--- title: "Johns Folly, St. John, USVI: Guide and Vacation Rentals" url: https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/areas/johns-folly description: "Johns Folly, St. John, USVI: the steep south-east coast between Coral Bay harbor and Salt Pond Bay, its own beach 7 minutes on foot, Cruz Bay 37 minutes." updated: 2026-10-09 source: https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/areas/johns-folly --- [St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john) · [Areas](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/areas) # Johns Folly, St. John Johns Folly is the stretch of St. John's southeast coast between Coral Bay harbor and Salt Pond Bay: steep hillsides, villas spread up them and a beach of its own 7 minutes on foot. It suits a week built around the south shore park beaches and cooking in. From Johns Folly, Cruz Bay town is 37 minutes by car. Estates and places here: St. Quaco and Zimmerman, Calabash Boom, Concordia A, Mandahl, Hard Labor, Friise, Concordia B, Kiddel Bay. These are the names on addresses and deeds; a villa in any of them is listed under Johns Folly. Car needed Steep roads Beach on foot 38 min to Cruz Bay ferry 37 min to Cruz Bay town ## Staying in Johns Folly Johns Folly, St. John begins where Route 107 leaves Coral Bay harbor and heads south. The area runs from Calabash Boom, below the harbor, past Concordia to the land around Salt Pond Bay, and the older estate names on the deeds here, Mandahl, Hard Labor, Friise and Kiddel Bay among them, all file under this page. By our measurement the ground is steep, a good deal steeper than the rolling valleys behind Coral Bay, so most houses sit up a slope from the road and the driveway matters as much as the floor plan. Johns Folly Beach is 7 minutes on foot from the center of the area. A week here faces the other way from Cruz Bay. The south shore's park beaches are the neighbors, and the North Shore's eastern end is nearer than town: from the middle of the area we measure Maho Bay at 22 minutes by car, Cinnamon Bay at 24, the Waterlemon Cay trailhead at Annaberg at 25 and Trunk Bay at 29, while Cruz Bay town is 37. Shopping happens back up the road in Coral Bay. Dolphin Market Coral Bay, at 13 Estate Carolina, opens 7 am to 11 pm daily and has an ATM, by its own store page as of October 2026; for a full shop, stock up at the Cruz Bay markets on the way in from the ferry. Rent a car, and ask the owner whether the house needs four-wheel drive before you choose one. Johns Folly is 38 minutes from the Cruz Bay ferry dock by our measurement, so every arrival and every departure carries that drive. 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 an evening on St. Thomas ends with the 10 pm boat and 38 minutes on dark island roads. VITRAN's Route 109 bus runs between the Cruz Bay dock, the Callabash Boom stop and Salt Pond; the Department of Public Works posts its times. It suits a single trip to town, not a week of beach days with a cooler. The Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission's tariff, in force since October 2022, has no Johns Folly stop, but it prices a taxi from the Cruz Bay ferry to Calabash Boom, Mandahl, Concordia or Salt Pond, the stops it lists on this coast, at $30 for one person or $21 each for two or more, plus $3 a bag. Salt Pond Bay is at the south end of the area, and it is free per the National Park Service as of October 2026. The lot on Route 107 is small, the park calls the parking limited, and the sand is 10 minutes on foot from it. Two trails start at the beach: Drunk Bay, a quarter mile and easy, and Ram Head, 0.9 mile one way, steep and strenuous in the park's words. Lameshur Bay, the next park beach west, is down the road that runs on from the south end of the area, and as of October 2026 the National Park Service recommended four-wheel drive for its rocky last stretch. The tradeoff is distance and grade. Town and the ferry are the drive above, a Cruz Bay dinner means a sober driver on a steep road after dark, and a rental sedan may not make the driveway. A short stay spent at the North Shore's western beaches and Cruz Bay's restaurants pays for Johns Folly twice a day in driving. A long one that wants Salt Pond in the morning and cooks at night gets its money's worth. Check the driveway with the owner before you book the car. Suits a second trip, a walker who wants Ram Head and Salt Pond without the long drive, and a group that cooks most nights. ## Getting around Johns Folly needs a car: the ground measures steep, so ask the owner about the driveway, the beach is on foot and Cruz Bay is 37 minutes by road. | Drive to | Minutes | | --- | --- | | Cruz Bay ferry | 38 | | Cruz Bay town | 37 | | Johns Folly Beach | 1 | Measured on the island's roads. ### How to get to Johns Folly 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 38 minutes by road from the dock to Johns Folly. About 94 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 - Ferry [The Charlotte Amalie ferry](https://transportationservicesusvi.com/schedule) 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 Bay 45 min Plus $4 a bag; $3.50 child; $6 for residents 60 and over with the elderly ID · Two 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 boat · No reservation · [Times (Transportation Services of St. John and Varlack Ventures)](https://transportationservicesusvi.com/schedule) 45 min $13 a person $12 resident From Cyril E. King airport - Ferry [Taxi to Crown Bay, then the Inter Island boat](https://www.interislandboatservices.com/ferry-trips/crown-bay-to-cruz-bay/) 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 Marina 8 min 2. Boat to Cruz Bay Creek 35 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 Sunday · Check in 30 minutes before departure · [Times (Inter Island Boat Services)](https://www.interislandboatservices.com/ferry-trips/crown-bay-to-cruz-bay/) 43 min $20 a person - Ferry [Taxi to Red Hook, then the ferry](https://dpw.vi.gov/ferries/) 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 terminal 36 min 2. Ferry to Cruz Bay 20 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 pm · No reservation · [Times (VITRAN, run by Transportation Services and Varlack Ventures)](https://dpw.vi.gov/ferries/) 56 min $8.15 a person $6 resident - Ferry [Taxi to Charlotte Amalie, then the ferry](https://transportationservicesusvi.com/schedule) 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 terminal 12 min 2. Ferry to Cruz Bay 45 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 first · [Times (Transportation Services of St. John and Varlack Ventures)](https://transportationservicesusvi.com/schedule) 57 min $13 a person $12 resident - Water taxi [Taxi to Crown Bay, then a private water taxi](https://stthomaswatertaxi.com/) 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 Marina 8 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 - Ferry [The Red Hook ferry](https://dpw.vi.gov/ferries/) 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 Bay 20 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 schedule · No reservation; buy at the window · [Times (VITRAN, run by Transportation Services and Varlack Ventures)](https://dpw.vi.gov/ferries/) 20 min $8.15 a person $6 resident - Car barge [The car barge](https://www.viport.com/schedules-ferrycargoschedules) 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)](https://www.viport.com/schedules-ferrycargoschedules) $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. There is no public water on this side of St. John, so Johns Folly houses run on their cisterns, and the owner is the one to say whether a generator covers an outage. Signal fades on the road toward Salt Pond Bay and is good at the top of Ram Head, by our read, and along this coast phones sometimes roam onto British Virgin Islands carriers, so set data roaming off. ## Beaches near Johns Folly - [Salt Pond Bay](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/beaches/salt-pond) about 5 min - [Lameshur Bay](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/beaches/lameshur) about 7 min - [Haulover Bay](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/beaches/haulover) about 22 min ## Questions about Johns Folly **Where is Johns Folly on St. John?** Johns Folly is on the southeast coast of St. John, US Virgin Islands, between Coral Bay harbor to the north and Salt Pond Bay to the south, along Route 107. Cruz Bay, where the ferry lands, is 37 minutes away by car by our measurement. Coral Bay and the East End are its neighbors. **How far is Johns Folly from Cruz Bay?** 37 minutes by car to Cruz Bay town and 38 to the ferry dock, measured on the island's roads from the middle of the area. VITRAN's Route 109 bus also runs from the Cruz Bay dock to the Callabash Boom stop and Salt Pond; the Department of Public Works posts the times, checked October 2026. **Do you need a car in Johns Folly?** Yes. The beach below the area is a 7 minute walk, but town is 37 minutes away and every other beach is a drive. The ground here measures steep, so ask the owner whether the driveway needs four-wheel drive before you pick the car. **What beaches are near Johns Folly?** Johns Folly Beach is 7 minutes on foot. Salt Pond Bay, free per the National Park Service as of October 2026, is at the south end of the area, 10 minutes on foot from its lot. On the North Shore, Maho Bay is 22 minutes by car from the middle of the area and Trunk Bay 29. Magens Bay and Sapphire Beach, which some booking sites list as nearby, are on St. Thomas. **Is there a grocery store near Johns Folly?** Dolphin Market Coral Bay, at 13 Estate Carolina back up Route 107, is open 7 am to 11 pm daily and has an ATM, by its own store page as of October 2026. It covers the week for most groups; for a full shop, stop at the Cruz Bay markets on the way in from the ferry. Written by Virgin Islands Villas. At a glance **Rentals listed here** None yet **Car** Car needed **Roads** Steep roads **Beach** Beach on foot **Cruz Bay ferry** 38 min **Cruz Bay town** 37 min **Johns Folly Beach** 1 min No owner-listed rentals in Johns Folly yet. [See every villa on St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/vacation-rentals?island=st-john), or [list yours](https://virginislandvilla.com/list-your-villa). Other areas on St. John - [Great Cruz Bay](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/areas/great-cruz-bay) - [Where to stay on St. John](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-john/areas)