U.S. Virgin Islands 2025 Vacation - Day 3

This morning we woke, dressed, and headed in to Cruz Bay for breakfast at High Tide where we had dinner on Thursday. We had talked about what to do today and decided that seeing at least one of the world famous beaches was something we should do. We had not arranged for a rental car for reasons I mentioned yesterday, but in reviewing the taxi rates and the uncertainty of how long we’d be at the beach or anywhere else we decided to rent a Jeep for 24 hours. Since it’s the off season here there was one readily available. We got a 2-seater white Wrangler and headed out for Trunk Bay Beach.

Driving on St. John. Wow. We’d gotten a taste of it in the open-air “taxis”. I should have described these before now. These are all heavy-duty Ford F-350 chassis with covered bench seating in the rear. Some of them have decent suspension still, some do not! Two of them meeting each other on the road can be a harrowing experience, and you definitely want to keep your hands and arms inside! Those drivers are very good at what they do. Me? I am a very good driver, but I’d never driven here before. Narrow roads on very steep hills full of switchbacks that get to the top, and peaks so sharp it’s like getting to the top of a roller coaster. There were times I wasn’t 100% sure there was actually road ahead of me! Oh–and did I mention that they drive on the LEFT in USVI? But the steering wheel is still on the left. If you’re not used to THAT you really have to concentrate at intersections. Oh, and all stop signs are just suggestions, so you really do have to watch out!

We made it to Trunk Bay Beach without incident. Most of St. John is part of a Federal Wildlife Preserve and is managed by the National Park Service. I think this is probably a good thing, as equipment rentals were very reasonable (chairs, snorkel and fins); which probably wouldn’t be the case if such commerce was left to the locals. I am not well-traveled when it comes to scenic beaches. This is my first time in the Caribbean. L.A.’s seaside has underwhelmed me the few times I’ve been there. But this…this was something special! It was everything I’ve ever imagined based on TV and the movies: Clean, white sand; clear, blue water, bright sunshine, and mostly clear sky. And NO PEOPLE. Well, not “no” people, actually. But there were NOT a lot of us there! The off season effect, I guess, working to our advantage. We both took a swim in the ocean. A few hundred feet down the beach was an island with some buoys. I had half glanced at a sign as we were renting chairs and went back to look at it. The buoys are part of an underwater trail guiding snorkelers as they explore the reefs on the side of the little island. I rented a snorkel, mask, and fins and headed out. In contrast to the stark beauty of the beach itself, snorkeling this particular reef was nothing like what you see on the Discovery Channel. It was kind of ho-hum, actually, as far as stunning color and clarity went. The water around the reefs was a bit cloudy and less clear, but I could still se all the way to the bottom in probably 15-20 feet of water. I saw probably 2 dozen different varieties of fish of all sizes, the largest being as long as my leg. There’s a small cove on the small island in which most of the fish I saw congregated. I was able to swim among them as long as I made no sudden movements. It was kind of magical! I did not stay long in that location because there were several pelicans there and they were dive-bombing for dinner in my immediate facility and I did not want to be splash-damaged!

I went back to the beach and Amanda and I enjoyed another swim before deciding to pack up and to exploring for lunch. Since we had the Jeep and could go anywhere we wanted at our convenience we decided to go to Coral Bay on the other side of the island. More winding and scenic roads! Up, down, and around. Coral Bay as a “community” was very underwhelming relative to the bustle of Cruz Bay. Indeed, we drove by the restaurant we decided to stop at twice before realizing that it was “the spot” in Coral Bay for that sort of thing! I’ll comment more about this when I post some reflections when the trip is over.

After lunch we drive back to our resort following a different route (the only other one) and saw even more of the island and the National Park. We had about an hour before we needed to be at Garrett and Kayla’s resort for the rehearsal dinner. Amanda bathed and I took a nap. Then we joined everyone at The Last Resort in Chocolate Hole, one bay over, just a few minutes away. After that we headed back up into the hills to The Windmill Bar which is at almost the highest point on the island with fantastic views of the other islands. It’s on a western hillside and so has views of the sunsets every night. We stayed and enjoyed a few drinks and conversation with Megan the bartender before deciding to call it a night. We had an active day and the sun really saps your energy, especially when you’re not used to being out in it all the time.

We had a bit of an adventure on the way back in that our GPS took us down a long road through some VERY ritzy properties (think Hollywood Hills) but the last half mile or so of which had been abandoned. Had we been able to get through, we would have been right at our resort building. Indeed, we had noticed the abandoned road at the other end when one of the golf cart drivers took us by it. We asked him about it and he didn’t know much about it. But I got my answer! We took a quick dip in the pool next to our building and committed to relaxing in our room for the rest of the evening. In the morning we will have breakfast in town and return the Jeep. Then back to the resort where I think we will spend the day until it’s time for the wedding.