St. John USVI FAQs
Because the Virgin Islands National Park covers almost 2/3 of the island, St John is quite unique. It is a small, friendly, welcoming island that was blessed with tremendous natural beauty, and unlike other Caribbean islands, its beaches, mountains and waters remain unspoiled, largely undeveloped and stunningly peaceful and beautiful.
Villas, condos and hotels have not been allowed to be built on the National Park beaches, but not every beach on the island is included in the Park and we do offer a few homes on non-park beaches such as the Carnival Beach House (Klein Bay) and Dream Come True (Devers Bay). We also offer some beautiful homes within an easy walk to the National Park beach at Reef Bay. Fortunately there are no condos on the beaches of St John.
Everyone arrives on St John by ferry. There are three ferries from St Thomas to St John, Cruz Bay. The Red Hook ferry, Charlotte Amalie Ferry and the Crown Bay Ferry. Ferry schedules are subject to change. The Red Hook ferry is about a 45 minute taxi ride from the airport and a 20-30 minute ferry ride to St John. This ferry operates the most frequently and the seas tend to be calmer. The Crown Bay ferry is about a 5 minute taxi ride from the airport and a 45 minute ferry ride to St John. The Charlotte Amalie ferry is about an 8 minute taxi ride from the airport and a 45 minute ferry ride to St. John. The seas can be rougher on these two ferries.
Please always make sure your flight arrival and departure times work with the current ferry schedules. You can find the current ferry schedules on the VI Now website – www.vinow.com
Almost all villa rentals require a vehicle and we strongly recommend a 4 wheel drive jeep or sport utility vehicle. Even though you can walk to Cruz Bay from Cruz Views, Grande Bay, Lavender Hill, and Battery Hill condo’s we recommend a jeep rental . Having your own jeep rental is the best way to explore and discover the many delights of St John. It’s a lot of fun!!
With only 3500 residents and a strong sense of community and island pride, St John keeps crime down. As a whole, St John is one of the Caribbean’s safest and most preferred islands for renting a villa. The streets of Cruz Bay are safe to stroll in the day and evening, and the island’s beaches and interior are very safe and exciting to explore.
The nightlife centers around the island’s many interesting restaurants. Dining out is big on St John and you can choose from more than 35 restaurants in a wide range of tropical settings, prices and types of food. Live music is available most nights of the week at some popular nightspots.
The term “villa” has become a bit confusing. When we use the term villa we mean a privately owned, free standing vacation home that we rent and maintain on behalf of the owners, most of whom live in the USA. Our villas range in value from $600,000 to 7 million with an average value of 1.6 million.
If the owner is on St John and promises 24 hour guest and maintenance service, that’s one thing. But if the owner lives in the USA and has a friend or neighbor doing maintenance and guest services, you may be on your own. Owners also are usually renting only one home and they may try to rent it to you whether or not it’s right for you. You’re usually better off dealing with an experienced management company that is on St John, offers 24 hour guest and maintenance services, and has a wide variety of villas or condos to choose from.
There is a 7 night minimum for villas (we do make exceptions) and a 5 night minimum stay for condos (we do make exceptions). Usually, you can start and end on any day of the week.
Except where noted, the prices do not include daily maid service or meals. These services can be provided at an additional cost. You can always contact us for more specific information and for more information on our rental policies.
