Day 2 of Your Perfect Week on St. John

Day 2 of Your Perfect Week on St. John

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.

Day 1 of Your Perfect Week on St. John

Day 1 of Your Perfect Week on St. John

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.