FOOD/DRINKS
CRUZ BAY
- Eat at Morgan’s Mango – great restaurant. Need reservations.
- Eat at La Tapa – great restaurant. Need reservations.
- Visit Woodys and get a Nutwacker and Mahi Bites (it’s a little shack of a bar. A Nutwacker is a Bushwacker with peanut butter).
- Visit St. John Brewers Tap Room and get a Root Beer and Rum (I like the coconut rum). (Mongoose Junction)
- Drink at Beach Bar – most nights they have good, live music
- Drink at the Refinery
- Ice snack at Irie Pops
CORAL BAY
- Go to Skinny Legs for lunch.
- Go to Dazey Drive In for smoothie bowls/ice desserts.
- Eat at Johnny Lime for lunch.
FOOD/DRINK EXPERIENCES
- Go to Lime Out – great tacos & drinks, cool experience.
- There is a shuttle called Salt + Lime that will take you to and from. You have to schedule it. ($30 per person + tip). https://saltydazeusvi.com/limeout/
- Alternatively, work with Salty Daze for a Half Day pontoon ride and ask to go to Lime Out. https://saltydazeusvi.com/salt-deck/
- Go to the Windmill Bar for sunset (amazing views, good drinks, decent (but not amazing) food).
- Go to Maho Crossroads (little beach bar off Maho Bay).
- Can snorkel/swim Maho – usually can see sea turtles.
- Maho gets crowded as a beach. Need to bring own beach chairs (or can rent) or towels to lay out. Not the best beach for lounging, but great for the sea turtles.
BEACH/BOAT
- Trunk Bay Beach (there is an entrance fee)
- BYO chairs/snorkel stuff, OR rent there
- There’s a little snack shop there
- Snorkel out from the center of the beach for some great fish
- Honeymoon Bay
- BYO chairs/snorkel stuff/food
- Cinnamon Bay
- BYO chairs/snorkel stuff
- There’s a little cafe there
- Book a full day boat tour to go to the BVI (you need passports for this). You will want to go to White Bay to visit The Soggy Dollar for drinks and floating in the water and you can also visit The Willy T off Norman Island for lunch. You have to jump off the top deck. Also, can snorkel around the caves or the Indians off Norman.
- For less drinking focused, you can go out to The Baths off Virgin Gorda. It’s cool, but it’s further, so it takes up more of your day.
- Also, can go up to Sandy Spit, which is just a cool little sand bar/island – there’s nothing there, just a neat little beach and pit stop.
- Book a half day boat tour and go to Pizza Pi and snorkel Christmas Cove (or go to Lime Out). Half day is not enough time to go to the BVI due to check in and check out for customs.
A few charter companies to look into:
- Charter Seahorse (the owner’s name is Thomas, his wife is Sarah Swan, she photographed our wedding at Maho Bay).
- Midnight Express
- Big Blue Charters
- Kekoa
HIKE
- Hike Ram Head Trail for cool views. It’s not a super hard hike, probably 1 to 1.5hrs to complete depending on how much you stop.
- Hike the Murphy Great House Ruins for amazing views.
SHOP & OTHER
- Take a yoga class at Love City Yoga.
- Book a photo session with Sarah Swan Photography (name drop Nikki Schell).
- Follow Kiki Creative Jewelry online to find her pop up shops and go get permanent bracelets/anklets at one of her pop ups.
- Shop in Cruz Bay & Mongoose Junction (Vibe and Bamboo are great for jewelry).
TIPS
You should get cell service. You may get dinged on certain spots on the island as being on “international” because cell phones pick up the towers on the BVI. Most phone companies you just have to call and tell them you were on St. John not in the BVI, so you weren’t international. It’s annoying.
Taxis are cash only. Ask the price to get somewhere before you get in the taxi. USUALLY the drivers tell you the cost PER PERSON. But double check. If you are going to be taxing a lot, find a taxi driver and get their number – you can call them.
Drink a lot of water and painkillers (I love a Nilla Killa – vanilla rum instead of dark rum).
The two primary areas for food/shopping are Cruz Bay and Coral Bay – Cruz is more of a city with more options and stuff that goes later into the evening. Coral Bay is more of a “locals” vibe, and is a little quieter.
It’s closer to the equator, the sun is strong, I have seen people get very bad sun poisoning on their first day because they think they don’t need sunscreen OR they don’t re-apply. Use 50 spf + even if you tan well. Also, it’s always good to use mineral/reef safe sunscreen, but it does not rub in super great.
If you are going on a boat, you CANNOT use spray SPF on the boat. They will ask you to use rub SPF only.
Expect slow service. You’re on island time. Everyone is slower, people are relaxed. Cannot expect things to operate at a DC pace. Also, if you find something on Google that you think looks cool, call to confirm they’re open. Some places operate on schedules different than what their website says.
You never know when it’s going to rain. The weather will be perfectly sunny and then it may down pour for 10 minutes and then be beautiful and sunny again. It’s normal island weather. It’s one of those things that just happens with island weather. They call it Liquid Sunshine.
St. John is very safe. There’s a sketchy bar or two in Cruz Bay, but no one will hurt you.