st. john trip report
Nov 13th, 2006, 06:23 AM
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st. john trip report
conrad sutton, good friendly efficient car rental. parking easy but his driveway is an adventure (as were most roads in st. john!
all beaches great. market in coral bay cheaper prices than starfish. all markets $$$$$$ pineapple - 7dollars! peanut butter 4.50/jar rum 6bucks a bottle.....(just thru that in there!)
bad weather at sea kept us from snorkelling at cinnamon
good snorkel at honeymoon wow lots of fish
hawknest saw the cutest rumba line of squid! and swam in a school of blue tangs
different bottom at francis and salt pond.
good food at mango's , lime Key?(can't remember whole name right near wharfside)
although food was ok at fishtrap you service less than stellar, food took forever to come 30 min + for dinner after waiting 15min+ for appetizer. fish prep not done well (more bones and big ones than i've ever seen they do not know how to filet fish - at least not the night we were there) it took almost three hours for dinner)
we had drinks and appetizers along with dinner at the other places and it was only two hours. i mention this because the fish trap has those cheap plastic chairs and sitting on the them for 3 hours, ah not so nice. flavors of food ok tho. so you decide.
we stayed at a villa with caribeanvillas.com they were good when we found problems at the house they were fixed immediately (and conveniently while we were at the beach)
house excellent. secluded. beautiful view. we were near reef bay beach (we didn't use the beach tho. was too rough) took us 10 min to town and 20+ to north shore beaches. roads (oh my!) the road is almost 100% paved in that area now. house name second wind and it looks exactly like the web site. i used ac in bedroom but my friends in the other rooms didn't. hot water in main house, you need to hit the button two times (ie two five minute cycles necessary to get hot water to bathroom - those that stay there will understand) it wasn't a problem.
i'd go back to that house in a heartbeat. sad to be home!
all beaches great. market in coral bay cheaper prices than starfish. all markets $$$$$$ pineapple - 7dollars! peanut butter 4.50/jar rum 6bucks a bottle.....(just thru that in there!)
bad weather at sea kept us from snorkelling at cinnamon
good snorkel at honeymoon wow lots of fish
hawknest saw the cutest rumba line of squid! and swam in a school of blue tangs
different bottom at francis and salt pond.
good food at mango's , lime Key?(can't remember whole name right near wharfside)
although food was ok at fishtrap you service less than stellar, food took forever to come 30 min + for dinner after waiting 15min+ for appetizer. fish prep not done well (more bones and big ones than i've ever seen they do not know how to filet fish - at least not the night we were there) it took almost three hours for dinner)
we had drinks and appetizers along with dinner at the other places and it was only two hours. i mention this because the fish trap has those cheap plastic chairs and sitting on the them for 3 hours, ah not so nice. flavors of food ok tho. so you decide.
we stayed at a villa with caribeanvillas.com they were good when we found problems at the house they were fixed immediately (and conveniently while we were at the beach)
house excellent. secluded. beautiful view. we were near reef bay beach (we didn't use the beach tho. was too rough) took us 10 min to town and 20+ to north shore beaches. roads (oh my!) the road is almost 100% paved in that area now. house name second wind and it looks exactly like the web site. i used ac in bedroom but my friends in the other rooms didn't. hot water in main house, you need to hit the button two times (ie two five minute cycles necessary to get hot water to bathroom - those that stay there will understand) it wasn't a problem.
i'd go back to that house in a heartbeat. sad to be home!
Nov 13th, 2006, 11:58 AM
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What did you mean by "different bottom at Francis and Salt Pond"?
Was it stirred up??
Those are 2 of the best snorkeling spots that we have experienced on the island. Though Francis can be choppy with poor visibility.
Salt Pond Bay is probably my favorite, as we usually find the turtles there!
Glad you had a great trip!
Was it stirred up??
Those are 2 of the best snorkeling spots that we have experienced on the island. Though Francis can be choppy with poor visibility.
Salt Pond Bay is probably my favorite, as we usually find the turtles there!
Glad you had a great trip!
Nov 16th, 2006, 02:40 PM
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by different, i meant not just sand , but the mild amounts of grass. i saw a lot less fish but they were different fish. at salt pond i was in a school of little bait like fish so many it was like confetti. i was in the middle of thousands!
Nov 17th, 2006, 07:39 AM
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Thank you for posting another fun report. I love all the places you went too. Saltpond definitely does not just have sand. It has alot of little rocks and some sea urchins so folks need to watch where they're stepping. Also, it is a bit of a hike from the main road. A few hundred yards as I recall. It has some nice sandy beach parts, but it is not like the northshore beaches. Also, anyone thinking of going there needs to bring bug spray along. Because it is surrounded by lush growth, bugs are present at all times. Not to make it sound scary, but if you are prepared then you will be able to enjoy it to the fullest. The exceptional part about Saltpond is the often great snorkeling along the rocks to the left side of the bay if you are looking towards the water. Also, Saltpond is the beginning of the footpath out to Drunk Bay where there are hundreds of fun "scultures" made by visitors out of the tons of washed up coral pieces. Sorry to run on, you just brought up such nice memories 
.
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Nov 18th, 2006, 03:54 AM
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on salt pond, went to the rocks on the side, but the confetti fish (that's what i'll call them!) distracted me! we had no problems at all with bugs. being from the east coast , i'm used to a beach with no shade and this beach has NO SHADE. but it is really nice. the water was great. don't let the path to the beach disuade you. it really isn't that long at all and the payoff is SALT POND! we also had pelicans dive bombing into the water and hanging out with the snorkellers....
I think i'm gonna have to go back....
I think i'm gonna have to go back....
