I'll be spending a week in St John soon with my wife and three elementary - jr. high age kids. We didn't spring for passports, so BVI is out. I'd appreciate hearing any tips from the all knowing board.

Just hit a different beach every day. Drive to other side of island--Coral Bay-- and eat and explore. Spend a day in St Thomas if you want. But I would just stay on St John.

Wife and I landed on St. John this evening after a long trip from Austin. Rented a house in Coral Bay. Fish and chips at Shipwreck Lounge was awesome, steak not so awesome at all. Will check back in.

Flew from AUS to MIA to STT. Crowded 30 minute taxi ride to Red Hook ferry. Twenty minute ferry to Cruz Bay. Picked up Jeep and made trek to Coral Bay.

Spent half a day at Salt Pond Beach yesterday. It's about a 300m walk from parking lot. Good snorkeling, saw alot of turtles from small ones to a couple of four footers and a huge spotted eagle ray. There are a couple of other beaches another 300-400m hike. Had a burger and some Painkillers at Skinny Legs, really good. Bought some fresh mahi and grilled at house.

The driving is slower and a little hairier than Virgin Gorda due to all the switchbacks and steepness.

Thursday:
Went to Trunk and Maho Bays. Trunk was pretty but really crowded. Five pp entry fee. Pretty good snorkeling around the little island. Saw some huge tarpon.
Maho was pretty laid back but water was really cloudy and had alot of leaf litter.
Drove to East End looking for a place to eat, specifically Vies Snack Shack but it apparently is no longer a going concern. We did stumble upon a floating bar at Haulover Bay. It's about a 40 yard swim. Beers and very stiff drinks, no food. Had a late lunch at Aqua Bistro bar. Went to Miss Lucy's again for wine and conch fritters and a jazz duo.

Friday:
Spent half a day at Cinnamon Bay, probably my favorite so far, snorkeling was meh though. Got there around 0900 so not crowded at all. They do have SUP board and Hobie rentals there. Had lunch (grilled mahi sandwich) at Skinny Legs. Stopped for beers at Aqua Bistro bar ( which is next to grocery store), had to get more Prosecco for mimosas. Grilling chicken at house for dinner, hopefully taking ferry to JVD tomorrow.
Saturday:
Parking in Cruz Bay scarce for 0830 ferry departure to JVD. $80 pp roundtrip to JVD plus $8 pp departure fee. Stop in Tortola for Customs, get off ferry, customs, get back on ferry and on to JVD.
Group taxi to White Bay (Soggy Dollar for beers and Pain Killers, Hendo's Hideout - great burger, Ivan's Stress Free forbeers and PKs, taxi to Foxy's for a beer, shopping, and hammock time, walked to Corsairs for a beer and a to go PK for ferry, and back to St. John. $20 pp deprture fee from BVI. No head on ferry, about to piss pants going through US Customs (still no bathroom,thanks Trump), had to pee in drainage ditch in Cruz Bay. Not my finest moment. Picked up pizza for dinner at villa. New pizza place next door to Shipwreck is excellent. And watched the Ags beat that UT ass in softball.

Sunday:
Woke up at 0530, it starts to lighten up around 0445 plus roosters crow 24/7, dogs barking and goat bleating also help. Drove the 35 minutes to Cruz Bay for Mass. I love Caribbean masses that include drums and steel pans. Drive back and met wife at Miss Lucy's for their Sunday jazz brunch (1000-1400). We can hear the music from house. Hung out at house and watched Ags punch ticket to OKC. Dinner at Aqua Bistro. Met some Ags visiting from DC.

Monday:
Stopped by Jumbie Beach. Really short stretch adjacent to Trunk Bay beach. Already 3-4 groups so moved on to Hawksnest Beach which was really nice. Caneel resort is on western edge. Decent snorkeling. I did snorkel over to Oppenheimer Beach, yes, that Oppenheimer. There are several houses so you're restricted to just the beach. There is also the iconic leaning palm with tire swing.
Then went to Francis Bay beach. Adequate parking but snorkeling was OK, did see a turtle and a large jack.
Back to Skinny's for jerked mahi sandwiches and Painkillers. Then went to Hansen Bay beach. This is private access but tey only charge 2.50 pp for parking. Had dinner at Aqua Bistro again but didn't partake of the Monday night all you can eat lobster ($58).

Tuesday:
Travelling back. Took Cruz Bay to Charlotte Amelie (downtown) ferry. Quick bite then off to airport. AA has some stupid ass rule that you have to check in three hours prior to departure, we were closer to 2:30 and no prob. Kind of a crappy airport.

St. John was laid back and pretty but Virgin Gorda is still our dream.

What is the main difference between the 3 islands? And where are there more houses for rent?

St. Croix is supposedly the industrial center island. St. Thomas has the airport and cruise ships. St. John is mostly national park and slower.

Went last July and had fun, went to two different beaches a day and went back to our favorites on our last day (Trunk Bay). Get good snorkel masks and just explore!

Potcake, have you ever done a bareboat charter out of the USVI? I'm looking for a nice 25th anniversary excursion and this seems like the ticket.

No, I'm assuming bareboat is sailing your own vessel? We have been to Virgin Gorda three times, all land based. This was our first trip to USVI. Depending on how long you have, you could definitely include stops in both VI groups. Can't say anything about St. Croix and St. Thomas seemed overwhelmingly busy. St. John is very close to BVI.
We did a crewed Moorings trip in French Polynesia that was great. I only wish we could sail ourselves and determine our itinerary on the fly.

That's our intent. Charter a 40' -ish monohull and point out an island to sail to then begin the cocktail cruise. Would love to consider the South Pacific but travel to and from eats into time on the water.

Dude, go get a rush on your passports and hit BVIs. Jost Van Dyke is our favorite place ever. Foxy's, Soggy Dollar, One Love all right there. Several other BVIs worth checking out.
Driving in St Johns is crazy, fun, scary. Lots of one lane roads with blind hills and blind curves. Be careful. Trunk Bay is some of the best snorkeling in the world. Get there before 10 or after 3 - that way you avoid the cruise ship excursions.

I'll save passports for next time since I've never been to St John. I have a family of five, so passports and customs costs about as much as chartering a boat for a day.

Is that Cinnamon Bay beach?

This is Oppenheimer Beach.

Yep

Great pics.

Did anyone charter a powerboat?

We went for a full day trip on the Bad Kitty with some friends a few trips ago and we loved it.
(http://calypsovi.com/bad-kitty-5-stop-4-island-tour-british-virgin-islands/)

Our next trip, we are stepping the time on the water considerably and doing a bareboat charter. Its going to be awesome staying on the boat all week.

http://calypsovi.com/bad-kitty-5-stop-4-island-tour-british-virgin-islands/

With a username like fixedincome, I'm curious as to what you do for a living. I'm in institutional sales.

To make this thread related, I would give anything to set up shop in St John. We stayed at Caneel Bay last year and I haven't stopped thinking about it since. We did some island hopping too but chartered a boat and captain for that. We're going back next year but we'll also spend a week at the newly renovated Rosewood Little Dix Bay on Virgin Gorda. It reopens in December.

We have stayed at Caneel Bay and Little Dix Bay. Loved them both. I understand that Caneel is no longer a Rosewood property. How was it last year when you were there?

Indeed it was last year, June to be exact. We were booked at Little Dix Bay but they contacted us about 2 months before the trip to tell us they'd be closed that week (and the next 18 months) for renovations. Needless to say, I was pissed...initially. But they had several other hotels and ideas lined up for me, gave us cash to offset flight changes (which was pocketed because the airline was cool with it), and gave us free nights at Little Dix for 2018. The service was top notch for inconveniencing my vacation plans. It worked well and Caneel Bay was awesome, so awesome that I want to go back soon.

That did end up being a good deal for you. It has been a few years since we have been to the VI but are planning to go to Caneel Bay next year. That is still our favorite place we have ever been--St. John more than Caneel.