Heading to STJ for the day.... Car ferry or no car?

Spring for the car ferry... Happy Birthday. It allows you to change spots as the weather, spirit leads you. Francis has been my lucky spot for octopus, Big Maho for turtles and Leinster/ Waterlemon is IMHO the best STJ snorkeling (counterclockwise around the cay if no one's told you). Leave early and be the first at Trunk before all the people arrive. Vie's or Skinny's for lunch or pick up something at Deli Grotto in Mongoose Junction. Baked in the Sun Bakery has incredible bread and treats... We don't have anything like that on STT (thank goodness).
Enjoy!

happy birthday

Happy birthday 🙂

Bring your car and plan on being on an early ferry so you have the full day (I would be on the 8 or 8:30) - $50 round trip on the car ferry will be cheaper than taxis. No safari bus like in STT so $12.00 per person round trip on the people ferry, $6.00 pp to Trunk, $4.00 pp Trunk to Hawksnest, $5.00 pp back to Cruz Bay you will be at a total of $27.00 per person just to see those two beaches. This works unless you want to stay for dinner on STJ.

Have fun

Pia

Cool, thanks so much!

Car ferry witrhout doubt!! Take the Capt Vic at 9 o'clock. Round trip returns on the Roanoke at 7 o'clock. Take a towel and a change of clothes and you can take a cold, but fresh water shower at Cinnamon Bay campground before heading back to Cruz Bay for happy hour. Dry unders when you have been on the beach all day are WONDERFUL things! LOL

Car Ferry! You can come and go as you please, where and when you please without paying for overly expensive taxi's who make you wait, according to their schedule. Check out the National Park and all the events they are offering, Mongoose Junction for shopping, Lime Inn for lunch (The Best Hot Fudge Sunday's, anywhere!), Definitely check out Annnaberg Ruins for the best views and the old Sugar Mill. You'll have to pay $4 to get in but if you pay to go to Trunk Bay, then you can get in free at Annaberg or the other way around. Lienster Say is right below Annaberg and Francis bay is around the corner. Don't try to do it all in one day as you're sure to be going back to explore more.

Some very steep roads so hang on and enjoy the day!
Capt. Vic and the Roanoake are the best barges.
Be sure to check the times off departure from STJ when on the barge going over to STJ.
Don't miss the last barge!
Enjoy!

Had a pretty good birthday over in STJ. Beaches are beautiful and we saw lots if fish (not many corals at all) a few turtles and a 4ft shark. I snapped a pic if the shark, pretty sure it was a nurse. It came and went pretty quick. Didn't get to the other side where those resturaunts mentioned were. Just hung out in Cruz. Loved the beaches but prefer the people on STT that's for sure! .

Thanks for the birthday wishes everyone, and the advice!

Loved the beaches but prefer the people on STT that's for sure! .

And why do you say that?

Without starting a war or anything, we just were treated kinda crappy. I was super nice, good days, big smiles and all, hell it was my birthday, i was in a great mood. The two bars we went to the servers acted like they didn't want us to be there at all, we even had tilapia passed off as "Mahi" for lunch. We stopped at a bar for a drink later in the day and they were doing a shift change. No worries we will chill and wait. Well 30 min later and not even a hello or can I get you a drink so we left. There was a small fair going on, and all the locals in there were VERY nice, we bought some awesome fresh caught mahi, had some coconut cakes and bought a bird feeder made from coconuts.

I guess if your in a touristy city, you can't be annoyed with the tourists that dine and shop there, it's just how I felt. I even went into one shop and asked the price on a beautiful hand made raccu (sp) bowl and she took it from me saying that the price was on it. I politely said its been scratched off so she said it wasn't for sale. It was likely a $100+ but I loved it and would have bought it. Oh well.

I will say that the guy at the ice cream place was awesome. We had a great laugh about a lady who just had asked him how big the chocolate chips in the ice cream were. Lol!

Thanks for clarifying about your experiences. It doesn't sound like you took anyone's suggestions for places to eat (more than half were in Cruz Bay). We've got plenty of really good food -- sorry you didn't find it. For next time -- get sandwiches to go at Baked in the Sun or Sam & Jack's, or have a nice sit-down lunch at Sun Dog Cafe. If you make it out east to Coral Bay, Shipwreck Landing and Vie's Snack Shack both have really great food, or Skinny's for a burger (though when they say "same day service," that is what they mean). I can also tell you what places to avoid, but I'm not going to post that in a public forum. It sounds like you might have found a couple of them on your own!

Some folks in the service industry have an attitude towards tourists; I've gotten it on STT too. The second I say "I'm visiting from St John," the person usually warms right up.

Please, avoid blanket statements about "the people" on one island or another. I have had plenty of experiences on STT that I could write about and say how I don't like "the people" over there. You might also wish to learn how to give polite feedback at the time that can help people make your experience right or at least improve service for others -- rather than just smiling and then judging an entirely island's population harshly on an anonymous message board.

Happy birthday!

Couldn't have said it better myself, fdr. I, too, get "better service" when I mention I'm over from STT for the day. The gal at Sam and Jack's mentioned that she must be part of our regular Saturday routine. Skinny Legs is fun, but I think I like Aqua Bistro a little bit better (especially when I'm going to Salt Pond or the Lameshur area for the day:-) )

Anybody going to Love City Live tonight for Steel Pulse?

Next time, check out Lime Inn for lunch if wandering around Cruz Bay,
I love Shipwreck out in Coral Bay.

We did not make it to skinnys or Vies because by the time i got out of the water, we were told that they were "too far" when we asked a lady who worked in one of the shops. I play in underwater photography so that was my main mission for the day. We went to serveral places that you mentioned. Is the deli you're talking about below the tap room? Don't forget, it was our first time, and finding places can be challenging.

I can't imagine that when anyone says "people" that they mean every person on the island, impossible. Its the "people that I encountered"... if that terminology would be preferred. I can tell you that what I experienced made me feel extremely unwelcome, period. Ive not felt that way on STT or STX in the slightest. Do I think everyone on STJ is like that? Absolutely not and nor did I say that. Will I go back over to STJ - YES! It's beautiful.

Shark pic from Watermelon:

WaterLEMON (do we blame spell check? 🙂 )

Now, AandA, I know you know that we are all pretty sensitive to blanket comments like the one you made. Just remember that and choose your words more carefully and no one will be insulted.

And, if you are talking about Sam and Jack's, no, it is not below The Tap Room (Mongoose Junction), it is in the same shopping area as Starfish Market, get off the car ferry, turn right a couple of times and you'll see it up and on your left.

Ok here it goes.....If I had to pick the snottiest, most self involved town in the USA, it would be cruz bay. Nowhere else comes close. Not even East Hampton or Malibu. Sorry! I do realize that all residents of STJ aren't snobs. (My very best childhood friend and her husband live there, and I LOVE them.) But I never (ever) been treated so rudely as I have experienced in Cruz Bay. The whole "energy" on island suffers. I have many true stories (starting about 1990) of completely random obnoxious behavior aimed at me, my sweet elderly mom, my kids, etc. All of these incidents involved transplanted continietals.