About St. John

Salomon Beach

St. John is truly a gem in the middle of the Caribbean Sea.  Three quarters of the island is unspoiled national park, which creates an experience you won’t get on any other island in the Caribbean.  Lush rain forests, pristine beaches and abundant wildlife both above and below the water – even our coral reefs are protected.  If experiencing the natural beauty of the island is your wish, St. John will deliver many incredible opportunities to do just that.  Snorkel with sea turtles.  Scuba dive untouched coral reefs and ship wrecks.  Paddle board or kayak on crystal clear turquoise water.  Have an adventure windsurfing, sailing, fishing or hiking.  Or just take in the beauty on any given beach and practice living in the moment.

Cruz Bay

The main town of Cruz Bay is a quaint and colorful place where you can find world class restaurants, excellent shopping and fun bars with live music all in a laid back atmosphere.  The town of Coral Bay is on the East End of St. John – it is smaller than Cruz Bay  and has it’s own quirky style.  Water Cliff is located on the West End of St. John, on a penninsula that separates Great Cruz Bay from Turner Bay.  It takes just a couple of minutes to drive into town for shopping, dining and the market.  Plus, it’s only about 10 minutes from our famous north shore beaches, including Trunk Bay, which is consistently named one of the top ten most beautiful beaches in the world.

Water Cliff on St. John Map – Click to Enlarge

Getting Here

Our main airport is the Cyril E. King airport in Charlotte Amalie on our neighboring island of St. Thomas.  There are several airlines that fly into St. Thomas (STT) including American,  Delta, Jet Blue, Spirit, and United Airlines.

Once you land on St. Thomas, you will need take a taxi to the ferry dock.  The best and most dependable ferry route is between Red Hook on St. Thomas and Cruz Bay on St. John. That trip costs only $7.00 each way (plus $4 per suitcase), takes approximately 20 minutes and runs hourly between 6:00 am and Midnight. There is a longer ferry route that runs from downtown Charlotte Amalie on St. Thomas also to Cruz Bay on St. John. The earliest ferry leaves Cruz Bay at 7:15 in the morning and the latest returns from Charlotte Amalie at 5:30 pm in the evening. That run costs $12.00 each way and takes approximately 40 minutes.  IMPORTANT: the Charlotte Amalie (or “downtown ferry”) does not run regularly at all times of the year (usually not at all in the off-season), so you must verify that the downtown ferry you are planning to take is indeed running that day.

Some people choose to rent their car on St. Thomas and take the car barge across to St. John.  Keep in mind, however, that the car barge schedule is extremely unpredictable due largely to maintenance issues with the boats, and frequently we have one or more down at any given time.  The last barge is at 7:00 pm, so this is not a suitable option for those arriving late in the day.  Additionally, you must make sure that the company you are renting from will allow you to take the car to St. John – not all of them do.  While you may be tempted to just get away with it, be aware that they will not help you if you break down on St. John and you will be responsible to have it towed back to the airport, which is very expensive.

Getting Around

It is not hard to get around St. John – there are only 3 roads – but they are all two lanes, curvy and mountainous, so slow is the way to go.  The good news is that the only traffic you are likely to encounter is possibly a herd of goats or wild donkeys!  We also drive on the left hand side – though our cars are standard American-style cars with the drivers side on the left, unlike in Europe.  Renting a car is highly recommended in order to get the most out of St. John.  It is possible to do without a car rental, however, it will be very inconvenient as taxis generally will not drive down our road – if this is something you are considering, please let us know so we can give you more details.

If you do choose to rent a car, here is a list of the car rental agencies on St. John.  It is a good idea to book your car early, because sometimes they run out!