ExploreSTJ.com

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.

A lot of interesting things have happened here on St. John over the years, but today I’d like to let you all know about the time when something “amazing” happened.

It was June 2014. I had been blogging about St. John for a little over a year when I first heard that a major TV show was filming in the area. I reached out to a man who always had all the latest St. John gossip – the late Captain John Brandi. Just as I thought, Captain John had all the details.

Captain John informed me that The Amazing Race had chosen the US Virgin Islands as the first stop on Season 25, which premiered on Sept. 26, 2014. Contestants started in New York City and then had to hop on either the Delta or American flight from JFK to STT. From there, they took a taxi to Vendor’s Plaza in Charlotte Amalie where they found a clue that sent them onto a nearby seaplane. This is where the St. John connection comes in.

Teams flew from Charlotte Amalie and landed between Congo and Lovango, which is just north of Cruz Bay. Numerous St. John boat companies were involved, including Island Roots Charters. According to Captain Jason Siska, owner of Island Roots, more than 20 boats participated. Some carried the camera operators while others transported the contestants from the seaplane over to Carval Rock.

Carval Rock is just east of Congo and Lovango. It’s north of Caneel Bay. You can see it from the Caneel Bay overlook, which is pictured at the top of this post.

Upon arrival at Carval Rock, teams had to climb up a net (they must have received a permit to do so as this is a protected area), and then grab a clue before jumping off and into the water below. From there, they were taken to Hans Lollik (an island north of St. Thomas) where they had to dig up another clue using a treasure map.

According to Captain Jason, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for production. The current can be pretty strong in that area, and the clues, which were initially about five to 10 feet underwater, shifted dramatically due to the strong current. Therefore production had to reset everything, holding back the race by a couple of hours. This subsequently affected the last leg of the race as several contestants were forced to dig in the dark, all while getting chewed up by our notorious no see ums.

“Typical island style,” Captain Jason joked.

The episode aired about three months after it was filmed, and although none of our boats made the final cut, it was pretty cool to see so many familiar places included.

Want to check out the episode? You can watch it on CBS or Paramount+. A subscription is required though, so borrow a friend’s password if you don’t have one of your own. 🙂 You can see all of the Season 25 episodes here.

That’s all I have for you today. I hope you enjoy these blast from the past stories as much as I do. And if there is something you’d like to know more about, feel free to send me a quick email at jenn@explorestj.com. Have a fantastic day everyone!

This is a question I get asked a lot. Do I need to rent a vehicle on St. John? And if so, is a four-wheel drive vehicle really necessary? The short answer is that it depends on a few factors. Please read on to learn more.

Do I Need to Rent a Vehicle on St. John?

Let’s start with the basics. Do you need to rent a vehicle on St. John or can you rely solely on the taxis? It depends on where you are staying. For example, if you are staying right in Cruz Bay at Grande Bay, Gallows Point, Lavender Hill, or Cruz Bay Hotel, you can rely solely on taxis. If you are staying at the Westin, you can rely exclusively on the taxis. But there is a small caveat. It is challenging to get a ride beyond Maho Bay. So if you want to see more of the island, including Coral Bay, you will want to rent a vehicle. Or you can book an island tour with me. 🙂

Also, beware of accomodations described as being “an easy walk to town.” St. John is very hilly. Click here to read more about these easy walk to town properties. 

Do I Really Need Four-Wheel Drive? 

I would say yes. Our roads are very steep and winding. When it rains, these hills can be very slippery and tough to drive up without four-wheel drive. Certain roads and driveways also require four-wheel drive. These tend to be out in Coral Bay and beyond.

St. John has numerous switchbacks too. There are three just past Trunk Bay that you will have to traverse if you are driving to Cinnamon and Maho. You have to take these curves pretty tight, and four-wheel drives makes that so much easier. And when the road is wet, four-wheel drive is a must in this area. I cannot tell you the number of times I have seen a panicked driver in a car slipping backwards in this area.

Gifft Hill (Route 104) also has some pretty serious switchbacks. Route 108 does too.

Should I Rent at the Airport? 

There are a few mainstream car rental companies located at the airport in St. Thomas like Thrifty, Dollar, Avis and Budget. I caution you from renting from these companies for two reasons. 1. They tend to oversell their cars. This means you may arrive and have no vehicle. 2. They sometimes tell you a vehicle is four-wheel drive and then they arrive and give you a car. I do not recommend renting a car. A Jeep or small SUV is a must in my opinion.

The Age-Old Debate: Should I rent on St. Thomas or St. John? 

I’m a proponent of renting on St. John. I understand that it can be easier to rent of St. Thomas, but I’m in the mindset that the car barges should be reserved for residents who need it for business purposes, to go to a medical appointment, for shopping, etc.

St. John Car Rental Companies 

Here is a list of St. John Jeep rentals on St. John. St. John Car Rental is my preferred company because the owners are some of my closest friends. We also hurricaned together at their house back in 2017. (Hurricaned is a new verb now – lol.)

• St. John Car Rental: 340-776-6103
• Aqua Blu Car Rental: 340-776-2782
• Aquarius Car Rental:340-514-5262
• Bougainvillea: 800-253-7107
• C & C Car Rental: 340-693-8164
• Conrad Sutton: 340-776-6479
• Cool Breeze: 340-776-6588
• Courtesy: 340-776-6650
• Delbert Hill: 340-693-8819
• Denzil Clyne Car Rental: 340-776-6715
• Destiny Car Rental: 340-777-5337
• Hospitality Rent A Car: 340-693-9160
• Island Hopping Rentals: 340-228-2229
• Just Sun Jeeps: 340-227-2235
• L&L Jeep Rental: 340-776-1120
• Lionel Jeep Rental: 340-693-8764
• Mr. Piper’s Jeeps: 340-693-7580
• O’Connor Car Rental: 340-776-6343
• Penn’s Jeep Rentals: 340-776-6530
• Slim Man’s Jeep Rental: 508-932-2737
• Sunshine’s Jeep Rental: 340-690-1786
• Varlack Auto Rentals: 340-776-6412

Bookmark this list at www.ExploreSTJ.com/jeeps.

So there you have it. I hope you found this information to be helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at jenn@explorestj.com.

And if you are looking for more information about my island tours, please visit www.ExploreSTJ.com/tour. Explore STJ is rated Excellent on TripAdvisor. We also just received TripAdvisor’s Travelers Choice Award for the second year in a row! Woohoo!

Click here to read Explore STJ Island Tour’s reviews.