USVI-On-Line

Hi All,
Can't seem to find much information about this on the 'net. Are there any taxi companies that are based in Coral Bay (doubtful). Alternately, are there taxi companies that will drive there and only charge for the ride from that point (not for their trip from Cruz Bay to Coral Bay)? We want to do the Johnny Horn Trail but only one way and would like to drop our Jeep off in Coral Bay and then have the taxi take us to the beginning of the Leinster Bay Trail. Let me know if you have any recommendations!
Thanks!

drop the jeep and hitch is about the only choice I can think of.

Gwaine-- you can (operative word here) call a taxi. But the may or may not (again, the operative word) come.

In my experience the taxis primarily operate out of Cruz Bay and prefer to stick to shuttling back and forth along the North Shore Road.

If you're staying out in Coral Bay a vehicle rental is strongly suggested.

Certainly you can use the bus (good luck with that) or hitch hike (actually more efficient than using the bus -- but you have to count on the timing and tourist folks who know that hitchhiking is OK on island and a generally accepted practice esp among locals) but location for hitchhiking is key. YOu might get lucky in that area or you might not.

Like I said, IMHO if you're staying in Coral Bay a car is your best bet.

If you don't want to splurge for a vehicle for the entire trip perhaps plan on renting one for a couple of days.

After saying all that though I do recall that there are a couple of taxi drivers who coordinate trips from Maho Camps and Concordia but they are generally scheduled. Not sure where you said you were staying exactly.

Gromit it sound like they will have a jeep but want to drop it off so they only have to go one way on they johnny horn

I agree with waterguy-- the best option is to hitch--lots of folks will drop you at the columbo stand and then you can wait and see if folks are driving down towards waterlemon--OR hitch into town and take a taxi out to waterlemon

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FORUMITES: CAN THEY TAKE A TAXI FROM FERRY DOCK TO LEINSTER?

At the Cruz Bay Ferry Dock taxis line up to take people to the Northshore beaches (where Leinster is)
if one of those taxis will take you to Leinster read on:

"The Johnny Horn Trail connects the Leinster Bay Trail at the eastern end of the
beach at Waterlemon Bay with the historic Emmaus Moravian Church in Coral Bay." -St. John Off The Beaten Track

The Moravian Church in Coral Bay is very close to a bus stop.
You could drop jeep at Moravian Church in Coral Bay.
Walk down to the bus stop at the Coral Bay 'Triangle'
(less than a five minute walk from the Moravian Church)
and take the bus to Cruz Bay Ferry Dock.
At the ferry dock you can take one of the Northshore taxi's out to Leinster Bay.

Bus schedule is not as bad as everyone says. (Problem is that if one of our two buses
breaks down then instead of there being a bus every hour, there will only be a bus
every TWO hours.) Plan to be at The Coral Bay 'Triangle'to catch the bus to Cruz Bay by :05 past the hour.
If the bus doesn't come by :45 after the hour: hitch.

Call Public Works the day you want to do this and ask them if both buses are running: (340) 776-6346
Tell them you have a question about St John Bus schedule. Our bus system is called "Vitran".

(I know NOTHING about hiking, and I know Johnny Horn is not an easy trail, so it may depend on
the uphill-downhill layout of the trail. But if you can hike from The Moravian Church to Leinster then
you could go for a nice swim after the hike. Again, that may not be the right direction to
hike Johnny Horn, check with a hiking resource.)

We've hiked the Johnny Horn a couple of times but have gone from Leinster over to Coral Bay and back, so haven't had to deal with this. I guess the simplest way to do it is get a taxi to Leinster /Annaberg, hike over to Coral Bay, then hitch or get the bus back to Cruz Bay. If there's any problem getting a driver to go to Leinster, you could take the regular Maho Camps shuttle and get off at the Leinster Bay road. From there it's a pleasant, flat walk to the trail.

Another idea would be to drive to Coral Bay and take the Brown Bay trail off the East End Road. Leave the jeep somewhere between the triangle and the trail. Hike to Brown Bay, then take the trail going up to the Johnny Horn trail and hike it back down to Coral Bay.

You could make a circuit of it. We did this on our first trip to STJ:
• Park at the Annaberg ruins and walk out to Waterlemon
• Hike up the hill on Johnny Horn Trail
• Follow the trail into Coral Bay
• Stop for lunch at Skinny Legs
• Turn left at the Coral Bay Triangle
• Turn at your first right, and walk past Love City Mkt
• Continue on the road until it turns into a track; eventually you pop out on the Centerline road at the Colombo stand
• Cross Centerline, and walk down the North shore road and back to your car at the Annaberg ruins

Lovermont

You could take the bus. Get on just around the corner from skinny legs. Costs $2, I think and is scary as H E double hockey sticks going around those corners but... will get you back to Cruz Bay.

While I can't comment on the taxi situation or the trail I will mention that it you can take the bus or some other method to get to Colombo's Smoothie stand at the intersection of Centerline @ North Shore it is a pleasant walk down to Leinster. The walk is well shaded (at least the time of day that we made it) and all downhill or flat.

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Based on these replies you can do exactly what you asked about in your post:

• • Drive and park your jeep next to The Moravian Church in Coral Bay.
  • Walk a few hundred feet back to the "Triangle"
  (that's the corner you will pass with the arch sign saying "Coral Bay")
  • Take the bus from "The Triangle" to the Cruz Bay Ferry dock (When you see the bus coming go across the
  street from the signs to catch it back to Cruz Bay. Wave at the bus so it will stop for you. Say "Good
  Morning" when you get on the bus- or afternoon or goodnight. If it's running early, it may pass you at
  the triangle on it's way to Salt Pond. If that happens, you might want to get on the bus and go out
  to Salt Pond where the bus turns around and heads back to Cruz Bay. If you do that, then at Salt Pond
  you will have to pay another $1 per person but it is a pretty drive and you may like to do that rather than wait at
  the corner. It's about a 25 minute ride from "The Triangle" to the Ferry Dock)
  • At the Cruz Bay Ferry Dock take one of the taxis to Annenberg Ruins/Leinster/Waterlemon
  (there are always several taxis lined up at the ferry dock to take people to Northshore Beaches)
  • Hike Johnny Horn to Coral Bay where your jeep will be waiting.

There is no gasoline in Coral Bay; have half a tank of gas when you leave the Jeep there

Bus costs $1 per person from Coral Bay to Cruz Bay.
Driver does not make change so have a dollar per person ready when you catch the bus.
(see the bus schedule info in my first reply)

This is a photo of what we call "The Triangle" in Coral Bay. This is the corner where you will wait for the bus back to Cruz Bay.
You will drive by this on your way to the Moravian Church which is just several hundred feet down to the left of this sign.



I would plan on it taking about 2 hours all told: driving from Cruz Bay to Coral Bay –
dropping off Jeep and getting back to Cruz Bay – taxi from Cruz Bay to Annanberg/Leinster

Wow, thanks so much for the help everybody! A lot to think about! Nothing is too convenient but I wouldn't have it any other way. I'd rather it be this way than have more traffic on St. John.

1 of 4 wrote:You could take the bus. Get on just around the corner from skinny legs. Costs $2, I think and is scary as H E double hockey sticks going around those corners but... will get you back to Cruz Bay.

Have you been in the car it almost hits as it barrels around from behind a corner? Thats my favorite part.

toes in the sand wrote:While I can't comment on the taxi situation or the trail I will mention that it you can take the bus or some other method to get to Colombo's Smoothie stand at the intersection of Centerline @ North Shore it is a pleasant walk down to Leinster. The walk is well shaded (at least the time of day that we made it) and all downhill or flat.

This version is really do-able. There's no reason to pay the taxi fare from Cruz Bay all the way back to Leinster. The walk from the Colombo stand down to Leinster is really a breeze. So, take your pick... park at Skinny's and do the bus at the beginning of the circuit, or park at Leinster, hike to Coral Bay, bus to the Colombo stand and then walk back down to your car.
The little bit of map that I included in my earlier post is the Trail Bandit map. His map is a must if you're doing any hiking.

Have fun. I'm jealous

Lovermont

Awesome guys! Sounds like the way to go. Thanks for the map Lovermont...I downloaded his trail maps for my GPS. I'm hoping to do some geotagging with my photos this trip