Hello everyone, and happy Monday! Let’s start the week with some positive news! The power issues we were having earlier this month have ceased. Woohoo!
I know that many of you read how we were experiencing major power issues in late May and early June. I’m not going to sugarcoat what happened – it was a complete nightmare. Those issues seem to have subsided, and the power has been on 100 percent for more than a week. In fact, we have lost power for less than an hour over the past two weeks. What a relief!
That being said, yes, it is very possible that we will have power outages again. But let’s hope that they will not be as severe as what we recently saw. That definitely was not the norm.
What can you do just in case we have an outage during your stay? Well it doesn’t hurt to bring along a small rechargeable fan and lamp just in case. There’s a pretty cool on one Amazon that you can even charge your phone off of. Click here to check it out.
And as I mentioned a few weeks ago, we are currently in the process of getting solar at our house in Fish Bay. It was a very easy process, and we did not have to pay any upfront costs. If you are a property owner on St. John and would like to know more, please feel free to send me an email at jenn@explorestj.com. I am happy to share what I learned.
Hello everyone, and happy Sunday! I am so excited to share that an Explore STJ reader checked out my new listings post last week, and made an offer on a property here on St. John! So exciting! Maybe my next client will be you! I would love to help you own a piece of St. John whether it be a home, condo, timeshare, or a piece of land to build your dream home. Please contact me to jenn@explorestj.com or at 203-376-3786 for more info.
And if you are looking for something specific, but do not see it listed below, please reach out to me. I would love to help you own a piece of St. John. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made!
The following properties have been listed for sale over the past week on the St. John Board of Realtor’s Multiple Listing Service:
Homes for Sale
What a view! Check out this well-priced, five bedroom home that has gorgeous, panoramic water views that stretch all the way out to the British Virgin Islands. The home, which has three bathrooms, large windows throughout, and indoor/outdoor showers even overlooks a protected coral reef. Please give me a call or text me at 203-376-3786 if you’d like to see it in person.
List Price: $1.4 million
Listing Agency: Islandia Real Estate
Land for Sale
Build your dream home close to Cruz Bay on this half-acre parcel. This parcel has southerly views of Chocolate Hole and Hart Bay.
List Price: $395,000
Listing Agency: Islandia Real Estate
*****
It’s all about the view! And does it get better than this one? Build your dream home here, and wake up to this incredible view every day!
List Price: $135,000
Listing Agency: American Paradise Real Estate
*****
Views and breezes! This half-acre parcel is nestled atop Bordeaux Mountain.
List Price: $185,000
Listing Agency: American Paradise Real Estate
Price Reductions
Typically I do not include price reductions in my new listings post, but there were two this past week that may pique someone’s interest. You can own weeks one and two (beginning of January) at the Westin for just $4,000. If you prefer just one week, each were just reduced to $2,500 apiece. This is for Unit 3126, which is a one bedroom, two bathroom unit up on the hill.
Listing Agency: Island Paradise Realtors
Looking for additional information on any of these properties? Please contact me to jenn@explorestj.com or at 203-376-3786 for more info.
Looking to spend the day at a beach on St. John? Prefer a larger, less crowded beach? Want a spot that has food and drinks for sale? How about a real restroom, as opposed to the typical National Park ones that lack running water? Then Cinnamon Bay is the way to go! I spent the day there yesterday, and it was perfect in every way!
Cinnamon Bay is located within the Virgin Islands National Park on St. John’s spectacular North Shore. It’s located just four-and-a-half miles from the ferry dock, and the ride out there takes about 15 minutes or so. It’s an easy beach to taxi to, too. The cost for a taxi for groups of two or more is $11 per person, per way. The cost is $14 per person, per way for people traveling alone. (Click here to view all of the island’s taxi rates.)
The taxi drop off and pick up area at Cinnamon Bay.
For those of you who plan to drive to Cinnamon Bay, there are two large parking lots. This means that you can leave your house a little later in the morning in order to secure a spot. Trunk Bay, in comparison, has a very small lot, so you have to get out there pretty early if your heart is set on going to that beach on any particular day.
The main parking area at Cinnamon BayThe second lot at Cinnamon Bay
One downside (for some) at Cinnamon Bay is that there is a longer walk to the beach. It is a paved driveway, but it takes about five minutes to walk from the parking lots down to the beach. It’s only about three minutes from the taxi area.
The walk to the beach at Cinnamon Bay.
There is a great little camp store that you will pass on your left as you walk down to the beach. It has a variety of snack and cold drinks, as well as a lot of great souvenirs. But the best part? It has cold AC! It’s a great place to escape the heat during these steamy days.
The camp store at Cinnamon BayThe camp store at Cinnamon Bay
As you walk down the driveway, you will pass the food and beverage area on your left, and the restroom building on your right. Cinnamon Bay does not provide showers to day guests; however there is a spigot where you can wash the sand off your feet after your beach day.
Cinnamon Bay offers a variety of beach rentals.There is a beach cafe at Cinnamon that serves food and drinks, including alcoholic beverages.The restroom building is across from the food area. The water spigot is located here, too.
The beach rental hut is located just a bit further on your left. This is the area where you can pick up chairs, paddle boards and other fun beach items.
Beach rentals pickup area
As you arrive at the beach, you will notice the remnants of an old building. This building, which was destroyed during Hurricane Irma in 2017, was the oldest Danish-built building on St. John. It dates back to 1680, which is pretty neat. Today, it makes for a beautiful picture.
The Danish building at Cinnamon BayThe front of the Danish building at Cinnamon Bay
And now, you’ve arrived at the beautiful Cinnamon Bay beach!
Cinnamon Bay tends to be a wavier beach, so keep that in mind if you are visiting with small children or elderly adults. It’s one of the windier beaches too, so it can be a challenge keeping your Neso tent standing.
There is some snorkeling at Cinnamon Bay, too, but it can be more challenging due to the almost-constant presence of winds. There are a variety of corals and fish around Cinnamon Cay, although some of the better stuff is on the backside of the cay. Only experienced snorkelers should try this, and I always recommend bringing a noodle or wearing a life jacket.
Want to learn more about St. John? Please consider taking an island tour with Explore STJ. We are rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor. It’s never too early to book! Email me at jenn@explorestj.com for more details. Click here to read any five-star reviews.
Do you love Hawksnest as much as I do? Check out this quick video I took earlier this week. Enjoy!
Want to learn more about St. John? Looking to take an island tour?
Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tourSee 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.
Hello everyone, and happy Wednesday! Let’s start with the positive stuff today… St. John’s Festival is right around the corner! The queen pageant, food fair and coronation, and the boat races are all happening this weekend. Now to the not-so-positive… Parking is going to be severely limited due to Festival for the next month.
For those of you who have been lucky enough to be in Cruz Bay this week, you may have noticed that the large parking lot beside the Customs building and across from the Post Office is currently closed. This is so the Festival Village can be set up. The first booth went up Tuesday, which is always such an exciting sight to see!
First booth went up!
This parking lot will be closed through July 19th. The Festival culminates on July 4th. The closure will allow for the removal of the booths and stage following Festival.
The parking lot beside the tennis courts is also closed for Festival. I apologize for not taking a picture for all of you.
Want to know where else you can park in Cruz Bay? Click here to view Explore STJ’s Logistics Map. This searchable map shows the location of both free and paid parking areas, public restrooms, markets, gas stations and more.
The queen pageant is this Saturday at 7 p.m. Food fair and coronation is Sunday at 1 p.m. Want to view the full 2024 Festival schedule? Click here to do so.
Want to learn more about St. John? Looking to take an island tour?
Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tourSee 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.
Well this is pretty cool, folks. For those of you who enjoy snorkeling, there is a great new website that tells you exactly where you can find great snorkeling spots within the Virgin Islands National Park. Plus, it even tells you what you will see at each location. How fun is that?!
Friends of Virgin Islands National Park just launched the “Plan Your Snorkel” website and app, which is an easy-to-use guide to exploring the underwater world around St. John. Whether you are brand new to snorkeling or a seasoned pro, I’m pretty certain you will find this app useful.
As you can see in the image above, you can search based on a variety of factors, including difficulty, time needed, how to access the location (car, boat, etc.) and features like coral, turtles and more. As an example, I clicked that I wanted an easy snorkel and to see turtles. Not surprisingly, Maho and Francis bays came up as the two options. Here is the search result with an abundance of details:
Click to enlarge
Looking for something more challenging? Want to see an abundance of fish? I checked off a couple of boxes, and here is the result:
Click to enlarge
Very cool stuff.
The Plan Your Snorkel website is completely free. Click here to view it. There is also a free app. The only caveat with both is that you will need wifi to access this tool. You can always take screenshots prior to heading out if you think wifi may be an issue.
Want to learn more about some of these snorkel spots? Take an island tour with me! I only have two available spots this week, so please reach out sooner than later. Learn more about my island tours at www.explorestj.com/tour.
