I walked down to Jumbie this afternoon, and it was so pretty that I decided to take a video to share with all of you. If you are cold, stressed, or simply need some island in your life, I think this can help. Enjoy.
Looking to take a St. John island tour?
Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.
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Well folks, I’m not afraid to admit when I’m wrong, and by god, I was wrong yesterday.
We had more than 17,000 people visit St. Thomas on five different cruise ships yesterday. Everyone was talking about the craziness that was likely to ensue. We expected the masses to come over and crowd our streets, shops, and restaurants. We expected the masses to descend onto Trunk Bay.
And you know what, it didn’t happen. I’m so sorry Trunk Bay!
I told all of you to avoid Trunk Bay yesterday, and I was wrong. A friend who happens to run the concessions over there reached out to poke a little fun at me for that comment, and he mentioned that Trunk Bay was pretty quiet too. So I don’t know where those 17,000+ people were, but it didn’t look like they made it over here.
So if you are looking for something nice to do today, hop in a taxi and head over to Trunk Bay. Grab a drink. Buy some food. Enjoy one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. And when you wander over to the snack shack and bar – happy hour starts in the morning at Trunk Bay FYI – please tell them that Jenn sent you. Maybe it will give me some brownie points over there. 🙂
Have a great day everyone! Enjoy Trunk Bay today!
Looking to take a St. John island tour?
Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.
Follow Explore STJ on Social Media
There are more than 17,000 people visiting St. Thomas by cruise ship today, and this will undoubtedly affect St. John. If you’re planning on visiting Trunk Bay today, I would highly recommend picking another beach. 🙂
Five ships are docking in Charlotte Amalie today, including Icon of the Seas which is the largest cruise ship in the world. Icon of the Seas left Miami on its maiden voyage over the weekend. St. Thomas is its second port stop. (It visited St. Kitts yesterday.)
None of these ships are docked in St. John; however, all offer excursions over here. Several of the ships hire their own ferries to shuttle people into Cruz Bay. These ferries arrive at the bulkhead in the Creek, which is near the National Park Visitor Center. Taxis are waiting to pick them up and provide island tours and typically dropoffs to Trunk Bay.
Numerous passengers will likely make their way over on their own using the regular ferry to Cruz Bay. I’m sure the restaurants and shops along Cruz Bay beach will be very busy today.
So where should you go if you’re on St. John today? I would suggest Hawksnest or Jumbie because there are not any food or beverage offerings. That isn’t as appealing to people visiting by ship. Trunk is going to be crawling with people, so I would avoid that at all costs. It’s quite possible that Cinnamon and Maho will be a tad busier than usual too today considering that those two beaches are easy to taxi to, and both have food and beverages for sale. All other beaches should be normal, but our normal right now means rather full.
It’s a busy time of year, folks!
Not on island, but want to see some of the action? You can see what’s happening by checking out some of our webcams. Check out the St. John Spice Cam around 8:45 a.m., 9:15 a.m., and 10:15 a.m. to see how many people are coming in via the regular ferry. (These times are AST, which is an hour ahead of New York City time.) You can also check out The Beach Bar’s barcam to see how many are visiting the restaurant today. See these webcams and more at www.explorestj.com/webcams.
Looking to take a St. John island tour?
Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.
Follow Explore STJ on Social Media
–> www.facebook.com/explorestj
–> www.instagram.com/explorestj
Hello everyone, and happy Tuesday! It’s gala season here in St. John! We held the Animal Care Center’s annual fundraising gala last Saturday, and the turnout was great! Thank you to everyone who came and supported St. John’s cats and dogs. The ACC’s online auction continues through Friday. Click here to get in on the action and to see what’s up for bid!
But wait! There’s another gala and auction happening! Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park is holding its annual fundraising gala at Lovango Resort + Beach Club this Saturday. The event itself is sold out, but you can still participate in its raffle and silent auction.
Friends has more than 50 amazing items available through its silent auction. Friends’ silent auction ends Friday, February 2nd at 3 p.m. EST. Items include artwork created by local artists including Elaine Estern and Jane Cook-Rutnik, boat trips, jewelry, and more. You must register to bid before viewing the 50 available items. Click here for more information.
Friends is also holding a raffle that includes restaurant gift certificates, boat trips, jewelry, and more. Tickets are just $25. Click here to purchase a raffle ticket.
And lastly, you can purchase a raffle ticket for a Lovango Resort + Beach Club experience. For $50, you can enter to bid on a cabana for the day at Lovango’s Beach Club for up to six people. This prize includes roundtrip ferry transportation and a bottle of Prosecco. Click here to purchase a raffle ticket.
That’s all I have for you today! It’s super busy on island, so it’s time for me to head out and pick up more island tour guests! It’s never too early to book! Please visit www.explorestj.com/tour for more information or email me at jenn@explorestj.com. Have a a great day everyone!
Looking to take a St. John island tour?
Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.
Follow Explore STJ on Social Media
I am so happy to share that a new restaurant just reopened at Concordia. This is the first time that a restaurant has been operating at the popular eco-resort since Hurricane Irma forced it to close in 2017. I popped in Sunday morning with some of my repeat tour guests, and we all agreed that the place looked incredible! (Thanks Amy & Steve for checking it out with me!)
Let’s start with the location. Concordia is located near Salt Pond which is in the southeast corner of St. John. Coming from Cruz Bay, you will drive down Route 10 (Centerline Road) and then you’ll take a right when you reach the Coral Bay Triangle. From there, the entrance to Concordia is almost four miles down the road and on your left-hand side.
The new restaurant is called The Lookout at Concordia. It wasn’t open when I stopped by Sunday morning, so I can’t share too many details about the actual food (although I’m excited to try it!), but what I can tell you is that it has an incredible view and great breezes. The restaurant is very spacious. There is a large, covered bar, ample seating on the deck, and even barstools on a rail that overlooks Salt Pond Bay and Ram Head.
The Lookout at Concordia is currently open Friday through Tuesday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. They plan to open for lunch and Sunday brunch soon. Check out their current dinner and drinks menus:
Want to get a better view? Check out this quick video I took Sunday morning:
Want to know exactly where The Lookout at Concordia is located? Please visit www.ExploreSTJ.com/restaurantmap to find its location and to search for all of the restaurants located in St. John.
Looking to take a St. John island tour?
Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.
Follow Explore STJ on Social Media
Hello everyone, and happy Friday! It’s been an extremely windy week here on St. John, and the waves have been pretty big at some of our more popular beaches because of it. Today I am going to tell you how to best navigate these blustery days.
First, I suggest downloading the Windy app or visit Windy.com. You can zoom into our location here in the US Virgin Islands. (This app shows you winds from around the world. It’s pretty cool.) You can choose to look at knots or miles per hour, and you can even see what the wind gusts are. I looked this morning, and the winds are blowing consistently at around 20-25 mph and the gusts are around 30-35mph. That’s a pretty windy beach day.
Winds typically come out of the East, which is what’s happening today. When they are strong out of the East, you can guarantee that there will be big waves at Cinnamon, Trunk, and Hawksnest. The right side at Trunk will be better (if looking at the water) because it is protected a bit by the hillside. I spent a few hours at Maho yesterday, and it was even breezy there.
The East End beaches are better on days like these. Saltwell Bottom and Hansen are both located near the end of Centerline Road, which is Route 10 on the map. Both are pay to park beaches because the land beside them is privately owned, so please plan accordingly. Salt Pond will also be calm and Lameshur should be good too.
On the flip side, if you like waves, head out to Cinnamon today. That is going to be the best spot to either sit back and watch the waves, or grab a boogie board and play in them.
And here is a comment that a friend who owns a boat charter company asked me to share with you all – if your captain cancels your trip due to wind, they’re doing it for safety purposes. She said she routinely gets calls from potential customers asking for a trip after another trip gets cancelled due to wind. It’s a safety thing. Trust me, they all wish they could take you out. 🙂
Looking ahead, it seems that the winds will calm down by Monday afternoon, but the winds will switch to the south then. So the south side beaches – Hansen, Saltwell, Salt Pond, and Lameshur, for example – will likely be pretty wavy. And if the weather holds true, the North Shore beaches – Hawksnest, Trunk, Cinnamon, and Maho, for example – should be super calm early next week.
That’s all I have for you today, folks! Back on the road for another island tour today! February is nearly full and March is filling up quickly. I even have December bookings! It’s never too early to reserve your island tour. Learn more at www.explorestj.com/tour or email me at jenn@explorestj.com.
Have a great day!
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