USVI-On-Line

What do you do to help make your STJ vacation more affordable?

I posted this in another thread but thought it would be good to have people share their tips.


I pack 2 rubbermaid water bottles
I buy one case of water (4 gallons) and refill them at STJ Ice.
Not buying individual bottles saves me money and results in less trash left behind.

This will be our 4th trip. We have spent incrementally less each year on lodging.

I choose reasonable lodging and we cook when I go with my husband or the family.
For the annual women's trip (SOTB) we split a villa about 10 ways so that is very economical.
We do refill water bottles, bring some foods from home and avoid the real expensive restaurants. Rum costs less than the mixer so we just make our drinks real strong.

Stay @ Maho & Concordia. Buy airfare first, cheapest we can get. Flexibility with vacation dates. Travel during off-season.

Low season isn't that hot.

St Thomas car rental and Car Barge for groups larger than 2.

Stay in Cruz Bay limit car rental to 2 or three days. Hike, hitch-hike, bus it.

Split a big sandwich from Grotto or Sam and Jacks for lunch.

Snacks around the pool in late afternoon followed by light fare or apps in town.

The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that we usually travel in low season. The two times we came in high season we booked last minute and got a discount that made it comparable to low season rates.

The other thing I do is curtail shopping. If I see something I want to buy, I wait a couple of days and then go back for it if I decide I really, really want it. I find that I usually change my mind and don't want whatever it was that captured my attention after all. Donald Schnell's studio is the only exception to this finding. I always want everything in there!

Finally, not for cost reasons, but for overall cutting down on food waste, I try and repurpose leftover food into something different for the next day. John and I also split a lot of dishes when we eat out because the portions are just too big.

Breakfast @ the house almost always - except if we are going to Jost for the day or heading home (then we usually hit deli grotto)

2nd to splitting a sandwich from Deli Grotto. Easily enough food to two grown people with good appetites.

We pack lunch for the beach at least every other day. 1 - it saves money and 2 - we don't have to leave if we are relaxed just because we get hungry. Our go to is PB&Js, a bag of chips or pretzels, some cookies and drinks.

Buy non known brands. Instead of keebler cookies, I bought these bags of mini cookies (similar to mini oreas, choc chip cookies and lemon cookies) that were $1.49 a bag at Pine Peace.

Here are our tips for budget-conscious travel to St. John:

- Use frequent-flier points for air travel.

- Stay close enough to Cruz Bay that you don't need to rent a car (at least not every day). Use taxis to get to the North Shore beaches.

- Book a longer stay so you can negotiate a better per-night rate on lodging.

- Eat breakfast in, pack a lunch with drinks.

- instead of dinner, take advantage of Happy Hour specials (our favorites are Spyglass and High Tide because they come with a view of the harbor).

TM

We're always on a tight budget, so we usually share a villa or boat trip with other couples and it really helps to keep the cost of everything down. Not to mention it's super fun!

I go off season, November and December are especially nice times to go.

My kids still use booster seats, so we use a carseat bag and they check for free. That carseat bag is like a black hole, I put their lifejackets, sunscreen, food, etc in with the seats.

We always eat breakfast in. I think we have only eaten breakfast out only 2 times out of all our trips. I usually bring sandwich meats and cheese from home, along with a 2 or 3 kinds of meats for the grill along with some snacks for the beach. I always book airfare 1st as our dates are usually pretty flexiblle..then look for the best deal on lodging. We are not villa gravity people as long as its clean we dont mind. (I keep saying we are gonna have one just havent yet) I see no sense in spending big bucks for something we are not at except to shower and sleep, more or less. This yr we are saving a bundle. I plan on keeping a detailed report on how much we spent. I dont think I have ever kept a running tally of what we spend...or spent, it might scare me if I did.. I too usually wait til the day before we leave to shop..of course I look at things while we are there and then decide which ones I want just before we leave. And although I say..we can do without a jeep for at least half the trip...We usually end up renting a jeep, I like being able to come and go as I wish.

I trade some of my skills for a free place to stay.

Can someone tell me the cost for a taxi from Cruz Bay to the north shore beaches? Usually rent a car, but might be staying in Cruz Bay this time so might not need to rent the whole week if taxi fare is cheap~

stjchica wrote:Can someone tell me the cost for a taxi from Cruz Bay to the north shore beaches? Usually rent a car, but might be staying in Cruz Bay this time so might not need to rent the whole week if taxi fare is cheap~

From Cruz Bay to Trunk it is $8 pp.

I could not imagine it being affordable to take taxis UNLESS you have 2 people and only do 1 popular beach a day.

If you have access to a grill or other cooking device, buy yourself a nice "Polar Bear Cooler", while it does have the word "cooler" in the name, its more like a big insulated bag with a strap, so a lot easier to carry around. We packed a ton of food our last trip including all frozen meats which were still rock hard when we arrived. This saved us a ton of money on lunches and dinners!