USVI-On-Line

Hey All,

We are palnning our next trip to STJ and renting a dinghy from Noah's is on the list. We have never done this before. We have a couple of "first-timers" with us and thought that a day of beach hopping by boat would be a good way to break them in.

Looking for some feedback from those who have. I have a little boating experience but no one else in our group does.

Thanks!

My husband and I did this in December and we loved it. Be prepared though, the water through the channel on the way to Leinster can be a bit rough. Don't be discouraged, it's worth the trip and a memorable day. We are definitely planning to do this again on our next visit. Happy travels. Ali~

I loved the dinghy trip we took on our last trip to STJ. We rented from Crabby's on the East End and explored Hurricane hole. It was a lot of fun.

For details on the day you can check my trip report from back in the old forum days at http://www.caribbean-on-line.com/cgi-bi ... 2005+18168

Let me know if you have any questions!

flip-flop - can you take crabby's dinghys to the south shore beaches, or do you have to stay in the east?

Bob

They give you a detailed map, but you are asked to stay pretty much in hurricane hole. There is plenty to explore though. We had a great time and there was more to see when it was time to go back in to Crabby's.

Thanks flip-flop - we plan on doing a couple dinghy trips, one with noah and the other with crabbys. my wife and i loved noahs and the north shore last time on st. john and can't wait to explore the east end. we are staying in coral bay and hope to cover most of the snorkel spots on that side of the island.

Bob

You are most welcome. Where are you staying in Coral Bay? We are staying on that end of the island for the first time in November and are interested in others experiences. I am sure we'll love it.

We have spent way more time out that way the last 2 trips. I love Francis and Maho and its about the same difference to get there from Chocolate Hole as it is from Coral Bay so we figured what the heck.

We may do the opposite and explore the North Shore by dinghy this time. You'll love Crabby's too. Very low key and pleasant to deal with.

Flip-Flop - thanks for the pointer to your report. We were thinking about renting a dinghy from Crabby's this trip, but I wasn't sure if there was much to see in the Hurricane Hole area. Your report convinced me that we would definitely enjoy it.

We rented chairs from Mr Crabby (the male one) last year and he was great to chat with.

Can I ask what villa you stayed in on that trip? Loved the picture of the pool area. We are staying in Bayview this trip, but always keep an eye out for other villas we might enjoy.

Last trip we stayed at Ambiance on Chocolate Hole hillside. GREAT villa. Affordable (I guess) with 3 couples, not so much with 1 couple, 2 kids and gramma I would stay there again in a heartbeat!

The pool was phenomenal and renting it is like getting two houses. The main house w/ one king bedroom and then the separate pod with the other two king bedrooms. VERY nice.

I think you will enjoy the Coral Bay dinghy rental. I loved just seeing the mangroves. Lots of sealife there and very pretty.

As to where we are staying, hmm, the name of the place is Spyglass Hill, but I don't know exactly where it is in Coral Bay. A friend of mine recommended it as a very moderately priced house (for 2) in the Coral Bay area. It will be our first time staying out that way too. I'm sure we'll love being on that side, and while i'm not the best writer, I will try to let everyone here read about our adventures.

We loved renting a dinghy from Noah's. It's probably one of the funnest/unfun days of exploring we've ever had. Speaking from experience though, don't get so caught up gawking at the huts on Peter Bay that you lose track of the where the "no boat zone" is in relation to where you've driven your dinghy. Good times though!

chrisn,

What was "unfun" about that day?