St John vs STX

[pmlykens]

My wife and I have made two trips to STJ and had wonderfull visits on both occasions. We have also made several trips to the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas. In general we prefered STJ for its beaches and dining. While we both snokel, it is generally not a priority. I would apreciate comments from travelers who have made trips to STX and STJ, discussing the relitive merits of each.

Thanks,

Phil

[Captain Scott]

pmlykens:

We've been to STJ 6 or 7 times now and STX 3 times. We much prefer St. John. ST. Croix is not as crowded and hectic as ST. Thomas, but it just doesn't have the same atmoshpere as St. John. In addition the beaches are not as white and not nearly as wide as those on STJ. The water is beautiful but coral doesn't seem to be as nice on STX. At least what we've seen of it.

It seems that crime is more of a problem on St. Croix or at least that is the feel we get. Stayed at one condo complex there that had an armed guard walking the property at night. Walked a beach with a no tresspassing sign, that we ignored of course, and a Rasta with an AK47 let us know it was time to turn around. That was the mid-80's but still well engrained in the old memory bank!

If I were to chose another Island in the area instead of STJ it would be Tortola. It has nice beaches, not as nice as STJ in my opinion, but still very nice. The people have been extremely friendly to us when we stay there. It has a very laid back feel. Many areas are less commercial than STJ. The roads are a real mess. Generally narrow and in bad repair but not really a problem. A favorite Island for us, it just comes in 2nd to STJ to me, my wife's first choice is Tortola.

If you go to STX I'm sure you'll enjoy it. But to me there really is no place that feels like it's home other than STJ. I just get STJ.

Good luck
Scott

[linne]

My husband and I visited both STJ and STX in July.
We are still dreaming about the beaches on STJ, you cannot find such beaches on STX. But STX has it's own charm. We liked Christiansted and Buck Island is also worth a visit. If you want to read something about our experiences on STX, you can find it in the topic: "linne's diary, part 5".

Linne

[pmlykens]

Linne and Capt. Scott. Thank you both for your replys. The one issue we had with STJ was the feeling of being crowded. Even in mind Nov. (our last trip) we found it crowded in Cruz Bay, and somewhat difficult to get restraunt tables at our prefered times. I understand that STX is at a disadvantage in relation to the beaches, but then again just about everywhere is. I am a bit more concerned about the issue of crime. I have read posts on both sides of the issue, and guess I will have tho do some more research.

Linne: I read several of your reports and thoughly enjoyed them. I had forgotten about the fact that you were also on STX. I will have to go back and re read that report.

Thanks,

Phil

[Margy Z]

Phil - I think I responded to your post on another forum about Villa Madeleine. Regarding crime, we did not have any issues on our first STX trip in April. We are not late partyers, though, tend to stick pretty much to our villa and the beaches and a late night out for us is an 8 PM dinner followed by a few drinks. The worst thing we encountered on STX was a surly airport counter agent at Cape Air who refused to let me have a customs form in advance of our return. Who hasn't ever had a bad day? That day may have been hers. Other than that, the people we encountered were very nice wherever we met them. No matter where we travel we just always exercise the same awareness and caution about our surroundings and belongings as we would at home in Chicago. Here's a link to a website I found awhile ago that kind of puts the STX "crime" issue in a bit of perspective:

http://www.st-croix.net/stepchild/carnival.html

We do like to stay on the north side of STT from time to time and we love STJ but we are kind of waiting out the building boom. I was there in May on a day trip from STT and on that particular day the noise from the construction of the condo developments could be heard as far as Trunk Bay. The crowds in Cruz Bay also seemed pretty dense and parking was tough. I think all of this will settle with time. When we next return to STJ we will most likely look to stay near Coral Bay or the east end.

I think STX is poised to come into its own again. I hope it does but, selfishly, would like to explore and enjoy it for a couple of trips before the crowds return. True that there is no beach on STX (except maybe Buck Island) that will rival the north shore beaches of STJ. The STX beaches remind me more of the beaches you will find out on the east end of STJ or the north side of STT (like Hull Bay or Dorothea). The resorts on STX (like the Divi or the Buccaneer) do have beautifully manicured beaches and some of the condo developments (like Gentle Winds) also work on theirs daily.

Each of the USVI locations has its own flavor, as does each island in the BVI. The choice for us is always what we are looking for in the particular vacation we are planning at the time.

[pmlykens]

Margy: Thank you for the reply. Yes I posted a question about VM on another forum, and I will post a reply there with some more specific questions. Also, thank you for the link to the article. There are very few places that I have ever been that there was no crime. It sounds like your idea of a late night is similar to ours, and my guess is that we would find STX safer than our visits to NYC.

Phil

[Captain Scott]

Phil:

I'd like to clarify my comments about crime on STX. When we were walking the beach and crossed the no tresspassing area and ran into the Rasta with the gun it was not as threatening as I may have made it sound (makes a good story though). I suspect there were probably drugs at the house,or just wanted to be left alone, he stood at the door with an AK47 type of gun and looked at us and we got the idea it was time to turn around. So it was more our fault than his by going where we shouldn't have. We passed several no tresspassing signs. We figured it was public beach and we'd go anyway, dumb.

In regards to the security guard at condo. It was just a little unusual. The guard, with a really big dog, pounded on our condo door at 2:00 in the morning when he saw our screen door open. So it startled us. There was also some kind of fencing down by the beach that just looked like it was meant to keep folks away. This was at Colony Cove on STX but it was mid-80s time frame. No problem with crime on that trip but it just gave you the feel that they were watching so closely for a reason.

I read in another post that your interested in Villa Madeleine. We stayed there and enjoyed our visit. On the part of the Island where it is located it was quite nice. Near a small golf course and certainly no crime issues in that area. Its probably been 10 years ago when we stayed there.

There are a number of areas on STX that are nice and in fact I'm sure we'll be back again someday.

As someone else mentioned Buck Island is a very nice trip. We found the water clarity at STX to be good when we were there.

I know what you mean about the crowded feel of Cruz Bay. I guess the reason we like STJ so much is we prefer to stay in Villas and we're pretty much home bodies, we just want to chill on vacation (some would call us boring, and they would be right). So the Cruz Bay parking and crowds issues don't really impact us.

Anyway, I didn't want to scare you away from STX. If great beaches are important to you STX won't compare to STJ. However if you can live with smaller beaches I'm sure you'd have a nice vacation.

Scott