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.
Well friends, this is great news. Caneel Bay beach – the main beach that you can see from the Caneel Bay overlook – will soon be accessible by land. This is expected to happen within the next month or two, according to the Virgin Islands National Park.
The Virgin Islands National Park held a community meeting last night to update the public on the current happenings at Caneel Bay. I have to say, I am impressed with the progress that has been made this month. It is very clear that the National Park Service (NPS) is working hard and that their priority is public beach access. Cheers to that!
The main parking lot that used to be reserved for day trippers and those dining at ZoZo’s (when it was located in the sugar mill) has been cleared. That lot will soon open for public use. A path has also been cleared from that lot to Caneel Bay beach. The beach path will lead visitors to the north end of Caneel Bay beach, which is near building one and where the buffet used to be (for those of you who are familiar with the old resort). So for the first time in nearly seven years, we will be able to walk through the resort, once again, although we will be limited to that one beach while cleanup continues around the rest of the property. There will not be a charge to park and walk to Caneel Bay beach.
Access to Honeymoon and Salomon continue via the Lind Point trail. There is still a taxi shuttle from the entrance of Caneel Bay to Honeymoon beach. There is a fee associated with this taxi shuttle. The shuttle is run by the Caneel Bay Beach Club.
The Caneel Bay Beach Club, located at Honeymoon Beach, and ZoZo’s, the restaurant that is operating on Caneel Bay beach beside the ferry dock, will be able to operate for the foreseeable future, according to NPS. They have been given a temporary commercial use authorization (CUA), which allows business to be conducted in the Park. ZoZo’s will close June 14th for the season, but plans to reopen in December. The Caneel Bay Beach Club will remain open.
Park Superintendent Penelope Del Bene said that she understood people’s livelihoods are involved with regard to ZoZo’s and Caneel Bay Beach Club, and that it’s important to keep them open.
“We will do everything we can, and we are working with them,” she told the crowd last night.
The Park Superintendent said the holdup with opening access to Caneel Bay beach via land is due to the lack of restroom facilities. She is hoping to get a bathroom trailer, but may need to instal port-o-johns initially, simply to get the beach open. She hopes this will occur within a month, but admitted it may take up to two months for this to happen.
As I mentioned earlier this week, a lot of clearing has occurred on the property, specifically the historical site near the old ZoZo’s restaurant. This area has been cleared and fenced off. Visitors can view the historical site, but will not be able to explore it up closely at this time. The destroyed buildings on Caneel Bay beach have also been fenced off, so they do not pose a safety issue for beachgoers.
Because of the hazards and storm debris scattered throughout the property, there will not be 24/7 access to Caneel Bay beach club. NPS hired a security company that is currently set up at the front gate. They are still working out logistics with regard to beach hours, etc. The beach will continue to be accessible by water 24/7, as this is Virgin Islands law.
I will let you all know when the beach officially opens via the resort. Have a great day everyone!
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
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It has been H-O-T for the past several days. Saharan dust has been hanging over us, and that makes for much hotter days. I actually saw 98 degrees on the Jeep’s thermostat in Coral Bay yesterday. That’s pretty unusual for May, but fortunately the forecast shows that it will cool off a bit in the upcoming days as the dust passes through the area. Phew! All of that being said, I thought I’d share some info on where you can cool off during these hot island days.
The coldest place in St. John, in my opinion, is Dolphin Market. Maybe if they used a little less AC, the prices would be cheaper??? Kidding! (Kinda haha) But seriously, Dolphin Market in Cruz Bay and near the Westin are both freezing. Just wander the aisles and cool off.
The beaches do not close, so you can always opt to check one out to cool off. The sun is blazing throughout the day, but the beaches do cool off later in the afternoon. Dalton and I visited Hawksnest yesterday around 5 p.m., and it was absolutely perfect. There was plenty of shade, the sun itself wasn’t blazing hot, and the water was perfect. We built a few sandcastles, snorkeled for a while, and left nice and refreshed. One great thing about Hawksnest is that there aren’t too many no see ums, so you can actually stay there until sunset. Maho and Francis are two beaches where the no see ums will run you off later in the afternoon.
In terms of fully air conditioned bars/restaurants where you can cool off, we have several. Here is a list of several businesses around St. John that are fully air conditioned:
You can also cool off by taking an island tour with me! (Shameless plug lol) Take a scenic ride around the island. Learn about St. John’s rich history and get some good island gossip along the way. We can even stop at a tiki bar or two along the way if you’d like. Learn more at www.explorestj.com/tour or email me at jenn@explorestj.com. It’s never too early to reserve your day. Click here to read my reviews on TripAdvisor.
Curious where all of these restaurants are located? Click here to view Explore STJ’s searchable Restaurant Map. You can view it 24/7 at www.explorestj.com/restaurantmap.
Want to learn more about the Saharan Dust, which is partially to blame for this heat? Click here to read a story I wrote earlier this year.
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This is such great news everyone! Things are happening at Caneel Bay!
As you probably know, a judge recently ruled that Caneel Bay will be given to the National Park following a nearly two-year court battle over ownership rights. Well the Park hasn’t wasted any time getting inside of the 150-acre property, and cleanup work has begun! This is what I have seen and know…
A National Park ranger is now stationed inside the entry booth. Previously a security guard employed by EHI Acquisitions had been stationed here. I also see National Park vehicles at the entrance. It’s such a great sight!
For the first time in nearly seven years, I can finally see the remnants of the plantation buildings from the Caneel Bay overlook. The buildings, including the horse mill where ZoZo’s was located before the storms, had been obscured due to overgrowth. Not anymore!
I also saw a construction truck on the sand at Caneel Bay beach yesterday, so presumably some sort of cleanup is underway over there too.
A few dead trees look to have been removed at the main entrance, and I saw a ranger working on the front gate last week too.
The Virgin Islands National Park said in a release last week that they are working to reopen the property in a phased approach; however there isn’t a timetable for the public opening at this time.
“We thank our neighbors and visitors for their patience as we work towards re-establishing visitor services at Caneel Bay,” Virgin Islands National Park Superintendent Penny Del Bene said in the release. “Our goal is to invite Virgin Islanders and visitors back to Caneel Bay as soon as safely possible. The full reopening of the Caneel Bay Resort will take time, and we ask for your continued understanding.”
There is a public meeting regarding Caneel Bay tomorrow night (May 13th) at 5:30 p.m. at the Cruz Bay Visitor Center. Park staff will update the public about the current work happening on the property. There will also be an opportunity for the public to ask questions. There will also be two public taxi tours happening on Wednesday morning. The first will leave the Cruz Bay Visitor Center at 9 a.m. The second will leave at 10:15 a.m. Each tour will be approximately two-and-a-half hours. You are asked to bring water if you plan to attend.
I took a quick video from the overlook yesterday morning. Check it out:
I will keep you posted on all of this! Have a great day everyone!
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
I know how so many of you love watching St. John on HGTV as much as I do. Well today I am excited to tell you that a beautiful vacation rental featured on HGTV is currently listed for sale. Could you be its next owner???
Caribe Breeze is a well-maintained, two bedroom masonry home. It is located in St. John’s quiet Concordia neighborhood, which is located in the southeast part of the island near Salt Pond Bay. Caribe Breeze was featured on House Hunters International back in 2016 when the current owners purchased the home as a vacation rental.
Caribe Breeze is a very special property that has had countless upgrades over the years. This well-rented vacation property has epic ocean views and is located minutes from the National Park. Salt Pond Bay and the Ram Head hiking trail are just five minutes down the road while Little Lameshur, a more off-the-beaten path beach, is located just two miles away.
Since its current owners purchased it nine years ago, Caribe Breeze has undergone countless capital improvement starting with new doors, windows, hurricane shutters, furnishings, appliances and more during phase one. Caribe Breeze was one of the few houses that sustained very little damage during hurricanes Irma and Maria. The home did not have any damage to its roof, windows or shutters, proving it’s a solid, well-built home.
Over the past three years, the owners continued to make improvements to the home, including new decks and supports. But most importantly – especially following two days of very long power outages here on St. John – 16 solar panels and two Tesla power walls were installed, ensuring 24/7 power. This is a big deal in my opinion, and also to people vacationing on the island.
Check out a few more pics:
Caribe Breeze features 1,650 square-feet of indoor living space and more than 1,300 square-feet of outdoor living space.
Caribe Breeze is listed for $1,099,000. Please contact Rosanne Ramos Lloyd of 340 Real Estate Co. at 340realestaterrl@gmail.com to learn more. You can also see more of 340 Real Estate’s listings by visiting www.340RealEstateCo.com.
Want to see the House Hunters International episode that featured Caribe Breeze? Click here to watch it on Amazon Prime.
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
Today’s post is for all of you who have a dream of living here in St. John. 🙂
The majority of my island tour guests ask what it’s like to live here on St. John, and the reality is that it’s pretty incredible… until it’s not – lol.
I woke up yesterday morning around 6:45 a.m. Usually I can hear the TV in the next room (remember I live in an itty bitty little house), and yesterday, I heard silence. “Mike, do we have power?” I asked from our room. “Nope. It just went off.” I was aggravated by it, but this happens from time to time here, so we’re somewhat used to it. I expected it to be back on within the hour, but that didn’t happen yesterday. All I could think was, thank goodness I showered last night! Yesterday’s guests were probably thankful for that too!
When I woke up yesterday, there was a ton of thunder and lightning. That’s pretty unusual for St. John. Well apparently lightning struck somewhere in St. Thomas, and both islands were fully out of power. It was raining pretty hard, which means traveling around the island can be pretty tough. Sheets of water pour down the hillsides, and small rocks fall into the roadway. Within minutes, the school text us and told us that we had a two-hour delay – for rain. We don’t get snow delays, we get rain delays. 🙂
My tour guests still wanted to see the island (the rain let up before our start time, fortunately), so Mike took Dalton to work with him before school started. You may have caught a glimpse of him on The Beach Bar’s webcam yesterday morning. I am thankful that I live in a community where we can bring our children to work if need be.
So here we were in an island-wide power outage and guess what decides to happen – generators decided not to work. The one at Wharfside Village was out, which mean the restaurants and hotel were in the dark. The one over at Skinny Legs quit too, as the restaurant was filled with guests. The Windmill Bar and Miss Lucy’s were forced to close too due to the power and weather issues.
As I walked out of Skinny’s yesterday with my hungry tour guests, I text Bridgett, owner of Palm Tree Charters:
“This is the day we need to tell everyone about when they ask us what it’s like to live in paradise lol,” I wrote.
“For real,” she immediately responded.
The power finally came on yesterday about six or seven hours after it went out, and life was back to normal. But was it? Fast forward to today…
I woke up a bit warm around 3 a.m. this morning. Mike happened to be up too. “No power?” I asked. “Nope,” he immediately replied. Ugh, here we go again!
It’s now 8:45 a.m., and we still do not have any power. My house is basically a dead zone, so no power means no internet, no cell service, no communications, nothing. So we hooked up the small generator simply so I can get internet to share this story with all of you. Thanks Mike for begrudgingly turning it on for me!
We have been out of power for about 10 or so of the past 24 hours with no end in sight. For those of you who want to move to St. John, this will become part of your normal. It’s something that you simply have to roll with and find the humor in. Like this post by WAPA this morning, our water and power company. They graciously pointed out that offices will have a delayed opening this morning “due to a districtwide power outage.” Hey guys, just letting you know that you can’t pay your power bill because we don’t currently have power. But as soon as we fix it, make sure you head on over and pay your bill!
You can’t make this stuff up, folks! And this is why I love it here – with or without power. 🙂
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
My absolute best friend in the world is visiting for the first time next week, and I could not be more excited! I’ve been busy playing travel agent for his family, and I am confident that I have created the perfect long weekend itinerary for them. With flights being so inexpensive right now, it’s the perfect time to book a last-minute, long weekend trip to see us! And if you are lucky enough to be able to pull off a quick visit, here is a great little itinerary to follow! (Click here to read a recent post about all of the cheap airfare that’s currently available.)
Day 1: Arrival Day (Thursday)
Your first travel day is never fun, Chances are you woke up sometime in the middle of the night to make it to the airport for your early morning flight. The good news is that most flights arrive in the early afternoon, so you can still have fun on arrival day.
I suggest not planning anything too grueling on arrival day because you will undoubtedly be tired from the flight. Luckily happy hour and sunset have never been categorized as grueling, so add them to the list of must-dos for day one! When you arrive on St. John, check in to your hotel, villa or condo, freshen up and then head right to the beach in Cruz Bay. Belly up to the bar or grab a seat in the sand, and enjoy the good ‘ole Caribbean life. My friends are staying at The Grande Retreat at Grande Bay next week. It’s a perfect location for those that want to be close to all of the action. The Grande Retreat is a beautiful, three-bedroom unit that was purchased by frequent tour guests of mine, who I am now lucky enough to call friends. Click here to check it out!
Day 2: (Friday)
St. John is home to the best beach in the world, so that is where you should spend your first full day on island (provided there aren’t too many cruise ships over in St. Thomas that day – Click here to learn more about the cruise ships and how they can impact St. John). Trunk Bay is a quick 15-minute drive from Cruz Bay. Parking is extremely limited, so this is a beach that’s best to taxi to. It’s the only beach with an entry fee – just $5 per person, credit cards only – and it is well worth the price. Happy hour starts in the morning at Trunk Bay, so get there early if day drinking is on your agenda!
Trunk Bay has a great lunch spot, a full bar, snorkel and chair rentals, showers, and restrooms. It’s also home to the world’s only (I think!) underwater snorkeling trail. The trail is a bit of a swim, so I recommend bringing a noodle or a life vest along for the swim.
Later that night, you can take a dip in your pool, enjoy a great dinner in town, or perhaps check out the sunset again. If that sounds good for you, head up to The Windmill Bar. It’s only 10 minutes from Cruz Bay, and it has some of the best sunset views on island. Taxis regularly go there around sunset time, so it’s easy to visit if you opt not to rent a car. Insider tip: They also have delicious buffalo chicken dip!
Day 3: (Saturday)
Boat days are the best days! Considering my friends have never visited the island, I figured a boat day is a must! We’re opting to stay local for this trip, so the plan is to snorkel with the turtles at Maho Bay, grab a bite at Pizza Pi, and perhaps a cocktail at Lime Out. If the water cooperates, we may even do a quick visit to Water Island, which is just off of St. Thomas.
Have a nice dinner on night three. We have so many amazing restaurants to choose from. Click here to view Explore STJ’s searchable restaurant map.
Day 4: (Sunday)
Since we have two teens visiting next week, we are sending them over to St. Thomas (with their parents of course!) for a water sports day at Sapphire Resort and perhaps Coral World. Sapphire has parasailing, jet skiing and other fun motorized sports that you can’t find here in St. John. Sapphire is only a five-minute taxi ride from the Red Hook ferry, so it’s a very doable day trip.
If you prefer to spend your last full day on St. John, I would suggest visiting another one of St. John’s beautiful beaches, or perhaps take an island tour with me! Together we can explore some lesser-known spots, including secluded beaches, historical sites and so much more. You can learn more about Explore STJ’s Island Tours at www.explorestj.com/tour
Relax over at Mongoose Junction that evening and get your shopping on. Mongoose has dozens of stores that sell a variety of items like hats, t-shirts, upscale clothing, ornaments, note cards, home goods and more.
Day 5: The Walk of Woe (Monday)
All good things must come to an end, right?
Enjoy a nice breakfast at either Cruz Bay Landing or High Tide before you do the walk of woe over to the ferry dock. But don’t worry, I’m pretty confident that you’ll start planning your next visit before you hit the dock in St. Thomas.
Looking for more information on a visit to St. John? Feel free to email me at jenn@explorestj.com.
Have a great day everyone!
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
