Cinnamon Bay Archives

We’ve been asked if we have a favorite beach on St. John, and we’d have to answer the same way that our friend Dwayne Allen of the Rum Bar in Phoenix answered when we asked him if he had a favorite rum. He said “They’re all like my children – I love them equally, it’s just that some days I prefer one over the other!”

Map of St. John north side beaches. The umbrellas indicate beaches. For and interactive version of this map, click here.

With so many outstanding beaches to visit on St. John, it’s hard to pick a favorite, but Cinnamon Bay will always hold a special place in our heart. When we first visited St. John some 17 years ago, we were on a cruise and had only one day to explore St. Thomas and St. John. We asked a good friend of ours who had spent time on both islands for his advise on what to do and see. This is the same friend that told us we must sample a Painkiller while in St. John…which, of course, we did, and have been sampling them ever since!

So what was his advice? Take the ferry to St. John and spend the entire day on Cinnamon Bay. That’s exactly what we did, and spent an entire, beautiful day on one of the prettiest beaches we’d ever seen, sharing it with only a family of donkeys. That’s right – aside from a couple way on the other end of the beach – and the donkey’s – we had it all to ourselves.

Fast forward 17 years and Cinnamon Bay is now one of the most popular beaches on the island and for good reason. It not only has a mile long expanse of gorgeous white sand, good swimming and snorkeling, it now has a ton of amenities as well.

Cinnamon Bay has a General Store, a Beach Shop, Watersports Activity Center, Restaurant, Restroom and Showers, Camping and Cottages, plenty of parking and regular taxi service.

The only bad thing about all of this? You most likely won’t be the only ones on the beach with a family of donkey’s anymore. But with a mile of beautiful beach to enjoy, you should still be able to find a great spot in the sun as you can see from a picture of a more recent visit above.

One of the Cinnamon Bay Cottages

View to the left from the beach

Looking down Cinnamon Bay Beach to the right

Cinnamon Bay – still one of our favorite places to get our toes in the sand on St. John. Can you see why?

For more information on camping and other amenities on Cinnamon Bay, check out the
Cinnamon Bay Campground Website

Find Cinnamon Bay on our St. John Island Map

To see more posts on St. John and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches, Bars & More, Tropical Travel Guide, 2013
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

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

Honeymoon Beach

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

copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches, Bars & More, Tropical Travel Guide, 2013
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

Tag: Cinnamon Bay

Cinnamon Bay, St. John

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