Although the smallest of the three US Virgin Islands, St. John has a tremendous amount of things to do and see, or plenty of space to stretch out and do nothing at all, if that’s what you’re looking for!
During a recent visit, we took an early morning car ferry from Red Hook, St. Thomas to St. John. The car ferry is a good option if you’ve rented a car on St. Thomas and have plenty of time – just check with your car rental company to make sure they allow it.
Car Ferry from Red Hook, St. Thomas to St. John
Lovely Cruz Bay, St. John. Cruz Bay is where the ferries arrive and depart.
Right off of the passenger ferry dock you’ll find a number of great beach bars and fun stores. During this trip, we made a stop at St. John Spice (upper level) and Bones Rum (1st level).
Take a hike down the beach and stop for a drink at:
High Tide
Joe’s Rum Hut, or
The Beach Bar.
Cruz Bay has a lot of other great restaurant, bar and shopping options – there’s literally something for everyone. We headed up the hill on 20 toward the north side beaches and stopped at the Cruz Bay overlook for a pic.
Then took a hike down through the forest to check out Salomon (Solomon) Bay and Honeymoon Beach.
Salomon (Solomon) Bay
We continued on 20 past Caneel Bay
And stopped at Hawksnest Bay Beach to lounge in the water for a while
Climbed Peace Hill to check out the ruins and the gorgeous views…
Then lingered for a while at the popular Trunk Bay Overlook for a picture of the spectacular bay.
Trunk Bay
And snorkeled at the Trunk Bay Underwater Snorkel Trail
Stopped at Cinnamon Bay to put our toes in the sand
Checked out beautiful Maho Bay for the first time
And peaceful Francis Bay.
We took our time looking around Coral Bay.
Enjoying a very tasty Jazz Brunch at Miss Lucy’s
and later an extremely tasty hamburger and rum drinks at Skinny Legs.
We hiked the Salt Pond Trail to Drunk Bay
to check out some interesting coral sculptures that other visitors have created…
And took one last chance to wade in the clear, blue water of Salt Pond Bay. Reluctantly, we headed back to the ferry, a bit more tan and a lot more relaxed…
There you have it. A few of our favorite experiences from our last (much too short) visit to St. John. We’ll most certainly be going back, so, what have we missed? What are your favorite things to see and do on St. John?
To see other posts on St. John and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory
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Happy Hour and the conch fritters at Woody’s are not to be missed!
Mmmmm – sounds great! Thx Elizabeth!