The New Year’s Eve ball drop will happen in front of Drink.
Tomorrow night is going to be a party in St. John! Here is a list of several fun events happening in St. John on New Year’s Eve.
The party starts early here in St. John. Heading East is hosting a Sunday brunch from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on New Year’s Eve day. The cost to attend is $45. Dress to impress for this one, friends. Heading East is located on Centerline Route (Route 10 on the map) and is about two or so miles outside of Cruz Bay. Please call or text Dietra at 340-344-3210 for more information.
Now onto the nighttime events…
Cruz Bay is basically going to be one large party on New Year’s Eve! Da Event Lounge is a brand-new event space located at the Lumberyard and across the street from Hercules Pate. They’re hosting a paid event that will feature RVP Band, Eva & Mark, and Icon Sounds. Entry is just $20, and it includes food and a champagne toast. Please call 340-725-8101 for reservations.
Drink will, once again, host a block party right that will feature music by DJ LS1 and DJ B. Rock. This is going to be a huge party. They even have a ball drop! It’s not as elaborate as Time Square, but it’s pretty darn cool to see! Katie and crew will also have popup bars around the area.
The Beach Bar will hold its annual New Year’s Eve party right on the beach! I don’t know about you, but it sounds pretty amazing the thought of ringing in the New Year with sandy feet! The Beach Bar will have a stage set up directly on the beach, and Miss Fairchild, a band that hails from Massachusetts, will play at 9 p.m.
The Beach Bar is moving its party to the sand on NYE!
And right next door will be a fun Glow in the Dark Party at the Rum Hut! They’re opening at 3 p.m. and will have a special dinner menu until 7 p.m. The Glow in the Dark Party starts at 8 p.m. and there will be a special “drunk food” menu for this too. They’ll have drink specials, black lights, glow in the dark tattoos, glowsticks, and more.
Rum Hut’s special New Year’s Eve menu
Lovango Rum Bar is hosting a ticketed event featuring DJ Chris Karns. The cost is $100 for VIP entry or $500 for a table of four. The ticketed event starts at 10 p.m. Little Big Heart and Mother Goat will be performing from 4:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. There is no entry fee for these two performances.
The Upstairs Bar will be open late night if you are looking for somewhere to go after the ball drops. They plan to be open until about 2 a.m.
Over in Coral Bay, Skinny Legs is holding an earlier party that will feature music by Moss Henry from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Lovango Resort + Beach Club is also hosting a big New Year’s Eve party this year. Guests can go for dinner at their waterfront restaurant and stay for the party, or simply go for the party! The party starts at 9:30 p.m. and will continue until 12:45 a.m. Just Friends band will play while guests dance the night away. Tickets cost $100 and include passed snacks and ferry transportation to and from the island. Alcohol can be purchased separately. Click here for more details and to purchase tickets.
Lovango is located about 10 minutes from Cruz Bay.
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If you park over the white line and/or block traffic in any way, you will get a ticket. This Jeep was ticketed at Maho Wednesday.
I mentioned earlier this week that parking has been crazy at the beaches this week. During busy weeks like these, it’s best to take a taxi when possible. I saw an abundance of parking tickets on the North Shore Wednesday, so I figured this is an opportune time to remind everyone about where you can park and what will get you a ticket.
General Parking Rules Straight from the VI National Park
I reached out to the Park for guidance earlier this year, and I was told that when parking along the roadway, all tires and mirrors need to be completely off the road and behind the white line (when there is a white line).
A few other rules straight from the Park: Never park in front of a gate or an entrance, and never push a stone with your vehicle that is being used to make a boundary. When parking along the road, do not push back any trees or break any branches when trying to find a parking spot. And lastly, no parking really means no parking, the ranger stressed. There are numerous “no parking” signs near the beaches. The ranger asked that we all be mindful to the arrows on those signs as well. Some are no parking to the right, some to the left, and so forth.
Tickets
Parking tickets start at $125. They can be higher depending on the violation, a ranger told me earlier this year. The ranger also stated that some car rental companies often charge the renter double the fine, especially when a vehicle is towed.
Tips for Specific Beaches
Soloman/Honeymoon
There is no parking at either of the beaches. You can either walk in via the Lind Point Trail, or take the $6 shuttle provided by the Caneel Bay Beach Club. If you park behind the National Park Visitor Center, you need to get a handwritten pass from the Visitor Center (if they are open). They will ask that you back into the designated spot for permit holders and display your parking permit on your dashboard. You can also park at the top of the hill near the Virgin Islands National Park sign (near a large construction area) and walk down the Lind Point Trail. You do not need a permit to park there. If you opt to take the shuttle, you can park on the grounds of the former Caneel Bay Resort.
Hawksnest
There is a decent amount of parking at Hawksnest. You can park before and after the parking area on the beach side, as long as your tires and mirrors are completely off the road. It is not suggested that you park anywhere across the street as you may damage the trees, a ranger told me earlier this year.
The vehicles parked on the left are ok, per the ranger. There really isn’t enough space on the right without hurting a tree. (Image taken earlier this year.)
Oppenheimer/Gibney
There are only three parking spots, so this is a beach to get to early. Park on the left side. when facing the gate.
Denis Bay
You can park in the small lot for Peace Hill to access Denis Bay.
Jumbie
There is a small parking area across the street from the trailhead. It is not recommended that you park on the beach side, as there is a driveway there and you can also damage trees, the ranger said.
Trunk Bay
This is definitely one of the busier beaches, so you want to get to Trunk Bay early. When parking in the main lot, be sure not to take a spot designated for the taxis. They park along the back of the lot, beside the entry booth, facing the street. There is a small patch of grass to the right of where the taxis park (if your back is to the road.) Do not park on this grassy patch unless you’d like to leave with a ticket or possibly get towed, the ranger said.
You are allowed to park across the street near the plantation building as long as your tires and mirrors are off the road. You will see there are no parking and no parking beyond this point signs in that area. I have seen numerous vehicles ticketed here for ignoring those signs, so keep an eye out and look for arrows.
Also, there isn’t any parking along the roadway on the beach side before of after the Trunk Bay parking lot. I see people create spots, and those vehicles routinely get ticketed too. I saw a man walking away from a Jeep with a ticket in hand here Wedneaday afternoon. There are a few no parking signs up the switchbacks too. Trunk is pretty well marked when it comes to where you can and where you cannot park. If you do not want to deal with Trunk’s notorious parking issues, you can always take a taxi.
Please do not park right next to a no parking sign like this yellow Jeep. The vehicles on the right are fine per Park rules. (Image taken earlier this year.)
Cinnamon Bay
There are two large parking lots, so this is an easier place to find a spot. You can also park along the roadway a bit, but again, all tires and mirrors off the road, and please do not park in a way that you can damage a tree. There are a handful of spots where you can park along the road inside of Cinnamon Bay (near the parking areas) too.
Please do not park over the white line. This Jeep was ticketed on Wednesday.…and another ticket at Cinnamon Wednesday.
Maho Bay
Maho is also extremely busy, and parking is tricky. On the Maho Crossroads side of the beach (closer to Cruz Bay), there are several designated parking spots along the beach. Once you pass the final shade structure, you can no longer park on the beach side. This is a sea turtle nesting beach, and there are also small plantings along the beach that cannot be harmed.
Parking on the sand at Maho is not allowed, per Park rules. (Image taken earlier this year.)
There are also some parking spots across the street in between large boulders along the roadway. Then there is a decent-sized lot at the turtle side of the beach (the opposite side from where the tiki bar is). You can also park along the roadway near the parking lot as long as your tires and mirrors are off the road. This is tricky because there isn’t a ton of space, so there is only room for a handful of cars to do this. There is also a sign that indicates you can no longer park on the side of the road, so please be mindful to that.
I understand that it’s frustrating that there are more people visiting than spaces at the beach. Luckily we have an abundance of taxis who drive between Cruz Bay and Maho and everywhere in between all day, every day. Take a taxi if you can. It’s a lot less stressful in my opinion.
That’s it for today, folks. Have a wonderful day!
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Hello everyone, and happy Wednesday! I hope you all had a fantastic holiday! We did over here at the Manes-Hedy household! I thought I would take a quick moment to catch you up with a little island update.
Let’s start with the obvious – the crowds. Christmas and New Year’s are the busiest weeks of the year, and this year is no exception. It is unbelievably busy here on St. John, which is great seeing that St. John’s economy is based on tourism. Yesterday was the first day this season that I saw ridiculous parking at pretty much every beach I drove past. Here’s a quick rule of thumb: If your tires are on the road or if two vehicles cannot pass each other simultaneously due to your parking job, please move your vehicle. Chances are that a National Park ranger will write you a ticket anyway, which is a quick way to ruin a day at the beach. I hope that didn’t come across as preachy; I am simply trying to help your bank account (while helping myself better traverse the roads here lol).
Now let’s talk about the beauty of St. John. Tuesday was remarkably clear and unbelievably flat, especially on the south side of the island. It looked like I could waterski to St. Croix. It was that flat! Usually, we get the Christmas winds that blow through this time of year, but the winds are almost non-existent at the moment. It’s great boating weather!
We are officially in the midst of high season, so absolutely everything is open on the island. It’s such a great time to be here!
I took a quick peek at airfare over the next few months, and it’s actually not that terrible. It’s not too late to book a winter vacation to paradise!
It’s also not too late to book an island tour with me this winter! I still have some January dates available. February is quite full, but I have a few dates here and there. Please reserve your day earlier than later, so you do not miss out!
Want to know more about my top-rated island tours? Please visit www.explorestj.com/tour. I offer both full and half-day island tours.
That’s it for today, folks. I hope you have a fantastic holiday week!
Dalton & I watching Santa arrive on Christmas Eve in 2021.
If you’ve read this blog, or if you read News of St. John when I owned it between 2013 and 2020, you are probably aware of my disdain for the operators of the former Caneel Bay Resort, EHI Acquisitions. Since the resort was forced to close following Hurricane Irma, they’ve treated the property Caneel Bay Resort sits on poorly. They treated their employees poorly. They treated the community poorly. And to top it all off, they filed a frivolous federal lawsuit in a pathetic effort to gain control of the land that Caneel sits on, despite Laurance Rockefeller’s clear wishes that it become part of the Virgin Islands National Park this year. And just when I thought they couldn’t get any worse, they proved me wrong.
Santa will not be arriving in Cruz Bay on Christmas Eve this year. Why? Because EHI Acquisitions decided it no longer wanted to sponsor the annual event, despite the fact that Caneel Bay Resort has done so since the 1950s.
In its efforts to steal the land that Caneel Bay Resort sits on, EHI’s marketing efforts claim that it is all about the community. They claim they care about the people of St. John, and they want to donate the land Caneel sits on to the “Virgin Islands people” should they gain control of it. Actions speak louder than words, my friends.
Nothing screams I’m an awful person, in my opinion, like disappointing children on Christmas. Way to go EHI. Way to go.
If EHI wasn’t actively trying to gain permanent control of this property, I would understand why they wouldn’t want to sponsor the event. But that is simply not the case.
On a happier note, I would like to thank the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and St. John’s Administrator for hosting an incredible holiday party for our children this past Sunday in Cruz Bay. It was perfect in every way. As a parent of a kindergartener who was convinced that the real Santa took time to visit our little island from the North Pole during his busiest time of year, I cannot thank you all enough. Merry Christmas.
And to EHI, enjoy all that coal that you will receive this year.
Dalon met “the real Santa” in Cruz Bay this past Sunday. He was ecstatic.
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