Questions first time to St. John, USVI

We are a family of 5, with children ages 15, 13 and 6, and this is our
first time travelling to St. John. We will be camping at a bare site
at Cinnamon Bay during the week of April 9th through the 16th, and
would like advice and suggestions about what to expect. Our past
experiences include everything from a 6-day canoe/kayak trip in the
Adirondacks to staying at Disney's Polynesian Resort. (We are a fairly
hardy bunch!) Here are some general questions we have for you:

Have you ever camped on St. John?
How much of the island can we realistically expect to get to on foot?
How much will we need to use public transportation?
Is it worthwhile to rent a vehicle for the whole trip? And which
rental place is best?

We plan on doing quite a bit of hiking. Do you have any
recommendations?

Since we are camping, food is a consideration. We do not plan to eat
out every meal, and are wondering if we should pack like a backpacking
trip, or expect to buy groceries throughout the week and be able to
keep perishable items cold? (How is ice availability?)

There are charcoal grills at campsites, however we have camp stoves.
Is there campstove fuel available on either St. John or St. Tom's? We
have a propane lantern, and a Primus Himalaya MultiFuel stove.

Should we bring our own bottled drinking water? ...filter it?

We have not done much snorkeling, but do have some masks and fins.
Should we leave them home and rent for the week? Where is the best
rental place?

How do we get the "best" campsite? How is the beach accessed from the
campsites?

Are there laundry facilities?

Is there anything else we need to consider?

Thanks for any help you can lend.

-Tim & Michele

x-no-archive:yes


"Timothy J. Bain" wrote:

We are a family of 5, with children ages 15, 13 and 6, and this is our
first time travelling to St. John. We will be camping at a bare site
at Cinnamon Bay during the week of April 9th through the 16th, and
would like advice and suggestions about what to expect. Our past
experiences include everything from a 6-day canoe/kayak trip in the
Adirondacks to staying at Disney's Polynesian Resort. (We are a fairly
hardy bunch!) Here are some general questions we have for you:

Have you ever camped on St. John?

No, but I have been there staying in a guest house in Cruz Bay. Keep
in mind though, that my visit was in 1997. Some stuff may have
changed.

How much of the island can we realistically expect to get to on foot?

I don't think that you can get to much but there are some places you
can get to only on foot. The roads are very narrow and have no
shoulders and also very steep.

How much will we need to use public transportation?

Keep in mind that the taxis have a per person charge. You will be
able to get a taxi to Cruz Bay fairly easily at least until the
workers leave at night.

Is it worthwhile to rent a vehicle for the whole trip? And which
rental place is best?

We did not rent a vehicle, but we were in town and not out at
Cinnamon. It is possible to get along without one. I don't know
which place is best, but I've heard it advised to rent from one that
allows you to park on their lot when in town because parking is at a
premium.

We plan on doing quite a bit of hiking. Do you have any
recommendations?

The NPS has maps with the hiking trails, and they lead hikes of
various types (bird watching, beach etc). I liked the Reef Bay trail
where you take a taxi to the top, walk down (3 miles plus or minus
including the petroglyphs) eat lunch (which you bring with you) at the
bottom and go back to Cruz Bay by boat. There is a charge for this
because they have to pay the taxi drivers and the boat drivers.


Since we are camping, food is a consideration. We do not plan to eat
out every meal, and are wondering if we should pack like a backpacking
trip, or expect to buy groceries throughout the week and be able to
keep perishable items cold? (How is ice availability?)

IIRC there is a small store at Cinnamon. Other groceries you'd have
to go to Cruz Bay. There is also a restaurant at Cinnamon which is OK
but not special. I do not know about ice or keeping things cold. We
found walking around to various restaurants in St. John to eat to be
one of our main entertainments. We had a kitchenette, so we ate
breakfast and lunch at our room and ate dinner out. Food will be a
bit more than you pay at home, because of the shipping out to the
island and they may be out of stuff that you want/need.

There are charcoal grills at campsites, however we have camp stoves.
Is there campstove fuel available on either St. John or St. Tom's? We
have a propane lantern, and a Primus Himalaya MultiFuel stove.

I don't know. I'd suggest asking the NPS

Should we bring our own bottled drinking water? ...filter it?

I didn't bother to drink bottled water, or filter it. Some people are
squicked out by drinking water from cisterns. If you are, then you
might want to bring or get bottled.

We have not done much snorkeling, but do have some masks and fins.
Should we leave them home and rent for the week? Where is the best
rental place?

If the masks fit, bring them. There is a rental place on Cinnamon,
but it's more expensive than bringing your own stuff. Cinnamon has a
pretty good snorkeling beach, and there's a lot of good snorkeling in
various places in St. John. I don't know that you can take the stuff
you rent at Cinnamon off that beach.

How do we get the "best" campsite? How is the beach accessed from the
campsites?

Are there laundry facilities?

Is there anything else we need to consider?

Water in the showers is luke cold - i.e. not heated.

Thanks for any help you can lend.

There are lockers at Cinnamon (coin operated), but the locker access
is locked at night. The NPS has campfire programs which are quite
interesting - find out at the beginning of the week what they are
going to be when you are there. There's an interesting ranger led
program at Anneberg Sugar Mill. There are wild donkeys.

grandma Rosalie

In article ,
"Timothy J. Bain" writes:

We are a family of 5, with children ages 15, 13 and 6, and this is our
first time travelling to St. John. We will be camping at a bare site
at Cinnamon Bay during the week of April 9th through the 16th, and
would like advice and suggestions about what to expect. Our past
experiences include everything from a 6-day canoe/kayak trip in the
Adirondacks to staying at Disney's Polynesian Resort. (We are a fairly
hardy bunch!) Here are some general questions we have for you:

Have you ever camped on St. John?

No, but I have visited the island severl times

How much of the island can we realistically expect to get to on foot?

Not a lot.

How much will we need to use public transportation?

Depends how often and how far you want to go.

Is it worthwhile to rent a vehicle for the whole trip?

I think you will enjoy yourself much more. and do mouch more.

And which rental place is best?

You will be traveling to St Thomas and then on to St John by ferry.
I suggest you find a reantal locaton on St Thomas that will allow
you to rent a car and take it to St John. BE EXPLCIT about asking
if you can take the car to St John some/many/most (?) rental companies
do not allow this. However, if you arrange this you will have a much
easier way to carry your equipment plus a car to use all week.

We plan on doing quite a bit of hiking. Do you have any
recommendations?

Talk to the National Park rangers. The guided hike w/boat return
to Cruz Bay is fun. There are some nice trails in the Salt Pond
area. Other than that, I think hiking on St John is over-rated.

Since we are camping, food is a consideration. We do not plan to eat
out every meal, and are wondering if we should pack like a backpacking
trip, or expect to buy groceries throughout the week and be able to
keep perishable items cold? (How is ice availability?)

If you have a car, ice should be no problem.

There are charcoal grills at campsites, however we have camp stoves.
Is there campstove fuel available on either St. John or St. Tom's? We
have a propane lantern, and a Primus Himalaya MultiFuel stove.

Probably yes. If possible, buy on St Thomas and bring it with you.
Prices on St John will be 2 or 3 times higher.

Should we bring our own bottled drinking water? ...filter it?

There is potable water available a the campground.

We have not done much snorkeling, but do have some masks and fins.
Should we leave them home and rent for the week? Where is the best
rental place?

If you have your own maks and fins, bring them along if possible.
Othewise there are various SCUBA shops in Cruz Bay.

How do we get the "best" campsite? How is the beach accessed from the
campsites?

No idea.

Are there laundry facilities?

No idea.

Is there anything else we need to consider?

Bug repellent and citronella candles.
You will need them in the late afternoon and evening.

--
Charlie Hammond -- Hewlett-Packard Company -- Ft Lauderdale FL USA
-- remove "@not" when replying)
All opinions expressed are my own and not necessarily my employer's.

"Charlie Hammond" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Timothy J. Bain" writes:

We plan on doing quite a bit of hiking. Do you have any
recommendations?

Talk to the National Park rangers. The guided hike w/boat return
to Cruz Bay is fun. There are some nice trails in the Salt Pond
area. Other than that, I think hiking on St John is over-rated.

I agree with talking to the National Park Rangers, right there in Cruz Bay.
They have guided hikes with a boat ride back they also have maps if you want
to do some independant hiking.


Since we are camping, food is a consideration. We do not plan to eat
out every meal, and are wondering if we should pack like a backpacking
trip, or expect to buy groceries throughout the week and be able to
keep perishable items cold? (How is ice availability?)

If you have a car, ice should be no problem.

Absolutely. Cruz Bay is not that far from Cinnamin Bay, you should be able
to get ice without a hitch.

There are charcoal grills at campsites, however we have camp stoves.
Is there campstove fuel available on either St. John or St. Tom's? We
have a propane lantern, and a Primus Himalaya MultiFuel stove.

Probably yes. If possible, buy on St Thomas and bring it with you.
Prices on St John will be 2 or 3 times higher.

Yup, St Johns is more expensive.


Should we bring our own bottled drinking water? ...filter it?

There is potable water available a the campground.

You can get cases of water in St Thomas at K-Mart.


We have not done much snorkeling, but do have some masks and fins.
Should we leave them home and rent for the week? Where is the best
rental place?

If you have your own maks and fins, bring them along if possible.
Othewise there are various SCUBA shops in Cruz Bay.

You can rent all your snorkle items, but we brought ours, five sets of fins,
masks, snorkle and my husband and I brought our wet suits and BCD's for
scuba. I'll tell you though if you do plan on bringing all this, definately
rent a car as we hated caring all that stuf around. Also remember they
drive on the left side there.


How do we get the "best" campsite? How is the beach accessed from the
campsites?

The campsites are all awsome, at least from what I saw. I guess I would ask
for one as close to the beach as possible. All the campsites we saw, lead
to a main path as wide as a narrow road, which lead past the restaraunt,
beach huts, showers, then the beach. It was very beautiful there and very
woodsey.

here is a link to Cinnimon Bay and Campground.

http://www.cinnamonbay.com/


Very good site with lots of information


Jane


--
---------------------
Save Angel from cancellation
http://www.SaveAngel.org

My husband and I stayed in one of the "block houses" at Cinnamon Bay
about 12 years ago. It still is one of our favorite vacations. We
went without a car - we took the truck-taxi all the time. We did rent a
Jeep one day for a drive around the island. Just picked one of the
places in Cruz Bay for it, since the prices seemed the same. There was
a small store at the campground, but we went into Cruz Bay sometimes for
stuff. Some folks did a day trip back to St. Thomas to go to a larger
store an pick up their goodies. Either way, you'll be fine for food.
There was ice available at the camp store. We were given an ice chest
as part of our payment, along with utensils. I don't know if you get
the same with the bare sites. We drank the water there, no problems.
Be sure to bring insect repellent! We brought a "No Pest Strip" and
hung it in the room, but since you're bringing your own tent,
if you have headroom for it, I'd do that, too. I don't remember
anything about laundry facilities. One thing I do remember is that the
showers were cold water only, with the "pull the chain" to get the water
going. It takes a little time to figure out the best way to do it, but
it is all rainwater, and my hair felt the best it has ever felt from
those showers! The restaurant at the campground is very basic. But,
they have special nights during the week, with BBQ or fish nights. They
were fun. The dining is under a large roof, but open sided area. We
ended up spending most nights up there, just reading or playing cards
with people we met. It was a nice social area. As far as you own
lantern and stove, I can't remember anything about fuel availability.
Snorkeling right at the beach there was pretty good. I'd say bring your
own stuff if you have it. That way, if you decide to go somewhere else,
you've got your stuff. The Park offered a very cool "Snorkel "round the
Island" trip when we were there. It was a boat trip around the island
and it stopped at several spots to snorkel, depending on the conditions
of the day. One place we stopped was an old underwater research site.
Lots of cool stuff. They offered several guided hikes around the
island. There were also the usual NPS campfire programs.
AS far as "best" campsites: If I recall, they are pre assigned. But,
there is no bad location there. Go to the web site for Cinnamon Bay and
check on the tent footprint to be sure yours will fit. I actually would
suggest you get one of the tent cabins so you don't have to lug your
tent down there. I wouldn't waste space with sleeping bags, either. We
went to a linen outlet and bought some twin flat sheets and sewed them
together to make a sleep sack for each of us, then took one blanket.
There are scorpions there, so be sure you zip your tent closed all the
time, check your shoes before putting them on, and shake out your
sleeping bags before climbing in.
I'm jealous - you're in for a great vacation!!!

Kitty

Timothy J. Bain wrote:
We are a family of 5, with children ages 15, 13 and 6, and this is our
first time travelling to St. John. We will be camping at a bare site
at Cinnamon Bay during the week of April 9th through the 16th, and
would like advice and suggestions about what to expect. Our past
experiences include everything from a 6-day canoe/kayak trip in the
Adirondacks to staying at Disney's Polynesian Resort. (We are a fairly
hardy bunch!) Here are some general questions we have for you:

Have you ever camped on St. John?
How much of the island can we realistically expect to get to on foot?
How much will we need to use public transportation?
Is it worthwhile to rent a vehicle for the whole trip? And which
rental place is best?

We plan on doing quite a bit of hiking. Do you have any
recommendations?

Since we are camping, food is a consideration. We do not plan to eat
out every meal, and are wondering if we should pack like a backpacking
trip, or expect to buy groceries throughout the week and be able to
keep perishable items cold? (How is ice availability?)

There are charcoal grills at campsites, however we have camp stoves.
Is there campstove fuel available on either St. John or St. Tom's? We
have a propane lantern, and a Primus Himalaya MultiFuel stove.

Should we bring our own bottled drinking water? ...filter it?

We have not done much snorkeling, but do have some masks and fins.
Should we leave them home and rent for the week? Where is the best
rental place?

How do we get the "best" campsite? How is the beach accessed from the
campsites?

Are there laundry facilities?

Is there anything else we need to consider?

Thanks for any help you can lend.

-Tim & Michele

Tim,

Your in for a great time with the family.. There are hiking trails that
leave right from the camping area and travel in all directions. I stayed at
a tent site that was 15 feet from the water's edge, and had a tug-of-war
with a donkey a few nights over food left out. I would recommend that you
get the book,
"St John feet, fins and four wheel drive" by Pam Gaffin.You will find all
the trails described on pages 58 and 59. Her book is a complete guide to
every beach, trails or road on beautiful St John.

Mike in NH




"Timothy J. Bain" wrote in message
...
We are a family of 5, with children ages 15, 13 and 6, and this is our
first time travelling to St. John. We will be camping at a bare site
at Cinnamon Bay during the week of April 9th through the 16th, and
would like advice and suggestions about what to expect. Our past
experiences include everything from a 6-day canoe/kayak trip in the
Adirondacks to staying at Disney's Polynesian Resort. (We are a fairly
hardy bunch!) Here are some general questions we have for you:

Have you ever camped on St. John?
How much of the island can we realistically expect to get to on foot?
How much will we need to use public transportation?
Is it worthwhile to rent a vehicle for the whole trip? And which
rental place is best?

We plan on doing quite a bit of hiking. Do you have any
recommendations?

Since we are camping, food is a consideration. We do not plan to eat
out every meal, and are wondering if we should pack like a backpacking
trip, or expect to buy groceries throughout the week and be able to
keep perishable items cold? (How is ice availability?)

There are charcoal grills at campsites, however we have camp stoves.
Is there campstove fuel available on either St. John or St. Tom's? We
have a propane lantern, and a Primus Himalaya MultiFuel stove.

Should we bring our own bottled drinking water? ...filter it?

We have not done much snorkeling, but do have some masks and fins.
Should we leave them home and rent for the week? Where is the best
rental place?

How do we get the "best" campsite? How is the beach accessed from the
campsites?

Are there laundry facilities?

Is there anything else we need to consider?

Thanks for any help you can lend.

-Tim & Michele

I'd strongly recommend the cabins myself


In rec.travel.caribbean Michael wrote:
: Tim,

: Your in for a great time with the family.. There are hiking trails that
: leave right from the camping area and travel in all directions. I stayed at
: a tent site that was 15 feet from the water's edge, and had a tug-of-war
: with a donkey a few nights over food left out. I would recommend that you
: get the book,
: "St John feet, fins and four wheel drive" by Pam Gaffin.You will find all
: the trails described on pages 58 and 59. Her book is a complete guide to
: every beach, trails or road on beautiful St John.

: Mike in NH




: "Timothy J. Bain" wrote in message
: ...
: We are a family of 5, with children ages 15, 13 and 6, and this is our
: first time travelling to St. John. We will be camping at a bare site
: at Cinnamon Bay during the week of April 9th through the 16th, and
: would like advice and suggestions about what to expect. Our past
: experiences include everything from a 6-day canoe/kayak trip in the
: Adirondacks to staying at Disney's Polynesian Resort. (We are a fairly
: hardy bunch!) Here are some general questions we have for you:
:
: Have you ever camped on St. John?
: How much of the island can we realistically expect to get to on foot?
: How much will we need to use public transportation?
: Is it worthwhile to rent a vehicle for the whole trip? And which
: rental place is best?
:
: We plan on doing quite a bit of hiking. Do you have any
: recommendations?
:
: Since we are camping, food is a consideration. We do not plan to eat
: out every meal, and are wondering if we should pack like a backpacking
: trip, or expect to buy groceries throughout the week and be able to
: keep perishable items cold? (How is ice availability?)
:
: There are charcoal grills at campsites, however we have camp stoves.
: Is there campstove fuel available on either St. John or St. Tom's? We
: have a propane lantern, and a Primus Himalaya MultiFuel stove.
:
: Should we bring our own bottled drinking water? ...filter it?
:
: We have not done much snorkeling, but do have some masks and fins.
: Should we leave them home and rent for the week? Where is the best
: rental place?
:
: How do we get the "best" campsite? How is the beach accessed from the
: campsites?
:
: Are there laundry facilities?
:
: Is there anything else we need to consider?
:
: Thanks for any help you can lend.
:
: -Tim & Michele
:
:
:

Why?
wrote in message ...
I'd strongly recommend the cabins myself


In rec.travel.caribbean Michael
wrote:
: Tim,

: Your in for a great time with the family.. There are hiking trails
that
: leave right from the camping area and travel in all directions. I
stayed at
: a tent site that was 15 feet from the water's edge, and had a
tug-of-war
: with a donkey a few nights over food left out. I would recommend
that you
: get the book,
: "St John feet, fins and four wheel drive" by Pam Gaffin.You will
find all
: the trails described on pages 58 and 59. Her book is a complete
guide to
: every beach, trails or road on beautiful St John.

: Mike in NH




: "Timothy J. Bain" wrote in message
: ...
: We are a family of 5, with children ages 15, 13 and 6, and this
is our
: first time travelling to St. John. We will be camping at a bare
site
: at Cinnamon Bay during the week of April 9th through the 16th,
and
: would like advice and suggestions about what to expect. Our
past
: experiences include everything from a 6-day canoe/kayak trip in
the
: Adirondacks to staying at Disney's Polynesian Resort. (We are a
fairly
: hardy bunch!) Here are some general questions we have for you:
:
: Have you ever camped on St. John?
: How much of the island can we realistically expect to get to on
foot?
: How much will we need to use public transportation?
: Is it worthwhile to rent a vehicle for the whole trip? And
which
: rental place is best?
:
: We plan on doing quite a bit of hiking. Do you have any
: recommendations?
:
: Since we are camping, food is a consideration. We do not plan
to eat
: out every meal, and are wondering if we should pack like a
backpacking
: trip, or expect to buy groceries throughout the week and be able
to
: keep perishable items cold? (How is ice availability?)
:
: There are charcoal grills at campsites, however we have camp
stoves.
: Is there campstove fuel available on either St. John or St.
Tom's? We
: have a propane lantern, and a Primus Himalaya MultiFuel stove.
:
: Should we bring our own bottled drinking water? ...filter it?
:
: We have not done much snorkeling, but do have some masks and
fins.
: Should we leave them home and rent for the week? Where is the
best
: rental place?
:
: How do we get the "best" campsite? How is the beach accessed
from the
: campsites?
:
: Are there laundry facilities?
:
: Is there anything else we need to consider?
:
: Thanks for any help you can lend.
:
: -Tim & Michele
:
:
:

aja69 wrote:

I stayed in St. Johns last year in march, however I stayed at Maho Bay
camps so I don't have much advice to offer on Cinnamon bay. We packed
in reasonable non-perishibles, coffee, cereal, bread pbutter jelly,
etc... We found Ice to be readily available and a small cooler came in
really helpfull. We kayaked over to Cinnamon Bay and it is without a
date one of the most beautiful places I have ever sene, your kids will
be blown away. I am an adventurous person myself, and had a great time
packign a backpack and heading south from Maho / Cinnamon bay hiking
past the sugar plantation to a very private beach on the southern tip
of the island, the trail is good, rocks right along the waters edge,
and about 2 miles from Maho. The beach was great and empty. You guys
will enjoy it, my advice for packing is less clothes than you think is
better, plenty os suntan lotion and get shirts that are tight fitting
for snorkeling after getting sun-burnt your first day in. You will
want to snorkel a lot and you will get fried if you don't wear a shirt,
unless your from florida. Hope this was somewhat helpful

aja


--
aja69
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I like the cabins because they do keep the animals out of things --
The campgrounds have several convenient features e.g. a sort of
cafeteria where you can get a reasonable meal, snorkel rental, lots of
guided hikes, boat trips etc are available if you like and the taxis
[really pick up trucks that hall about 8 people in seats in the back]
that can take you into town where you can pick up groceries or dine out.

And I second the advice about shirts for snorkeling -- and sunscreen
with bug repellent -- or lots of each.

Love St. John.

I like to have a jeep because it affords access to the smaller out of
the way beaches for snorkeling -- and with such a big family, it should
be cost effective since taxis are per head, not per trip.