# Please advice visiting St. John from St. Thomas



## sjnoble (Aug 27, 2007)

Please advice what would be the better way (cheaper way) to go:
We're going to St. Thomas for a week in September in the middle of the hurricane season... if we'd like to spend a day island hopping, is it cheaper and more flexible to take the ferry to St. John and rent a car on the island, or to take one of the boat tours that would take you to see multiple islands?

We'd really like to visit some of the famous beaches on St. John, the baths, virgin gorda...etc and look at the different islands. Not sure how much a boat tour usually costs though. Can any one recommend a good boat tour company on St. Thomas?

Thanks in advance,
sjnoble


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## Loriannf (Aug 27, 2007)

*You really need to decide on one island*

Although St John and St Thomas are close, it can take quite some time to get to the Baths and Virgin Gorda.  If you did this, you'd spend all your time on a boat and no time, really, touring.

I'd say the best thing for you to do is to take the ferry to St John and rent a car for the day.  There's plenty to do on St John and many, many beaches.

You might want to look at the USVI-on-line message boards for more information on charters and boat trips.  We took a charter last year just to go the Indians and Jost Van Dyke and that was most of the day on the powerboat.  I know from St John it can take close to an hour and a half to get to Virgin Gorda.

Good luck and have fun.

Lori


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## tomandrobin (Aug 27, 2007)

Loriannf said:


> I'd say the best thing for you to do is to take the ferry to St John and rent a car for the day.  There's plenty to do on St John and many, many beaches.
> 
> I know from St John it can take close to an hour and a half to get to Virgin Gorda.



Take the ferry over doing the tour. Its actually cheaper, you will get there sooner, stay longer and you can move at your own pace. 

When we were at St. John, we scheduled one day to visit Virgin Gorda. We caught the ferry first thing in the morning. You have to take your passport to enter the Virgin Gorda. Took a taxi over to The Baths. The tour boats arrived about an hour or so later. Seemed that they left within an hour of arriving. We were able to really take our time and explore. We ate lunch at the restaurant that is on top of the hill, very nice. 

Overall, Virgin Gorda (The Baths) is well worth the time and money spent to visit. Using the ferry involves a little leg work, but for us well worth it/


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## caribbean (Aug 27, 2007)

I suggest taking the ferry from either Red Hook or downtown and going to ST John for the day. You can rent a car near the dock and spend the day beach hopping. Be sure to go to Trunk Bay, up to the ruins, along the mountain top road, down to Coral Harbor & Hurricane Hole, look for the turtles at Salt Pond Bay then on to Mongoose Junction for shopping then back to the dock for a drink and more shopping.

On another day I highly suggest taking a Limnos tour over to Virgin Gorda. Really nice trip that takes you by several islands, stops to snorkle, takes you to the Baths and lunch is included. Great day trip.


Have fun


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## sjnoble (Aug 27, 2007)

Thanks for all the suggestions.
I looked at the ferry schedule from St. Thomas - virgin Gorda, and it leaves at 8am, takes ~ 2 hr to get there, then we'll have to leave by 3pm, so we'll only get limited time on the island, plus it costs $60 per person. Wondering how much a tour as "caribbean" suggested would cost?
Also can we just walk to places on Virgin Gorda or Jost Van Dyke?


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## caribbean (Aug 28, 2007)

Can't get to much of anything by walking on either Jost or VG. You would need a car on VG or a guide. You can catch a "cab" on Jost. Highly recommend first visit to VG on Limnos. We have been back since then and rened a car to explore on our own. 

really suggest that you do both ST John & VG. Well worth it.


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## ml855 (Aug 29, 2007)

Last time we were on St. Thomas we visited St. John's and what a nice  island, with nice beaches.  We took the car ferry over to St. John's and it worked out great.  I made advance reservations for the car before we left home.  This way we only rented one car for the week instead of a second one when we arrived on St. John's.  If you go this route you need to make sure you rent a car from an agency that will let you take it over to St. John's not all agencies will let you do this. 

-Jean


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## DavidnRobin (Aug 29, 2007)

As for going to STJ - take the passenger ferry over, and use the buses/taxis that take you along the north shore beaches - since you are only going over for the day - I would limit yourself to this since it would be easy to spend an entire day at just a few of the many beautiful beaches along this stretch - trying to see the entire island (while worth it) may be too much in one day to truly enjoy it.  Have diner and shop in Cruz Bay - and take the ferry back.  Taking the car ferry now-a-days - means potentially waiting in line to get on car ferry that can be very packed, and may shorten you visit.  

Actually - I would spend a week in STJ and only a day in STT...

Make sure you go to message board on VINOW.com to read and ask questions (but read first).

As to going to VG and Jost in one day - this can only be done by charter.  It really depends on your priorities.  We took New Horizons II to both our first time there, but last time we hired a captain and rented a boat ourselves (it was $430 for 6 people for the entire day including gas/tip).  This was great because we didn't have to deal with other groups of people - and we set our own itenary (which did not include VG) and went to Jost, but importantly we went snorkling at Waterlemon Cay in STJ (do not miss this if you like to snorkle), and moorings off of Carval Rock and Congo and Lovango Cays - weather and seas permitting.  Again - it depends what you want.

You can take a ferry to both VG and Jost - but will have to be done on separate days.

Bring your passport.
Stay Left! (I hope you realize that they drive US-style vehicles on the left side of narrow/steep roads - it can be terrorizing for those faint of heart and courage)


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## sjnoble (Aug 29, 2007)

Thank you DavidnRobin, good suggestions. The charter for 6 people sounds like a really good deal. However we will only be travelling just the two of us.
Can someone recommend a reasonably priced charter company for 2 people?
Should I try to book the boat tour or charter before we get there (any discounts for booking early?), or the price at the resort or locally will be the same?

Thanks again
sjnoble


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## DavidnRobin (Aug 31, 2007)

You will have to take a charter - we used New Horizons II (online discount is available) - there are may others - ask on VINOW - you will have a few choices - about $130pp

Be aware that you are travelling during low low season - so some may not be running (and many restaurants will be closed)

Sit outside of Woody's while in Cruz Bay for a snack and a drink and watch the world go by - very fun - and reasonably good food for the price - have a shark bite - yum!


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