ExploreSTJ.com

Take a Hike on St. John

Jenn Manes April 20, 2023 0 Comments

St. John has more than 20 miles of hiking trails throughout the Virgin Islands National Park. You can hike a short tenth of a mile trail to a windmill at Peace Hill, or you can hike more than two miles down a steep hill (and then back up again!) to visit the island’s petroglyphs at Reef Bay. Our hiking trails lead to beautiful beaches, historical sites and other interesting places. Some are short. Some are long. Some are easy. And some are a bit more difficult.

I’ve hiked almost every trail on this island, and I enjoy sharing details, including pics and directions, with all of you. The following are links to information on some of my favorite hikes here on St. John.

The Hike to Honeymoon Beach – Click here to read our post about the hike to Honeymoon Beach via the Lind Point trail.

The Hike to Ram Head – Click here to read our post about the hike to Ram Head.

The Hike to Murphy House – Click here to our post about the hike to Murphy Great House.

The Hike to America Hill – Click here to read out post about the hike to America Hill.

If there is a hike that you would like to know more about, please email me at jenn@explorestj.com. I’ll go out and hike it, and will post information for all of you.

If you’d like to bookmark this information, you can do so at www.explorestj.com/hiking

For those of you who are interested in hiking Reef Bay, the Virgin Islands National Park offers a guided hike every Monday and Tuesday. That’s the place where you can see the petroglyphs. There are also remains of a sugar plantation at the base of Reef Bay, and they are in very good condition. The guided hike costs $75. Click here for more information and to purchase a ticket for this guided hike.

And lastly, if you would like to see more of St. John, please consider taking an island tour with me. You can learn more at www.explorestj.com/tour. Explore STJ is rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor. Click here to read my reviews. And feel free to email me at jenn@explorestj.com for more information.

Thank you so much for reading Explore STJ!

New Sargassum Weekly Updates

Jenn Manes April 19, 2023 2 Comments

I’ve received so many emails lately regarding sargassum on St. John. It seems to be a pretty hot topic in the mainstream media lately, which has prompted numerous people to ask how it is currently affecting St. John. I’ve decided to create a page here on ExploreSTJ.com where I will post weekly updates about where the sargassum is currently located. I drive around the island nearly every day during my island tours, so I can tell you exactly where it is pretty much at any time.

If you’d like to know which beaches are currently being affected by the sargassum, please visit www.explorestj.com/sargassum. If you’d like to know more about this type of seaweed that’s been making a lot of headlines lately, please click here to check out an article I wrote in March 2023.

You can bookmark my weekly sargassum update page at www.explorestj.com/sargassum. You will also find it in the menu under the Info tab.

Explore STJ would like to introduce & thank our newest advertiser Caribbean Villas of St. John. Caribbean Villas is a premier vacation property rental company on St. John. Their rental portfolio includes one to seven bedroom homes and condos that range from economical to high-end luxury. They have waterfront homes too.

Please click here to learn more about their vacation rentals & to see their current specials.

New Breakfast & Lunch Restaurant Opens on St. John

Jenn Manes April 18, 2023 2 Comments

Dolphin Grab & Go is now open in Cruz Bay.

There’s a new and rather inexpensive place to buy breakfast and lunch in Cruz Bay.

Dolphin Grab & Go opened a few weeks earlier in a new space located beside Dolphin Market at the roundabout in Cruz Bay. It is owned by Neil, who owns the Dolphin Market beside it, as well as the one near the Westin and the third one out in Coral Bay. It’s a grab and go spot, just like the name implies, so there is not seating inside or outside.

Dolphin Grab & Go is currently serving breakfast from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. daily. The portions are large, and the prices are pretty affordable for St. John standards. Check out the menu:

It is currently serving fried chicken and sides for lunch. They plan to add pizzas starting tomorrow, and other lunch items later this week, according to Ribelto De Leon, who is heading up the kitchen. Ribelto is no stranger to St. John’s food scene. He worked as the head chef at the now-closed Ocean Grille for years. He’s also worked at La Tapa and the former Vista Mare restaurant. Take a peek at their working lunch menu:

They offer freshly made salads too. I stopped by later in the day Monday, so they were close to sold out. I was able to try some fried chicken though, and it was delish!

Dolphin Grab & Go is open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. You can call to order either in advance at 340-473-5054.

Not sure where this is located? Please check out our Restaurant Map at www.explorestj.com/restaurantmap

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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Waterfront Restaurant Space Available For Lease

Jenn Manes April 17, 2023 2 Comments

Well folks, it’s not often that a prime restaurant space becomes available for lease. But that’s exactly what’s happening now.

The space that currently houses Salty Mongoose in Coral Bay will become available beginning on January 1st. The pizza restaurant will be available for a 10-year lease to a qualified buyer. The Salty Mongoose business/brand itself is not for sale, according to listing agent Tammy Donnelly.

The Salty Mongoose space features an outdoor bar with bar seating and tables. It is currently set up as a pizza restaurant. It’s located across the street from the water in Coral Bay. The 10-year lease is available beginning on Jan. 1, 2024 for $100,000. Please contact Tammy Donnelly at 340 Real Estate Co. for more information at 340realestateco@gmail.com or by phone at(340) 643-6068

Also located in the complex are Surf Club Cantina and Jolly Dog Trading among other businesses. The space that used to house Coral Bay Fresh Market is also for sale. Click here to read details on that. The Isola Shoppes complex is also for sale. Click here for details on that.

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Tag: St. John business for sale

New Sweets Spot Opens in Coral Bay

Jenn Manes April 14, 2023 5 Comments

Dazey Drive Opened in Coral Bay earlier this week.

There is a great new dessert spot in Coral Bay, and I think you’re all going to love it!

Dazey Drive In is a brand new concept brought to you by our friends over at Salty Daze Charters in Coral Bay. The Drive In serves handcrafted Caribbean shaved ice, smoothies and other sweet tings. It’s located beside the old Pickles restaurant right near the Coral Bay triangle.

“There weren’t any dessert options in Coral Bay,” Kate Nesbitt told me Thursday afternoon. Kate owns Dazey Drive In with her husband Justin, and they’re raising three young children on island. “I wanted a place to bring the kids that isn’t bar-oriented, and I wanted a place that we can hang out as a family while filling that dessert void. That’s how Dazey came to be.”

Kate and Justin met in Hawaii, a place that is known for its shaved ice. They decided to bring the sweet treat to St. John, but with a Caribbean flair, of course. Now you may be wondering what exactly shaved ice is. For starters, it is not a snow cone, which is what I assumed. Shave ice is layers of ice cream, shaved ice and topping options, like sweetened condensed milk.

The way it works over at Dazey Drive In is rather simple. You can choose two flavors and then a superfood add on like coconut cream or local honey drizzle, or you can try a combo like The Salt Deck, which is guava, lemonade and pineapple with ice cream and condensed milk. That one even comes with a shot of rum on top! Check out the menus below, which also includes smoothies, juices and lemonades. (Irie Pops will be available at Dazey Drive In soon.)

Kate Nesbitt & Matt Cremeens at Dazey Drive In

This juice, a combination of celery, apple and lemon, was absolutely delicious!

Most of Dazey’s offerings are organic, and many are superfoods too. All are served in either a biodegradable, recyclable or reusable cup. And just like Kate intended, Dazey Drive In is a fun little spot for families to hang out. There’s even a mini Salt Deck, one of their popular charter boats, for the kids to play on outside. And inside, there are a variety of nostalgic candies, clothing, reef-safe sunscreen and other great items available for sale.

Dazey Drive In is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. They are currently cash or Venmo only. St. John residents receive 10 percent off. Salty Daze guests, which includes Salt Deck and the Salt & Lime Express, which offers shuttle service to Lime Out, also receives 10 percent off.

(Click here to learn more about the Salt & Lime Express, which bring’s you to the Caribbean’s only floating bar – Lime Out.)

Want to know exactly where Dazey Drive In is located? Click here or visit www.explorestj.com/restaurantmap to see its location, as well as all of St. John restaurant locations.

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Beware of Disappearing Leaves!

Jenn Manes April 13, 2023 0 Comments

Ok, I admit it. The title of this post is overly dramatic. But it caught your attention, right? 🙂 Well as dramatic as it is, it’s actually true! Leaves on a beautiful tree are about to disappear over at the Annaberg Plantation, and there’s a pretty cool backstory to it.

For those of you who have visited the Annaberg Plantation here on St. John, you may have noticed the frangipani tree that’s located over near the windmill area. This frangipani, also known as plumeria, has beautiful, fragrant pink flowers when in bloom, and that started to happen about a week or so back. The tree looks dead the rest of the time, and that’s due to a cute little caterpillar.

The frangipani caterpillar, also known as Pseudosphinx tetrio, is a black caterpillar with a bright red head, orange collar, and vivid yellow stripes. It starts off relatively small, but grows quite quickly due to its voracious appetite. This particularly type of caterpillar only eats the leaves and flowers from frangipanis, hence its name. One caterpillar can eat up to three leaves a day, and can grow up to six inches in length. Once the frangipani caterpillar arrives, the leaves and the beautiful pink frangipani blooms disappear rather quickly, leaving nothing but bare tree branches in its wake. This can happen in a matter of days.

You would think that the frangipani caterpillar would grow into a beautiful butterfly, but that’s not the case. Instead it grows into a rather basic-looking moth.

So for those of you who are lucky enough to be on St. John this week or perhaps even next week too, head over to the Annaberg Plantation, and see this interesting little critter in action. And while you’re there, be sure to check out my friend Charles in the garden and Ms. Olivia Christian in the cookhouse. They are St. John treasures.

That’s all I have for you today, folks. Have a fantastic Thursday!