virgin islands villas
St. John · Areas

East End, St. John

The East End is the far reach of St. John, past Coral Bay, where Route 10 runs out along the eastern arm above small bays. St. John East End rentals are houses on steep ground, nearer the North Shore beaches than to town. From the East End, Cruz Bay town is 40 minutes by car.

Estates and places here: Hansen Bay, Haulover, Hermitage, Mount Pleasant and Retreat, Turner Point, Privateer. These are the names on addresses and deeds; a villa in any of them is listed under East End.

Car neededSteep roadsBeach on foot41 min to Cruz Bay ferry40 min to Cruz Bay town

Staying in East End

Staying on the East End of St. John means living at the end of the road. Past the Coral Bay harbor, Route 10 runs along the shore of Hurricane Hole and out along the island's eastern arm, through the estates the East End takes in: Hermitage, Haulover, Hansen Bay, Mount Pleasant and Retreat, Privateer and Turner Point. By our measurement the ground is steep, rising fast off the shore, and the British Virgin Islands lie across the channel to the east. The nearest sand is Long Bay, a short walk from the middle of the area and 1 minute by car. A week here is a week at the house, and a drive for almost everything else.

The water at the start of the East End is not the National Park but the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument, 12,708 submerged acres around St. John per the National Park Service, and the park says Hurricane Hole is the only part of it you can reach by land: follow Route 10 from Cruz Bay to Estate Hermitage. Its red mangroves are the reason to go. Further out, the road reaches Haulover, 38 minutes from Cruz Bay town, where two National Park beaches share one roadside stop, one across the street on the south side and one at the end of a short trail on the north. Entry is free per the National Park Service as of October 2026, and the park describes both as pebble with little sand. Hansen Bay, 39 minutes from Cruz Bay town, is outside the park: the shoreline is public under the Open Shorelines Act, per the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, but the land behind it is private and you park where the owners allow.

Rent a car in Cruz Bay, and ask the owner first what the last climb to the house asks of it, since on ground this steep the answer varies. Cruz Bay town is 40 minutes away over Centerline Road and through Coral Bay. In a straight line, Road Town on Tortola is nearer than the Cruz Bay ferry dock. The last passenger ferry is 10 pm from Cruz Bay per the Department of Public Works as of September 2026, and the boats from Red Hook keep the same hours, so a late flight puts you on these roads in the dark. For the week's shop, Dolphin Market Coral Bay is the store on the way in, with an ATM; Starfish Market is in Cruz Bay. Buy the heavy things in town on the day you arrive.

The North Shore is closer than town. By our measurement Maho Bay is 25 minutes from the middle of the area, Cinnamon Bay 26 and Trunk Bay 31, all reached over Centerline Road without passing through Cruz Bay. That changes the shape of a day: the park beaches in the morning, home by lunch, and Cruz Bay kept for the evening you choose to make the drive.

The tradeoff is the distance. Forty minutes to Cruz Bay town is a long way to go for dinner and a longer way back, and every errand the Coral Bay shops cannot answer is the same drive. A first visit that wants to see the island and eat out will spend its week on Centerline Road. A second trip or a long stay that eats at home gets the bays, the monument and the quiet end of the road for the same drive, made once a week. Coral Bay, its neighbor on the way in, measures rolling and has its own page.

Suits a long stay, a second trip, and a house that cooks and swims at home and goes to town once a week.

Getting around

East End needs a car: the ground measures steep, so ask the owner about the driveway, the beach is on foot and Cruz Bay is 40 minutes by road.

Drive toMinutes
Cruz Bay ferry41
Cruz Bay town40
Long Bay Beach1

Measured on the island's roads.

How to get to East End from St. Thomas

The usual way: a taxi to the Red Hook ferry terminal (36 min), then the ferry to Cruz Bay (20 min, $8.15 a person), then 41 minutes by road from the dock to East End. About 97 minutes from Cyril E. King airport to the villa, more on cruise-ship days. Six other ways across are below, with times and fares.Every route
From Charlotte Amalie waterfront
  • FerryThe Charlotte Amalie ferry

    The boat if you are stepping off a cruise ship or staying downtown: it leaves from the waterfront terminal, twice a day each way.

    1. Ferry, Charlotte Amalie to Cruz Bay45 min

    Plus $4 a bag; $3.50 child; $6 for residents 60 and over with the elderly IDTwo a day each way: 8:45 and 11:15 am from Cruz Bay, 10 am and 12:30 pm from Charlotte Amalie (Transportation Services of St. John)Varlack Ventures lists its own Charlotte Amalie run as suspended for the off-season, as of October 2026; check its page before you plan on that boatNo reservationTimes (Transportation Services of St. John and Varlack Ventures)

    45 min$13 a person$12 resident
From Cyril E. King airport
  • FerryTaxi to Crown Bay, then the Inter Island boat

    The closest boat to the airport and the fastest door to dock, but two sailings a day, four Friday to Sunday. It lands at Cruz Bay Creek, not the main ferry dock.

    1. Taxi to Crown Bay Marina8 min
    2. Boat to Cruz Bay Creek35 min

    Boat only; $15 senior, $10 child 3 to 11. The taxi to Crown Bay is $8 for one rider, $6 each for two or more.3:30 and 5:30 pm daily; 9:45 am and 2:15 pm Friday to SundayCheck in 30 minutes before departureTimes (Inter Island Boat Services)

    43 min$20 a person
  • FerryTaxi to Red Hook, then the ferry

    The route most guests take. The taxi is the long part; allow extra on cruise-ship days and at school-run time.

    1. Taxi to the Red Hook ferry terminal36 min
    2. Ferry to Cruz Bay20 min

    Ferry only, plus $4 a bag. The taxi to Red Hook is $23 for one rider, $17 each for two or more.Ferry hourly, 5:30 am to 10 pmNo reservationTimes (VITRAN, run by Transportation Services and Varlack Ventures)

    56 min$8.15 a person$6 resident
  • FerryTaxi to Charlotte Amalie, then the ferry

    Rarely the best choice from the airport: the terminal is closer than Red Hook, but the crossing is twice as long and only two boats a day leave Charlotte Amalie.

    1. Taxi to the Charlotte Amalie ferry terminal12 min
    2. Ferry to Cruz Bay45 min

    Ferry only, plus $4 a bag. The taxi to the terminal is $11 for one rider, $9 each for two or more.Two a day from Charlotte Amalie, 10 am and 12:30 pm (Transportation Services of St. John)Varlack Ventures' Charlotte Amalie run was suspended for the off-season in October 2026; it usually sails again from about November, so check its page firstTimes (Transportation Services of St. John and Varlack Ventures)

    57 min$13 a person$12 resident
  • Water taxiTaxi to Crown Bay, then a private water taxi

    Your own boat on your own schedule, any hour with notice. Priced by the boat, from $695, so it makes sense for a full house arriving together. The operator does not publish the crossing time, so no total is shown.

    1. Taxi to Crown Bay Marina8 min
    2. Water taxi to Cruz Bay

    The boat, not the seat; the operator quotes from $695 from Crown Bay and from $495 from Compass Point Marina. The land taxi to Crown Bay is $8 for one rider, $6 each for two or more.By reservation; 24-hour service with notice

    from $695 a boat
From Red Hook, St. Thomas
  • FerryThe Red Hook ferry

    The default way over: hourly until 10 pm, no booking, and it lands at the main dock in the middle of Cruz Bay.

    1. Ferry, Red Hook to Cruz Bay20 min

    Plus $4 a bag. Varlack adds a fuel surcharge from June 12, 2026.Hourly, 5:30 am to 10 pm from Red Hook, 6 am to 10 pm from Cruz Bay; an off-season timetable runs from late July, usually to the end of October, so check the operator's current scheduleNo reservation; buy at the windowTimes (VITRAN, run by Transportation Services and Varlack Ventures)

    20 min$8.15 a person$6 resident
  • Car bargeThe car barge

    Only with your own car, or a rental whose company allows the crossing: National and Discount Car Rental say theirs may go (their own pages, 2026-10-09), so ask yours first. Most people rent on St. John. The crossing time is not published, so no total is shown.

    1. Car barge to the Theovald Moorehead terminal at Enighed Pond

    Times (Big Red Barge, Love City Car Ferries and Global Marine)

    $65 a car one way, $80 round trip, on the Big Red Barge and Love City Car Ferries rates pages (checked 2026-10-09). Each company sells its own tickets.

Fares change; the operator's page has today's. Road legs measured on island roads. Taxi fares are the Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission's tariff, in force since October 2022: per person, less each for two or more traveling together, plus $3 a bag. Checked 2026-10-09.

Water on the East End is the house's cistern, topped up by truck in a dry spell, and many houses this far out keep a generator, by our read, which is worth confirming with the owner. Signal is patchy: trip reports find none at Privateer Bay, and on the shores facing Tortola phones pick up British Virgin Islands networks, so keep data roaming off.

Beaches near East End

Questions about East End

Where is the East End on St. John, USVI?
The East End is the eastern arm of St. John, US Virgin Islands, past the Coral Bay harbor on Route 10. It takes in the estates of Hermitage, Haulover, Hansen Bay, Mount Pleasant and Retreat, Privateer and Turner Point.
How far is the East End from Cruz Bay?
Cruz Bay town is 40 minutes by car from the East End by our measurement, over Centerline Road and through Coral Bay. The ferry dock is a minute further. From the dock, a taxi is $29 to $45 for one person and $20 to $30 each for two or more, from Hurricane Hole out to Privateer Bay, on the Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission's tariff in force since October 2022, plus $3 a bag.
Do you need a car on the East End of St. John?
Yes. Town is 40 minutes away and the North Shore beaches 25 minutes or more, and our measurements put the East End among the steep areas of the island. Rent it in Cruz Bay, and ask the owner what their driveway needs.
Is East End, St. John the same as East End, St. Thomas?
No. St. Thomas has its own East End, around Red Hook, where the ferry to St. John leaves. St. John's East End is across the water, past Coral Bay, 40 minutes by car from Cruz Bay. Rental searches for "East End" often mix the two, so check the island before you look at a house.
Which beaches are on the East End of St. John?
Haulover Bay is two National Park beaches at one roadside stop, 38 minutes from Cruz Bay town, free per the National Park Service as of October 2026, pebble with little sand. Hansen Bay, 39 minutes from Cruz Bay town, is outside the park on private land, with a public shoreline. Long Bay is the nearest sand to the middle of the area, 1 minute by car.
Where do you buy groceries near the East End?
On the drive out, Dolphin Market Coral Bay at 13 Estate Carolina opens from 7 am until 11 pm every day as of October 2026 by its own listing, with an ATM inside. Starfish Market is in Cruz Bay, 40 minutes away, so shop there on the day you arrive.

Written by Virgin Islands Villas.

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