Map of St John

[jeanie]

For anyone thinking of doing St John on there own, here is a pretty detailed map of St John and it's hiking trails....

Map of St john

 

[jmcross]

Is it difficult to travel to St. John on your own?? I would hate to miss the ship on the way back!!

Thanks,

Joanne

 

[jmcross]

bump

 

[mickeyboat]

We are going to do it in March. I think the key is to get off the ship as soon as you can to try to make the 9:00 Red Hook ferry. Then you should make sure to get back on the ferry to St. Thomas no later than the 2:00 trip to make sure you get back to the boat in time. People have complained that there is sometimes a lot of traffic to go through on St. Thomas on the return trip.

I'll let you know how we make out.

Denae

 

[mrsfuzzmo]

There is a transport boat from Charlotte Amalie that goes from downtown to St. John. I don't think it's a ferry and therefore not as popular a t Red Hook, and I think the schedule runs only 1or 2 times a day. Boat ride is of course longer that from Red Hook (RH - 20 minutes, CA - 45 mins). BUT this would enable you to forgo the ride to Red Hook and Back again. It's something worth looking into, if you aren't taking a car over, AND if you can deal with the longer boat ride. I don't have many more specifics on it, but I will do a search now and get back to you if I find anything specific out.

Mrsfuzzmo

 

[mrsfuzzmo]

Charlotte Amalie to Cruz Bay: Ferry tickets are $7 for adults, $3 for children, one way. The trip takes about 45 minutes.

Departing Charlotte Amalie waterfront, St. Thomas to Cruz Bay, St. John:
9:00 A.M.
11:00 A.M.
1:00 P.M.
3:00 P.M.
4:00 P.M.
5:30 P.M.

Departing Cruz Bay, St. John to Charlotte Amalie waterfront, St. Thomas:
7:15 A.M.
9:15 A.M.
11:15 A.M.
1:15 P.M.
2:15 P.M.
3:45 P.M.

Ferry service operated by:
Transportation Services 776-6282 and Varlack Ventures 776-6412

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There you go. This may be the way you'd like to go instead of riding all the way to Red Hook. Taxi to downtown (or walk the Mile) and ferry from there.

Schedule looks good too. Hope this helps!

Mrsfuzzmo

 

[mickeyboat]

One thing to keep in mind about the ferry from CA. I have been told that it is a very rocky ride. If you are prone to motion sickness, you should avoid it. I was also wondering how far from dock the CA ferry is. Is it withing walking distance? What if you have to tender in?

Denae

 

[mrsfuzzmo]

If I remember correctly from the last time I was there (May 02) The ferry was right at the downtown dock. Which is right, basically at the shopping area. If you have to tender in, you will be dropped off right there at the same general area. If you are docked, you will be at Havensite which is a 5 minute cab ride to downtown, OR a mile-to a mile and a half walk. (I generally like to walk to town from Havensite, and cab back, BUT it isn't a very nice walk. Nothing to see, but a few rundown buildings and thee busy road. I just like to walk! It's not a bad walk for someone who is used to walking. I would NOT recommend this walk for children or seniors! It's right along the waterfront, there are sidewalks, just not much to see, kind of dirty. )

I also have heard that the ferry from CA can get rough, but if you like boat rides, you'll see a bit of St. Thomas from the ocean instead of from the cab going to Red Hook. You'll also go past St. James Is. (which has a giant for sale sign on it) and get a good look at Barbra Streisands house on a cliff! Pretty cool.

Mrsfuzzmo

 

[Carasoyn]

jmcross

TinkerBellMom and I just did St John's on our own. We took a taxi to the Red Hook ferry over to SJ since it leaves every hour. But our taxi driver agreed to have us back at the dock in time to take the dowtown ferry back. So it's not really an either/or proposition. The ride wasn't bad seasick wise but the boats aren't huge. My DC (TinkerBellMom's DD) gets sick but we sat on the roof of both ferries and she did fine. We walked back to the ship from Charlotte Amalie (one less taxi) and the walk wasn't bad. There were abandonded buildings but that gave me the opportunity to see a few giant iguanas. I don't see that everyday! The worse part was the humongous line to re-board the Magic. That took as long as the walk. We were concerned about missing the ship as well but really had no problems.

BTW St. John's is definitely worth it. Don't miss out on the closest thing I've ever seen to Paradise!

 

[jmcross]

Wow!!

Thanks so much for all of the responses.

Joanne

 

[jmcross]

One more question~

Are all of these bay areas similar? What is the difference between Cinnamon, Trunk, and Cruz Bays?

Whoops!! Guess that was two questions!

Thanks,

Joanne

 

[Carasoyn]

We only went to Trunk Bay. It's $4 to get in and a national park beach. It's clean, there are showers, a gift shop, and concession stand. Snorkel gear rents for $5, the taxi cost is $4 each way and on the flight home my American Way Mag. listed Trunk bay as the best snorkeling in the Caribbean. Cinammon Bay is a little farther away from Trunk Bay and Cruise Bay is the closest to the ferry dock in the opposite direction. Actually you can see them both on jeanie's map. Let me know which one you end up at.

carasoyn

 

[jmcross]

Anyone ever been to any of the other bays?

Thanks,

Joanne

 

[jeanie]

Joanne,

We are going to Cinnamon. We have never been before but after reading these boards and www.vinow.com
we decided on Cinnamon. Check out vinow, it has everything you need to plan your Virgin Island trip... Even has a section for taxis and ferrys....

These boards have been very helpful in providing answers to any questions that I had on planning this part of our trip that I feel I am ready for anything!!

 

[mickeyboat]

Trunk Bay will probably be very crowded, especially later in the day. Cruz Bay is the main port into St. John. You will find restaurants and shops, but really no place to snorkle. I don't think we visited Cinnamon when we were there. Check out www.vinow.com.

We will be going to Trunk Bay in the morning and then we'll check out Cruz Bay for lunch and a little shopping before heading back to the ship.

Denae

 

[penguins_fan]

We did Cinnamon in December, very nice, small store rents snorkel gear, floats and has snacks/drinks though we brought sandwiches and cookies from the ship. Theres also a restaurant- the beach is part of the national park campground. There were maybe 10 people on the whole beach. Trunk looked much busier (you see it and other breathtakng sights) on the cab ride from the dock. We took the 9 am red hook ferry over, then a 10 min cab ride to the beach. Cabs wait all day, easy to get back. We took the 2:15 Charlotte Amalie ferry back. Even though it leaves you in town close to the ship, walking was not an option with our group (small kids). The cab ride took close to an hour - the traffic in the port area late afternoon has been really bad on both of our cruises. That said, dont miss St Johns - it is worth the effort. Its too bad the ship doesn't leave later so ther'd be more time but its definitely a place I'd like to go back to.