St. John Island Tours & Daily Blog by Jenn Manes
Island Tour Info –> ExploreSTJ.com/tour
Go off the beaten path. See beautiful sites. Visit some of the world’s best beaches. Explore centuries-old plantations. Perhaps grab a cocktail at a tiki bar or two.
Explore STJ is rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.
St. John is filled with so many interesting people. I’ve received a lot of emails suggesting that I start to profile some of our residents, and I think that’s a fabulous idea. Today I’m starting with Mary Bartolucci, a 27-year resident who has launched a great new business.
Many of you have likely heard Mary’s name before or perhaps you’ve seen her work. Mary owned the highly successful business Island Style Weddings for 20 years before selling it in 2022. During that time, Mary planned more than 2,000 weddings, and her work has been featured in numerous popular publications including Martha Stewart Weddings, Style Me Pretty, and more.
The weddings Mary created were spectacular from the design and decor to the lighting and layout, and that’s a credit to her vision, personable service, and attention to detail. Mary is now taking those attributes and applying them to her newest business venture – MCB Management.
MCB Management offers complete property management services, including maintenance, housekeeping, pool service, bookings, and more. Prior to living in St. John, Mary spent 17 years working in hotels as a director of sales and marketing. Her background in hotel management and wedding planning is sure to make MCB Management a success.
Mary’s plan is to accept no more than four villas in her portfolio, so each owner and guest can continue to receive her personalized attention. Mary firmly believes in quality over quantity. Some of the services she offers include:
Whether you prioritize attentive guest experiences, efficient booking coordination, or comprehensive marketing strategies, Mary, along with MCB Management, is committed to aligning its services with your goals. Please reach out to Mary at marybartolucci@gmail.com to see how she can best support you. You can also visit her website at www.mcb-mgmt.com
Mary currently manages The Maho Bay House, a stunning four-bedroom villa that overlooks the sparkling waters of Maho Bay on St. John’s North Shore. The Maho Bay House is an absolutely incredible property. Click here to learn more about it.
Want to learn more about St. John? Looking to take an island tour?
Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour See the island of St. John with a resident. See the nooks and crannies that many visitors miss. Explore the beaches, historical sites, perhaps a tiki bar or two, and much more. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.
Follow Explore STJ on Social Media
Hello everyone, and welcome to the middle of the week! This week was supposed to be a washout here on St. John, but thankfully the weather has changed, and the sun is shining. We did get some much-needed rain over the past several days, which was great, but it wasn’t enough to ruin any vacation days. It simply filled up our cisterns and will ultimately help to green up the island, which was showing signs of a drought, a typical thing for this time of year.
As I briefly mentioned earlier this week, the island is very quiet at the moment, unusually quiet for this time of year. It is a great time to take advantage of some last-minute discounts and discounted airfare, and take a quick trip to your favorite Caribbean island. I was out and about with island tour guests yesterday, and I was surprised to see plenty of parking at Trunk Bay around 10 a.m. and also at Maho around 10:30 a.m. The restaurants in town appear to be pretty quiet too. You can definitely get into your favorite spot quite easily at the moment. I’m not certain what’s causing this mid-April lull, but my guess is that it’s because Easter came early this year, it shifted school vacations around the country.
Let’s chat about businesses. Work is continuing at the old Quiet Mon spot. A longtime resident took over the lease and plans to open something new later this year. I will tell you more as soon as I am given the go-ahead. And out in Coral Bay, it looks like Sharky’s is ready to open, but has been unable to do so yet. Sharky’s took the spot where Salty Mongoose used to be. They did a nice little remodel, and the place looks great. I will let you all know as soon as it opens.
I looked at the weather for the next few days, and the winds are going to be super calm, quite the contrast from last week. It looks like it will be a great week to get on the water or enjoy some beach time.
I don’t have an island tour scheduled for tomorrow, so I will go out and about and will take some new video for all of you. If there is anything you would like to see, feel free to send me a quick email at jenn@explorestj.com.
That’s it for today, folks. Have a great day!
Want to learn more about St. John? Looking to take an island tour?
Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour See the island of St. John with a resident. See the nooks and crannies that many visitors miss. Explore the beaches, historical sites, perhaps a tiki bar or two, and much more. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.
Follow Explore STJ on Social Media
–> www.facebook.com/explorestj
–> www.instagram.com/explorestj
If you are lucky enough to be on island this Friday, please stop by Cruz Bay beach for another fun Yappy Hour!
The Animal Care Center is holding a fundraising event this Friday, April 19th at The Beach Bar. Yappy Hour – happy hour for the dogs – will be held on the beach from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The one we held back in December was such a success that we decided to do it again!
Tito’s, a vodka brand that loves dogs, is generously donating $2 from each Tito’s drink sold to the Animal Care Center of St. John. And making this even more attractive, all Tito’s drinks are just $6 each during hour happy at The Beach Bar, which happens daily from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tito’s will raffle off six items during the event, including three swag bags. There will also be a 50-50 raffle.
Do you like animals? Do you like the beach? Do you like sunsets? Do you like to support great causes? If you said yes to any of these questions, I better see you at this Friday’s Yappy Hour!
Not on island? You can check out the party on The Beach Bar’s beach cam. Visit www.explorestj.com/webcams to see this webcam, plus more than 20 more here on St. John.
A BIG THANKS to CC1 Virgin Islands for sponsoring this event!
Looking to take a St. John island tour?
Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour See the island of St. John with a resident. See the nooks and crannies that many visitors miss. Explore the beaches, historical sites, perhaps a tiki bar or two, and much more. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.
Follow Explore STJ on Social Media
Hello everyone, and happy Monday! The island is relatively slow right now, a tad slower than we’re used to in mid-April. It made me wonder whether airfare may be affecting the number of visitors on island right now. So I did a little digging to see just how pricey airfare is, and I was pleasantly surprised about what I found! There are so many deals to be had from numerous airports across the country, so perhaps you can use that tax refund and visit us! Just a thought… 🙂
In addition to cheap airfare over the next month or so, we have several discounted vacation rental opportunities at the moment. Serendip Vacation Condos, for example, is offering a summer sale where you can book four nights and get the fifth night free! (Visit SerendipStJohn.com to learn more.) Desert Rose, a beautiful rental in Coral Bay, is offering 30 percent off through May 2nd. (Click here to learn more.) Ocean View Villa, a villa in Fish Bay that’s new to the rental market, is offering 30 percent off through May 19th. (Click here to learn more.) Caribbean Villas is offering between 10 and 15 percent off of 26 condos and villas for stays in April and May. (Click here to learn more.) There are deals to be had, friends!
While searching for airfare, I found some for as little as $150 roundtrip and numerous for under $500 roundtrip. Those are are some pretty good prices! As always, I used Google Flights’ Explore function to find the fares listed below. It’s pretty simple. Just visit www.google.com/travel/explore. Type in your home airport. Then type STT where it says “Where to?” and then click “1-week trip in the next 6 months” beside the calendar. That will display the cheapest time to visit us. You can choose how many stop you want to make, airlines, and more. It’s a pretty cool tool to use when making travel plans. Here is what I found:
Atlanta
Looking to visit paradise within the next month? Well you’re in luck! If you are traveling from the Atlanta area, you can do so for as little as $138 round trip! Yes, that is on Spirit, so the price will probably double after you choose a seat, bags, etc., but that is still super cheap. Prefer a direct flight? Delta is offering fares for $500 roundtrip toward the end of the summer.
Baltimore
You, too, can visit us next month Baltimore friends! Spirit is a mere $238 round trip for a visit from May 4th through May 10th. Prefer a better airline? You can fly roundtrip on Delta those same dates for only $517 round trip. Not too shabby!
Boston
How does $348 round trip on Delta sound? Amazing, I know! This fare is good for the last weekend of May. Get a jump on your summer vacation, and come visit us!
Charlotte
Ok, so a nonstop flight will cost you $785 round trip, but a flight on Spirit is only $200 round trip! I would take the risk of Spirit to save that amount of cash. I flew Spirit to Orlando last month, and I have to admit, it wasn’t that bad! I would actually say that it was a good experience. So don’t let Spirit scare you. I suggest giving it a try to save some cash if you can.
Chicago
BIG SAVINGS ALERT for our friends in Chicago! Come and visit this July for only $519 round trip! And it’s a nonstop flight! This fare is good for July 20th through July 27th. The island should be nice and quiet then, so come and visit!
Cleveland
Put that tax refund to good use and visit us in late May! You can fly for under $400 roundtrip on American or under $500 roundtrip on Delta for visits from May 20th through May 29th. Celebrate Memorial Day with us!
Dallas
Dallas is further away, so it’s expected that you will have to pay a bit more than our East Coast friends. If you want a major airline, you can fly between $700 and $800 roundtrip. Want a budget airline? Spirit is offering fares for $364 roundtrip. Again, I think the risk outweighs the negative on this one!
Green Bay
Green Bay! You can fly and arrive in time for the fireworks on July 4th! And you can do so for only $476 on Delta! You can probably even make it in time to catch the tail end of the parade! Carrying luggage through town might be a challenge, so I would suggest staying somewhere close to the ferry dock for this one. 🙂
Houston
Start packing your bags Houston friends, because you can visit soon! You can fly on May 4th for just $264 roundtrip on Spirit with a stop in Ft. Lauderdale. Prefer to fly direct? You can do so for $727 roundtrip on United. Not a bad price coming from Texas!
Kansas City
This one is pretty amazing too! You can fly for under $400 roundtrip on American, under $500 roundtrip on Delta or a mere $270 roundtrip on Spirit. These fares are good from travel May 5th through May 14th.
Miami/Ft. Lauderdale
You’re pretty close to us, so it’s no wonder that airfare is pretty cheap. You can fly for under $150 round trip from Ft. Lauderdale or for just over $400 roundtrip from Miami. These fares are good May 9th through May 15th.
New York/Newark
Our friends in the tri-state area are always some of the luckiest when it comes to airfare. You can fly for just $231 roundtrip out of JFK or Newark from June 2nd through June 8th. The island will be quiet and the water will be warm. It’s a great time to visit!
Orlando
My family flew Spirit to Orlando last month, and it was absolutely fine. And with these prices, how can you say no??!! You can fly for just $145 roundtrip in just a few weeks. You know you want to!
Philadelphia
And last, but not least are our friends up in Philadelphia. You will want to get trip insurance for this one, as you are flying close to the peak of hurricane season. But the good news is that the island will be super, super quiet during your stay. You can visit us in late August for around $600 roundtrip. Not too shabby!
So as you can see, airfare is definitely trending down, which is great news for all of us who love to travel! Airfare is inexpensive and vacation rentals are discounted at the moment. So what are you waiting for? Book that trip! 🙂
Looking to take a St. John island tour?
Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour See the island of St. John with a resident. See the nooks and crannies that many visitors miss. Explore the beaches, historical sites, perhaps a tiki bar or two, and much more. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.
Follow Explore STJ on Social Media
Hello everyone, and happy Sunday! Who wants to own a business on St. John? I know a lot of you do! Well today I would like to tell you about a business opportunity that recently became available, once again.
If you have visited St. John, chances are that you’ve picked up our super popular St. John map and guidebook. I use it every single day during my Explore STJ Island Tours. It’s a very useful tool, and it is currently listed for sale. The St. John and St. Thomas map and guidebook business has been helping visitors navigate and familiarize themselves with the islands for the past 40 years. This business began back in 1984 when a local artist decided to use her talents to help visitors and merchants connect. Now, 40 years later, it includes three maps and a wildly popular guidebook.
This sale includes all of the original artwork, plus digital productions which will allow the new owner to create each year’s publication very easily. It even includes artwork for St. Croix in case you’d like to add that island to the mix. The business comes with a large customer list and immense goodwill. This is the go-to map for St. John.
The St. John & St. Thomas map and guidebook business is listed for $250,000. Please contact Tammy Donnelly, owner of 340 Real Estate Co., at 340realestateco@gmail.com. You can see more of Tammy’s listing by visiting www.340RealEstateCo.com.
Tag: St. John business for sale
Looking to take a St. John island tour?
Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour See the island of St. John with a resident. See the nooks and crannies that many visitors miss. Explore the beaches, historical sites, perhaps a tiki bar or two, and much more. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.
Follow Explore STJ on Social Media
For those of you who are on island currently or plan to visit this weekend, you can expect rotating power outages thanks to our completely inept power company.
The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (WAPA) announced the rotating outages Thursday afternoon, blaming “unforeseen circumstances.” They went on to say it’s due to “inclement weather and low fuel inventory.” Isn’t it their job to make sure we have enough fuel? Ugh.
It looks as though we will have rolling outages every six hours from Friday through Sunday. The outages will last two hours each time.
St. John has two feeders – 7E and 9E. The neighborhoods on each feeder are listed below:
(The asterisk beside Cruz Bay, East End and Centerline Road indicates that the feeder is split among the two feeders.)
Feeder 7E will be off from 12 a.m. to 2 a.m., 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. April 12th through April 14th.
Feeder 9E will be off from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m., 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., and 10 p.m. to 12 a.m. April 12th through April 14th.
So what can you do? Ask if your accommodation has a backup generator. If not, ask if they have a flashlight, rechargeable fan, etc. If they don’t, I’d recommend running to the store tonight or tomorrow and bringing one with you. Most of us live off of cistern water, which means that you cannot use water without power. So that’s another thing to think about.
It’s going to be a longgggggg weekend!
