USVI-On-Line

Long time lurker here. The wife and I will be on STJ the middle of July. We are planning on renting a dinghy for one of the days. We would like to use the time to stop at some of the beaches that aren't as easy to get to by car/feet. We would also like to get to one or two of the cays. I thought I had read somewhere that some of the cays were accessible by dinghy, but I can't find it. If anyone has done this, can you tell me which cays are accessible, private and/or has decent snorkeling?

Thanks in advance. This is our third trip to St. Thomas/John and have been more excited for each one. I hope it never wears off.

Jorge & RickG - I hope I didn't get your hopes up with the thread title.

Islandcat

I had my hopes up

Pretty risky title there.

Unfortunately I have never taken a boat out in the USVI, but I will be interested in hearing the serious responses.

hi,

We did not rent a dingy, but went on a Sadie Sea snorkeling trip to Henley Cay. There is a strong current from the northwest side of the cay to the southwest side. I would land at the NW side, then snorkel with the current and walk back up on the island. The coral there is absolutely amazing. Read my Trip Report: Part 2: Snorkeling, Boat Excursions for more detail.

Buddles

DELETED

Jorge I'm just glad all the heat stays on you 2

Hi:

We take a dingy out every year and it's one of our favorite days.

We have always rented from Noah's Little Arks which is located directly in front of the Beach Bar. We go around the North side of the island hitting Solamon, Honeymoon, Gibney, Hawksnest, Truck, Peter, Cinnamon, Maho, Francis, Leinster, abd finally Waterlemon Cay. It is amazing how different the beaches look from the "other" side. Waterlemon Cay is really only accessable by a pretty good walk and swim unless you have a boat so it is definetly the easiest way to get there.

Hope the info helps!

Michele



Yo

bugblu98 wrote:
We go around the North side of the island hitting Solamon, Honeymoon, Gibney, Hawksnest, Truck, Peter, Cinnamon, Maho, Francis, Leinster, abd finally Waterlemon Cay.

Hi Michele - How long does it take you to do all those beaches? Do you stop a while at each or just select a couple of them for snorkeling??

Thanks!

Carole

We rented from Noah's Little Arks in December and headed out to Waterlemon Cay as our starting point. We rented the smaller dingy, as it was just the two of us (it's a little lighter and easier for 2 to manage) and we did the full day rental. They give you this great little map and all the boating instructions for where to enter (red and green go between), where not to enter, etc. and you watch this short video that covers everything you need to know. We found the waters through the final channel to be a little rough, but would not hesitate to do it again. It was just a matter of slowing down the motor. We stopped at several of the beaches on the way back. It was a great day and are planning to do it again on our next trip. Ali~

We always rent the dingy for a full day so we usually start by going to the fartherest point (Waterlemon Cay) and come back from there. We pack a cooler with drinks and lunch. We usually hit at least 4 or 5 beaches and pick one to have lunch on. If you don't stay too long in any one place, I'm sure you could hit them all. Be aware though, you don't want to leave any of them!

Michele

We have also stopped at Caneel Bay (twice) and to our surprise were treated like royalty..You would have thought we had arrived on the QE2..Grabbed a bite to eat, lounged on the beach, and swam to the swimming platform..Fun stop..

This trip we plan on renting our dinghy from Calypso..their dinghys have a center console and BACK RESTS..www.calypsovi.com/dinghy..In years past we stayed at the Westin and rented from there..

DonnaC wrote:This trip we plan on renting our dinghy from Calypso..their dinghys have a center console and BACK RESTS..www.calypsovi.com/dinghy..In years past we stayed at the Westin and rented from there..

These look great! I see a price of $125 for 1/2 day; $195 for a full day. How do these prices compare with Noah's? I don't see prices on the Noah's website.

Also, I can't tell if there is also room in the front... can these dinghies hold 4 people (2 adults, 2 teens)?

Oh, this is the actual link:

http://www.calypsovi.com/dinghy.html

Hi, I cannot imagine any of these dinghys would hold 4 unless your children are very small...It is tight..We rented last year from Cruz Bay Water Sports at the Westin www.divestjohn.com and rented two,,my older son was about to turn 17 so he took one out with his brother, while hubby and I took the other..Neither Cruz bay waters sports or Noah's has the dinghy's with the back rests..You sit on the side and hold onto ripped handles..lol, which why I am going with Calypso this trip..If it becomes too pricey..a half day is still fine..

Thanks Donna... that's what I figured. I'm going to email them and see what they have for 4.

Thanks!

Carole