Debating visiting St. John? 100% the answer is yes. It is one of the most breathtakingly beautiful and restful places I have ever been! The perfect vacation.

Sometimes life is so much sweeter when things are slow and you can just soak in all that God has created and given us to enjoy. I felt the depth of this truth during my time on St. John. We woke up to the sunrise out across the bay, boats bobbing in the harbor, and fell asleep to tree frogs singing as we watched shooting stars dance across the sky. It sounds a little too dreamy to be true, but that was my reality for 6 days and I could not be more thankful I got to experience it (and to get to share it with you guys)! :’)

My full itinerary will be linked at the bottom, but I’m going to let most of the photos do the talking here to explain what you absolutely must see and do! (Rest and take it all in are #1 on the list. I didn’t take as many “quality” photos on this trip because I was following the advice to just enjoy it.)

Transportation/Where to Stay:

• You have to fly into St. Thomas and then take the ferry over to St. John! When you get off the plane in St. Thomas, you walk outside and find a taxi driver who is going to Red Hook. The taxi ride is about $20/person. I recommend booking tickets online ahead of time (we booked this one from Red Hook to Cruz Bay)! 
• GPS does NOT work very well here. So be ready to adventure 😉

• We rented from Mr. Piper’s Jeeps! They had wonderful customer service and were so helpful! Be sure to tell them how many people you have, though, because we only had a Jeep with two doors (four people were in our group), so people had to climb into the back every time. 

• You HAVE to have a 4WD car to successfully travel around here. St. John is a good combination of mountain and beach (like think Blue Ridge Parkway combined with Caribbean ocean), so be prepared to drive up some major hills. And you drive on the left side of the road, which is not as confusing as it sounds! 
• I think the location of a rental property is a major factor in really enjoying your stay. Cruz Bay is the more “touristy” side of the island, if you prefer that. But I loved sweet Coral Bay, as most of the locals live there, creating a more authentic cultural experience. We stayed in this lovely little place on the top of Sea Grape Hill. I truly felt like I had my own castle. Our outdoor shower was made of seashells (and the occasional iguana would stop by to say hi!), and I would sit in the hot tub every night and then dry off lying on the hammock staring up at the shooting star. There was no light pollution, and no noise from civilization down below. Just the animals in the trees and the wind rustling through the palm fronds that surrounded the property. 

Beaches:

• General rule: get to the beaches before 9 am to be able to get a parking spot! Most places have very limited parking and fill up very quickly. Also, bring your own goggles/snorkel gear because EVERY beach has fun wildlife to swim around and see. I truly felt like Moana the whole time. Also, most of the beaches have nice restrooms!

• Maho Bay – Get there around 7:30 am to see all the ocean creatures! We got there at that time and I got to swim around with 7 sea turtles and a stingray! And a donkey was hanging out around our Jeep after we got done!

• Salt Pond Beach – I cannot say enough about how great this place was. It is a short walk down a rocky path (it’s doable in flip flops though!). The beach itself has white sand, some good shade to sit under at picnic tables, and is not overly crowded. When you go in to snorkel, the left side has some little fish-filled reefs. My favorite part, however, was the little hike over to the Salt Pond! On the far left of the beach, there is a small trail that leads you over to a PINK POND! Nerdy girl info: there are microorganisms that live in salt-dense water that turn pink when they live in a salty habitat, making the whole pond pink! So we went twice to visit the salt pond and covered ourselves in the muddy-salty mixture. We let it sit for a bit on our skin, then washed it off at the clean water at the beach. My skin has never felt so soft! There is also a little hike called Drunk Bay to the left of the salt pond. It has little rock figurines and is a little odd, but worth walking over to see while your mud from the “spa” sits for a bit!

• Cinnamon Bay – This is the most “picture perfect” beach you could ever dream up. There were mansion-eque houses in the mountainside in the distance and a lush hill of trees across the bay. You MUST go here for sunset! It is one of the most peaceful places I have been. I could have sat there for hours and watched the sun change the hue of the clouds. This beach has a little food truck, chair rentals, and snorkel and kayaking gear! We got here at 8 am, and it was perfect! It got really crowded as the day went on, so I cannot recommend enough trying to get there early to experience it alone in all its beauty. Tip: go to the far right of the beach up near the cliffs for great snorkeling!

• Hansen Beach – This one is a must! It is a little beach privately owned by a local islander! She just asks for donations to help upkeep the beach chairs! Lounge chairs are free, and renting a paddleboard ALL DAY is ONLY $15! How amazing! I took the best nap of my life here, fun fact. The palm trees provide such great shade while still giving you the ability to see the picturesque view across the bay (I mean, just look at what I opened my eyes to after my nap)!

In conclusion…

• St. John is b e a u t i f u l. It is the perfect mixture of adventure and relaxation. We spent all of our days driving around cliff sides just to get to a place to lay on the beach and swim with turtles all day. I definitely enjoyed it enough to come back (which was not necessarily my opinion regarding Aruba), and think it is a great spot for a family vacation! Six days was not enough in this paradise. I love getting to see the world, and this is a great option if you need a quick U.S. getaway. 
• Visit Annaberg Ruins for photos, go for a catamaran ride with the Kekoa Crew (a family built and owned boat!), and don’t be afraid to stray from the itinerary and stop to explore anything that looks interesting to you.

Would love to hear your thoughts about this blog! Please share any questions or things that you loved in the comments about what to do in St. John! Thanks for travelin’ the world with me! Scroll down for that itinerary I promised 😉

xoxo, Sam ッ