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Author: Jenn Manes

And the Winner of Island Tidbits Raffle Is…

Jenn Manes 4 Comments

Let’s get straight to it today, shall we? I am super excited to tell you all that, together, we raised more than $40,000 for the Animal Care Center of St. John through the first, but certainly not the last, Island Tidbits raffle. How exciting is that??!!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Now you may be wondering who the lucky winner is… I brought the tickets over to the Animal Care Center yesterday afternoon, and Ryan Moore, the ACC’s manager, pulled the winning ticket. Check it out!

Congratulations Janet Shaheen!!!

Janet has received the following prize:

I would like to thank all of the businesses who donated and helped make this raffle happen. You’re all amazing.

Again, thank you so much for supporting such an amazing organization here on St. John. The ACC makes sure that all of St. John’s dogs and cats are well taken care of, healthy, fed and happy. It’s such an important job here, and we’re lucky to have them.

They’re planning their annual gala for January, and you’re all invited! I’ll post more information on that soon. In the meantime, have a wonderful day everyone!

 

 

Super Cheap Flights Offered Now, But You Have to Act Fast!

Jenn Manes 1 Comment

Let’s be honest, airfare prices have been absolutely outrageous lately. I was looking to take a trip up north, and a one-way ticket to the northeast was over $1,000! And that was for a yucky middle seat in the back of the plane. No thanks! Well, fortunately The Points Guy has found some pretty incredible deals, but you have to act super fast. And by super fast, I mean you will need to book those tickets either today or tomorrow. Time is of the essence for these deals.

Image source: The Points Guy

As you can see in the image above, these deals are being offered by American Airlines, Delta, JetBlue and United. The routes that are currently offering heavily discounted fares originate from Los Angelos, Newark, New York City, Orlando, Tampa, and Washington, DC among other spots.

Now you are probably wondering how to find these fares. The best way that I have found to locate great deals is to use Google Flights, specifically their Explore feature. (Click this link to check out Google Flights.) Once you’re on the website, type your home airport in the first box, and then put STT, which is the airport code for St. Thomas in the second box. Underneath, click the “1 week trip in the next 6 months” option. (You can also choose a weekend trip, a two-week trip, and you can even search by month.) As soon as you type in your destination airport code, it will pull up the best fares. Check out this sample I took a screenshot of this morning:

I did a few quick searches, and I found the following deals:

  • Chicago via Spirit – January 26th to February 2nd – $329 roundtrip
  • Boston via Spirit – December 10th to December 19th – $330 roundtrip
  • Tampa via JetBlue – January 19th to January 25th – $223 roundtrip
  • Los Angelos via United – January 28th to February 3rd – $310 roundtrip

Here are a few more sample flights from The Points Guy:

Image source: The Points Guy

The Points Guy did point out that some of these fares can be restrictive – Delta’s deals are for Basic tickets, which do not come with a preassigned seat, for example – but they are still roughly 50% lower than the fares we have been seeing. These are pretty good deals out there folks, so take advantage of them!

Want to know how to get to St John? Please click this link to read everything you need to know, including information on taxis, barges, ferries and more.

I hear it’s stating to get chilly up there, so start planing those winter escapes! 🙂

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Island Tidbits would like to welcome our newest advertiser Fish Tales Cottage. Fish Tales is a classic Caribbean cottage with two bedrooms, and 2.5 baths. It is very private, has a great outdoor space with a pool and is located in the quiet Fish Bay neighborhood. Please click here to learn more about Fish Tales Cottage. 

It’s Almost Time for the Green Flash!

Jenn Manes 1 Comment
Last night’s sunset from the Cruz Bay overlook

Hello everyone, and happy Tuesday! We have some fun information to share today!

I don’t know about you, but I love a good sunset. I watched last night’s sunset from the Cruz Bay overlook, and realized that green flash season is right around the corner. Yes, that is a new season that I just made up a few minutes ago. 🙂 The sun is still setting behind St. Thomas, but within the next few weeks, it will shift far enough to the left that it will set over the water. This gives us all a good chance at seeing the green flash.

Not familiar with the green flash? Well it’s something cool that happens here a few times a year. Just as the sun sets over the horizon, you can see a quick flash of green as the upper rim of the sun falls below the water line. It only lasts for about a second or two, so you really have to be looking for it. I’ve seen it a few times over the year, and it’s pretty cool. My friend Anne Bequette, a photographer here on island, captured the green flash a few years ago. Check it out:

Pretty neat, right?

The green flash can also occur during sunrise, so those of you staying in parts of the East End and Coral Bay also have a good chance of seeing it throughout the year.

The sun shifts further to the right (when looking from Cruz Bay) in the summer months, so the Windmill Bar is also a great spot to watch for the green flash during the summer months.

Random fun fact: Our friends over at St. John Brewers make an energy drink called Green Flash.

If you’re looking to catch tonight’s sunset, it’s happening at 5:41 p.m. Want to know when the sun will set during your trip? Please check out our sunset times page here. You can also find it at www.explorestj.com/sunset.

That’s it for today, folks. Enjoy & have a great day!

Thank You!!!

Jenn Manes 0 Comments

Thank you from the very bottom of my heart! Our first raffle was a success! We’re taking today off to prepare for the drawing… and I have an island tour too! Here are a few things you can check out in the meantime:

Want information on my island tours? They’re so much fun! Visit www.explorestj.com/island-tours

Want to see what’s currently happening on island? Check out our webcam page at www.explorestj.com/webcams

Missed some of our island videos? You can check them out at www.explorestj.com/videos

And lastly, we know you all are curious about the restaurants here on island. Check out our restaurant map at www.explorestj.com/restaurantmap

Thanks all! Have a great day!

Our Raffle to Support the ACC Ends tonight!

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I practice what I preach, folks. I convinced my friends to take this kitten, plus three more, back to the states with them last month.

Hello everyone, today’s post will be short, sweet and to the point, once again. 🙂 The animals on St. John need our support. There is a reason that you do not see roaming dogs here like many other Caribbean islands. It’s because we have an absolutely incredible animal shelter on island – the Animal Care Center of St. John. They take care of our dogs and cats, making sure all have homes and are healthy, spayed and neutered. We’re holding a raffle to raise funds for them, but it ends tonight. So please buy your tickets now!

For just $25, you can enter to win the following St. John vacation:

The raffle has an estimated value of roughly $4,500.

The raffle period has ended. 

For just $25, you can enter to win a stay here! For a whole week!

How the drawing works: Once the entry period is over, the raffle committee will personally write/type the names of each entrant on a raffle ticket. If you buy one ticket, we will write/type your name on one ticket. If you buy two tickets ($50 total), we will write/type your name on two tickets. If you buy three tickets ($75 total), we will write/type your name on three tickets. And so forth. You will not receive a ticket by mail or email. All of the names will be placed into a secure bucket/basket/box. Once all of the names are written on tickets, we will draw the winner live on video. The winner will be announced on explorestj.com. A video of the drawing will also be posted on explorestj.com. The raffle period will end on Sunday, November 13, 2022 at 9 p.m. AST. The winner will be announced on explorestj.com on or about November 18, 2022. All entries will be treated as donations to the Animal Care Center on St. John.

Now go ahead and enter! Good luck!! And thank you for supporting the Animal Care Center!

 

The Road to Lameshur Bays

Jenn Manes 4 Comments

You asked, and I listened. I’ve received several requests to film a video of the road that takes you out to Great Lameshur and Little Lameshur. I thought with all the rain last weekend, and earlier this week, that it may be a fun time to do so. And boy was I right! Check out today’s GoPro video, which is about eight or so minutes long. You’ll see pretty quickly why you need four wheel drive to head out to these beaches. I sped up a few parts to save you some time. Enjoy the ride!

 

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Reminder: Our raffle ends this Sunday, November 13th at 9 p.m. AST. For just $25, you can enter to win a St. John vacation, including a week-long stay at Livin’ the Dream at Grande Bay in Cruz Bay. Proceeds will support the Animal Care Center of St. John. Visit www.explorestj.com/raffle for complete details & to buy tickets securely online.