Favorite Tropical Destination – Part I – St. John, USVI-Getting There

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Getting There

This is Part I of what will most likely be several posts for this destination. 

Last year we took a quick trip to St. John, USVI, which is my most favorite Caribbean destination (and quickly becoming David’s as well!)  We love St John!!  This post will focus on how we get there–because as they say, “getting there is half the fun”–meaning the process of doing something, in itself, is as enjoyable as the end result.    We don’t feel this way every time we travel to a destination, but we truly believe this when traveling to St. John!

We fly into St. Thomas on Delta Air Lines or United Air Lines.  We fly non stop either from Atlanta, GA, New York’s JFK airport, or Dulles airport in Washington, DC.  Because we fly standby, these cities give us the best chance of not only getting a seat on the airplane, but also a good chance at getting a premium seat, which makes the flight even more enjoyable. 

The landing over the water onto the somewhat small runway at St. Thomas is exciting to say the least.  But from that moment on we are ready to soak it all in–I am ready to deplane with my Audrey Hepburn sunglasses on and my straw hat–being careful to hold onto it as the island breeze is quick to welcome me when I step off the airplane (deplaning by stairs right onto the tarmac as they do not have “jet bridges” in St. Thomas).  In just a few hours we will be arriving in St. John, by ferry boat!  Welcome to St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands–and on to St. John!!

 Once we arrive into St. Thomas, we have to walk inside the terminal building and through the baggage claim area to get out to the taxi area.  While walking into the baggage area, we walk past a Welcome Counter where free rum shot samples are being handed out by friendly “locals” of the island.  This just sets the stage for our relaxing vacation, and is a reminder for us to “reset” our bodies and minds to “Island Time”! It is tradition–whenever we take someone new to experience St. John, we MAKE SURE they do not skip this important step in the arrival process!

Once we are through the baggage claim area, (we do not check luggage, we always travel with a carry-on bag and a backpack each) we take a taxi to either Red Hook (most common) or Crown Bay (new) ferry dock. For this particular trip we decided to try the new ferry from Crown Bay Marina. It has a limited schedule over to Cruz Bay. (Side note: if you take the taxi to Red Hook, be prepared for a higher taxi fare and lower ferry charge, with the majority of the ride in the taxi across St. Thomas. If you choose Crown Bay ferry, the taxi ride is approximately 5-10 minutes, then 40-45 minute ferry ride over to St. John). While waiting to board the ferry at Crown Bay Marina, since we had an hour or two to wait, we ate lunch at Tickles Dockside Pub,  an open air restaurant/bar right beside the ferry dock. It was a charming site with great food/drinks. Another nice way to start off our vacation!! After we finished lunch, we then had an ice-cream treat at Scoops & Brew, which is right beside the dock as well.  They have really good coffee.  It is locally roasted on St. Thomas by Virgin Island Coffee Roasters.  We bought a bag to take with us over to St. John to enjoy every morning on our balcony terrace! 

We finally boarded the ferry and were on our way over to St. John! I highly recommend sitting up top on the ferry to enjoy all the sights along the way!! It is such a beautiful ride!  But remember–hold on to your hat!!!  

On our way over to St John, we noticed a few large cruise ships docked in port at St. Thomas. This is another reason I love going to St John, and not staying on St. Thomas. When it is cruise day, there are so many tourists in town, it gets really crowded. It is the equivalent of going to Waikiki in Honolulu, Hawaii vs. staying in Maui. For those of you who have been to Honolulu, you know what I mean by this. We prefer to be where there are less tourists, and more locals. It just makes for a more enjoyable, relaxing vacation.

My stomach starts doing a happy dance when St. John comes into full view! The little dock with the covered gate house is just the cutest. I am somewhat sad the ferry ride is over, but so happy to be at our destination!! St John!!!

We disembark from the ferry and gather our luggage (they charge a few dollars for each bag you have, and they load and unload it for you), and we tip them before leaving the area. They have a holding area on the ferry for the luggage, but we take our backpacks with us, and just give them the roller bags to store while riding over to St. John. Next, while walking down the dock to exit, again there is a friendly local on the dock with an umbrella stand handing out rum shot samples and welcoming everyone to St. John! TRADITION, remember?? I just love it!!

Lastly, before heading to our accommodations, we stop at our favorite beach bar, High Tide Bar & Seafood Grill. It is right on the beach, and there is not a bad view wherever you end up sitting. We love to order an appetizer and drinks, and just watch the people get on and off the ferry, or catch their private boat charters right at the dock there. High Tide has great food, and we eat there almost every morning for breakfast because we love the view and the atmosphere.

Well, there you have it–how we get to St. John, USVI, from start to finish! Like I said earlier, “getting there is half the fun”!! Hopefully you felt this as you read along and it has made you curious about our favorite island, and you are thinking of a trip there yourself! If you have any questions, let us know. Any opportunity we get to talk about St. John, we will gladly take!!

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