Traveling To St. John USVI

Quite a few years ago I made a family travel bucket list in my phone and every year my goal is to check one big trip off the list and one smaller trip. Traveling with our kids is one of my top priorities and I spend a lot of time researching and planning these trips and I absolutely love it. I think I might have missed my calling as a travel agent. Anyway, 17 years ago Brian and I went on our honeymoon to the British Virgin Islands and on that trip we vowed to one day bring our future kids back to the islands. This was our year! A full circle moment. This time, we stayed on St. John in the USVI and took a day trip over to the BVIs. It was hands down our favorite family vacation we’ve ever done and I’m giving you all my tips for traveling to St. John USVI in today’s recap.

Traveling To St. John USVI

Tips For Traveling to St. John

Let’s dive into this trip of a lifetime. Breaking down, how to get there, what I wish we would have known and what we will do different next time!

How To Get To St. John

St. John is only accessible by boat! You fly into St. Thomas in the USVI and then take a walk-on ferry from over to St. John. You will land in St. Thomas, take a taxi to either Crown Bay or Red Hook and then hop on the boat. They run regularly. I HIGHLY recommend the short 5 minute taxi ride to Crown Bay if your schedule allows. You can also hire a private water taxis from Crown Bay to Cruz Bay on St. John, and I might do that next time. The taxi’s from the airport are crammed with other people, super hot and the roads are so windy, it was an adventure. By the time you pay for the taxi to Red Hook and then the ferry ride over, it might be equal to a private water taxi depending on the amount of people you are traveling with.

BRING CASH. Lots of cash. Taxi’s only take cash. We were not prepared.

We are super fortunate to have a direct flight from Dallas and it was only 4.5 hours. American offers one a day and now Southwest is offering one starting in January 2026.

Where To Stay on St. John

There are so many different bays to stay on. You either stay closer to Cruz Bay which is where you come into, the main town, night life, restaurants, etc. or you stay closer to Coral Bay on the other side of the island. This is where more locals live, it’s very quiet, private and beautiful, but it does take longer to get to. We stayed in a beautiful villa in Coral Bay. You can book it here.

We would absolutely stay here again, it was the perfect size, gorgeous accommodations including our own putt putt course and outdoor living space and pool. Our only complaint it that it would take us about 30 minutes to get into Cruz Bay and 3/5 of us get car sick. There are a handful of restaurants in Coral Bay so you can stay out that way no problem, but if you want to go to the nicer restaurants or be more in town I wouldn’t stay out this way.

While the island is only 4 miles long you don’t go over 25 miles per hour and the roads are basically switch backs.Things we didn’t really know ahead of time. So if you or anyone else in your family gets car sick, I highly recommend staying closer to Cruz Bay since that is where most of the good restaurants are and most water activities leave from.

I actually recommend staying up higher in hills because you can get to the main highway easier that connects everything. We want to try Fish Bay next time!

Beaches in St. John

Let’s be honest, there is not a bad beach in St. John. These are all some of the best in the world. We found that each beach had it’s own specialties, you can find something different at each beach! I’m going to break it down for you.

SALT POND. This is up there on my list. It might actually be my personal favorite. It’s closer to Cora Bay, was only 6 minute drive from our villa, making it the most convenient beach for us to visit. Since it’s on the other side of the island from the popular North Shore beaches, it’s very quiet. The second time we came here, we were close to the only people on the entire beach. It’s quiet, the water is super calm and it’s just so peaceful.

What you need to know: unlike the North Shore beaches, there is no food here. So pack a cooler with lunches or snacks and lots of water. There is a short hike down to the beach. You park up at the top and walk down a hill, only .3 miles and it’s rough terrain. But totally doable for all ages.

MAHO BAY BEACH. There isn’t as much of a shoreline, it’s a smaller sandy beach. BUT, this is the beach where the family saw the most turtles and stingrays. And absolutely the best spot for food and amenities! The food trucks are across the street down by the left side of the bay. Lots of food options, frozen desserts, a walk up bar and lots of fun yard games for kids.

What you need to know: Parking is limited. We came during the off season and were fine, but people say the earlier you get there the better. We drive past on a Saturday and there was zero parking even off the road to get to the beach.

TRUNK BAY. One of the most popular beaches on the island and it happened to be at the top of our list too! It was the beach we all wanted to come back to for our last day. The white sandy beach is big and holds lots of people. The island off the shoreline is easy to swim to and has an underwater snorkel trail that you can follow. The family said this was one of the best place to snorkel from the beach. Lots of squid, tropical fish, etc. I personally loved watching the pelicans dive for fish!

Trunk Bay also has a food area, not as good as Maho but still great! But you can plan on having lunch here and renting things.

What you need to know: It can get super busy, parking is very limited. You have to pay an entrance fee to get into the beach. It’s only $5 per adult and kids are free. Worth it. We also hear that the cruise ships have an agreement with the beach so on certain days they will bus cruise passengers out here. They only stay for 2 hours at a time. Just a heads up.

CINNAMON BAY BEACH. It’s one of the largest beaches on the island! But because it’s more exposed it can get really windy. I hear if you go earlier in the morning it’s calmer. However, we went around noon and it was pretty windy, the water gets more churned up and the snorkeling isn’t great when the water is rougher.

I loved looking at the old historic ruins on the beach, they make for some great photo opps! And on the left side of the bay you can see all the incredible multi-million dollar houses in Peter Bay.

Like I said, there isn’t a bad beach on St. John, however we would skip this one next time we go and explore other ones.

Every beach we saw sea life close to shore. I don’t snorkel much and I was still able to see a stingray and large turtle right next to me! There was also a small black tip reef shark at Maho Bay, maybe only 2ft long that swam up and down all day.

Activities on St. John

If you want to be active on your trips, there is SO much to do on St. John. From hiking, boat charters, fishing charters, exploring old ruins, etc. There really is something for everyone.

Hiking on St. John

We saw lots of group there that come just for the hiking! There are tons of trails with incredible views. We did the Rams Head Hike off Salt Pond Beach. You hike down to Salt Pond, walk along the beach and then hook up to the trail head on the other side of the bay. The signs are very visible, you can’t miss them. It’s a good 1 hour hike up and back, you hike up a hill, down to a rocky beach, and up to the top of the peak. After the hike, end the day at Salt Pond.

The other popular hike is Reef Bay Trail is the other popular one we heard a lot about! You get to see old sugar mills and petroglyphs. We didn’t get to it this time, but we will on our next trip!

Private Charter To British Virgin Islands

This was hands down our favorite day of the entire trip. Just be prepared, you do need to go through customs as you enter via boat, so everyone needs passports. We were already obsessed with the beaches, but taking a boat out to the British Virgin Islands was an absolute dream. I booked our charter through Island Root Charters and Captain Ryan was the best! He customizes each trip and he couldn’t have picked better spots for us. How many stops you do will depend on how long you want to stay at each one, but we ended up at 7. We packed alot into one day and it was perfect. We had the best day ever as a family. It was worth every penny.

We went to a small deserted island, a small bay that we had entirely to ourselves. I mean, I can’t even believe these pictures and I lived it.

The Baths on Virgin Gorda were one of the main reasons for our trip. We went here on our honeymoon and HAD to bring the kids back! They are a true natural wonder of the world. You have to swim to shore so if you want to bring a phone or money for food make sure to bring a waterproof bag. The hike/trail through them is only about 30 minutes, it just depends on how long you want to explore. Our kids had so much fun making their own way through!

We also hit up some cave snorkeling and lots of other fun stops. HIGHLY recommend splurging on a private boat tour whether it’s in the USVI or BVI.

Where to Eat on St. John

One of my close friends recently got engaged at the Lovango Resort off St. John so of course we had to go check it out! It’s on its own private island that’s still part of St. John. If you are the type of person who likes luxury resort life, this is the place for you! It truly is absolutely gorgeous, every detail is unmatched. On Wednesday and Saturdays they allow non-guests to take a boat over to the island and have a casual dinner at the resort and check it out.

It was definitely worth the trip over. The ambiance is incredible. Our only complaint is that the food on the casual night was just OK. And it’s super pricey (i mean, all food on the islands is pricey). But you can easily head over and just go for drinks and enjoy the whole resort.

The Windmill Bar is an absolute must if you are on St. John! Pictures do it no justice. It’s at the top of the island and the views are just out of this world. The place is very casual, the food is nothing fancy but the live music and whole setting is just breath taking. A lot of people will come here just for drinks and sunset and then head into Cruz Bay for dinner. We ate here and all thought it was good! It’s first come first serve so get there early to bet here for sunset. They close at 7:30pm.

We didn’t eat at a ton of places downtown Cruz Bay, but we did get to 1864 The Restaurant (left pic). It’s a nicer seafood restaurant and the food was delicious! It’s inside the Mongoose Junction Mall, so go early and shop before dinner!

Lime In has the absolute best gourmet tacos! They were SO GOOD. Would for sure come back here. This is the same owners who have Lime Out, the floating taco bar in Coral Bay. We didn’t get to it but hear great things about it. Here are my thoughts on that.

Everyone said we had to do Lime Out floating taco bar. If you want to take a water taxi out to the tacos it’s $30 per person just for the 5 minute ride out there from Coral Bay. That would be $150 just to get here there on top of food. Here is what I would do instead, a lot of boat tours and private charters will stop here on your day trip. So either book a private half or full day charter through Salty Daze and stop there for lunch, or if you want a less expensive option, book a Lime Out Catamaran Trip through Cruz Bay Sports, you will just be with a large group of people.

What We Will Do Next Time

Color Block Two Piece | Favorite Sunnies

We will absolutely come back! It was hands down our favorite family vacation ever. Here are a few things we didn’t get to but will next time: Half or full day private charter through USVI and stop at Lime Out, Hawksnest Beach, Denis Beach and Reef Bay Hike.

General Tips For Travel:

Bring lots of cash for taxis and tips, you don’t need a passport for St. John but they do recommend having it or birth certificates to go through customs at the airport for departure. Reed safe sunscreen is a must! You will get fined if you don’t use it. The roads are windy! Unless you stay at The Westin (the only true hotel on the island) it’s definitely more of an adventure vacation, not resort life. But we loved it.

Vacation Outfits

Vacation Dinner Outfits

Amazon Beach Day Looks