TOP THINGS TO DO ON ST. JOHN
St. John is the smallest and least inhabited of three main US Virgin Islands(not including Water Island). With larger part of the island being a national park, it has the cleanest beaches, relaxed atmosphere and… a lot of wild chicken. The island is only about 9 miles long and about 3-3.2 miles wide. Here are my suggested top things to do on St. John.
St. John is the first island I visited in Caribbean and it is my favorite one even now that I’ve been in quite a few places in the area. If you are planning US Virgin islands trip and looking for a place to relax on the beach, snorkel, dive and hike, I strongly suggest spending at least couple of days on my favorite island, St. John
How to get to St. John.
There is a ferry service between Charlotte Amalie and Cruz Bay and Red Hook and Cruz Bay that run on schedule every days.
How much time to spend on St. John.
You can take a day snorkeling trip to Trunk bay from St. Thomas to get a feel if the island. You can also get a ferry from st. Thomas to St. John and explore the island on your own.
Or just spend a week on the island snorkeling in turquoise water, watching the wildlife and hiking just like I did.
Read More:
How to travel between US Virgin Islands
Top things to do on St. John
Explore Cruz Bay
Cruz Bay is a largest town on the island. It is beautiful colorful small town with a lot of great cafes, restaurants and gift shops. As you walk around the town you can feel West Indies influence.
Explore Trunk Bay Underwater trail
Self-guided underwater trail that starts close to the shore goes around the beach about half way. The trail has signs that has a lot of information about fish, corals and other ocean spices. Trunk Bay Underwater trail is very unique place to visit on St. John. We saw tons of fish.
Note: It is important to understand that Underwater trail and diving on the reef are two different things. So, Do not expect a feel of large reef when planning your visit to Trunk Bay.
Also, the beach can get crowded especially the days when cruise ships stop on St. Thomas.
Hike Reef Bay trail to Reef Bay Sugar Mill Ruins
It took us about an hour to get to the plantation from Cinnamon Bay. The trail is well defined so you won’t get lost. You will walk through the beautiful rainforest with a lot of silk cotton trees. About half way through the trail you can see ancient petroglyphs.
The area is empty. We did not meet a singly person in our way to the ruin, during our time there and on the way back, only couple of wild donkeys.
Once there, walk around the ruin and look up. You will see a lot of bats resting on the top of the ruins roofs.
Snorkeling Genti Bay
Snorkeling on the beach near the plantation is not the best because it is very shallow. We got to the beach hoping to cool down after the hike and the water was.. well, it was hot. Not warm, just hot. I have never swam in the hot sea before so it was really interesting experience.
Explore islands beaches
St. John’s beaches are great. With white sand and not a lot of people , you can easily spend the entire week soaking under the sun. Start from Trunk bay in the morning and spend couple of hours there exploring underwater trail. Then get on the island shuttle and in 5-10 minutes you will get to Cinnamon Bay; another 5 minutes and you get to Maho Bay.
Watch Island’s wildlife.
Donkeys
We have seen Wild donkeys in coral bay, on our way to Anna berg plantation and just in the road near the Maho Bay. They are super comfortable around people. Keep in mind that donkeys are wind animals, so do not pet or feed them.
Wild chicken.
There’s no visit to St. John without seeing wild chickens. Those are virtually everywhere. You can see them near the restaurants and cafes, on the road and even on the beach.
Hemit crabs.
Another interesting creature you will see on st John is hermit crab. They live the shells.the crabs find see shelf crawl into the shells and carry the shells around. As the crabs Gris they move to a different shell. I was watching the crab looking fir anew shell on my way to the beach in cinnamon bay. The crab was slowly moving around the shells passing smaller shells and trying the larger ones. It almost looked like the crab knife that he won’t fit in the smaller shells.
Go Diving
If you are not PADI certifies and want to get certification, US Virgin Islands is the best place to get your certification dives done. You can get you introduction dive on the island that does not require certification.
Watch sunset on the beach.
Any beach would do, but my heart is with Cinnamon Bay beach forever. No matter where you spend the golden hour, Caribbean sunsets are magical.
Take Snorkeling trip to LeDuck island
LeDuck uninhabited island located about half mile east from the Salt pond area. Locals call it “St. John’s Buck island“ for its great snorkeling.
Final thoughts.
St. John is the smallest out of three main US Virgin Islands. With so many activities and things to do on St. John, it became very popular Caribbean destination that totally worth visiting.
