ISO: Where to eat and what to do in St. John, Virgin Islands

[catharine]

I am so excited. Next Tuesday my DH and I leave for St. John for five nights. We are celebrating our one-year anniversary and I am recharging before my final year of law school. We are staying at the Westin for five nights (we got an awesome deal if anyone is interested).

I would love everyone’s input on traveling in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Please recommend good restaurants as well as activities. We snorkel but don’t scuba dive (any thoughts on whether to buy scuba equipment and bring it down versus renting/buying it there?). Our main goal is to relax and chill out; this would be in contrast to our Vegas vacation in May where we were going every waking minute.

TIA for all of your help.
Gratefully,
Catharine

[shoyski]

Catharine.....loved it, loved it! You will have a great time. We went in January and stayed at the Westin as well, which we thought catered very well to guests.

Best place we ate was a place called ZoZo's. Small Italian joint with a small menu but great food and terrific wine! One night for dinner we returned there, sat at the bar and had drinks and appetizers for dinner, then returned to the Westin to their "nicest restaurant" and had dessert there. Sorry, can't remember the name of that place.

There's also a restaurant/bar called Tapas which I'd recommend. Live jazz and if you're lucky, you can sit outside.

We don't scuba so I can't give you advice about that. We rented a boat and captain for a day and travelled all around, including the British Island of Tortolla. That was when we snorkled. Truely a day in paradise for me as I love the water. The nice thing about that was the captain knew all the cool spots to snorkel in and also where not to go because of reefs that are dangerous and could damage the boat. It was expensive enough to rent the boat.....I wouldn't want to buy it.

We are not hustle and bustle people and if you aren't either, stay away from St. Thomas. Very touristy and lots of people harranging you to buy stuff or taxi drivers trying to get your business. We went over and after about 30 minutes, wanted to go right back to St. John.

We really didn't have any bad meals as the food was reallly good. There was one restaurant that we didn't care for...food mediocre and the service not that great. I'll get with my husband to get the name for you.

The weather was great, just make sure you check out what the temps go down to at night. I took a bunch of sundresses and was a bit chilly because in January the temps go down into the high 60'd at night.

One other suggestion: Hire a taxi driver to give you a tour of the island instead of taking a scheduled tour. You can spend as little or as much time as you want at each stop and ask your own questions. Plus, the driver can take your picture as often as you'd like.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something important so I'll try to revisit this later. I'm daydreaming about going back soon. I hope you guys have a wonderful time!

[Jodi]

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE St. John. I'm lucky enough to have family friends who live there, so I've visited several times. The pool at the Westin my favorite place to catch some sun when I've had enough of the beach. If you're looking for relaxation, then you're definitely going to the right place.

I second shoyski's comment about staying away from St. Thomas if you aren't into the tourist thing. It's very commericialized, in my opinion. There is a fun bar there, right near the St. Thomas-St. John ferry, called Duffy's Love Shack. I hear there's one on St. John now, too, but that it isn't as "happening."

One of the best days I spent there was when we rented a dinghy and cruised around the island. There were 4 of us in the boat and it was a little tight, but you should be okay if there are just 2 of you. We took a picnic lunch from Chilly Billy's restaurant and had a glorious afternoon on and in the water.

Have a GREAT time!

[mb]

we only stopped in st. john for a few hours, since we were on a cruise. our time there was definitely a highlight though. after getting off the ferry at cruz bay, we found the national park service office nearby. they gave us some hiking & beach recommendations for that day. since we didn't have much time, we just took the lind point trail to honeymoon beach. i think there are probably some better trails, but it was nice. i'm not sure how interested you are in hiking (especially in the hot tropical sun), but you can find more info at http://www.nps.gov/viis/index.htm

have fun - im so jealous!!! we've visited many islands via cruise ship, but st. john is one of the few islands we'd like to return to!

marisa :)

[nancy_east]

St. John is TRULY paradise in my opinion. Such a pristine island--thank God for national parks (2/3 of the island is n.p. property) My favorite restaurant by far was not one in Cruz Bay. It is on the opposite side of the island on the way to Salt Pond Bay (which is one of my favorite places to snorkel and just lay on the beach). The restaurant is called Miss Lucy's (I'm almost 100% sure that's the name, I know it's "Miss" something if that's not it!) INCREDIBLE local cuisine and relaxed atmosphere right on the beach. We've been twice and none of the many restaurants we've tried even hold a candle to the quality of food. My favorite side of the island is this side (I think it's considered the south side, but not for sure) Anyway, Salt Pond Bay is just wonderful and away from the touristy crowds and beaches (like Maho Bay) Have a great time!

[nancy_east]

I thought of a couple more things! There is a book that we had in our "eco-tent" we stayed in (near Salt Pond Bay--what a great experience they were--not too rustic, but not too posh--just right and overlooks salt pond bay and drunken bay) Anyway, we had a book in our cottage called "Feet Fins and Four Wheel Drive" Find this book! It is an invaluable resource, written by a local on where to hike, features of the different bays, history of the island. I read it almost cover to cover both times we've been!
Definitely hike some if you're into hiking--magnificent trails! I can't remember the names of the trails we hiked, but the book can direct you to any of them and give you details of each. We hiked a loop that took about 1/2 a day. Along the way, we saw an old abandoned mansion the park service is trying to restore and one trail had signs by lots of the island flora and fauna telling what they were (I think that's the reef bay trail) There's also a cool side trail along this loop that leads to some petroglyphs that are really neat as well. I could just go on and on--it is a special place to us and I'm just smiling as I type thinking of all the wonderful memories of St. John. I agree with everyone else who's posted--don't waste your time on St. Thomas--way too many crowds and entirely too much development! Enjoy! Give us a post when you get back!

[shoyski]

Okay, I just had to give you our web site from that trip so you can drool before you get there. Of course, I look totally different now that my hair is down to my shoulders and straight but you aren't interested in me anyway. :)

http://www.concentric.net/~Hoyski/stjohn/

The Westin has a nice workout room and the aerobics class is kickbutt. She wore me out......although we did find that I was six weeks pregnant the day after we returned home. YIPPEE!

I would definitely recommend going up to Bordeaux during the day. They have a restaurant for dinner but we were told before and would agree, it's not worth the drive or money to have dinner because it'll be way too dark to see much. Just stars...which is always nice but you'll be inside eating. Just our opinion, though. We did have a great burger and a cool drink there for lunch. The only problem is taxis don't come up there every five minutes or so so getting back DOWN the mountain was entertaining. We hung out for about 30 minutes before the local bus came up........that was only a dollar to ride and took us right back into town.

The restaurant we were not impressed with was Caneel Bay. It was supposed to be great food with a fantastic view and we were very disappointed. The view was great but the food mediocre and the service sporadic.

Like Nancy, I could go on and on but I should probably get some work done. Maybe I could come hide in your suitcase......do you have one big enough to fit an eight month pregnant me? :)

[venus]

I LOVE ST. JOHN. We went there for a week in April, and I had so much fun.

We didn't stay in a hotel. Instead, we rented a villa on the north side of the island by Coral Bay. It was fantastic! St. John is the perfect place to go if you want a very relaxed, natural vacation. The snorkeling is out of this world. We went for seven days and went to a different beach every day. Our favorites were Salt Pond Bay and Maho Bay. Everyone says that Maho Bay is touristy and overcrowded but there was almost no one there when we went. Also, the Underwater Trail at Cinnamon Bay is an absolute must-see, even though the beach is overcrowded. BTW, the island has wild donkeys and goats on it, who come right down onto the beach. They are too cute for words.

For food, there is a terrific little restaurant in Cruz Bay called Woody's. It has spectacular conch fritters and spicy shrimp. My husband and I went on a conch fritter binge and tried them all over the place. This was one of our favorites. Most of the other restaurants we ate at were in Coral Bay, like Shipwreck Landing, but there are lots of great little restaurants in Cruz Bay too. Here is a really good site for reviews:
http://www.usvi.net/usvi/stj.html

We didn't go to any other islands, because we were having so much fun on St. John. Definitely hike to the top of Mt. Bordeux and check out some of the sugar mill ruins. It will be a vacation you will never forget.

[catharine]

You all are amazing! I have to say that I have done a lot of research – epinions.com, travelocity, friends, but your postings are by far the most informative, and to me, the most reliable. I really appreciate your taking the time to share your experiences with me. I will be thinking of you all as I relax on the beach (actually, I will probably be suffering from BB withdrawal – do they have internet access at the Westin – JK).

A couple questions for all of you experts: first, I am trying to decide whether to buy snorkel gear here and lug it down there or to rent it there. Not being expert snorkelers, we don’t need great equipment so we would probably buy basic-level stuff. What do you all think? Buy or rent?

Second, what about renting a car/jeep versus taking cabs. For some reason, DH doesn’t want a jeep but instead wants to rent a sedan. Are these available? What do you think?

Shoyski, I am so glad to hear you liked the Westin. I have heard mixed reviews but I trust my BB friends more than random Internet postings :) You website is awesome!! Everyone should check it out. What terrific pictures you took. You and your DH look so happy (and so tan)! Did you have to pay for using the workout facilities or taking aerobics?

Nancy, thanks for the recommendation for Miss Lucy’s – I will definitely try it.

Venus, love the idea of comparing the conch fritters – yum. My DH loved the conch chowder in the Bahamas (our honeymoon). Maybe we will do that.

Thanks again!
Catharine

[shoyski]

Catharine, we didn't have to pay extra for the workout facilities. You'll just have to remember to take your passkey to get in and out.

I have to laugh at all the response you're getting. I asked the very same question back in December and didn't get anywhere. I'm so glad we can all give you feedback......I hope it helps.

[venus]

I think I've given you misinformation! The Underwater Trail is at Trunk Bay not Cinnamon Bay. I also forgot to mention Waterlemon Key. It's way up at the northen tip of the island, but if you want very serious snorkeling and scuba diving, this is where to go! It is not for beginners, because you need to be a strong swimmer to make it out to the Key.

We rented a Jeep while we were there, because we had the house and it was much easier than taking a taxi all over. If you're down by the Westin, you might not need it, unless you want to drive to Salt Pond. Absolutely do not get a sedan. The roads are all extremely steep and twisty. You want something with power steering and 4-Wheel drive.

We rented snorkeling equipment. I think it was $5 a day without fins and $10 with fins. If you have it already, bring it but I wouldn't buy it unless you plan on doing a lot of snorkeling in the future. Remember, you have to carry everything on and off the ferry

Shoyski--I'm sorry you didn't get the response back in December! Of course, I hadn't gone yet then, so I wouldn't have been able to tell you anything.