No Elephants - Just A Small Piece Of Heaven
Written: Nov 02 '09
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Tropical sun, sea and sand with National Park thrown in too.
Cons: Few bugs after 4pm. Leaving.
The Bottom Line: Anytime spent in the USVI needs to include a visit to St. John and Trunk Bay. I've spent many hours on many beaches - these were 8 of the best!
|
|
|
| jcare's Full Review: Trunk Bay, St John |
Go Visit - Now!
If Epinions would allow me to write a three word review - that would be it.
Location, Location, Location ..
Trunk Bay is located on the North/North-East side of St. Johns. It is not a large beach, measuring just over 1/3 mile from end-to-end, and is no more than 50 feet from the tree line to the waterline. Like many other of the Virgin Islands bays, it is surrounded on three sides by towering hills, Unlike many other bays there are hardly any houses or condos on those hills.
Unless you are part of some organized tour, the best way to get to Trunk Bay is by taxicab. We were staying on St. Thomas (the next island over from St. Johns), so took a taxi to Redhook which is on the Eastern edge of St. Thomas followed by a 10 minute , 5 dollar ferry ride across to Cruz bay on St. John. Then it is a 15 minute, 10 dollar taxi ride along a very windy and hilly road to the Beach.
You also need to remember that everyone drives on the left when you go around the sharp bends!
Facilities
Most of St. John Island is a US National Park, and Trunk Bay is part of that park system. That means you have to pay a $4 facility charge to get onto the beach. For that $4 you get the use of the beach, changing rooms and showers. There is also a small restaurant serving standard beach fare of burgers, jerk chicken and random sandwiches and salads. Next to the restaurant is a beach rental store offering chairs and snorkel equipment. I highly recommend renting the snorkel gear (or bring your own!)
Trunk Bay offers some excellent areas to explore underwater, and features the only underwater national park trial in the US. You can follow a set of underwater markers which detail the fish and fauna you can see all around you. The waters are quite gentle with minimal current so it is a safe trail to take as long as you are comfortable floating with snorkel gear. There are also lifeguards posted on the beach to keep you out of trouble.
Practical Hints
#1: Set up your chairs or towels the other end of the beach from the underwater trail - it is far less crowded.
#2: Seek out the shade early in the day for the hot afternoon. Plan to use the trees or large bushes as shade for anyone with fair skin or the smaller children. By the time you actually need the shade it has all been taken.
#3: Trunk Bay is relatively uncrowded even when the Cruise Ships have docked in St. Thomas as it's a long haul to get there and back. There were maybe 60-70 other people on the beach with us. Heaven!
#4: The water is kid-friendly and doesn't get too deep too quickly. Many of the other local beaches have steep inclines.
#5: Enjoy your day, use sunscreen and you'll find you will spend your afternoon plotting and scheming exactly how you can come back and visit again.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Dec - Feb
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
jcare
|
 - Top 500 |
|
Location: Southeast Pennsylvania
Reviews written: 269
Trusted by: 219 members
About Me:
Bullets can hurt people. Both in guns and PowerPoint.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.