Update: Unfortunately, a few years after Ivan completed construction on his new bar, it was destroyed by the hurricanes of 2017. This is what it looked like during our last visit. The small building on the left is the current bar and we have not heard anything yet about Ivan’s plans to rebuild either the bar or the campground.
We loved Ivan’s Stress Free Bar on Jost Van Dyke the moment we first walked through the shell lined doors in 2010. It just had that unique, funky beach bar vibe that drew you in. Not polished, not shiny – it had sandy floors and shell art everywhere, including a very unique shell man standing watch out front. And then there was Ivan. The bars namesake/owner/proprietor was walking around, making sure his guests were having a nice time. Each subsequent visit was as enjoyable as the first.
Fast forward to 2014 when we heard that Ivan had made the very difficult decision to take down the old bar to pour a new foundation which had been sinking and possibly a danger to his guests. Although we understood, we were a bit saddened that the old bar would be gone.
Last month we had the chance to go back to Jost Van Dyke and spend a little time at the new Ivan’s. Here are some photos from that day.
Did the new bar have the same feeling as the old Ivan’s? No, definitely not. But, with time, the floor will get sandier and the shell art will fill up the walls again. Ivan’s still has Ivan, delicious drinks, a spectacular beach – and the view from the new deck is great! It still has friendly people and some of the old memorabilia. In time, we’ll all get used to the new building and begin to love it like we did the old bar. After all, it still is Ivan’s…
In the past, we’ve visited Jost Van Dyke while on a sail trip or via ferry, and during our recent stay in the USVI, we had a hankering to jet over to Jost Van Dyke to check out the new Ivan’s and enjoy a Painkiller – or two, on White Bay. Instead of taking the ferry over, we thought we’d see if we could hook up with a company that offered day excursions to JVD. A friend suggested Wreck Life Adventure Center, and owners John & Laurel Webb were able to squeeze us in for the day.
The Wreck Life Headquarters are located in Compass Point Marina which is on the east end of St. Thomas not far from Red Hook. We got there early, anticipating a fun day on the water and were greeted by John who goes by “Big Country”. Now, you just can’t help but smile when you meet Big Country. He’s a tall guy with a huge smile who loves joke around and tell stories, and we instantly felt part of the Wreck Life family.
John Webb (aka Big Country)
Our full day excursion started at about 8:30 am and we grabbed our gear and headed to the dock. Their brand new 31′ Island Runner with a center console is arriving any day now, so we boarded the boat normally used for their dive excursions for our day on the water.
What we thought would be just a trip over to Jost turned into an excellent day of exploration – topped off with plenty of time to enjoy White Bay and a few Painkillers… Wreck Life does an excellent job of finding out what your interests are and matching it with an perfect adventure on, and in the water.
Here are just a few highlights of our day with Wreck Life!
Peter Bay, St John
Driving by the North Shore St John beaches for some photo ops, a different way of seeing the gorgeous beaches and learning more about the area (like where’s Kenny Chesney’s house?)
Waterlemon Cay, St. John
Excellent snorkeling at Waterlemon Cay (snorkel equipment was provided), where we spotted the usual snorkeling suspects (such as Sergeant Majors and Parrotfish), and other rather uncommon snorkeling sights for us (nurse shark, sand diver, an eel and living coral!)
Nurse Shark Sand Diver
Colorful “living coral! Entering the British Virgin Islands at Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke (John took care of all of the entry paperwork while we enjoyed the view)
Lunch at Foxy’s (Roti and Rum – yum), and a chat with Foxy!
And then to top off the day – a short boat ride over to White Bay where we spent the rest of the afternoon walking from Ivan’s to One Love and enjoying time in the beautiful White Bay water.
Ivan’s New Building
One Love
An afternoon enjoying the water of White Bay The day was great and we loved the fact that the trip was catered to exactly what we wanted to do. Big Country would have accommodated most anything else we would have liked to pack into the fun day such as a stop at Sandy Spit or Sandy Cay – but we thought our personalized excursion was perfect just the way it was…
Have you done a Scuba Trip or Excursion with Wreck Life Adventure Center? Tell us about it!
To get more info on chartering a scuba trip or one of their personalized day excursions, contact Wreck Life by email at [email protected], check out their website and be sure to follow them on Facebook!
We arrived early on a Monday morning at Tree Limin’ Extreme to try out their zipline experience, currently listed as the #1 Outdoor Activity in St. Thomas on Trip Advisor. Thinking the skies would be clearest and the photo ops the best first thing in the morning, we requested an early time slot. Since we had arental carthe week we were in St. Thomas and were staying on the south side of the island, we left pretty early for our 8:20 am requested time of arrival.
This was not our first time ziplining; we’d ziplined once in Kauai and once in Jamaica, and even though we were not new to this type of experience, we were still just a tad bit apprehensive.
Once we got there, we checked in and were greeted by our guides for the day – Kyle and Leon.
Both super friendly, they immediately drew us in with their gregarious personalities.
Leon helping our group with their gear. Our group of 7 had a lot of questions, and they took the time to make sure everyone felt at ease as we got strapped in for our ride high atop St. Thomas.
Don’t forget to rub the lucky coconut!
We all rubbed the lucky coconut to ensure our safe return, then made our way up to the Pinzgauer, the rugged vehicle that took us up the steep embankment to the first line.
Once at the top, Leon and Kyle gave us our instructions, a safety briefing and one last chance to change our mind about the whole thing. No one chickened out, and although the adrenaline was pumping, we all climbed the steps to the first zip.
Our Zipline Experience Video
(if you don’t have your own Go Pro, you can rent one at the desk to film your own experience!) There are 6 ziplines and 2 sky bridges (suspension bridges) on the course as well as absolutely stunning views of Magens Bay and the islands surrounding St. Thomas.
Sky Bridge #1
The ziplines take you through the dense jungle where we spotted quite a few iguanas hanging out in the trees and enjoyed the serenade of coki frogs and tropical birds.
Each line is different, and our guides would give us tips on getting the most out of each one. Both Leon and Kyle (ok, mostly Leon) encouraged us to scream like crazy as we were zipping to scare the zippers behind us, and some of us (we won’t name names here) had no problem complying, whether it was voluntary or not…
The views were amazing everywhere we looked and we enjoyed reading the island information printed on the signs on each platform.
View of Magens Bay from one of the platforms
The sign on one of the platforms above Megans Bay
We got to the last line way too soon. Even though the tour takes between 2 – 2.5 hours, we were having such a great time that the time just “zipped” by.
Sky Bridge #2
A rainbow over our last zipline
The last line was interesting. It was preceded by the second and highest sky bridge. The drop looked to be the greatest of the 6 and this one didn’t end on a regular platform at the end. Once we stepped off the platform, we flew quickly down through the jungle and then yo-yoed back and forth a few times before being guided down a platform ladder in the middle of the line.
The last zipline We watched from below as the rest of our party came in for a landing, then headed down the path with visions of the fun experience still fresh on our minds.
What did we like best about our Tree Limin’ Adventure? Our guides were great and made us feel extremely safe and comfortable – even while hurling ourselves off a platform into the trees! They followed the safety procedures to a “T”, and took the time to answer any questions our group had. The views were spectacular and may have been worth the price of admission alone. And the best part of it all was just the chance to enjoy the beauty of St. Thomas while experiencing an adrenaline rush through the lush tropics of the island…
Have you ziplined with Tree Limin’ Extreme? Tell us about it!
Do you have friends or family on your holiday shopping list that love the beach, the laid-back style of island life, and maybe enjoy an umbrella drink or two? The best gift for this type of person would probably be an all expenses paid trip to a beautiful tropical island, but if they haven’t been THAT good, or if you that’s just a wee bit out of your price range, we’ve assembled a list of gifts that could be the next best thing! Check out the list below for gifts that are sure to bring a smile to their sun luvin’ faces!
Rum Therapy Caps – several styles and colors to choose from. Pirate Bones Cap, Island Girl, and Rum Therapy Cures What Ails Ya caps – find ’em all here!
Matted Beach Photos with Quotes new this year! Get the full set of 5 – 8×10 beautiful island photos with beach quotes, each in a beveled double 11×14 soft white mat with 4-ply backing. Ready to hang or display as is, or to put in a larger frame. Get the full set of 5 here Shop individual photos here
Anklet & Toe Anklet – the ladies will love this stunning set of foot jewelry. Comfortable, beachy and oh, so pretty! Get the Toe Anklet here Get the Set Here
Women’s Necklaces – several styles to choose from including Patina Sea Necklaces, Life is Better at the Beach Necklace, May You Always Have a Shell in Your Pocket Necklace and the popular Sandy Toes and Salty Kisses! Shop for Necklaces here
Men’s Anchor Necklace – our adjustable Men’s Anchor Necklace will look good on all the salty sailors on your list! Find Men’s Anchor Necklace here
Bracelets – beachy bangle bracelets and beautiful leather bracelets for the ladies! Shop bracelets here
Wristbands – great adjustable leather wristbands for the guys, including the popular Skull and Bones – Arrr Matey! Shop wristbands here
Wine Glass or Stemware Beach Charms – great for wine glasses or other stemware, these pretty charms come in two different styles: On the Beach, or In the Sea! Shop Beachy Wine Glass Charms here
RumHuggers – last, but certainly not least, the one and only Rum Therapy RumHugger! Great stocking stuffer! Easily wraps around any can, bottle and some glasses to keep your beverage cold and your hands warm! Shop RumHuggers here
What Thanksgiving pie do you prefer? Pumpkin or Apple? Well, whichever you prefer, here are two rum inspired pie recipes that may just make you want both. Just skip the mashed potatoes and go for it!
Apple vs. Pumpkin has been a debate in our house around Thanksgiving for a long time, but let me tell you, there wasn’t a crumb of pie left in either plate after we got done with these two. Let us know which one is your favorite!
Looking for a bar with a good beach vibe to sit and enjoy a cold drink while exploring Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas? You might want to try Rum Island Pub – a bar in the middle of Drake’s Passage that feels like a little island oasis in the middle of a bustling town.
We visited Rum Island Pub a few weeks ago as we wanted to find out more about this bar that has “rum” in its name. It had to be good with rum in its name, right? Well it was.
Trish and Doug (CeeBass), some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, are the owners of this unique bar that sits in a passageway of Charlotte Amalie called Drake’s Passage.
Rum Island Pub consists of a covered open air bar with additional outdoor seating and a great gift shop with lots of locally made items including apparel, jewelry, art, photos, lotions and even hot sauce.
Rum Island Pub is also the location of the one and only Husband Day Care. This is one place guys surely won’t mind hanging out while their ladies shop. Enjoy a few rum drinks or St. John Brewers beers, listen to some good music, chat with other day care patrons and enjoy the warm Rum Island breeze while you wait. Be sure to get a picture in front of the Husband Day Care sign to show your friends how you got to spend the day.
Rum Island Pub was under a different name when Trish and CeeBass took it over a few years ago. The location has a pretty long bar history in fact, as it was formerly the site of the first Duffy’s Love Shack (now in Red Hook) until Hurricane Marilyn came along in 1995 and deposited a large boat on top of it. The building was re-built and is now the perfect spot for Rum Island Pub.
What drinks to try? We each sampled (ok, drained) a signature drink called the RIP – Rum Island Punch. The RIP comes with instructions from the bartender (order one to find out what they are!) and they’re delicious. A mixture of Cruzan rums and fruit juices with a floater of 151 to finish the job; these babies are tasty and potent.
We also sampled one of their Famous Nutwackers – a bushwacker with peanut butter & chocolate…needless to say it was also a hit.
Stop by the island – Rum Island that is, and say hi to Trish and CeeBass on your next visit to St. Thomas. Pull up a chair at the bar, try a delicious Rum Island Pub rum drink, check out the local VI crafts in their shop, and be sure to tell them cheers from Rum Therapy!
Have you been to Rum Island Pub? Tell us about it!
A perfect sunset can leave a permanent impression on your soul…Rum Therapy
Sunsets over the sea can be stunning and we’ve had the chance to witness a few during our travels, but one area that seems to have more than its fair share of sunset stunners is Seven Mile Beach, Jamaica.
During our stay on Seven Mile Beach, we were treated to a colorful variation of a sunset like this almost every night depending on the clouds and weather. Seven Mile Beach sunsets definitely made an impression on us.
Have you witnessed a sunset that left a permanent impression on you? Tell us about it!
It was a Sunday and we had taken the car ferry over from St. Thomas for the day. Our mission? Well, we’d love to experience every single one of St. Johns beaches, so part of it was to find a few beaches that we hadn’t yet seen and the other was to find a beach to veg.
Gibney and Oppenheimer beaches were on our list, as the few parking spots for them have been full every time we’ve driven by. This time there were open parking spots, but there was a sign on the gate that said “Closed for a private event”. Sigh…still on the list. (Find Gibney Beach on our St. John Map)
Next stop? Peace Hill. We continued just a little farther on North Shore Road to the Peace Hill sign and a small parking area.
We’d taken the short path Peace Hill and the sugar mill ruins before, and loved the terrific overlook of Gibney Beach, sigh, Hawksnest Bay, and Trunk Bay, but didn’t realize that a small unmarked path off to the right led to the rather secluded Denis Bay Beach until we got home and studied our map (I got low grades on my pre-trip research for that particular trip!). Anyway, we were here now and determined to find Denis.
The path to Denis is a bit rocky and muddy after a rain storm and probably best done in sturdy shoes, but we of course were wearing flip flops. It had poured for a few short minutes prior to our arrival and so we slipped and slid down the trail but arrived with lower digits intact. The wooded trail opened up to beach at the end, where we ditched the flip flops and walked to the right, where the beach looked sandiest.
The beach is not large compared to neighboring Hawksnest and Trunk Bays, but it was deserted and the only person we saw was a lone fisherman on a rocky outcropping a few yards from shore in the bay.
I imagine the beach is usually pretty quiet as it takes a little effort to get there, but we thought it was worth it. Denis Bay Beach found and we’ll be putting a check mark in front of one more beautiful St. John beach.
Have you been to Denis Bay Beach? Tell us about it!
Thanks to FB friend Amber for an update on the new bar on White Bay. The name is apparently Hendo’s Hideout and on their new website, they say “While White Bay is world-renowned for its casual beachside charm and party atmosphere, Hendo’s seeks to bring something a little different to the beach. COMING SOON…January 2016. Come see what the buzz is all about!” They have a new Facebook page too, although there’s not much on it yet. If you happen to be in White Bay in January, give us an update!
A few days ago while enjoying another beautiful day on Jost Van Dyke, we made the trek over the hill from Ivan’s to the beach (and bars!) on the other side of White Bay. As we approached Soggy Dollar, something immediately caught our eye.
There’s a new bar being built on White Bay.
The new building sits very close to Soggy Dollar and is fenced off now during construction.
We were unable to glean any info on the name or type of bar it will be, just that it is a new bar, but it sits right on a prime piece of beautiful White Bay, just like the other great bars on the beach on this island filled with legendary beach bars.
Do you know anything about the new bar? If so, let us know!
We spent just a short time on one of beautiful beaches of this quiet island during a sail in the Grenadines, but it was enough to make us want to return someday.
Petit St. Vincent is an exclusive private 115 acre island resort located in the southern tip of the Grenadines which promotes time spent there as more than just a luxury holiday—it’s an escape.
One of the beaches on Petit St. Vincent
One bedroom cottages and two bedroom villas dot the island – each placed discreetly in a variety of locations on the island, from hillside to beachside.
But this escape also offers plenty to do – if you wish, including pampering spa services, sailing excursions such as to the nearby Tobago Cays, diving, land and water sports.
There are two restaurants as well, or you can choose to be served dinner on the beach or request a picnic on nearby Mopion…
Mopion
But the most appealing feature? This is a stress-free, technology-free zone. No phones in the accommodations, no television, no Wi-Fi. Ahhh… just the thought of it makes me breathe a little deeper. You communicate with the staff by a flag system. To request room service or to schedule a spa appointment or excursion, raise the yellow flag in front of your cottage. Want privacy? Raise the red flag.
So yes, we would love to return to Petit St. Vincent some day to experience the ultimate stress-free, technology-free “escape”. How about you? Could you live without technology during your island vacation?
Find out more about Petit St. Vincent by visiting their website.
