?????????trunk Bay??????????

[missyoh8]

We have heard that Trunk Bay is a "must see". Without booking an excursion, how do we get there? Is it a private beach? We are traveling with some older folks that have a hard time with long walks, will this be a problem?

Give me the cheap girls quick guide to Trunk Bay..............

Thanks,
Missy

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

It's not a private beach. Most of St. John is a national park, and I believe Trunk Bay is part of it. In any case, it is open to the public.

It's pretty easy to get there on your own. You can grab a cab at the pier to Red Hook and then take the ferry from there to Cruz Bay on St. John. You can grab another cab on the ferry dock to take you to Trunk Bay. You can usually arrange a time for the driver to come back and get you. The ferries leave St. John every hour on the hour. The crossing takes about 30 minutes.

To get the most out of the day, try to be amongst the first off the ship in the morning so you can make it to Red Hook in time for the 9:00am ferry. I would shoot for the 2:00pm return trip, since the afternoon traffic tends to get a bit heavy and taking the 3:00 ferry might make it a little dicey getting back the ship on time. You should be able to make it coming off the 3 o'clock ferry, but I like to have a bit of a buffer, just in case.

There's also a ferry from Charlotte Amalie to Red Hook which is a longer boat trip and doesn't run as frequently. I've never taken this myself, but have heard of people taking the Red Hook ferry in the morning and then taking the 1:15 ferry to Charlotte Amalie, leaving them a couple of hours to shop downtown.

Here's a page with some more information on the ferries:

http://www.varlack-ventures.com/vvfiles/4_ferry-schedules.htm

Also, on days that there are many ships in port, Trunk Bay tends to get very crowded. On these days, a nice alternative is Cinnamon Bay, which is just about a mile further down the road from Trunk. I actually like Cinnamon better, but either one is a great beach day.

Hope this helps.

 

[missyoh8]

Thanks Lloyd........

Just Printed That And Put It In My File........

Missy

 

[TooPure4u]

just my 2 cents....

Trunk bay is the most beautiful beach I have ever seen and I have seen alot of beaches. I would go back in a heartbeat. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did....

 

[CM_Mom]

Missyoh8, you might want to book the excursion just because the boat that takes you to trunk bay docks right behind the Magic so your older folks, just have to walk the length of the ship to get aboard for the ride. You are returned to the same place.

We didn't do the Trunk Bay excursion but did the St. John Island tour instead since my DH doesn't like to swim and we were with my 80 somethings mom and aunt. The Island Tour crosses to St. John on the same boat as the Trunk Bay excursion and then boards an open air Taxi for a tour of the island that stops by the National Park and goes to an overlook where you can see Trunk Bay. We (50 somethings) enjoyed the tour and it was exactly what the older folks wanted. Might be something to consider.

I do consider Trunk Bay a MUST SEE.

 

[Sox_Fan]

Trunk Bay is DEFINITELY a must see! I've been to St John (land-based vaca) many times - so follow Lloyd's directions. I've taken both ferries (CA and RH) and would use the ferry schedule to decide. RH requires a longer taxi, but is a shorter (15 min), less expensive ferry ($3 pp, I think). CA is in the center of
town, but is less frequent, longer (45 min), and more expensive ($7 pp as of last July). Both arrive in Cruz Bay, St. John. Once in Cruz Bay, it is about 10 min to Trunk. FYI - there is a nominal admission fee at Trunk. Oh, one more tip, to get the most out of the spectacular views along the north shore of St. John, try to sit on the left (driver's) side of the open-air taxi and have your camera ready. You will not be disappointed. Enjoy!

 

[slabeaume]

I forget how much the Disney tour was that my Dad and I took, but it was convenient not having to worry about where to go and when. If you do the trip on your own, in addition to the ferry fees and cab fees, you'll also have a day use fee to get into Trunk Bay (I believe it was $4/person when we were there). By going on the tour, we also got there before the crowds. By the time we left, the crowds were forming. I'm not sure, but they might have a limit of how many people they let in at one time. There is walking from the parking lot to the beach --- about 1/5 mile? It is a very beautiful beach. Can't say it beats Kauai, but it's worth seeing.

I was a bit disappointed in the snorkeling. I heard so much about how good it is that I expected it to be more like Grand Cayman's Coral Gardens, or Belize, or Kauai. But it was definately better than Castaway Cay.