A holiday in the Virgin Islands doesn't have to cost the Earth. AMY LAUGHINGHOUSE, a regular visitor to St John, has some tips on how to get the best value for your dollar
I’M SUNNING myself beside a swimming pool in St John, a lush, feral gem in the US Virgin Islands, sipping a rum-laced lime and coconut brought to me, unbidden, by a waiter who seems to anticipate my every need. My favourite tunes are wafting across a salty sea breeze, harmonising with the twitter of unseen birds nestled in the palm trees and bougainvillea. There is hardly another soul around, and my lazy idyll is uninterrupted by screaming children doing cannonballs into the deep end or somebody talking so loudly on his mobile phone that the person on the other end could probably hear him without the aid of a cell tower.
Should I summon the willpower to leave my chaise (as unlikely as it seems), there’s a great variety of activities on offer just a few steps away, including yoga, card games, movies and nature hikes. Meals, made to order, can be taken at any time, and the drinks always flow freely.
Folks would pay a lot for this kind of treatment at a five-star resort, but I’m shelling out just $96 (€68) per person per night, including tax. The secret is that this isn’t a resort at all, but a private villa that my husband Scott and I have rented with several other couples.
The “waiter” is our friend Clint, cocktail king, BBQ genius and ever-willing chauffeur (voted MVV – most valuable vacationer – for the third year running). His wife Jen is our resident card shark, leading marathon rummy matches and providing an infectious laugh track. The yoga instructor is our limber friend Mary, her husband Rob is the movie master packing the latest releases, and Scott is the expert stargazer, pointing out constellations illuminating the inky black sky. Harris and Kim serve as our wildlife guides, providing an indispensable service on this largely undeveloped isle, where 7,000 acres of national parkland take in pristine beaches, pre-Colombian petroglyphs and crumbling sugar mill plantations half-devoured by tropical forest.
Renting a villa with a carefully chosen cadre of mates is an especially tempting option on St John, as accommodations are otherwise limited. Aside from a few campgrounds, which range from bare sites to cottages, there are only two resorts.
There are hundreds of rental villas, however, ranging from one-bedroom aeries to luxurious six-bedroom mansions. Some recline close to St John’s white sand beaches. Others are tucked high into the steep, tangled hills, accessed by switch-back roads that would make a roller coaster ride feel as tame as a lift in a pram pushed by your arthritic granny. But those white-knuckle commutes, which provide plenty of incentive to bargain with the higher being of your choice if only He delivers you safely to your destination, ultimately pay off with some spectacular views.
If you anticipate spending most of your time at your villa, you might consider staying in one near Coral Bay, the smaller of St John’s two towns. Homes tend to rent more cheaply on this side of the island, probably because the town amounts to barely more than a dusty crossroads. Here, a traffic jam qualifies as a wayward donkey or a couple of escaped cattle slowly shuffling towards freedom.
The half-dozen or so times that I’ve rented a home on St John I’ve always opted for an abode closer to the relative excitement of the port of Cruz Bay. (“Relative” as in an eccentric but always entertaining country cousin with a penchant for swallowing light bulbs after drinking a fifth of Jameson). Cruz Bay hardly qualifies as the big city, with free-range hens herding their chicks along a zigzag maze of roads, but it does offer sufficient shops and boutiques and enough bars and restaurants to put a dent in your wallet and add to your waistline over a few weeks’ holiday.
Of course, part of the beauty of renting your own villa is that you can cook at home, thereby saving money – and allowing the designated driver an evening’s respite with a beer or two. Several small groceries offer a decent selection, including the Starfish Market and the St John Gourmet Market.
If you find yourself afflicted with cabin fever, the Beach Bar is a great place for perching on a bar stool, sipping a Painkiller, and gazing out at the sailboats that fill the harbour. Phil’s, which serves great Mexican grub despite the white-bread name, proffers a margarita so big it should come with a snorkel. But I’m always ultimately drawn to Woody’s. This popular watering hole is known for its walk-up window, and a couple of plastic tables on the sidewalk (to call it a “terrace” would be overstating it) provide front-row seats for first-rate tourist-watching. Inside, the decor tends towards displays of shorts and T-shirts bearing the Woody’s logo, but sheltering there at a wobbly-legged table during a storm, listening to Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head and Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Who’ll Stop the Rain?, I’m enveloped by a great sense of camaraderie (no doubt enhanced by multiple rounds of Blackbeard Ale) that makes the downpour feel almost festive.
In finer weather, you’ll want to head to one of St John’s 30 or so beaches. Aside from Trunk Bay, which features a rather worse-for-wear “snorkel trail” that inevitably seems to attract the cruise ship set, few beaches are ever crowded. Among the more remote are Leinster Bay, where I’ve spotted squid, sea turtles and stingrays; Blue Cobblestone Beach, where we’ve floated above towering coral pillars teeming with life; and Salt Pond Bay, where a baby blacktip reef shark patrolled the crystalline shallows. At Drunk Bay, unknown artists – perhaps fuelled by fruity umbrella drinks, lending the place its name – have created whimsical figures that lie prone on the barren beach like petrified sunbathers.
They’re all lovely spots, sure. But it’s hard to beat a patch by my own private pool with a view out over a horseshoe-shaped bay, with the sound of the sea – and the whirring of the kitchen blender whipping up another round of drinks – providing a soothing symphony for the soul.
Where to stay, eat, and go on St John
Where to stay
Vistaero. Available through Destination St John, 00-1-800-5621901, www.destinationstjohn.com. This five-bedroom villa is situated high above Rendezvous Bay, about a 15-minute drive from Cruz Bay. Beautifully furnished, with a sunny deck and one of the biggest private pools on St John, it’s a great place to hang out with a large group. As with many places I’ve stayed on the island, water leaks can be a problem. Weekly rates off-season (April 15th-Dec 14th): $3,795 (€2,690) for two people, $4,295 (€3,045) for three to six people, $4,995 (€3,541) for seven to 10 people.
Caneel Bay. A Rosewood Resort, 00-1-340-7766111, www.caneelbay.com. This 170-acre resort embraces seven beaches and a hilltop Self Centre, which offers classes in yoga, meditation, and New Age treatments such as “color vibrational therapy”. With no in-room phones or televisions, this retreat has become a haven for travellers who prefer comfortable, classic Caribbean architecture over glitz and glamour. From $395 (€280) per night.
Westin St John. 00-1-866-7168108, www.westinresortstjohn.com. Those who would rather not cut the cord to civilisation can have their phone and TV at the Westin St John, a 47-acre amenity-rich resort cascading down a hillside towards a 1,200ft white sand beach. The swimming pool is so large you practically need a sextant to navigate across it. From $219 (€155) per night.
Cinnamon Bay Campground. 001-800-5399998, www.cinnamonbay.com. Accommodations run the gamut from bare sites to cottages equipped with four twin-beds, electric lights, fan, picnic table, charcoal grill, propane gas stove and ice chest. Central bathhouses offer lavatories and cold-water showers. All sites are a short walk from Cinnamon Bay Beach, the longest on the island. From $30 (€21) per night.
Maho Bay Camps Inc. Cruz Bay, St John, 00-1-800-392- 9004, www.maho.org. Maho Bay Camps and Harmony Studios on the north shore, and sister properties Concordia Eco-tents and Estate Concordia Studios on the southeast shore pride themselves on their sensitivity to the environment. Options range from screened-in “tent cottages” to apartments fitted with private bathrooms and a kitchen. Estate Concordia Studios has a swimming pool. From $80 (€56) per night.
Where to eat
Skinny Legs. Route 10, Coral Bay, St John, 00-1-340-7794982, www.skinnylegs.com. Billing itself as “a pretty okay bar and grill”, Skinny Legs doesn’t exactly give you high expectations, but with its affordable menu of burgers and fish sandwiches, as well as a friendly atmosphere, it’s far better than okay.
Rhumb Lines. Meada’s Plaza, Cruz Bay, 001-340-776-0303, www.rhumblinesstjohn.com. The Pacific Rim meets the Caribbean in this alfresco courtyard, with dishes such as Szechuan tuna, super-spicy blackened scallops and Thai crab cakes.
Asolare. Northshore Road, Estate Lindholm Hotel, Cruz Bay, 001-340-7794747. One of the pricier places to eat on the island, but sunset views and Asian-infused offerings, such as green curry coconut shrimp soup and seared Peking duck breast, are worth a splurge.
Where to go
Virgin Islands National Park. 1300 Cruz Bay Creek, 00-1-340-7766201 ext 238, www.nps.gov/viis. The park encompasses 7,000 acres on land, as well as 5,650 underwater acres, including the snorkel trail at Trunk Bay. (Admission to Trunk Bay is $4 for adults, free for under-17s). You can also visit the remains of two sugar plantations (Annaberg and Catherineburg), as well as the more remote ruins of the Reef Bay Sugar Mill. Check website for scheduled activities and hikes.
The Charter Boat Center. 6300 Smith Bay 16-3, St Thomas, 00-1-340-7757990, www.charterboat.vi. For a little off-island action, charter a boat to take you snorkelling or to visit other nearby isles. One of our favourites is Jost Van Dyke, where you’ll find little more than goats and bars. Among the best known watering holes is White Bay’s Soggy Dollar Bar, so dubbed because there is no dock.
Where to shop
Mongoose Junction. Route 20, Cruz Bay, www.mongoose junctionstjohn.com. While you won’t find any actual mongooses for sale here, you will find a variety of clothing boutiques, art galleries, jewellery and watch shops.
Wharfside Village. Cruz Bay, 001-340-693-8210, www.wharfsidevillage.com. More gift shops and jewellery stores, as well as watersports rentals, bars and restaurants, clustered under red terracotta roofs and connected by bougainvillea-draped walkways.
Go there
Aer Lingus (www.aerlingus. com) flies from Dublin, Cork, Shannon and Belfast to London-Heathrow. From Heathrow, American Airlines (www.americanairlines.co.uk), British Airways (www.british airways.com), Delta (www.delta. com), US Airways (www.usair ways.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) offer one-stop flights to Cyril E King Airport on St Thomas. From the airport, take a taxi to either Red Hook or Charlotte Amalie, which both offer ferry services to Cruz Bay, St John