Explore STJ

It hit 104 degrees yesterday, according to the thermometer on my Jeep. I snapped this pic after pulling into Skinny Legs.

It’s hot. Like most of the country, St. John is a bit hotter than usual. I’ve been consistently seeing temps in the mid to upper 90s around Coral Bay, Salt Pond, and the East End over the past several weeks. The thermometer on the Jeep has even hit 100+ a few times when I was driving along Centerline Road near Coral Bay. The temps seem to be closer to the upper 80s on the North Shore and around Cruz Bay but don’t be fooled, it’s still sweltering there too.

So where exactly can you beat the heat during times like this? The majority of our restaurants are open-air, which means they have fans, not air conditioning. Here is a list of come of the colder spots on St. John:

The Parrot Club, Wharfside Village, Cruz Bay

The Parrot Club is a small casino right on the water in Cruz Bay. It has a full bar and drink specials daily. The Parrot Club is fully enclosed with air conditioning. It is a great place to cool down on a hot day, and you may even win a bit of cash while you’re there. There are a few dozen slot machines and a large roulette table. The Parrot Club does not have any live dealers.

The VI Wine Shop, Wharfside Village, Cruz Bay

The wine shop is a great little spot with a large bar and small tables to sit at. You can order wine by the glass or purchase a bottle off the wall. They serve a few specialty cocktails too, but they do not serve beer at this time. The wine shop is fully air-conditioned. They even offer a small menu that includes charcuterie, olives, burrata, and a few other treats.

Lovango Run Bar, Cruz Bay

Lovango Rum Bar is located across from the beach in Cruz Bay. It has a large open-air outdoor space with great views of Cruz Bay and also a large indoor space that is fully air-conditioned. Lovango Rum Bar has great pizzas, salads, and charcuterie plates too. This is one of my favorite spots on St. John.

Cafe Roma, One Block from the Ferry Dock, Cruz Bay

Cafe Roma is consistently ranked the best Italian on St. John, and my island tour guests have been raving about it lately. It is located above The Longboard, just one block from the ferry dock. This is a fully enclosed dinner restaurant with cold air conditioning. Cafe Roma is a walk-in restaurant. They do not take reservations.

Dave & Jerry’s Steakhouse, One Block from the Ferry Dock, Cruz Bay

Dave & Jerry’s is also located close to the ferry dock. They are underneath the Cruz Bay Hotel and across the street from Lime Inn. The interior dining area is fully air-conditioned. If you opt to dine outside in the bar area, there are fans and streetside views. Dave & Jerry’s accepts reservations and is open for dinner only.

The Tap Room, Mongoose Junction, Cruz Bay

The Tap Room opens daily at 11 a.m. and serves the same menu until 9 p.m. It has a large dining room and bar area that is fully air-conditioned. There is even a photo booth and two arcade games to keep the kids entertained while you’re cooling off. The Tap Room is walk-in only. They do not take reservations.

North Shore Deli, Mongoose Junction, Cruz Bay

North Shore Deli serves breakfast and lunch seven days a week. It is fully air-conditioned with a handful of tables. You can enjoy the cool air while waiting for a to-go order or dine in. Call ahead to save some time. North Shore also has a nice grab-and-go section.

Some restaurants like The Terrace and Extra Virgin, for example, are open-air but have air conditioning in the interior sections of the restaurants. The Windmill Bar usually has great breezes to cool you down, as does Salty Mongoose and Surf Club Cantina in Coral Bay.

The rest of the open-air restaurants have numerous fans throughout to keep patrons cool. They are all still great places to dine at. I just wanted you all to know today where you can find a few full air-conditioned spots because my island tour guests have been asking about this a lot lately.

Added August 14th: Cap’s Place and The Dpwnstairs at The Upstairs are also air-conditioned now.

Want to know where some of these spots are located? Please check out Explore STJ’s Restaurant Map at www.explorestj.com/restaurantmap.

Want to see & learn more about St. John? Take an Island Tour with Explore STJ. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor. Learn more at www.ExploreSTJ.com/tour.

St. John is a wonderful place to live, but let’s be honest, it’s pretty easy to run out of new things to do when you live on such a small island. So one of my family’s afterschool/after-work pastimes is climbing rocks. My son Dalton, who turned five earlier this month, loves challenging himself to see just how high and far he can climb, all under our watchful eye of course.

Dalton and I were climbing rocks over at Klein Bay last week when I noticed a water bottle jammed into the rocks. When I went to pick it up, so I could throw it away, I noticed that the bottle appeared to have Chinese writing, which isn’t something we commonly see around here.

Using the Google Translate app on my phone, I was able to confirm that the bottle was produced in China, which is one of the largest ocean polluters in the world. Whether or not this particular bottle made its way through the ocean from China to St. John remains to be seen.

I don’t know about you, but I found it to be quite interesting to find this bottle. Perhaps it fell off of a cruise ship, which often pass to our south. Maybe it did travel thousands of miles across the world from China to St. John. Who really knows?

Regardless of where this particular bottle originated from, it’s up to all of us to make sure that we do our best to not pollute our oceans. St. John does have a recycling program, thanks to the Island Green Living Association, but it is voluntary. Recycling isn’t required in the US Virgin Islands, which is a darn shame in my opinion. You can find recycling bins at several of our dumpster sites, and you can also find them near Island Green’s Recycle Depot, which is St. John’s thrift store located on Route 104.

I just added Island Green’s Resource Depot to Explore STJ’s Logistics Map, which also includes locations for St. John’s markets, gas stations, dumpsters, free and paid parking lots, and more. You can see it at www.ExploreSTJ.com/LogisticsMap.

I hope you all enjoyed this little story today. And if you happen to see a piece of trash near the ocean, please pick it up. The turtles, fish, and other wildlife will thank you.

Want to see more of St. John & learn from a resident why this place is so great? Please consider taking an island tour with Explore STJ. Explore STJ is rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor, and we received TripAdvisor’s Travellers Choice Award in 2023 and 2022. Full & half days are available. Learn more at www.ExploreSTJ.com/tour.

Click here to read Explore STJ’s TripAdvisor reviews. 

Today is the day everyone! Bar Wars, a fun little event that has teams competing in a zany obstacle course on Cruz Bay beach, is happening today at noon. The charity event is being hosted by The Beach Bar.

If you are on St. John today, you do not want to miss this. You can see teams from your favorite spots, including High Tide, La Tapa, The Windmill Bar, Salty Mongoose, Lovango Rum Bar, The Upstairs, and Dave & Jerry’s Steakhouse, who are the reigning champions. There is even a team of vacationers called Family Vacation, who are joining in the fun! A big thank you for that! Who doesn’t want to see people compete an obstacle course while wearing swim fins, right??

It’s not too late to join if you haven’t already. Just stop by The Beach Bar by 11 a.m. today or text Mike Hedy at 340-771-0768. Teams consist of four people and one alternate. Don’t have enough people? No worries! They will figure something out. 🙂 You also do not need to be a bartender or restaurant person to join. Everyone is invited! The entry fee is $250 per team, and all of the proceeds will benefit Island Health and Wellness. Participants will receive a team t-shirt too, plus a ton of goodwill.

St. John has the highest rate of uninsured individuals in the Virgin Islands, a number that is five times the national average. And it’s not because people are opting to be uninsured; it’s simply not easy to get health insurance as a Virgin Islands resident. Island Health charges $50 per visit ($75 for bloodwork), and they will not turn anyone away due to their inability to pay. This is an extremely important organization on St. John.

Not on island, but you still want to help out? Click here to make a tax-deductible donation to Island Health and Wellness. 

Anyone can watch the competition by tuning into The Beach Bar’s beach cam. See that webcam and more than 20 others at www.ExploreSTJ.com/webcams. Again, the event starts today at noon.

Want to see St. John through the eyes of a resident? Take an island tour with Explore STJ! Visit beautiful beaches and sites. Say hello to the donkeys, turtles & more! Full & half days are available. Explore STJ is rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor. Get more details at www.explorestj.com/tour.