What’s more romantic than spending your day in paradise at a beach called Honeymoon? Honeymoon contains the magnificent qualities common to all of St. John’s north shore beaches, sugar white sand and clear, turquoise water. Here’s a video of Honeymoon Bay on St. John taken on a recent early morning visit. Enjoy the solitude!
While Honeymoon’s prime location gives you views of the islands and cays in Pillsbury Sound, its remote access keeps the beach more tranquil and private than many of the other North Shore beaches. You can’t drive directly to Honeymoon, but that’s part of its allure. There are currently three ways to get to Honeymoon: hike the Lind Point Trail, arrive by boat, or take the golf cart shuttle at the entrance to Caneel Bay resort.
On the fifth day of your perfect week we would suggest you head on over to see the Annaberg ruins and then take the Leinster Bay trail to Waterlemon Cay. Begin by taking a taxi or park your car near the historical Annaberg sugar plantation ruins where you will see breathtaking views of Mary Point, Leinster Bay, and the BVIs. By following the signs, you will learn about the island’s sugar cane plantation era while touring through the sugar factory ruins.
A short walk down the hill from the Annaberg site, you will find the Leinster Bay trail which follows the old Danish road along the shore. The trail leads to one of the best snorkel sites on the island, Waterlemon Cay. Here you will have the best odds for seeing the greatest variety of underwater species, including sea turtles, starfish, spotted eagle rays, all of the colorful reef fish and maybe even a harmless nurse shark.
If you still have some energy left you can head from Watermelon to the Johnny Horn Trail, a hike that leads all the way to Coral Bay.
Here’s a video of some folks taking the Leinster Bay trail to Waterlemon. When you do snorkel, just don’t touch the sea creatures like they do.
Travel Tip created by Leslie and Peter in association with Vacation Soup
Francis Bay is a laid back beach that really makes you want to stay and chill out at for a while. The bay is on the north shore and since it faces west it tends to be calmer than other north shore beaches. This makes it especially good for stand up paddle boarding, and it is another great spot to snorkel with the turtles.
Irma has taken away many of the shade trees, so it you want shade you may want to bring an umbrella for the time being. The beach is still beautiful and also wider, so I would definitely check it out on your next visit. We noticed that many of the branches of the seagrape and maho trees are growing back nicely. Some people have been creative and have created little sun shelters out of the driftwood.
Here’s a short video to show you that Francis is #stillbeautiful
Travel Tip created by Leslie and Peter in association with Vacation Soup
You could spend the entire fourth day of your week exploring just the north shore . The north shore provides access to numerous white sand beaches that have calm waters perfect for swimming in the sea and relaxing in the sand.
Hawksnest Beach
The first beach accessible by road will be Hawksnest, which is perfect for a long swim and a great snorkel among the elk horn coral right from the beach. Right past Hawksnest you can stop at Gibney/Oppenheimer beach which was formerly home to the famous tire swing. The beach area is still beautiful, but the palm trees here have taken a hit from Hurricane Irma. There are still some palms left and I have seen new ones sprouting up from the fallen coconuts.
View from Peace Hill
If you want a short hike to a great view point, stop at Peace Hill and you will get a terrific panoramic view of the area. Continuing on North Shore Road, you will get to the small parking lot at Jumbie Bay, an intimate beach on the west end of Trunk Bay with views of the British Virgin Islands and the north shore cays. There is a reef that extends out from each end of the beach at Jumbie and is close enough to shore to make novice snorkelers feel more at ease, but it also opens to the more challenging deep-water reefs between Jumbie and Trunk Bay for the more adventuresome.
Jumbie Bay
Now you could revisit Trunk and Cinnamon Bays or keep going until you reach Maho, a favorite of both locals and visitors. Maho is a great place to snorkel with turtles in the seagrass beds about 50 yards off shore. The landscape around Maho has seen considerable change since Hurricane Irma and will take some time to get back to what previous visitors might remember. By following the road a couple of miles past Maho you will end your day at the sweeping beach of beautiful Francis Bay.
Francis Bay
Travel Tip created by Leslie and Peter in association with Vacation Soup
Like most every beach on St. John, most people are struck with just how much Honeymoon captures the whole “paradise on earth” theme. There is no doubt that this perception of Honeymoon will not change for people who visit after Irma. This beach is still gorgeous, and is in fact, wider than before the storm. Honeymoon contains the magnificent qualities common to all of St. John’s north shore beaches, sugar white sand and clear, turquoise water.
Currently, there are only two ways to get to Honeymoon. You can go by boat or dinghy, but nowadays since Caneel is closed, almost everyone arrives by Lind Point trail. We’ll cover this trail in another update, but walking along this forest path trail gives you the chance to really enjoy the peace and beauty of the unspoiled interior of St. John.
We prefer walking to Honeymoon on the Lind Point trail, right from St. John Escape. It is a little over a mile from Cruz Bay to Honeymoon. The trail starts at the steps just beyond the National Park visitor center. Since the option of parking at Caneel and then walking over is not possible at the moment, you can actually catch a dinghy ride offered by Virgin Islands Ecotours roundtrip to Honeymoon right from the beach in front of Grande Bay.
Here’s a short video clip to give you a sense of how Honeymoon is #stillbeautiful. If this doesn’t make you want to visit, I don’t know what will 🙂
Travel Tip created by Leslie and Peter in association with Vacation Soup
Here is an adventure involving a hike that most active visitors will really enjoy, but you must wear comfortable shoes (no flip flops) and bring along plenty of water. The Reef Bay trailhead begins nearly 5 miles from Cruz Bay on Centerline Road and descends about 2.5 miles down to the south shore beach. Along the shady, damp trail you will find a diversity of plants and the remains of sugar cane estates and abandoned farming communities.
There are usually two options to do the Reef Bay trail hike. The hard core way is to hike down and back up for a total of 5 miles. If you are in decent shape it shouldn’t be too difficult. The other option is to take the guided walk organized by the National Park Service, whereby you walk down with a guide and then take a scenic boat ride back into Cruz Bay.
There is a not to be missed short side trail near the bottom of the hike. About 1.5 miles down the Reef Bay Trail, you can follow signs leading to the petroglyphs–rock carvings attributed to early Taino Indians marked along freshwater pools. If you are lucky enough to do this hike shortly after it rains you will be rewarded with a beautiful waterfall.
When you reach the bottom of the Reef Bay trail you also have the option to wander down the Lameshur Bay trail, which continues another 1.2 miles from the junction with the Reef Bay trail. Once you get to Lameshure Bay you will be treated to a south shore beach with white sand and turquoise waters. There are also some great photo ops of the ruins that you will find there.
If you still want to hike some more there is another spur trail that leads to a salt pond and a coral rubble beach at Europa Bay.
Travel Tip created by Leslie and Peter in association with Vacation Soup
If you’re the active type, why not start the day by working up a sweat on the Cinnamon Bay trail, followed by cooling off and relaxing at Cinnamon Bay beach. Head a few minutes past Trunk Bay down the North Shore road until you reach Cinnamon Bay, either in your own jeep or take one of St. John’s open air taxis.
Cinnamon beach is the National Park’s longest beach. It’s almost a mile long and is perfect for walking, snorkeling, water sports, and of course, lounging. Right now Cinnamon is still recovering from Hurricane Irma, so the water sports concession is closed as is the campground. The beach however, is open and still beautiful.
Ah, now for the working up a sweat part. Before you head to the beach you can take an uphill hike that begins right after the Cinnamon Bay Campground entrance off of the North Shore Road. The moderately strenuous trail follows an old Danish plantation road and provides breathtaking views down onto Cinnamon Bay and the British Virgins Islands in the distance. Those that make it to the top will see the ruins of an old plantation that happens to be one of my favorite photo ops.
Travel Tip created by Leslie and Peter in association with Vacation Soup
Well, we’ve been here for a week and wanted to let you know our impressions, observations and experiences so far. We promise not to oversell anything. Having proper expectations is key to enjoying this amazing place – either pre- or post- hurricanes.
What’s still here? Let’s talk nature first…Great temperatures, beautiful colored skies and water, green hills and mountains, sunsets and sunrises painting the clouds coral and pink, rainbows – both single and double, boat and ferry activity in the harbor to observe, beaches with the amazing soft white sand we all love, clear water to see your toes in the beautiful sand, turtles, fish chasing each other across the surface of the water and hermit crabs rolling down the trail as you hike the nicely cleared and maintained trails.
Changes in the natural environment… palm trees and many of the sea grape shade providing trees on the beach are down. Solomon Beach is very different with lots of rocks washed up, but you can see where more sand is being washed up onto beach. The three twisted palms are gone and that was a bit sad. We walked on to Honeymoon Beach which still has beautiful sand, but less shade. Jumble Beach was the first beach we visited and thought it was great! We found some shade, the beach was a little wider. Francis Bay was very nice, still a great place to snorkel or stand up paddle board. Cinnamon Beach is wider and the sand is still beautiful. Unfortunately Maho Beach will take your breath away due to the amount of trees it lost. But even the bent trees are sprouting new growth.
Here is a general theme – getting to and approaching many beaches will be shocking and overwhelming at times when you see the destruction to some vegetation, others will be slightly changed from before. But once you get there, sit down in your chair (possibly under the beach umbrella we brought down) you will sigh and say “aaahhhhh – this is why we love this place.”
We keep trying to put our feelings into words to adequately convey to you what to expect. One thought is this. People who love St John will probably really enjoy it now. Why? Well for one thing it is a lot less crowded. That may not last long but it reminds us of when we come in the fall and you recognize faces -locals and tourists. And it reminds you of a simpler, less spoiled island.
Let’s move on to the man made attractions. Biggest change that we saw when arrived on ferry was that Wharfside Village is not open and there are still two boats on the beach. But barges with cranes are moving sunken ferries and sailboats every day.
But you can have a waterside drink at “Drink” right next to Grande Bay. (I can see its roof from where I am sitting writing this.). And we hear that High Tide on the ferry terminal side of Wharfside Village will open any day now. The Terrace is open, Lime Inn, Dalivio’s, Longboards. Many people will watch playoffs today at Drink, The Doghouse Pub or Quiet Mon.
We’ve actually enjoyed Quiet Mon a lot this week and even the guy who made it famous by singing about it was there last night hanging out with his local buddies. Yep, I mean Kenny Chesney, a true hero to the island with what he and his foundation have done.
There are lots more restaurants and stores open, just can’t name them all. And many more beaches to visit.
And then as always, you start and end your day with the incredible views from your terrace at St John Escape.
We will share more with you next week. Pls feel free to ask questions.
Cheers!
Leslie & Peter
Travel Tip created by Leslie and Peter in association with Vacation Soup
It’s hard to argue that going to Trunk Bay on your first day is a bad idea. Sure some consider it to be the most touristy beach, but once you visit it’s easy to see why its so popular. It is often rated as one of the best beaches in the Caribbean and it is certainly the most photographed. Make sure you stop for a great photo op at the overlook along the North Shore road.
We would recommend not going on days when there are lots of cruise ships visiting St. Thomas, because Trunk can get crowded. If you visit at off peak times like early in the morning or late in the afternoon, this top rated beach might only have a few people on it. Once you walk on the powder white sand and take a dip in the clear water, it might be hard to leave the beach, let alone St. John.
Trunk Bay is the only beach on St. John where you have to pay an admission fee. It’s worth it though because you get lifeguards, bathrooms, showers, a snack bar, snorkel rentals and an underwater snorkel trail. Even though there is better snorkeling elsewhere on St. John, Trunk Bay is a good place to start because of the underwater signage along the self guided trail. As we right this, Trunk Bay is open to visitors but is not yet charging admission because all of the facilities are not yet up and running.
Travel Tip created by Leslie and Peter in association with Vacation Soup
As your plane begins to land and you look out the window, your reasons for visiting St. John–no matter how many times or for however long –become as clear as the turquoise Caribbean waters surrounding the island. As we prepare to visit the island this week, we are just as excited as we were when we visited 16 years ago.
With about two thirds of the island preserved as a national park, lush green vegetation covers the mountainous terrain ( even after the hurricanes) and colorful reefs surround the beautiful beaches.
St. John is the smallest and least developed of the three US Virgin Islands, but what it lacks in size it easily makes up for with its natural beauty. The abundant beaches on St. John are as diverse and beautiful as the marine life under the water. The island is home to many hiking trails that please all skill levels of hikers. The only problem in this paradise for you, is the limited amount of time you have to spend here.
As owners of a second home on St. John, our guests frequently ask us what they should see and do during a typical one week stay. Our blog posts for the next two weeks will be devoted to what we believe is the best one week itinerary to follow. During our upcoming stay on island, we will get a first hand view as to how far St. John has recovered from Hurricane Irma and we will share our impressions with you upon our return.
Travel Tip created by Leslie and Peter in association with Vacation Soup
