There's a lot of stuff that you should know before you come to St. John. We have been to St. John 5 times (and counting!)... First of all, if you can't afford it, or find it too overwhelming, please don't feel obligated to attend. We know it might not be everyone's cup of tea, but we wanted you all to be invited as you are all very special to us. We will not be hurt or offended if you decide not to come. Trust us, it's OK (well, except for a certain few people...) Anyway, that being said, we want everyone who does attend to have a blast at our wedding without having to stress out about finding things out at the last minute. The key to having a great time in St John is to plan in advance!! We want to stress that there are tons of options for places to stay. We suggested a few in the Accomodations portion of our website, but there are lots of options. If this is going to be your first time on St. John, it can be overwhelming. We would recommend that you stay on St. Thomas or in Cruz Bay on St. John. Then, you should use taxis to get around if you're intimidated by narrow, curvy and steep roads. A taxi will be provided from the ferry dock on the day of the wedding. The other activities will be mostly leaving from the ferry dock in the middle of Cruz Bay. On the Beach Day, if enough people want it, we will arrange taxis to and from the beaches. We want you guys to have fun! As we said earlier, you really need to plan in advance! Plane tickets book up quickly, and if the flights are full, you will be stuck. We suggest you buy tickets no later than March (and that's pushing it... for the best luck, try to buy by December). The best properties also book up way in advance. If you plan to stay in a hotel you'll be fine, but if you want a nice house, start looking NOW! The same goes for rental cars.... our favorite agency is fully booked a good 3-6 months in advance. Again, if you're serious about coming, PLAN NOW!
The first thing you need to know about manners is that even though this is part of the USA, it sure doesn't feel like it. The first major difference you will encounter as soon as you step off the plane is island time... People here aren't in a hurry, and if you're in a hurry, you're going to get irritated pretty quickly. Chill out! Smile, and be polite. People in the West Indies are huge on manners. Say good morning, good afternoon, or good night to people you meet. This applies to everyone: store clerks, servers, and so forth. You will find people to be much nicer and more willing to help you after you extend them common courtesies so many of us are guilty of forgetting. Also, even though the beach is right THERE, you can't wear just your swimsuit out. Cover up! You should always have a shirt or a dress on over your swimsuit, and guys can't go bare-chested. It's rude and very much frowned upon... Although you will see some tourists doing it, don't do it! It can get pretty hot and humid, so we suggest that you make sure that your rental has air conditioning, unless you're one of those people that can sleep in warm rooms (although there are some great breezes, average temps will be in the eighties).
Another tip that is hugely important: rental cars are tough to get. Understand that the roads in St John are best covered with a 4x4 drive due to their steep curves. Also, many rental houses are on very bumpy unpaved roads. If you plan to stay in St Thomas, or in Cruz Bay (on St John) you can probably get away with using a regular car. Be sure to check the listing though: they will warn you if you need a 4x4! You would think that it would be easy to book a car at the airport, right? Guess again. The only rental company that allows you to bring cars to St John is Budget, and even though there are always cars available online, you'll get a nasty surprise when you get to the counter! This happened to us twice, "Sorry, no SUVs...." even though we made multiple reservations! This led to many hassles and phone calls while we were on vacation. Don't let this happen to you!!! Learn from our mistakes. Rent from a local company. We've tried a few, and our absolute favorite is Amalie Car Rental. They will meet you at the airport with your car ready to go! When you're ready to leave, they'll meet you at the airport and take the car. You'll need to give them your credit card info in advance, and they are a bit more expensive than the chain rentals... trust us, the reliability and guaranteed nice, new Jeep rental is completely WORTH it! Mention the code "GALLAUDET" to get a group discount on your rental. It is also possible for you to rent a car on St John, if you don't feel comfortable driving in St. Thomas, which has a lot more traffic. You can take the passenger ferry to St John and rent from any one of a number of local companies (reserve in advance though)! Renting a car is not a necessity, but be sure that you stay in Cruz Bay or on St Thomas if you do not want to rent a car as most of the houses on St John other than in Cruz Bay require that you have a car (taxis won't go to them).
St John has excellent restaurants but really lousy grocery stores. The groceries tend to be expensive, and perishables are not of good quality. If you feel comfortable driving in St Thomas, the best option is to shop for groceries and alcohol there at the Cost-U-Less (similar to Costco) and at other decent grocery stores which are on the way to the barge ferry (the car ferry). If you have to shop on St John, the Starfish Market is okay, but St John Market (near the Westin) is much better. We have lots of favorite places to eat in St John. In Cruz Bay, we love Deli Grotto (fabulous breakfast burritos, nice lunch options, very inexpensive), and Sun Dog Cafe (awesome appetizers, good alcoholic drinks, decent prices). We tend to stay in Coral Bay (more laid-back and mostly locals, but it is a difficult drive over from Cruz Bay), so we don't have many Cruz Bay recommendations, but we have heard good things about Rhumb Lines, St John Waterfront Bistro, Beach Bar, La Tapa, and Fish Trap. In Coral Bay, we love the restaurant at Concordia Resort (excellent and reasonably priced), Aqua Bistro (AMAZING, expensive seafood), and Shipwreck Landing (great service, good food, great drinks). We also love Caneel Resort for a fancy meal out- Zozo's is spectacular, and their beachside grill is also very good.
Oh, how we love you, the beaches of St. John!There are so many beaches (literally dozens) but we'll tell you about some of our favorites. You can rent snorkeling gear, chairs and coolers in Cruz Bay if your rental or hotel doesn't provide any. First off, of course, is the world famous Trunk Bay... what a beautiful classic beach! Go early. If you go later, parking is full and the beach gets crowded. Another option is to go late- 4pm or so. The facilities close but you have the beach to yourself. It's a National Park beach, so you have to pay to get in, but there's a snack bar and grill, plus showers and bathrooms (which many beaches lack) along with perfect sand, great snorkeling around Trunk Cay, and abundant spots of shade among the trees (although the mosquitoes get bad around sunset). Another great beach that many overlook is Hawksnest, which is right after Caneel Bay (more about Caneel next) which locals love to frequent. It doesn't have any bathrooms, but it does have changing rooms, grills and picnic tables. There's great snorkeling on the left side (orange elkhorn coral) and good shade under the trees. Great spot for a picnic lunch. Now for Caneel Bay- it's the closest beach to Cruz Bay, and is in the fancy resort. They advertise a parking charge, but if you get lunch and/or drinks totalling more than $20, the parking fee is waived. Just go to the front desk with the parking permit and your restaurant/bar receipt. They will tell you that you should go to Honeymoon Beach, which is the public beach. We tend to avoid doing that and go to the main resort area to have drinks and/or eat first, then set up on the main beach there. You can't use their chairs or loungers, and you can't bring your own chairs either. Towels on the sand is the only option, but the bartenders serving drinks on the beach make up for it. There's awesome snorkeling (often can see turtles) especially on the right side by the rocks.
Cinnamon Bay is another great beach that has facilities (bathrooms, beach gear rentals, bar, store, restaurant, grill, and so forth) because of the campground on the premises. It's kind of a long walk from the car to the beach, and it gets longer if you get stuck at dusk- the mosquitoes become menaces! However, rentals (kayaks, SUPs, etc) are a nice convenience. Maho Bay, which is after Cinnamon Bay, is very easy to access as the beach is right next to the road (we don't like breathing in road exhaust though, so we rarely go there). Walk down to the right side to avoid the traffic and have a better experience. It's a great beach for kids, as it stays shallow for a long time. There's also the possibility of seeing sea turtles. Francis Bay is down a little-used, unpaved road, and it's a long bumpy ride! Your reward at the end is a beautiful beach with almost nobody else. The last time we went to Francis, we saw LOTS of turtles, which is pretty cool. On the Coral Bay side, the best sunsets on the island are from Salt Pond Beach, but the beach is pebbly and rocky, not smooth like the North Shore beaches. As you go towards Ram's Head, the roads get very bad and are unpaved, but we have heard there is great snorkeling along the beaches on that side.
There's a lot more stuff we could tell you, but part of the magic of St John is discovering it for the first time. We hope that you love it as much as we do.