time

I can't say enough about Bouganvilla car rental. Polite and happy to see me, always a winning customer service policy.
When we got to the island, we were a little concerned about how I would come back to the dock to pick up my wife and the luggage. But on the way out I spent an hour relaxing on the bench in the park across from the dock. There was one of the VI policemen parked in his SUV right in front of the stairs to St John Spice. I guess it is ok for you to come from the north, pull over a bit and load/unload. At least 20 people did just that without a bit of notice from the policeman. I guess you just can't pull into the handicap spot.

Thanks for sharing your trip, especially the camping aspects. Sounds like a fun time for your family.

tashtego wrote: The only complaint I can come up with (If you really can have a complaint about anything on the island) was that there was some swells coming in on the North Shore beaches. Now let me tell you, when you are 65 feet from the beach, and the surf is pounding, and it is super dark, I mean cave dark, it sounds like the waves are lapping at the door of the tent.

That would have freaked me out too.